Major challenges to doubling ryots income

The importance of agricultural extension in providing appropriate information to farmers is paramount for increasing their income in commercialiased agricultural sector.

Agricultural extension system in India is almost non-functional; the staff is burdened with distribution of subsidies and other non-extension work – the chief objective of extension officers is increasing production through technology transfer.

The national objective of doubling farmers’ income by 2020 cannot be achieved without the successful delivery of agricultural extension. One of the serious concerns is low ratio of extension workers to farmers and varies widely across the country (1:300 in Kerala, 1:2,000 in Rajasthan).

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Highlights:

• Agricultural extension system in India is almost non-functional
• Burdened with reaching subsidies and other non-extension work
• Lack of autonomy hobbles work by district, block level officers
• At least 80% of the time allocated to extension activities
• Extension services need to focus on allied activities like dairy and goat farming

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After liberalization, since 1990s, agricultural extension is constrained by financial, infrastructural, and human resource limitations. There is an immediate need to increase focus on agricultural extension. Information flow of agricultural extension activities is given in a chart (see fig.)

Need for right information to farmers
Several agricultural development programmes introduced by the BJP government like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and E-National Agricultural Market (eNAM) are of knowledge-intensive.

Profitability of the farming depends on the right information in several aspects such as: what is the right crop choice, right seed; how much fertiliser is required; from where to purchase; how and where to sell, and what are the current market prices etc.

Public investment in extension
Agricultural extension witnessed a qualitative change in the 1990s, with a new focus on privatisation and the withdrawal of support to the state-led extension system. Other non-governmental agencies stepped in to fill the vacuum, but only to a limited extent.

The recent Situation Assessment Survey of Farmers indicated that farmers do not receive adequate guidance from public agricultural extension system. There is considerable dependence on other progressive farmers, radio, private commercial agents.

Strengthening agricultural extension
In this scenario, restructuring and strengthening of agricultural extension machinery has to be a judicious mix of extensive physical outreach of personnel, enhancement in quality through regular training, new methods of information dissemination, public-private partnership, use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) , Mass Media and convergence of extension-related efforts under various schemes and programmes at state and central levels.

There are a number of institutional innovations like Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) in the recent past.

However, still the extension system has not evolved to take up the challenges of ever changing agriculture.

Some suggestions to improve agricultural extension system:

Agricultural extension policy
We have National Policy on Farmers-2007. Within agriculture, we have sub-sector policies like National Seed Policy-2002, but we don’t have a national extension policy for broader direction to different state governments. There is a need for national agricultural extension policy guidelines giving broader directions to states.

ICT-tools
Now every farmer is having mobile. Farmer-friendly mobile applications need to be adopted for information dissemination by the agricultural extension workers from state-district-block-village and ultimately to the farmers.

Public-private partnerships
Public private partnerships need to be encouraged through promotion of rural advisory services especially in hi-tech agriculture etc., where private sector is strong for the benefit of the farmers.

Small farmers and backward areas
In the scenario of expanding private sector extension and declining funds for the public sector, there is a danger of concentrating on large farmers with prosperous areas, leading to neglect of small, marginal and women farmers and rainfed agriculture. Hence more focus should be on neglected people and areas for inclusive agriculture.

Agriculture and allied activities
Now, farmers are increasingly dependent on livestock like dairy and goat farming. They contribute to major share of incomes. Extension services need to focus on these emerging sectors to increase farmer’s incomes.

Autonomy to local extension officers
Lack of autonomy of district and block level officers is an important hindrance for proactive agricultural officers to contribute to society. Good governance and operational autonomy will incentivise the best extension workers.

Most of the times, block-level agricultural officers are burdened with distribution of subsidies and other non-extension work. This needs to be rectified with at least 80% of the time allocated to extension activities.

All these measures need innovations backed by sufficient budget – at least 5% of the agricultural GDP – so that the objective of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022 will be achieved.

By: A Amarender Reddy
(Writer is Director, National institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad)