Fundamentals of Extension Education (1+1)

Technology assessment and refinement programme (TARP)

• The Indian council of Agricultural Research launched an innovative technology assessment and refinement Programme called Institutions Village Linkage Programme (IVLP) during 1995. The concept is based on participatory modes ensuring greater linkage between scientist and farmer in a bottom up approach.
• It ensures access to agricultural technologies generated by the entire ICAR institutes or SAU or by the entire agricultural research in the country to the farming community in a village or a cluster of villages representing around 1000 farm families.

Objectives
The specific objectives of the programme are
1. To introduce technological interventions, with emphasis on stability and sustainability along with productivity for small farm –production system.
2. To introduce and integrate appropriate technologies to sustain productivity and profitability, taking environmental issues into consideration in a comparatively well defined production system. 3. To increase the agricultural productivity with marketable surplus in commercial farm production system with on and off –farm value addition.
4. To facilitate adoption of appropriate post harvest technologies for conservation and on – farm value addition of agricultural products, by products and wastes for greater economic dividend.
5. To facilitate adoption of appropriate technologies for removal of drudgery, increased efficiency and higher income of farm women.
6. To monitor socio-economic impact of the technological intervention for different production system.
7. To identify extra pollution domains for new technology or technology modular based on environmental characterisation at micro and macro levels.
8. Organising PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal).

Specific aims of the project
In this programme there is change in the concept and philosophy as well as in application of methodologies that are different from the conventional methods and tools used in the research process. In this paradigm the concept of agro econ system analysis using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools are used instead of conventional survey research.
• Its basic idea is that community itself based on its rich experiences should characterise its own resources, situation and problems, should identify the areas of activity, keeping its own goals and requirements into consideration; should develop the programme for technology assessment, and should finally refine the technology suiting its own condition and requirements.

Top