Chapter 3 - Agricultural extension reforms: lessons from India

Abstract

The Indian agriculture is at the crossroads today. Its strength to alleviate poverty and hunger is well recognized; yet, the agricultural growth rate in the past 20 years has been visibly less impressive and the productivity in the agricultural sector continues to be low compared to the international standards. While public investments in agricultural research and extension have increased in recent years, their impact on changing smallholder farmers’ livelihoods remains debatable. Even when these investments may address the relevant problems of farmers, the benefits of improved technologies will not fully accrue to them. The yield gap between research stations and farmers’ field remains high. For translating research results into tangible gains by the farmers, well-functioning agricultural extension, and advisory services are required. This chapter examines the current state of agricultural extension reforms and their linkages to the agricultural research system reforms in India and identifies the policy options and strategic priorities for making it relevant, responsive, and efficient. It explores how the NARS responded with its own set of reforms that were sought to increase its relevance and its linkages to the extension system reforms. It also provides an assessment of the organizational performance of the major public-sector policy reforms in the agricultural extension—the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) model—using the case studies of seven districts in four Indian states (Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu), located in different agro-ecological zones of the country.