1. The document discusses the need for agricultural extension in India to move from a technology transfer model to an "Extension Plus" approach with expanded roles in linking farmers to markets, reducing vulnerability, and supporting livelihoods. 2. It proposes key elements of Extension Plus, including expanding roles beyond technology transfer, extensive partnerships, learning-based approaches, gender responsiveness, use of social media, and climate resilience. 3. Case studies of Extension Plus programs demonstrate impacts like increased incomes, formation of self-help groups and producer organizations, and development of value chains and markets. However, operationalizing Extension Plus fully requires shifts in approaches, policies, and the organizational culture of extension.

1. NATIONAL DAIRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
DIVISION OF DAIRY EXTENSION EDUCATION, KARNAL
Credit seminar on
xtension – Plus: New face of Extension
with Expanding Roles
Speaker: Aswathy Chandrakumar
PhD scholar

2. BACKGROUND
India has the largest agricultural R &D system in the world.
NARS is one of the major policy instruments for promoting
technological innovations and HRD in India.
(Pal et al. 2008, Dev 2012, Pal et al. 2012, Moreddu 2013)
NARS criticized for not attending to the demands for improved
technologies and also for the poor linkages between research and
extension
(Desai et al., 2011)
Quality and reliability of the public extension system is still a
constraint
(Babu et al., 2012)
Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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3. Farmer : extension worker ratio is worked out to be 2879:1
(Anirbhan and Aniruddha, 2015)
Call for effective linkages between research, extension, farmers and
support mechanisms (inputs supply, credit etc.,)
Chandar et al., 2010
2010 - 2020 declared as decade of innovation which applies also for
agriculture
(FYP, 2012)
Livestock Innovation System - set of interrelated agents,
their interactions, and the institutions that condition their
behaviour with respect to the common objective of
generating, diffusing, and utilizing knowledge and/or
technology of livestock.
(Chandar and Prakash, 2015)
Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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4. Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
 Strengthen the capacity
of extension and advisory
services
 Create and enhance the
capacity of innovation
system
 Investment in strengthening and
reforming extension
 Strong partner and nodal agency
within AIS as well as the LIS
 Provide technological and non –
technological services
(Sulaiman, 2012)
2. Institution
and human
capacity
strengthening
3.
Technical
Support
6.
Market
Develop
ment
1.
Pre – project
phase
4.
Credit and
financial
support
5. Organisational
Development
Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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Source: Sulaiman, 2015

5. Key Elements of Extension - Plus
1. Expanding roles
(beyond technology
transfer)
a. Better linking of farmers to inputs and outpu
market
b. Reduce vulnerability and enhance the
voices of the rural poor
c. Development of micro enterprises
d. Poverty reduction and environmental
conservation
e. Strengthening of farmer organisations
Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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6. Farmers and Farmer Organisations
KVK
ATMA
Public Research institutes Pvt. Research
Organisations & Companies
Pvt.Companies,
NGOs, Agripreneurs,
Farmer Organisations
ICT and media
NGO
Input dealers, ICTs
and Pvt. companies
Finance and Credit
Source: Anirbhan and
Aniruddha, 2015
Processing and
storage, Market
technology
Training – line dept.,
SAU, ICAR institutes
Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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2. Extensive use of partnerships & negotiations with a
wide range of stakeholders

7. Source: Chandar and Rathore, 2015
Key players in Dairy sector
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8. Farmers tried and adopted the information that they received from
progressive farmers and input dealers more than from other sources.
(Babu et al., 2013)
Self financed One year Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services
for Input dealers launched by MANAGE in 2003
Implemented through SAMETI
Technical information delivered through contact classes – 48 days
DAESI Programme
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9. 3. Learning based – FFS approach
Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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10. 4. Institutional mechanism to represent client’s interests
at the management levels
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11. Agricultural sector employs
4/5th of all economically
active women in India.
75 million women engaged in
dairying as against 15 million
men and 20 million in AH as
against 1.5 million men
(Gosh et al., 2014)
Constitute 33% of cultivators
and about 47% of agril.
labourers.
(Rao, 2006)
5. Gender responsive Extension
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12. Towards Gender Responsive
Extension
Organising women into SHGs and
JLGs, to empower and
successfully engaging them in
value addition.
Development of women friendly
technologies
11Cafeteria for women in
Agriculture
Applying gender responsive
value chain analysis in
Extension

13. Story of Anmol Mahila Dhugadh Samiti milk co – operative in
Amritpur Kalan village Karnal
Successfully running in collaboration with NDRI and Arpana
NGO
Three fold increase in the average income of women
12

14. 6. Use of social media
Social media refers to the internet-based digital tools for sharing
and discussing information among people.
The major five social media websites that are gaining popularity
worldwide are Facebook (1.32 billion+), YouTube (1 billion+ unique
monthly users), Google+ (500 million+), LinkedIn (277 million+),
and Twitter (230 million+)
(Suchiradipta and Saravanan, 2014)
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15. Examples of use of facebook in Agricultural Extension in India
Source: Suchiradipta and
Saravanan, 2014
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16. Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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17. 7. Climate resilience
Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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Develop innovative strategies
to mitigate, cope up and adapt
with variability and risks
arising from climate change.
Climate smart villages

18. Output Indicators
• Farmer groups or producer
associations formed
• Formation of new markets
• Training organized
• Distribution and use of new inputs
and technologies
• Credit use and repayment
• New value-added products
• Infrastructure developed; capacity
utilization
• Partnerships and quality of
interactions
• Reforms promoted; changes in
funding and collaboration
Outcome Indicators
• Increase in income and
additional employment created
• Sustenance of the arrangement
• Enhanced capacity for
collaboration and continuance
of good practices
• New partnerships formed
• New funding generated
• Ability to respond to new
demands
• Governance mechanisms: how
views of different stakeholders
are expressed and quality of
response
Indicators for evaluating and monitoring
Extension - Plus Approach
18Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
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19. Extension Plus in action
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20. Government
initiative: Kerala
Horticulture
Development
Programme (1992)
Key concepts used:
 Self Help groups
 Group marketing
 Unique credit
package
 Participatory
technology
development
Impact of KHDP
 Increase in area under fruit and vegetables in 86 percent of
the self-help groups.
 Increased incomes in 75 percent of the groups
 No: of farmers receiving credit increased from 21 % - 41 % by
1999
 Formation of 6,800 self-help groups, (405 run by women), and
reaches more than 132,000 farmers.
 Produced more than 38 tons of seed for 19 vegetable
varieties (2008–09) - 50 % of Kerala’s internal seed prodn
 Establishment of modern fruit processing factory
Source: XLRI 1999; VFPCK 2009
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21. Self – Help Group
initiative: Nature
Fresh
Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
20Innovative Dairy Value chain
Experimented at Kannadi Village
panchayath
Partners – State Animal
Husbandry Department, local
bodies and Kudumbasree
Aim: fresh quality milk within two
hrs of milking
Innovative approach adopted:
Sealed milk bottles with unique
code of cow and owner
Linking of dairy farmers to
markets using vendors

22. Concept of producer company -
Enable incorporation of co-
operatives as company
Promoted by Centre for Sustainable
Agriculture NGO in 2009
Operational in 25 blocks, covering
112 villages in Telengana, Andhra
Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Linking with Big Basket
Producer Company
initiative: Sahaja
Aharam
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23. Agri – business
initiative: Mahindra
ShubhLabh Services
Limited (2001)
Objective: To provide
integrated yield and
profit solutions
Mahindra Krishi Vihar –
one stop shop for
farmers initiated in
paddy in Tamil Nadu
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24. Extension Plus: New face of Extension with Expanding Roles
Financial Institution
Initiative: BASIX
Promotion of sustainable
livelihoods
Currently operational in 7
states covering 223 districts
and 39, 251 villages
Identified sub sectors
Develop alternate marketing
channels and value addition
possibilities
Source: http://www.basixindia.com/
Rationale behind this strategy:
 Microcredit for more enterprising people while savings and
insurance for low enterprising people
 Backward region needs a whole range of Agri/ business related
services
 Formation of SHGs, Producer companies etc., require institutional
development
BASIX livelihood triad:
a. Financial inclusion services
b. Agriculture/ business development
services
c. Institutional development services
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25. Operationalising Extension – Plus :
Key shifts
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26. Aspect of Extension From To
Form/content
Technology dissemination Supporting rural
livelihoods
Improving farm
productivity
Improving farm and non-
farm income
Forming farmer groups Building networks
Providing services Enabling farmers to access
services from other
agencies
Market information Market development
Monitoring &
Evaluation
Input & output targets Learning
Planning &
Implementation
Doing it alone Through Partnerships
Sources of innovation in
extension
Centrally generated Locally evolved
(through experimentation)
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27. Aspect of Extension From To
Approaches Fixed/uniform Evolving/diverse
Staff capacity development Training Learning by doing,
facilitated experimentation
Capacity dev. of extension
system
Personnel and infrastructure Development of linkages
and networks
Policy approach
Prescriptive/blue prints Facilitating evolution of
locally relevant approaches
Introducing new working
practices
Staff training Changing organisational
culture through action
learning
Underpinning paradigm Technology transfer Innovation system
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28.  Development of optimal arrangements
 Strengthening of all the actors within the AIS and LIS in
particular
 Development of a sustained capacity for innovation
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29.  Centralised modes of
planning
 A culture of
experimentation and
learning need to
develop
Key constraints to
implementation
 Narrow conceptualisation of extension
 Traditional performance assesment
 Dilemma on how much of previous
activities to be retained and which
innovations are desirable
 Only rewarding successes
 Working independently
Policy issues Institutional issues
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30.  Capacity Development and incorporating new skills
 Organisational and management review
 Better informed policy process
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31. CONCLUSION
• A healthy, vibrant and responsive extension system with an aim of faster,
sustainable and more inclusive agricultural growth is the need of the hour.
• Operationalising extension-plus requires a new organisational culture where
extension reinvents as a nodal agency that will provide technological and non-
technological services to farmers.
• Extension needs to play a facilitating role enabling access to services by acting
as a bridge connecting farmers, the poor and vulnerable groups with different
service providers.
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32. “We cannot Solve the Fourth Generation Problems
by the Third Generation Solutions
coming from the Second Generation Systems
with the First Generation Management Styles”.
and FINALLY to sum up…
Hence continuous innovation is a must.
Your services can enrich NAES in India…….
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