Dr. Banarsi Lal and Dr. Pawan Sharma
Every year 11th of July is celebrated as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) foundation day in India. The main purpose of the day is to create awareness on agricultural research, education and technologies developed by the ICAR and its institutions. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. It was established on 16 July, 1929 and initially it was also known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research. The headquarter of the ICAR is at New Delhi.
The ICAR is the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture and allied sectors in India. The ICAR is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world with 101 ICAR institutes and 71 agricultural universities spread across the country. The ICAR has played a pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequent agricultural developments across the nation. From 1950, the ICAR has enabled the country to increase the production of food grains by 5 times, horticultural crops by 9.5 times, fish by 12.5 times, milk 7.8 times and eggs 39 times through its innovative research and technology and thus making a visible impact on the national food and nutritional security. It has also played a pivotal role in promoting excellence in higher education in agriculture.
Agriculture continues to be the major occupation and way of life for more than half of the Indian population. The agriculture is an engine of growth and development and plays a significant role in the national economy. There is a matter great concern about imbalance of total crops production, the urban-rural divide, national food security, agricultural marketing and economic access to food. The agricultural strategy in the country seeks to bridge the product and production gaps. The policy envisages promotion of sustainable agriculture through a regionally differentiated approach, improvement in the input use efficiency, development and transfer of innovative technologies. The focus should be given on agricultural technologies generation and their application in different agro-ecological or social circumstances. Agricultural technologies are the tools for enhancing the contribution in national GDP.
Jammu and Kashmir is a mountainous state in which about 30 per cent of the area is under cultivation. Agriculture is the mainstay of the people as it provides employment to about 75 per cent of the workforce. Judicious use of land is necessary to mitigate the growing needs of the increasing population by keeping the sustainability of soils, ecosystems and environment in view. In order to mitigate the food security and nutritional needs of the increasing population there is dire need to increase the crops production. The government has set the target to double the farmers’ income by 2022.
The Krishi Vigyan Kendra scheme was initiated by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farm Science Centre) is a district level innovative institute mainly concerned with transfer of technological knowledge through On Farm Testing (OFT), Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs), training and advisory services at grass root level. KVK are designed and devoted for imparting need based, skill oriented short and long term vocational training courses. Krishi Vigyan Kendras are the leading institutions for the rural human resources development. In 1973 The ICAR constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta which further gave the recommendations for the establishment of KVKs in the country. The first Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) was established in 1974 at Pudducherry under Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore by the ICAR. Presently, the ICAR has established 673 KVKs across the nation. In Jammu and Kashmir ICAR has established 20 KVKs under two agricultural universities SKUAST-Jammu, SKUAST-Kashmir and one KVK under Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture (CITH). These KVKs are mitigating the scientific agricultural needs of the farmers of Jammu and Kashmir and are helping in human resource development in agriculture and allied sectors. These KVKs are playing a significant role in rural transformation in J&K. These KVKs are immensely playing a major role in updating the farmers about the latest agricultural technologies. The KVKs have proved their worth to mitigate the agricultural needs of the farmers. The targeted 4% growth in agriculture can be achieved with the support of interventions by the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) located across the nation.
The KVKs empower the farmers through need-based farmers/ vocational trainings and helpful to change the socio-economic conditions of the farmers. Throughout the state the Krishi Vigyan Kendras(KVKs) conduct on- farm testing, identify the location specificity of agricultural technologies, lay out front line demonstrations to establish the production potential of various agricultural technologies at farmers fields, impart need-based and skill oriented training to the practicing farmers, in-service extensional personnel , to those who are interested for self-employment to update their knowledge and skills in new agricultural technologies, create awareness on improved technologies through various extension methods, produce and provide improved quality seeds, planting material, livestock, poultry, fisheries etc. to the farmers and work as agricultural knowledge centers for the public, private and voluntary organizations. These Kendras cater the needs of those who wish to be self-employed or those who are already employed. There is no particular syllabus for the Krishi Vigyan Kendras. The programmes and syllabus(action plan) of the Krishi Vigyan Kendras are tailored according to the needs, resources and potential for the agricultural growth in a particular area and is finally decided by involving the districts heads, Panches/Sarpanches and also progressive farmers of the district.
The prime objective of the Krishi Vigyan Kendras is agricultural growth. Priority is given to the weaker sections of the society like small, marginal, tribal farmers, agricultural labourers, drought prone areas, hilly areas, forest areas, coastal areas etc. and work-experience is the main method of imparting training. The first objective of the ICAR is to cover the entire country with one Krishi Vigyan Kendra in each district and priority is given to the backward areas. As there is a great demand for the improved agricultural technologies by the farmers so there is great demand of Krishi Vigyan Kendras throughout the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Farmers need not only the latest knowledge of the technologies but also more skills in the agricultural operations for adoption. Impact of various extension activities is assessed and proper documentation of the programmes is done. The KVKs also disseminate the latest agricultural information even to the farmers through print and electronic media. The KVKs also co-ordinate the various government and non-government organisations for the human resource development. The KVKs are also produces quality seeds, planting materials, livestock material and bio-products and provide them to the farmers. Through impact assessment it has been observed that with the efforts of KVKs farmers are adopting the new agricultural technologies and diverting themselves from subsistence farming to commercial farming.
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