Rakesh Sharma
Agricultural Extension is the back bone of agricultural sector. A dynamic and strong extension network is necessary for the research to be taken to the farmers fields. Since Independence the country has been experimenting with a number of extension approaches. After independence we followed the block model; which a year later was transformed to National Extension Service. Systematic extension efforts in India however started with the introduction of Training and Visit System in 1974. The Training and Visit system was the brainchild of Israeli Agricultural Engineer Daniel Benor. Although the T&V system worked successfully in the initial years, but it suffered from some inherent defects like top down approach, being supply driven and not based on the felt needs of the farming community. Indian extension system is laden with rich experiences, but unfortunately a stable and sustainable system is yet to see the light of the day. No doubt, public extension is the only agency at the ground level that has and should continue to play an important role in providing knowledge support to farmers and other intermediaries who are supporting farmers. But public extension services are now severely constrained by the lack of adequate budgetary allocation from respective governments, lack of extension personnel, poor motivated staff due to lack of incentives and recognition, lack of accountability among the staff, poor communication capacity and top down approach that does not takes into consideration the felt needs of the farming community. Overall Public extension services have consistently failed to come up to the expectations in meeting the demand driven needs of the farming community.
This book is a nice attempt to document the structural changes over the years in the agricultural extension. Chapter 1 of the book summarizes the historical development and origin of agricultural extension and advisory systems worldwide. It describes the pre as well as post independence efforts starting from the Gurgoan and Sevagram attempts of the thirties to Community development programmes and the National Extension services. It outlines and describes the major conventional linear technology transfer model that dominated extension systems in the twentieth century and the drawbacks of such linear technology transfer models. Chapter 2 dwells on the participatory approaches, the emergence of FSR, FSR/E, Rapid Rural Appraisal, Participatory Rural Appraisal, CORMA and the present day ATMA. Chapter 3 describes at length the change of the agricultural extension from once being production led to farmer and market led now. Chapter 4 carries the debate on Privatization, the strengths and weaknesses of privatization of extension services, various forms of privatization, the privatization of agricultural extension services in different countries including vouchers, outsourcing, contracting etc.
It also focuses on country specific forms of privatization. Information and communication technologies have emerged as a useful alternative in bridging the communication gap between the research institutions and the farmers. Chapter 5 discusses the role of ICT in agricultural development. It documents some of the success stories of the use of ICT in agriculture. There is a growing demand that agricultural extension needs to be strengthened so as to increase its effectiveness. Chapter 6 describes how the extension architecture can be strengthened.
It elaborates on how the input dealers, the agricultural professionals and the para extension workers are providing extension services and how their role can be further strengthened in the extension system. Chapter 7 describes the various innovative techniques that need to be replicated in other regions. Social capital has been one of the area which has not been paid due attention. Chapter 8 has tried to make some lost ground by focusing on building social capital.
The role of farmer associations and Nongovernmental organizations in different countries has been highlighted in this chapter. Women have always been an indispensible part of Indian agriculture, but they have little access to extension services. Chapter 9 has exclusively dealt with feminization of extension services. Climate Change is of grave concern for all.
Extension strategies for climate change are presented in Chapter 10. Chapter 11 has been exclusively kept for what should be the future of the agricultural extension. The eleven chapters of the book highlight the drawbacks of the conventional extension system, changing structure of agricultural extension including the privatization of agricultural extension services, strengthening the extension architecture, feminization of agricultural extension services, role of ICT in agricultural development, extension strategies for tackling climate change and the future of the agricultural extension.
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