The document discusses the impact of COVID-19 on agriculture and the new normal in agricultural extension advisory services amid the pandemic. It outlines the production, price, labor, and market impacts on agriculture. It then describes the interventions by governments, international organizations, KVKs, FPOs, ICT tools, and other stakeholders to continue providing extension services during lockdowns through virtual methods, customized on-farm services, and other innovative approaches. The conclusion states that various stakeholders played a role in supporting farmers, and a public-private extension model may be the new normal post-pandemic.

3. ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EXTENSION
DST PURSE II SPONSERED
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
“TRANSFORMING AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SYSTEMS
TOWARDS ACHIEVING FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY
TAESTAFNS - 2022”

4. Lead paper presentation
on
New Normal in Agricultural extension
Advisory Services Amid Covid 19 Pandemic
Dr. J. MEENAMBIGAI
Associate Professor
Department of Agricultural Extension
Faculty of Agriculture
Annamalai University

5. Introduction
 Covid 19 crisis – Challenge to Global Economy
 WHO reported,
 44,34,653 people affected from 216 countries
 3,02,169 (6.81 %) died
 85,940 infected and 2,752 died
 Pandemics
 severe threat to people food security and livelihoods.
 Push 548 million people below poverty line
 GDP
 2020 – 4.0 %
 2021 – 6.2 %

6. Impact of Covid-19 on Agriculture
Impact of
COVID -19 on
Agriculture
Demand and
supply
mismatch
Labour
Production
Prices and
Availability of
Agri. Inputs
FIG/FPO/FPC/
MSME/
Agri.
preneurs/Start
ups
Food security

7. Impact on production
Impact on farm gate prices
Impact on availability of Agri.
Inputs
Impact on prices of Agri. Inputs

8. Impact on Agricultural
marketing
Impact on banking services
Impact on microfinance
activities and FPO,FPC
Impact on MSME sector

9. Magnitude of change of production at the state
level
Agriculture Horticulture

11. Poultry
Pigs or sheep or goat
Dairy
Fisheries

12. Farm-Gate prices in Agriculture & Allied Sector
 Agriculture
– Decline in the prices of Agricultural commodities.
 Horticulture
– 7 % of horticultural crop production declined.
 Poultry
– Significant fall in the prices.
 Dairy
– Increase prices of dairy products.
 Fisheries
– Moderate price fall
 Pig/Sheep/Goat
– Small decline

14. Availability of Inputs
 Seeds – Sharpest decline
 Fertilizers – Largest fall
 Pesticides – Sharpest fall
 Rental Agri. Machinery – Sharpest
fall
 Fodder / Cattle feed – Sharpest fall
Prices of Agri. Inputs
 Seeds – Highest increase
 Fertilizers – Sharpest increase
 Pesticides – Sharpest increase
 Rental Agri. Machinery – Sharpest
increase
 Fodder / Cattle feed – Sharpest
increase

16. Supply, Demand and Wages of Agricultural labour

17. Marketing of Agricultural produce
 Procurement of food grains by
government agencies.
 Transporting harvested produce to
APMCs/markets through road
transport.
 Collection of harvested produce by
private agencies.
 FPOs business of aggregation/
purchase of Agricultural produce.
 Farmers getting MSP for their
produce.
 Organizing local markets.

18. Banking Activities
 Farmers access too credit through
KCC
 Access to Basic banking services
 Term lending by banks
 Digital banking
 Digital financial transaction
 Banks recovery

19. Micro finance activities of SHGs/NBFCs
 Conduct of SHG meetings
 SHG members access to credit
through SHG/ Banks
 SHGs ability to recover dues from
its members
 Microfinance activities
 Business of NBFC-MFF
 Members access to credit through
NBFC-MFF
 WBFC-MFIs ability to recover
dues from members

20. Activities of FPOs/farmer clubs
 Activities of FPOs
 Activities of FCs
 Business and social opportunities
 Creations of awareness

21. Impact of MSMEs
 Price of key raw materials
 Production level
 Cash flow
 Employment
 Supply chain
 Export
 Consumer demand

22. FIELD
EXTENSION
*Farmer- Farmer
*customized services
*door delivery of agri-
inputs.
Market-led extension
• Link farmers with
potential buyers
and traders
• Reliance fresh ,
ninjacart , big
basket and godrej.
• Direct purchase
from farmers.
Virtual Extension
• Mobile technology
• Whatsapp
• Price of produce, market
facilities and crop
management.
EXTENSION ADVISORY SERVICES DURING COVID 19

23. INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTIONS
FAO (2020) - EAS – crucial role – farmers’ need
World bank and NRLM - co-financed – SHGS- fackle covid 19 issues.
Group mobilization - ensure fresh food supply ,provide food to the vulnerable and
high risk population, Disseminate advisory services on Covid 19 and financial
services.
SHGs – set up 10,000 community kitchen
produced 20,000 masks , 1,00,00 litres of sanitizer and 50,000 litres land
wash ( world bank 2020).

24. Government interventions
•Launched special programmes to help farmers to sell the produce
•PM kisan scheme released Rs.6000.
•Increased wage rate of MGNREGA.
•Strengthened APMCs.
•ICAR Issued statewise guidelines.
•Burden of debt servicing – relief of loanee farmers.
•Dept of agri & farmers welfare , Govt of meghalaya – e agriculture platform ie 1917
TEAMS – Agri response vechicles.
• kerala – large network of Asha workers, Angawadi workers and kudumbasree
members , engaged to supply essential commoditness and medicines.

25. Government interventions
• Extension measures- procurement of fruits and vegetables from village level
eco shop and cluster markets.
• VFPCK – vegetable and fruit promotion council and horticrop.
• Seeds of vegetables purchased from KVKs, universities and state farm 60
videos on production aspects- cultivation of vegetables , homestead farming ,
hydroponics, aqua species ferrate garden and vertical farming.
• State government of Chhattisgarh – launched Rajiv Gandhi kisan nyay yojana
to provide income supplement around 18 lakhs to paddy , maize and sugarcane
farmers.

26. • Transfer an amount of Rs.10,000-Rs.13,000/ acre Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
• Andhra Pradesh - set up 471 temporary rythy bazars (farmers market) convert 45 /
APSRTC buses to mobile rythe bazars.
• Established over 700 procurement centre – jowar, redgram, bengalgram ,maize and
turmeric.
• Punjab and haryana – farmers were given curfer vehicle passes , increased number
of purchase centres, e-pass system to farmers

27. • Tamilnadu – reinvigosabed the use of e-Thottam (e farm) portal to supply fruits and
vegetables
• Dept.of. Herb – door- to –door deliverness of essential goods.

28. Interventions by various stakeholders in agriculture
• Maharashtra- small farmers come together and supplied fruits and
vegetables
• - FPOs cabered the demands
• Institution- ATMA (pune), MSAMB ( Maharashtra state Agrl. Marketing
board ), Maharashtra co-operative development corporation (MCDC), SFAC
and NABARD Abhinav farmers club-pune-256 farmers club with 2.56
lakhs members.
• Few start –ups involved to KVK farmers and consumers.

29. Efforts of KVKs towards resilent agriculture during lockdown
• KVK, Karnataka – actively involved in market-led extension
• KVK, kalburgi – arranged office vehicles for procurement
• KVK, bagikot- helped the farmers to store the dry produce like tumeric.
• KVK,kodagu- popularised arogya setu app 7000 farmers downloaded
• Also established puthati FPO to cafer the farmer needs.

30. • Kvk Rajasthan ( jodhpur, kofa, jhalwar, hanumangarh, burdi
and jaipur)- produced advisory services including health
preventive measures.

31. ICT and its relative advantage
• Kvks- whatsapp group starting information on the latest innovative
technologies .
• ICAR through its kvk system – advisory on ict platform SMS, video clippings
etc.,
• Kalnadai nanban- telegram group – livestock farmer in TN.
• Kalnadai nanbar- active participant around /nos.
• Youtube channel- provided veterinary advisory services.

32. Extension methods adopted to reach the
farming community
• Mobile calling
• Whatsapp platform
• Farm and home visit
• Other ict tools
• Print media

33. Services offered during covid 19

34. Conclusion
“ Everything else can wait not agriculture”
• Various stakeholders in agriculture and extension agencies have played a
significant role in safeguarding farmers from the lockdown distress to a
certain extent.
• Government may leverage and enhance the participation of these trained
para extension professional on the extension advisory services.

35. • They can play an important role in complementing the extension services of
public extension and strengthening public-private extension system on the
country.
• Public-private extension model would be a new normal extension advisory
system on the post pandemic.