Dr. Parveen Kumar
Farmers’ are the backbone of farm sector in India. The country owes its food and nutritional security to them. They are the one who toil in the scorching heat and the shivering cold to ensure that none of us goes to bed hungry. It is due to their hard work that country has now achieved self sufficiency in food grains production and is leading producer of many other commodities. In the last seven decades since independence, the growth trajectory of food grains production in the country has crossed many milestones. All this has been achieved through a mix of enabling policy environment, interventions, sustainable technologies and appropriate legislations. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as the apex body entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating, guiding and managing research, extension and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country has been playing a crucial role in conducting need based research through its various research institutes and dissemination of research findings through a dedicated network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras working in every district of the country. The KVKs work with a team of six scientist having expertise in different disciplines. Since the establishment of first KVK in 1974 at Puducherry under Tamilnadu Agricultural University, these Kendras’ have been at the forefront of technology dissemination. The KVKs lay strong emphasis on demonstrating new technologies in the form of seeds and other inputs through various Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) and On Farm Trials (OFTs), skill development training of rural youth, farm women and farmers; provide latest technological inputs like seeds, planting materials and bio-products, conduct trainings/awareness and capacity of field functionaries of agriculture and allied departments. They continuously advise farmers on timely crop/enterprise related recommendations, including climate resilient technologies for enhancing their production and income levels. KVKs also diagnose and solve problems emerging from district agro-ecosystems and are perfectly located to lead adoption of innovations. As front line institutions at the district level these have grassroots level connect. Their contribution in the development of agriculture and allied sector and socio-economic upliftment of farming communities has been on many occasions acknowledged by national as well as international institutes and personalities. Hon’ble Primeminister of the country Sh. Narendra Modi recently on the occasion of release of 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient varieties of 61 crops including 34 field crops and 27 horticultural crops, while lauding the scientific community of the country had remarked that the KVKs should proactively inform farmers about the new varieties developed by researchers every month. While interacting with scientific community present there at the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) complex, Prime Minister also advised the experts from the ICAR, agricultural universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) to proactively interact with farmers and inform them about new varieties and technology once every month. Acting on the advice of Prime minister, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has now decided to keep last Thursday of every month for holding interaction with the farming community. KVKs all across the country have been asked to take the lead and make last Thursday of every month as Farmers’ Thursday. Starting from today, the last Thursday’s of every month will thus be very special for the scientific as well as farming community of the country. Last Thursday’s will now be Farmer’s centric and they will see the scientists from various KVKs coming to them and their fields. Although already KVKs are working with the farming communities in the rural side but a day exclusively dedicated to farmers will lift the morale of the farmers and made them to believe that they are also being recognized and given much needed importance. The one day deliberations/interactions with the farmers will give the scientific community an opportunity to know the field level constraints faced by the farmers in real and practical situations. The one day interaction will infact a revival of earlier extension methodologies and approaches of 1970s like Farming System Research and Extension (FSR&E), Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Action Research, Case study and Experiential Learning (EL). The KVKs have a multidisciplinary team of scientists and this one day interaction will give them an opportunity to go for transect walks across the villages to map the existing resources, the crops grown in the region, the farming system prevalent, identify the rate of adoption of different technologies and the gaps existing and to work towards bridging the gaps. Every village will be treated as a case study. The experts from KVKs can aid the farming community by way of real time diagnosis and treatment of various plant and animal diseases. Another advantage of this one day interaction lie in its participatory and bottom up approach which will give the farming community an opportunity to sit with the experts, present their problems, put forth their opinion and arrive at conclusions. In the formal settings the not so educated farmers sometime find it difficult to convey themselves and put forth their ideas in front of the dignitaries and delegates present there. Such interactions take place in an informal setting where Subject Matter Specialists (SMSs) of the Kendra will be in the shoes of farmers. It will be a live interaction where scientists are also learners and intend to know and learn from them. The farmers will feel free to express their thoughts and ask whatever comes in their mind. A query by one farmer many a times motivates the others also and then it becomes a live interaction. Moreover the interaction will also enrich the knowledge of the youth and school going students who do not know much about farming. This interaction will be a boon for all of them.
These interactions will further help in strengtheneing the links between research and extension and also with farmers. The initiatives of public, private and voluntary sectors for improving the agricultural economy of the region can be implemented in a holistic manner. A day once a month for the farming community is no doubt a noble initiative which will enhance the practical learning of both farmers as well as scientists. The only need is to ensure that the monthly interaction does not become a means of excursion for the scientists.
The villages to be visited should be selected in advance and the farmers there should be intimated in advance to give them adequate time for preparing themselves to present their problems and discuss various issues with scientific community. The visiting team should also ensure that farm women are also a part of the monthly Thursday’s interaction.
(The author writes on agriculture and social issues)