Krishna M. Singh

Developing Market-Driven Extension System in India

India’s agricultural extension system is at a pivotal point in its development. During the past 50 years, the Indian extension system has evolved to reflect national priorities. At the outset, extension worked to bring about broad-based rural development. However, the food crises starting in the late 1950s refocused the efforts of extension on food security and increasing food production. The combination of Green Revolution technology in the late 1960s and Training and Visit (TV the second part describes the steps followed in creating a market-driven extension system. Finally, the paper summarizes the impact of this approach on the cropping systems, farm income and getting farmers organized in 28 pilot districts. Based on these results, the Government of India is expanding the coverage of the ATMA model and effectively transforming the extension system into one that is both decentralized and market-driven.

Effect of Migration on Agricultural Productivity and Women Empowerment in Bihar

Migration of population has been a recurrent phenomenon since the dawn of human history. Though its form has changed but remains as very dominant phenomenon in the global social system. In modern days also people migrate from underdeveloped areas to the developed ones in search of better employment and opportunity. There are far reaching consequences of migration of male labor force on their place of origin. Keeping in view the anticipated consequences of migration in place of origin, this study has been undertaken to examine the impact of male labor out-migration on rice productivity, livelihood and women empowerment on migrant household in Bihar.The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 400 households (200 migrants and 200 non-migrants) from eight villages in Madhubani and East Champaran districts of Bihar. Migrant households and matching sample of non-migrant households were selected to undertake a comparative analysis of differences in agricultural productivity parameters and women empowerment level. It was observed that the efficiencies of human labor and irrigation in rice production were higher than non-migrant households and statistically significant, indicating rational use of these two critical inputs on migrant households in Bihar. This observation leads to the conclusion that the migration might have helped in judicious use of human labor at native place due to migration of surplus labor force for gainful employment to destination of migration. Remittances have been utilized for meeting consumption needs, improved livelihood, better education to children and better health care facilities which help in overall improvement in livelihood on migrant households in Bihar. Migrant households also preferred to save money to meet their requirements in unforeseen situations. Hence, migration can be said to be one of risk-coping strategies for the weaker sections of the society and helped developing the saving habits among migrant households. The allocation of remittances on agricultural inputs could have increased if proper infrastructure facilities were present in rural areas for faster dissemination of modern agricultural technology for increasing agricultural production. Level of women employment has increased on migrant households, particularly on poor households; however, work load of women has also increased. It has been observed that role of women of migrant households changed from unpaid female labor to managers of the household, however, they face problem in management of fund, technology and input-output marketing. There is a need to launch a programme for their training to improve their knowledge in financial, technological and marketing management.

Extension Reforms and Innovations in Technology Dissemination- ATMA Model in India

Decentralizing a large, complex national extension system is not easy, but the Government of India appears to be moving toward this long-term goal. Although ATMA model has been successful in addressing many of the extension problems and has shown exceptional impacts during the NATP phase but it seems to be going the T&V way. It is therefore, imperative that in the country like India, which has a vast territory and extremely diverse socio-economic and agro-climatic situations, ATMA model should be introduced and implemented with utter cautious. Different ATMAs should be empowered with sufficient administrative, financial and implementation flexibilities to address the basic problems in their operational jurisdiction. The use of FIGs to mobilize men, women, and young people around common interests, such as the production of flowers, fruits, vegetables, milk, fish and other high-value products, has energized both the farming community and the extension staff. Many FIGs have joined to form farmer associations or federations that can gain economies of scale in serving larger markets. Developing strong farmer organizations is a positive and necessary step in providing cost-effective extension services that will increase the income and employment of small-scale and marginal farm households. The block-level FACs are operational in most project blocks, but rural women and other disadvantaged groups still need more representation. Internal conflicts continue between priorities set by the ATMA Governing Boards and the heads of the line departments in allocating central government resources. The BTTs are still learning how to work together in utilizing a farming systems approach with multiple funding sources. There is no doubt that something that resembles a 21st centre vision of agricultural extension is needed and this means substantial reforms in public policies and services. Adding urgency to this is the ever-increasing complexity of agricultural sector development and the sector’s acknowledged role in poverty reduction. Of course, it is all too easy to criticise new approaches, such as ATMA. It is also important to realise that in a country like India and, indeed, elsewhere, administrative traditions and realities place limits on what is possible and politically feasible even as a pilot. But the challenge remains of how to break out of this best practice to best fit impasse.

Socio-Economic Determinants of Rural Poverty: An Empirical Exploration of Jharkhand State, India

Poverty has become a general phenomenon that is perceived to mean different things to different people at different times and places. India was the first country in the world to define poverty as the total per capita expenditure of the lowest expenditure class, which is required to ascertain a minimum intake of 2400 kcal/day in rural and 2100 kcal/day in urban areas. However, there exists a substantial interstate and urban rural differential in the cost of goods and services. One in three Indians lives below the poverty line according to the Tendulkar Committee report which used a measurement of goods and services, rather than calorie intake, to calculate poverty. The World Bank estimates that 80% of Indias population lives on less than

Constraints of Rainfed Rice Production in India: An Overview

2 a day which means a higher proportion of its population lives on less than

Decision Process Innovations, Constraints and Strategies for Adoption of Conservation Agriculture

2 per day as compared with sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank identified Jharkhand as one of the most poverty-stricken state in the country with a sharp contrast between rural and urban poverty. Jharkhand is a tribal state which has high incidence of poverty. A majority of OBC, SC and ST population fall under BPL category due to a number of agro-climatic and socio-economic factors. BPL households often live misery and face poor quality of life as they lack the basic amenities. Poverty in the region leads to migration and both migration within the state and out-side state is common. Youth prefers to migrate out-side state but with increase in age within state migration picks up. A good proportion of rural households has connection with the commercial banks, cooperative banks and other financial institutions. The commercial banks have better reach among the rural households and they can be instrumental in poverty alleviation programmes. The important causes/determinants of rural poverty in Jharkhand can be summarized as; lack of education, poor land base with small and marginal land holdings. Lack of employment opportunities at local level and poor infrastructure compounds the problem. In addition to these factors, poor quality of natural resources like; acidic, laterite and red soils, water scarcity leading to mono-cropping in the state have also contributed towards rural poverty. With changing climatic scenario, and undulating terrain lacking capacity to retain rain water forces the farmers to take a single crop in the state, thereby reducing the opportunities to a better livelihood. Information and communication technologies can play a pivotal role as it the common means of seeking information for improved farming practices. People are using modern technologies like mobile phone for the linkage between people and institution for use of agriculture-related technology, knowledge, skills and information. Hence, the technological interventions can integrates farmers, agricultural scientists, extension workers, input dealers and the private sectors to harness the knowledge and information from various sources for better farming and improved livelihoods. There is a considerable potential for establishment of forest based processing units in state, can provide employment to local people and will reduce the migration phenomenon thereby enhancing the livelihoods of rural poor.

Constraints of Rainfed Rice Production in Eastern India: An Overview

Rice is one of the most important crops in eastern India and it will continue to enjoy its leading position so long as it remains the staple food of almost entire of the population of this region. Under the influence of increasing population pressure the demand for rice is expected to rise persistently in coming years. As the land frontier has already been exhausted the future source of growth in this region lies in raising the productivity of rice crop. Even to sustain in food grains production, it is important to give due attention to the eastern India in general and to accord high priority to the constraints of rice production in this region in particular. This can be achieved if rice research helps to reduce production losses due to various biotic and abiotic constraints in rainfed rice ecosystems. Since elimination or partial solution of these constraints would have a major impact on rice production in eastern India because the yield gaps are very high, the major constraints to rice production in eastern India require more objectivity and concerted efforts while addressing them. The major rice production constraints and priority research problem areas of rainfed rice production in eastern India are drought and submergence, bacterial blight, leaf blast, weeds, brown plant hopper and poor soil fertility. Hence, it would be logical to prioritize rice research on the basis of prevailing constraints under rainfed areas of eastern India. Besides, low input use, inappropriate plant spacing, late sowing and selection of wrong cultivars are some of the other technical constraints, which can be effectively reduced through the diffusion of relevant technologies among ultimate users or farmers. It requires further strengthening of linkages between ‘Research & Extension’ that facilitates feed-backs and disseminates technical information.

Dimensions of Poverty in Bihar

Conservation agriculture innovations offer a new paradigm for agricultural research and development. While examining the total innovation-decision process, one can see how the farmers observe innovations (knowledge), relate to images and message within technological innovations (persuasion), formulate a want for item (decision), actively pursue the desire for item (implementation), and ultimately decide whether future uses of technologies / are desirable (confirmation). The adoption of Conservation Agriculture innovations can be facilitated by locally identified and specially trained group leaders or by promoters. For the success, farmers will need to be in forefront for helping in identification, development and deployment of Conservation Agriculture innovations. Developing and promoting RCT systems is highly demanding in terms of knowledge base. This will call for greatly enhanced capacity of scientists to address the prevailing problems / constraints from a systems perspective and be able to work in close partnerships with farmers and other stakeholders. There is also need to strengthen the knowledge and information-sharing mechanisms. Improvement in coordination amongst various stakeholders like research, extension service, farmers, service providers, agricultural machinery, and manufacturers for transfer of technologies will play a pivotal role in accelerating the Conservation Agriculture.

Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Natural Resource Management

Rice is one of the most important crops in eastern India and it will continue to enjoy its leading position so long as it remains the staple food of almost entire of the population of this region. Under the influence of increasing population pressure the demand for rice is expected to rise persistently in coming years. As the land frontier has already been exhausted the future source of growth in this region lies in raising the productivity of rice crop. Even to sustain in food grains production, it is important to give due attention to the eastern India in general and to accord high priority to the constraints of rice production in this region in particular. This can be achieved if rice research helps to reduce production losses due to various biotic and abiotic constraints in rainfed rice ecosystems. Since elimination or partial solution of these constraints would have a major impact on rice production in eastern India because the yield gaps are very high, the major constraints to rice production in eastern India require more objectivity and concerted efforts while addressing them. The major rice production constraints and priority research problem areas of rainfed rice production in eastern India are drought and submergence, bacterial blight, leaf blast, weeds, brown plant hopper and poor soil fertility. Hence, it would be logical to prioritize rice research on the basis of prevailing constraints under rainfed areas of eastern India. Besides, low input use, inappropriate plant spacing, late sowing and selection of wrong cultivars are some of the other technical constraints, which can be effectively reduced through the diffusion of relevant technologies among ultimate users or farmers. It requires further strengthening of linkages between ‘Research & Extension’ that facilitates feed-backs and disseminates technical information.

Pluralistic Agricultural Extension System in India: Innovations and Constraints

The removal of nation wide poverty has consistently been one of the main objectives of Indian policy. The Indian modern history contains several examples of discussion on this topic as far back as 1901. India embarked on a series of Five Year Plans, each containing some kind of poverty eradication or social justice component. The First Five Year Plan was launched in 1951, since then, there have been ten additional plans, the most recent being the Eleventh Five Year Plan launched in 2007. The consideration of economic policies vis-a-vis their impact on the poor highlights a continued emphasis by Indian policy makers on poverty elimination. However, there have been serious shortcomings of government efforts in alleviating poverty during the past few decades. Even after sixty five years of independence, one - fourth of India’s Population still lives in poverty. Bihar is amongst the poorest states in India, with poverty incidence of 42.6 per cent. Per capita net domestic product has been estimated to be