1. Extension Strategy for
Agricultural Sector in Bihar
Dr.K.M.Singh, Director,
State Agricultural Management & Extension Training
Institute, Bihar
Workshop on Extension Reforms in Bihar: Challenges and Strategies
Patna, India
23.10.2007
2. Introduction
• Agricultural extension system is at a pivotal point in its
evolution.
• Investments in agricultural research and extension
have served the state well in achieving food self-
sufficiency.
• Hunger and malnutrition are persistent problems, and
rural economic growth seems stalled at a lower level in the
state as the rest of the economy moves forward at a
quicker pace.
• This is the backdrop in considering the future direction for
agricultural extension in Bihar.
3. What is agricultural extension?
Extension conventionally comprises several of the following
functions:
• Diagnosis of farmers' socio-economic and agro-ecological
conditions and of their opportunities and constraints.
• Message transfer through direct contact between extension
agent and farmer or indirect contact involving intermediaries;
through training courses and mass media.
• Feedback to researchers on farmers' reactions to new
technology to refine future research agenda.
• Development of linkages with researchers, government
planners, NGOs, farmers' organisations, banks, and the private
commercial sector.
• Monitoring of the extension system, and
• Evaluation of its performance at farm level.
4. Public sector Extension
• The philosophy of 'government must provide' should
be replaced by one of seeking to:
– Withdraw from areas which can be serviced by commercial
agencies;
– Pursue cost-sharing by having local organisations provide
grassroots extension agents with whom the public sector can
link;
– Complement the wide range of agencies who work with
small farmers either directly, or indirectly
– Explore the scope for supporting input-supply
organisations to provide more technical advice.
5. Public sector Extension
• Extension sector reform must eventually address the
complex problems of reward systems and accountability,
creating an environment in which feedback, and
participatory approaches to the design and testing of
technology, will be more effective.
Two provisions merit emphasis:
1. There will remain a need to offer farmers particular technical
knowledge and training in specific techniques which lie outside
the purview of their own indigenous knowledge.
2. Government's comparative advantage lies less in implementing
participatory approaches directly than in supporting the efforts
of locally-based organisations to do so, and in improving the
facilitating environment, not only by getting prices right, but also
by fiscal and administrative decentralization and the
development of social and physical infrastructure.
6. Review of Past Experiences in Extension
•1871: Establishment of Department of Agriculture at
Central level entrusted with collection of statistics and
revenue
•1901: Famine Commission by British government-
Recommended appointment of agricultural experts.
•1919: Transfer of all rural departments to the
provinces- decentralization
•1928: Royal Commission on Agriculture-transfer of
new research findings to farmers through
demonstrations.
7. Review of Past Experiences in Extension
• 1947: Grow More Food (GMF) campaign started but was
unsuccessful for want of a formal extension organization.
• 1948: Multi-purpose, Village Extension Worker. Etawah, UP
as a pilot project, was the first example of peoples’ participation
in rural development.
• 1952: Experiences of pilot project was precursor of the
Community Development Programme (CDP) initiated by the
Planning Commission.
– CDP was conceived as the main instrument of rural transformation
in the country.
– Block was taken as the basic unit of development and
administration.
– A team of Subject Matter Extension Officers posted to undertake
extension work in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry,
cooperation, rural industries, social education, etc
8. Review of Past Experiences in Extension
• 1953: CDP scaled up as the National Extension
Service (NES) to provide widespread extension
coverage and with more people’s participation.
– This became the permanent extension setup for the country
and still prevalent in Bihar.
– late 1950s: large-scale food deficits, thus compelling the
Government to abandon its comprehensive rural
development strategy and to concentrate solely on
increasing food production.
• 1959: Intensive Agricultural District Program
(IADP) or, as more commonly known, the Package
Program on suggestion of the Ford Foundation with
intensive efforts to increase food production by using a
combination of technical know-how and concentrating
manpower and resources in selected areas.
9. Review of Past Experiences in Extension
• 1964-65: High Yielding Area Programme
• 1966-67: High Yielding Varieties Programme
• 1966-67: The Farmers Training and Education Programme
• 1969-70: Small and Marginal Farmers Development
Programme
• 1974-75: Training-and-Visit (T&V) Extension system on a pilot
basis in the Chambal Command area of Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh.
– It was an important milestone in the history of extension.
– It presumed that there was enough technology available
awaiting diffusion to and adoption by farmers.
– the project was further extended to 17 other states in 1978–79.
– The CDP’s multi-purpose approach was gradually replaced by a
single-line of command extension system that focused on the
major food grains toward the national goal of food security.
10. Review of Past Experiences in Extension
– The T&V Extension System was effective in disseminating
Green Revolution technology, especially in the high
potential, irrigated areas.
– It had little effect on the productivity and incomes among
farmers in rainfed areas.
– T&V expanded the number of VEWs in the DOA, resulting
in financial problems for state government.
– Most state government funds now go for salaries,
– Most extension activities are dominated by top-down, central
government programs.
11. Review of Past Experiences in Extension
– This resulted in extension being commodity and supply-
driven, in contrast with a focus on diversification and farm
income (i.e., being more market-driven).
– Green Revolution technology increased the production of
food staples; therefore, commodity prices fell during the
1980–90s resulting in declining farm income.
– The emphasis on food security during the 1960–80s resulted
in an extension system that was limited to the staple food
crops.
– There was no integration of programs across departments
(i.e., lack of a “farming systems” approach)
– By the 1990s, the different line departments primarily
focused on the distribution of centrally funded subsidies and
inputs.
– Finally, with the exception of donor sponsored schemes,
extension gave very little attention to organizing farmers
into groups and, thereby, empowering farmers.
12. Review of Past Experiences in Extension
• 1998-99: The central institutional innovation that emerged to
explore new approaches to extension resulting in new,
decentralized extension approach, which focuses more on
diversification and increasing farm income and rural
employment. these system problems was the Agricultural
Technology Management Agency or “ATMA” model that
was introduced at the district level to:
– Integrate extension programs across the line departments (i.e.,
more of a farming systems approach),
– Link research and extension activities within each district, and
– Decentralize decision-making through “bottom-up” planning
that would involve farmers and the private sector in planning and
implementing extension programs.
– This model was pilot-tested through the Innovations for
Technology Dissemination (ITD) component of a World Bank-
funded, National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) that
started in 1998 and concluded in June 2005.
13. Review of Past Experiences in Extension
• Experiences of ATMA model, brought out certain
programmatic constraints too. They included:
– Need for further improvements in inter-department co-
ordination
– Need for formation of farmers federations and their pro-
active role;
– Fully operationalizing Block level extension machinery;
– Greater convergence of line department programmes at all
levels;
– Need for promoting public-private partnerships and
strengthening marketing linkages; (
– Professional HRD approach in management of State
Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institutes
(SAMETIs.
14. Objectives of Bihar’s New Agricultural Policy
– Food security
– Balanced nutrition
– Raising income level
– Agro-sustainability
Where is Bihar today:
– Bihar has achieved self sufficiency in food grain production.
– Targeted rate of growth @ 5% (compounded 63% in ten
years) against 2% growth in population.
– Production shall be raised from 119 lakh MT to 195 lakh
MT in ten years.
– Major contribution shall come from Rice, Maize & Pulses.
15. Policy Issues that need to be Addressed
• Initiatives have to be taken up for convergence between the
programmes and schemes concerning technology dissemination,
and convergence between Agriculture, A.H., Dairy, Sugarcane,
Fisheries and Cooperative departments, needed urgently.
• Greater focus on organizing Farmers Organizations (FOs’) and
federating them. Linking the FO to markets including retail outlets.
• Promoting Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in different extension
activities and operation of field programmes.
• Strengthening training institutions at regional level in terms of
infrastructure, professional manpower and programme management.
• Capacity building of all the stakeholders.
• Package of support to women farmers.
• Support for demonstration of agro-processing technologies /
enterprise activities.
• Promoting area specific agripreneurship.
• Internal Monitoring & Evaluation in Department of Agriculture.
16. Other Challenges before Extension System
• To respond to food and nutritional security, poverty
alleviation, diversifying market demand, export
opportunities and environment
• Effective linkages between production and agro-
processing for value added products
• Sustainable management of natural resources – land
and water
• Public funding in extension is under considerable strain
17. Extension configurations for the future
• Farmers obtain technical information from a wide range of
sources.
• The boundary between public extension services and farmers
is shifting.
• Farmers are reaching higher into the technology generation
and transfer system in order to 'draw down' suitable
technologies.
• View that 'government must provide' through blanket
extension services reaching directly to farmers is outmoded.
• Most efficient extension services of the future should focus on
spheres (geographical; thematic) inadequately serviced by
the private commercial sector.
• Extension of future should aim to service in different ways
and at different levels through multiple intermediate
organisations who work with or for the farmers.
• Institutional pluralism and farmer participation are
important facilitating conditions for effective extension.
18. Extension Scenario in Bihar
– Almost all the extension models introduced so far still
exist in the state, with little accountability, focus and work.
– The job of so called extension functionaries is also not
clearly defined.
– The ever increasing gap in productivity, rising input
costs and improving the quality of technology
dissemination are major areas of concern which can
only be addressed if there is a coordinated effort from all
concerned
– Poor utilization of existing manpower which is overly
bureaucratic in functioning as the Department lacks
sufficient trained man power and drive to do field level
extension work.
– Poor knowledge base and little efforts done to upgrade it.
– Maximum time devoted in non-agricultural works as
assigned to them from time to time by their controlling
officers.
19. Extension Scenario in Bihar
– Many posts are vacant mostly at panchayat/ village level as
the VEWs of the department have been assigned to work as
Panchayat Secretaries, leading to severe shortfall of
trained manpower to transfer technology at village level.
– Too many types of posts exist at state, division, district,
and block levels, leading to confusion in role clarity and
often the passing of buck is the name of the game.
– Poor linkage between the research and extension accept
in old ATMA districts.
– Budgetary provisions insufficient to meet ever increasing
establishment cost.
– The focus of the department presently limited to
managing inputs like fertilizer, seeds,
– Leaving little time for actual field work.
20. Extension Scenario in Bihar
– The need for Change Agents / Private Extension Agents
is badly being felt with more participation from private
sector.
– So far as private extension workers like NGOs, Private
agencies etc are concerned there are almost no funds,
man power or system of private sector participation
for extension work in the district at present.
– The job being done by ATMA's on a very small scale
and the coverage and extent of penetration of ATMA's
limited due to lack of resource ( funds), manpower and
necessary administrative support to them
– The response time of the department to new programs is
poor leading to poor performance and a negative impact
about states ability to take up innovative schemes in
right earnest e.g. NHM, ATMA and other centrally
sponsored schemes like ISOPOM, Macro Management
mode etc..
21. Need to Reorganize the Extension Setup
• There should be judicious distribution of work among the
officers and staff of the department.
• The roles may need to be redefined in light of the changes
taking place at the state, country and international level with the
liberalization in place.
• There are too many central, centrally sponsored, state level
and state sponsored schemes and programmes in the
department, they must be converged to achieve better results.
• Schemes to be reorganized, refocused and the job to
implement them has to be reassigned to competent officers
to get better results than in past.
• The number of schemes has to be brought down, by
merging different schemes, pooling staff and resources and
putting right people at right place to implement them.
22. Reorganization -At Village Level
• Village to be the starting point of the extension
machinery but presence of technical staff at village level
non existent and recruiting fresh workforce a ticklish issue.
• The VEWs work may be outsourced to Private Extension
Agents (PEAs), drawn from the pool of agricultural
graduates, Agriclinic and Agribusiness trained graduates
or progressive farmers, having adequate training in improved
agro technology.
• PEAs hired on contract for a fixed period and may be
allowed performance linked incentives from time to time.
• It would relieve the state from permanent financial
burden, as the department is already spending much of its
budget on salaries and other non-plan expenditure.
• The PEAs may be re-engaged, after an independent
agency has reviewed their performance, and found it
satisfactory.
23. Reorganization -At Block Level
• Block should be a primary unit for public extension activities.
• BAO to be made accountable for extension work in his
block, having independent office.
• BAO should have no role in other activities of the block
accept extension work, and freed from the control of the
BDO, so that they focus full time for agricultural extension work.
• Regular capacity building exercises to be mandatory for
BAOs, and linked with rewards and incentives.
• Accountability to be fixed in case of recurrent failures in
executing various departmental programmes.
• BAO to report directly to the DAO, through SAO.
• Department to pay salaries directly to the BAO.
24. Reorganization -At District Level
• At present there are too many staff at the district for too many
jobs, which needs to be rationalized.
• The District Agriculture Office should be strengthened to
make it the command and control center of agricultural
extension activities in the district.
• DAO’s office should be accountable for its staff and their
activities to the government through the District Magistrate and
should not be involved in any work other than of his own
department.
• Any communication or assignment related to agricultural
development must be routed through the DAO and all the
staff of the department in that particular district should report
to DAO alone.
• A sufficiently senior officer of Senior Class I grade should
only be posted as a DAO.
25. Reorganization -At District Level
• DAO to be assisted by a number of Additional DAOs of
Class I grade, to look after areas, like Extension Services,
Horticultural development, Soil conservation, Input
management, Plant protection, Quality control, Sugarcane
etc.
• Departments of Sugarcane and Horticulture may be merged
with the department of agriculture to bring synergy and to bring
a holistic development of the agricultural sector.
• In the districts having horticulture or sugarcane as major
enterprise, the officers of these departments may be posted
as DAO.
• ATMA or ATMA like institutions may be established to bring
convergence between other line departments, promoting farmer
groups and developing linkages with private sector and other
stake holder.
26. Reorganization -At State Level
• The reorganization of the Department of Agriculture may be
done keeping the following point in mind:
– The reorganized setup should be permanent, so that adequate
expertise could be developed among the officers of the
department.
– The chains of command clearly defined to not only get desired
results but also to fix accountability for non performance.
– The focus to shift from Supply driven to Demand driven by
promoting technologies/ enterprises which are market-led and
– Strengthen the Research-Extension-Farmer-Market linkage in
the state.
– The state level BAMETI be located in the state capital with a
full time director and adequate financial and faculty support
to undertake capacity building job it right earnest.
