THE MILLION FARMERS SCHOOL DIGITAL EXTENSION INITIATIVE NATIONAL

THE MILLION FARMERS’ SCHOOL & DIGITAL EXTENSION INITIATIVE NATIONAL RABI WORKSHOP NEW DELHI, 20 TH SEPTEMBER’ 19 AMIT MOHAN PRASAD PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, AGRICULTURE GOVT. OF UTTAR PRADESH

The Idea �To double the farmers’ income, three things are needed �Reduce the cost of cultivation, increase the production and obtain the rice price for the farmers �Technology has a crucial role to play in all the three �Extension is the main vehicle for taking new technology to the field �Therefore, we must focus on agriculture extension in order to enhance productivity, production, market linkages and farmer’s income

Agriculture Extension �There is a separate programme called National Mission on Agriculture Extension and Technology (NMAET) �Under this, Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is tasked to carry out extension work �Every programme like NFSM or BGREI or NMAET has a component of demonstration in farmers’ fields �However, extension has remained the weakest area in agriculture and input management has gained supremacy

Extension in Campaign Mode �The idea was developed during an interaction with the farmers at Mathura �The cascade model of training was used to train the trainers �A module of one hour per day for five days was thought of �Course content was designed and finalized �State level officers functioned as KRPs and prepared district level Master Trainers through VC �Master Trainers trained the Trainers (TA/BTM/ATM) at the KVKs and other centres

The Course Content Ø Day 1: Rabi crops, Soil health and Crop cycle Ø Day 2: Agriculture Inputs, Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries Ø Day 3: Prime Minister Fasli Bima Yojana; Various subsidies under different schemes Ø Day 4: Raising Farmer’s Income; Agriculture diversification and Horticulture Ø Day 5: Plant Protection, Online registration of farmers and Direct Benefit Transfer

Current Design �The module has been converted into a four day programme with one and half hours every day �Convergence with other allied departments is the big focus now �Staff of Horticulture and Animal Husbandry Department collaborates �In the fourth edition (June 2019) technical staff of sugar cane department participated actively �The confidence of farmers on this system of extension has increased gradually

The Launch �Launched on the 5 th of December by Hon’ble Chief Minister

Running of Modules �It is launched with a lot of fan fair across the state �Public representatives participate in the launch with great enthusiasm �Entire development administration comes out in support of this programme anchored by Agriculture Department �Four editions completed; more than 4 million farmers trained so far and counting……. �Cascade model of training is used for trainers’ training �Each farmer gets a free copy of the module

The Training Paradigm �Use of technology is a major feature of the training programme (AV, NIC, live streaming…) �Random number technique used for knowledge test………App for attendance of farmers �While information and knowledge of farmers about the better practices, better varieties etc is going up, the spin off has been the capacity building of our own staff �There can be no better method to build the capacity of the field staff �Participation of women farmers is a heartening feature.

Digital Extension Initiative Vaigyanikon Ki Baat, Kisaano ke Saath �This experiment was done on the 4 th of June �The video conferencing facility across the state set up by NIC was utilised �At the State Level Centre, Hon’ble Minister, top agricultural scientists and senior officers of agriculture and allied depts were present �These came from ICAR, CIMMYT, Basmati Foundation, State Agriculture Universities and State Government Departments �Resources from SAUs and KVKs were widely used for this

Vaigyanikon ki Baat…. . �Apart from the scientists, we had two progressive farmers also at the State HQ �Shri Ram Saran Verma and Shri Bharat Bhushan Tyagi have been awarded Padma Sri this year for farming �At the district level centres, progressive farmers and departmental officers were made to sit �Therefore, this was a two way communication where the scientists and farmers were able to interact

Digital Extension…. �Topics are selected carefully, according to the time of the year and audience �Latest edition was on 11 th of September, focused on women farmers; Sudha Pande and Biatana Devi were star speakers �Presence of renowned scientists is an attraction for the farmers in the NIC halls as well as the villages �Entire program is live streamed which can be seen by farmers in the villages and elsewhere

Viewing in the Villages

Viewing (continued…)

Viewing (continued…)

Impact Assessment of TMFS �IFPRI recently did an impact assessment of TMFS and found statistically significant difference in knowledge level of farmers! �Their findings include (other benefits): Ø Enhanced job satisfaction among employees Ø Enhanced capacity of employees Ø Better communication established between farmer and department

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