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The Union and State governments have set up various agencies and agricultural universities to give farmers technical advice to improve crop yield and the overall farming process. However, nearly 40 per cent of agricultural households turn to progressive farmers and input dealers for such advice, rather than the government agencies and universities.
Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019 ( NSS 77th round), published in September last year, shows that 22.8 per cent of households took technical advice from progressive farmers between June and December 2018; this figure dipped to 20.3 per cent between January and June 2019. During the same periods, 19.9 per cent and 19.1 per cent of households, respectively, took advice from input dealers.
Over 90 per cent of the farmers who reached out to progressive farmers and input dealers had followed the advice.
Progressive farmers include farmers’ organisations, which may be commodity-specific, and registered or unregistered associations of growers.
KVKs and agri universities
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The Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK), set up by state agricultural universities, Indian Council of Agricultural Research stations, and agricultural research stations of State governments, work as information-cum-service centres that provide farmers booklets on new technologies.
However, barely one per cent of households accessed technical advice from KVKs, and even they were less likely to follow the suggestions given.
Data also shows that not even one per cent of households turn to agricultural colleges or universities for advice. Less than 2 per cent of agricultural households seek advice from Kisan Call Centres.
Extension workers and media
Extension agents or workers are the government employees in the departments of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, forestry, and soil conservation, or at agricultural universities or ICAR institutes, or the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA). A mere 3 per cent of farming households depend on these extension agents.
The share of households that turn to radio, television and other electronic media for technical advice is substantial (13.2 per cent in June to December 2018, and 8.2 per cent in January to June 2019). While smartphones increasingly make inroads into rural areas, they are least used for farming advice.
Communication gap
“There is a huge communication gap between farmers and government communication agencies. Agriculture universities and their research never reach farmers. Even as the government is spending huge amounts of money on extension and communication, farmers are struggling to get technical advice and information,” says Prashant Pawar, a farmer and entrepreneur.
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