Fisheries Extension Education (2+1)

3.2.1 Role of N.G.O.s and Voluntary Organisations and Self Help Groups in TOT in Fisheries

No Government can build a Society. However, voluntary action can. Considering the growing need for community development and social welfare activities in many spheres and limitations experienced by the government to undertake them by their own machinery, the Government has identified certain broader areas and schemes in which the NGOs and VOs can participate. Some of the broader areas include agriculture, animal husbandry , health, rural development, women development, education, tribal welfare, and child care and disability. N.G.O.s and Voluntary organisations with their contacts at the grass root levels are very much aware of the important needs and problems of the local community. Hence, they provide multiple services and perform various roles simultaneously. The major contribution of our NGO in development is to organise, mobilize and utilise resources within and outside the community for its development. Their major contribution to development is not financial but organisational. NGOs can complement government agencies in extension services. The role of NGOs and Voluntary organisations in social development is more pronounced in developing countries.

NGOs can undertake technology transfer by conducting: training programmes by their own staff or involving personnel from research organisations, demonstrations , awareness campaigns, exhibitions and periodical dissemination of information through mass media and publications. As they have very good net working system at the grass root levels, they can ensure community participation in such activities. As many NGOs approach the clientele through Self Help Groups (SHGs), the individuals as members of such groups have a binding on the decisions made by such groups.Thus, technology transfer process can be hastened by involving NGOs and voluntary organisations in such programmes.

Now many NGOs are making their foray into research activities. Thus, they can also do the work of technology generation.They can also serve as a link between research system and client system and can thus provide vital feedback on field problems and field performance of the innovations. Besides these, some NGOs now provide services such as laboratory analysis works, input supplies and helps the clients to avail institutional credit for adoption of some innovations. Thus, NGOs , now play the multiple roles of technology generation, technology diffusion system and supporting system for adoption in the field in the transfer of technology process.