Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture along with sectors like - forestry and logging accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in 2007, employed 52% of the total workforce and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India. India's population is growing faster than its ability to produce rice and wheat.
So, there is a need for certain steps so that agricultural produce is improved and increased in order to satisfy the need of the burgeoning population and also supply the surplus to foreign market.
Agricultural extension was once known as the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. Now a days it encompasses a wider range of communication and learning activities organised for rural people by professionals from different disciplines, including agriculture, agricultural marketing, health, and business studies.
The term extension was first used in the United States of America in the first decade of this century to connote the extension of knowledge from the Land Grant Colleges to the farmers through the process of informal education. In India, the terms community development & extension education became more popular with the launching of “Community Development Projects” in 1952 & with the establishment of the “National Extension Service” in 1953. Since then, Community development has been regarded as a programme for an all-round development of the rural people, & extension education as the means to achieve this objective. Extension education is an applied behavioural science, the knowledge of which is applied to bring about desirable changes in the behavioural complex of human beings by applying the latest scientific & technological innovations. Extension education has now developed as a full-fledged discipline, having its own philosophy, objectives, principles, methods & techniques which must be understood by every extension worker & others connected with the rural development. Extension education is applicable not only to agriculture but also to veterinary & animal husbandry, dairying, home science, health, family planning, etc.
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Principles of extension education
The extension work is based upon some working principles & the knowledge of these principles is necessary for an extension worker.
1. Principle of interest & need:
Extension work must be based on the needs & interests of the people. These needs & interests differ from individual to individual, from village to village, from block to block, & from state to state &, therefore, there cannot be one programme for all people.
2. Principle of cultural difference.
Extension work is based on the cultural background of the people. Improvement can only begin from the level of the people where they are i.e., the extension worker has to know the level of the knowledge, skills of the people, methods & tools used by them, their customs, traditions, beliefs, values, etc. before starting the extension programme.
3. Principle of participation.
Extension helps people to help themselves. Good extension work is directed towards assisting rural families to work out their own problems rather than giving them ready-made solutions. Actual participation & experience of people in these programmes creates self-confidence in them & also they learn more by doing.
4. Principle of adaptability.
People differ from each other, one group differs from another group & conditions also differ from place to place. An extension programme should be flexible, so that necessary changes can be made whenever needed, to meet the varying conditions.
5. The grass roots principle of organisation. A group of rural people in local community should sponsor extension work. The programme should fit in with the local conditions. The aim of organising the local group is to demonstrate the value of the new practices or programmes so that more & more people would participate.
6. The leadership principle.
Extension work is based on the full utilisation of local leadership. The selection & training of local leaders to enable them to help to carry out extension work is essential to the success of the programme. People have more faith in local leaders as they can relate to him.
7. The whole-family principle.
Extension work will have a better chance of success if the extension workers have a whole-family approach instead of piecemeal approach or separate & unintegrated approach. Extension work is, therefore, for the whole family, i.e. for male, female & the youth.
8. Principle of co-operation.
Extension is a co-operative venture. It is a joint democratic enterprise in which rural people co-operate with their village, block & state officials to pursue a common cause.
9. Principle of satisfaction.
The end-product of the effort of extension teaching is the satisfaction that comes to the farmer, his wife or youngsters as the result of solving a problem, meeting a need, acquiring a new skill or some other changes in behaviour. Satisfaction is the key to success in extension work. "A satisfied customer is the best advertisement."
10. The evaluation principle.
Extension is based upon the methods of science, & it needs constant evaluation. The effectiveness of the work is measured in terms of the changes brought about in the knowledge, skill, attitude & adoption behaviour of the people but not merely in terms of achievement of physical targets.
Revitalizing agriculture extension
Public research and extension has played a major role in increasing production and productivity in agriculture and allied sectors in the past. The nature and scope of agricultural extension has undergone fundamental changes since then. Transferring research results on farmers’ fields is an important challenge facing us today. The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation has taken several initiatives to revitalize the agriculture extension system in the India.
These initiatives include:
Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms:
This scheme, launched during 2005-06, aims at making extension systems farmer driven and farmer accountable by way of new institutional arrangements for technology dissemination in the form of ATMA at the district level to operationalize the extension reforms. ATMA will have the active participation of farmers/farmer groups, NGOs, KVKs, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and other stakeholders operating at district level and below.
Multi-agency extension strategies:
Minimum 10 per cent of allocation on recurring activities at district level is to be used through non-governmental sector viz. NGOs, Farmers Organisations (FOs), PRIs, para-extension workers, agricultural entrepreneurs, input suppliers, the corporate sector, etc.
Mass Media Support to Agriculture Extension:
This is a central sector scheme launched in April 2005 in its current form. The existing infrastructure of DD and AIR is being utilised for the production and telecast of 30-minute agricultural programmes five or six days a week. Programmes are being produced by 36 narrowcasting centres (high/low power transmitters), 18 regional kendras and DD’s national channel, as well as 96 FM stations of AIR. Farmers’ feedback is being collected regularly through the Audience Research Units (ARUs) of DD and AIR. State/district-level monitoring committees are mandated to guide and monitor implementation of the scheme at the respective levels.
Agri-Clinic and Agri-Business Centres:
This is a central sector scheme which aims to promote the delivery of extension and other services in a self-employment mode. Graduates in agriculture and allied sectors are eligible under the scheme. The full cost of training in agri-business development is supported. NABARD monitors the credit support to agri-clinics through commercial banks.
The provision of a credit-linked back-ended subsidy at the rate of 25 per cent of the capital cost of the project funded through a bank loan, as well as full interest subsidy for the first two years on the bank credit, has recently been approved under the scheme. The subsidy would be 33.33 per cent in respect of candidates belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, women and other disadvantaged sections and those from North- Eastern and hill states.
Agriculture Summit 2006:
The Agriculture Summit 2006 on the theme ‘Reforms for Empowering the Farmer’, was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture jointly with FICCI at Vigyan Bhavan on 18–19 October 2006. It sought to accelerate and consolidate the process of change in the farm sector, while simultaneously creating awareness and better understanding of such a process. A large number of farmers from different states, representatives of private sector companies, Central and State Governments, scientists and others had participated in the Summit.
Manage:
This institute provides training support to senior and middle-level functionaries of the State Governments. It also provides necessary support to the states in the implementation of the extension reforms (ATMA) scheme.
The self-financing educational training courses viz. the two-year postgraduate programme in agri-business management, one-year postgraduate diploma in agri-warehousing and cold chain management, and one-year distance education diploma in agricultural extension services for input dealers are being continued during the year 2006-07 at MANAGE.
Model Training Courses:
These courses, on thrust areas of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, and fisheries etc., are supported by the DOE through SAUs, ICAR and other national institutes.
Research–Extension Interface:
A system of season-wise interface between the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, the ICAR and the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DAHD&F) was initiated during the pre-Kharif and pre-Rabi phases in January 1995.
Objectives of extension education
Before starting any programme, its objectives must be clearly stated, so that one knows where to go & what is to be achieved.
The fundamental objective of extension education is the development of the people.
Agricultural extension in our country is primarily concerned with the following main objectives:
(1) The dissemination of useful & practical information relating to agriculture, including improved seeds, fertilisers, implements, pesticides, improved cultural practices, dairying, poultry,nutrition,etc.;
(2)The practical application of useful knowledge to farm & home.
(3) To improve all aspects of the life of the rural people within the framework of the national, economic & social policies involving the population as a whole.
1 lakh. Her refusal led to a fight and she was beaten up, she was hit with a sharp edged weapon and lost vision in the eye.