The document proposes a plan to establish a specialized group of volunteers to impart knowledge and skills to farmers in order to boost agricultural productivity in India. The group would be selected from professionals and students with agricultural experience and placed under the oversight of India's Ministry of Agriculture and ICAR. An initial recruitment of 10 lakh volunteers is suggested, managed through a central system. The program aims to address issues currently challenging Indian agriculture like small landholdings, inadequate irrigation, and lack of knowledge through training farmers on improved techniques. However, full implementation is estimated to cost INR 13022 crore and would face challenges in policy coordination and overcoming institutional inertia.

1. eXperts
Manthan Topic: Sowing Prosperity
A comprehensive Plan to boost agricultural productivity
1
Team Name:eXperts
Team Members:
Arijit Das
Rajnish Mehta
Nandalal Boxi
Uddalak Banerjee
Vikram Malik

2. Despite record food grain production during the course of the past few years, the share of agriculture and allied
sectors to India's gross domestic product (GDP) has declined by more than 4.5% between 2004-05 and 2010-11;
Source :CSO data
eXperts 2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Agriculture
Industry
 Population Pressure
As per 2011 census, population density is
364 per sq km and ncreasing trend of
industrialization and urbanization
Small and fragmented Land holdings
As per agriculture census 2000-01 , average
area per holding is 1.33 hectare causing
Farming activity to be Uneconomical , social
tensions arising along with discontentment.
Inadequate Irrigation Facilities
half of the total area under food crops has
been brought under irrigation and the
remaining half is left to the mercy of
monsoon rains which are erratic in time and
space
Depleted Soil
Lack of scientific knowledge , deforestation
,lack of material resources causing depletion
of soil fertility
Storage of food grain
Nearly 10 percent of harvest goes to waste
every year
Farm implements
Most farmers are poor so don’t use
sophisticated tools
Source:Assocham
Major Issues are:

3. Imparting knowledge and skills to farmers through specialized group selected from among private and public
companies selling or producing agricultural products regulated by Ministry of Agriculture and ICAR
eXperts 3
Selection
• Volunteers from public and private organizations to be selected in a ratio 50:50 based on skill
,past achievements and interest to contribute .
• Volunteer should possess adequate experience of working in rural environment and should be
sensitive to farmers needs and beliefs .
Working
Model
• Specialized group to function under the aegis of Ministry of Agriculture and ICAR with adequate
representation from both as supervisors who would undertake on the fly visits and regular
Progress reports from the group apart from granting authorizations in specific cases.
• Specialized group will conduct workshops and on field training for farmers
Advantages
• It will help to create awareness among farmers and hence improve yield
• It will reduce unnecessary wastage of time because of red tapism in case of day to day farming
related issues which often require government approval even at local level.
Regulation
• All decisions related to existing process change or new process initiation relating to farmers in
general need to be taken on3/4th majority among the supervisors
• ICAR and Ministry of Agriculture can voluntarily terminate a member or group of members on
the basis of complaint of farmers after enquiry and adequate proof of misconduct is found.

4. Target set of volunteers to be working in the specialized group are primarily from the professionals and
retired executives along with students with adequate experience relating to agricultural products
Professional s Retired Executives Graduate Students
Rationale for choosing the
group
Have experience of
being in the agriculture
related business
Can impart specific
training
Can relate with the issues
more
Have experience of being
in the agriculture related
business
Can impart specific
training
Can relate with issues
Have lot of time
Opportunity to learn
through hands on
experience
Easy to recruit
Motivated to translate
theory into practice so
often try innovative ways
Number Around 16 crore ( as per
ncw survey) professionals
working in Agri allied
businesses.
Around 4 crore
professionals
(approximately 25 percent
of the professionals)
15000 students in India
from 42 state universities
(SAUs) ,5 deemed
universities
Potential skills imparted Fertilizer usage methods
Information on different
Yojana s for credit
Different Tools usage
methods
Experiences of dealing
with micro credit
institutions
Storage methods
Latest technology usage
Efficient ways to store
Efficient ways to increase
efficiency
Innovative solutions to
tackle perennial problems
eXperts 4
Network of Volunteers

5. Volunteers to apply both from online and offline channels so that even individuals who have limited
technological sophistication can also feel free to apply.
Recruitment Management Mapping Implementation
eXperts 5
Need assessment Recruitment of Volunteers Awareness Building
Requirements at district level
would be carried out through
liaison team with district
administrators
Direct interaction with farmers
and officials of ICAR and IARI (
Indian Agriculture Research
Institute)
Complete district wise list
prepared for needs of farmers in
order to increase productivity
Direct interview with the district
administrators so as to identify
progress made on issues put
forward by farmers
Direct recruitment from
district central/state offices
Campus Recruitment from
SAU s
Interviews to be conducted by
teams selected by Ministry of
Agriculture
Online registration and Offline
registration forms to be
collected by ICAR
Around 0.1 million
volunteers to be recruited
Large scale media and offline
campaign to support the
recruitment drive through
famous personalities ( actors
, cricketers etc)
Both traditional and social
media to be used to spread the
message
 News paper advertisements
should be made on all major
dailies
Career growth aspect and
Learning prospects should be
underlined in such
advertisements

6. Volunteers to be managed by Central management system which would be primarily governed by ICAR under
direction from Ministry of Agriculture
Recruitment Management Mapping Implementation
eXperts 6
District
offices
Campus
Online
Central
management
System
Schools
Govt
buildings
Education
camps
Volunteer
homes
Training at district level
Specifications
•Training location
preferences to be
taken during
recruitment only
•In case of over
capacity application
for one location the
candidate who has his
home town nearest to
the location will be
given preference
•Central management
system to be handled
by ICAR and ICRI
under direction from
ministry of agriculture

7. The Initial set of recruits would be 10 lakhs ,however it may need to be extended based on need and success of
the program hence scalability and sustainability are important features
Recruitment Management Mapping Implementation
eXperts 7
Training Delivery Model Curriculum Corporate support
,Scalability and sustainability
Medium of Instruction: English
and Hindi
Training Period : 1 months
regular. Module content based
on need identified for the area
where transfer is to be made
Venue: Local Government
buildings ,schools , volunteer
houses etc
Trainer: Qualified and
Experienced Trainer from ICAR
or ICRI .
Evaluation : Through weekly
tests in pen and paper and also
through simulations by the
trainer.
Basics of Agriculture ( Hygiene
, Soil Fertility , Water , Nutrient
needs , Seed quality )
 Various government schemes
for microfinance in order to
meet to secure funding for
improved infrastructure in farm
land .
Various Issues faced by
farmers and how they can be
tackled through live examples if
any
Various modern tools and
usage methods
Most agri based industries
would be very forthcoming for
investment on this scheme
because it would effectively
lower the cost of production
The agri equipment selling
organizations like Escorts
conduct regular drives for
farmers to educate them on
latest technology so for them
such an initiative would be
most welcomed .
With greater productivity
results , more and more
investors will start investing in it
.

8. Overall Setup for implementation of the model
Chief controller
Recruitment
Team
Coordination
team
Media team Finance Team
Curriculum
Management
IT team
Supervisor
team
eXperts 8
Chief will act under direction
of ministry of agriculture
Will
coordinate
recruitment
Will
coordinate
the
volunteers
Corporate
support
and media
strategy
Funds
management
Curriculum
design
Manage online
application
issues
Will supervise
work of the
volunteers
Chief Controller
State Controller
District Controller
Central Management Team
Integration of regional to central authorities
Will supervise all activities within
the district
Will supervise all activities
within the state
Will supervise all activities
in india
FTE : 15 FTE : 35 FTE : 6 FTE : 15 FTE : 6 FTE : 3 FTE : 35
FTE : 34
FTE : 671
FTE : 1

9. The entire model will require funding of approx INR 13022 crore for full india implementation . However for
partical implementation the cost will be less .
*FTE= full time employee *S.T=Specialize Team
eXperts 9
TotalFundingRequired
Organization Cost
Logistics Cost
Remuneration Cost
Chief Controller( 1 FTE@ 8 lakh pa)
State Controller(34FTE@5lakh pa)
District Controller(671FTE@ 3lakh pa)
Transportation Cost
Establishment Cost
Equipment cost
S.T Volunteers( 10 l@10 k pm)
Central Management Team
members
Trainer Cost
INR
21.91
Crore
INR
1
crore
INR
13000
Crore
We recommend that cost be bourne by public private partnership with leading agri based companies though a
50:50 partnership. And intially a low cost pilot implementation be done in a few villages to see the response first.

10. eXperts 10
The idea has a potential to reach out to the 95.8 million main cultivators and 22.8 million marginal cultivators.
National level
(Regulated Union
Ministry of Agriculture
and ICAR)
State Level
(Monitored by State Ministry of
Agriculture and State Agriculture
Training Institutes)
District Level
(Monitored by District
Agriculture Officer and
District Consultative
Committee headed by the
Collector)
Block Level
(Monitored
by BDO and
Block
Coordination
Committees)
Panchayat Level
(Co-ordinated by
the Sarpanch and
Panchayat level
Agricultural
Committees)
Flow of Control
Ideation Network
Professionals
(on a sabbatical
basis)
Retired Executives
(mainly agricultural
administrators)
Graduate
Students
(based on the
internship model)
• At every stage of the flow of control, an
ideation network has to be involved.
• The ideation network will be a think tank
and a executioner also.
• The whole system will be based on new
ideas and innovation to bring about
another agricultural revolution.
• The idea of bringing on-board subject
matter experts and the common man
will infuse trust as well as performance
in the whole agricultural machinery.

11. eXperts 11
The challenges this model faces is enormous due to the sheer size and complexity of our country. But every
challenge has a solution. One just has to find it.
Policy Challenges
• No such set policies for such appointment of
such groups.
• High chances of it being just a rubber stamp.
• Chances of overlapping of duties of various
stakeholders.
Implementation Challenges
• Different agriculture department structure in
different states.
• Chances of corrupt people entering the
system making it even more murkier.
• Monitoring the performance of such an
ideation network would be a tough ask.
• Non-implementation of ideas due to logistical
and financial constraints
Inertia Challenge
• Biggest challenge Indian agriculture and
related reforms face is the inertia of the past
few decades.
Challenges Probable Solutions to take on the challenges head-on
• Vesting power at all levels of the flow of control to
get on board their ideation networks.
• Clearly demarcated responsibilities with expected
results and timelines.
• Performance to be audited by counterparts from
other states.
• Mapping state-wise structures with the new
structure
• Thorough background check and behavioral
interviews to weed out probable non-performers
entering the teams.
• Putting in place a cross-monitoring system where
one state network audits another state network.
• Aggressive campaigning by general public and
industry bodies to ramp up infrastructure facilities
(mainly road and rail).
• When changes will show up, the inertia will break
away like it did in the era of Green revolution. A
new organic fertilizers driven green revolution is
waiting to happen.

12. References
ONLINE RESOURCES
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_districts_of_India
• http://www.escortsgroup.com/
• http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/site/home.aspx
• http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS
• http://ncw.nic.in/pdfreports/impact%20of%20wto%20women%20in%20agriculture.pdf
• http://www.cmie.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_India
BOOKS
 AGRARIAN POWER AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN SOUTH ASIA by SUSANE RUDOLPH AND
ASHOK RUDRA
 Agricultural productivity in Eastern India Vol 1 by Reserve Bank of India
 Challenges facing agriculture and rural development by R.N .Poduval
eXperts 12