Module 2. Extension and rural development programme

Lesson 7

INNOVATIONS IN FIELD EXTENSION

7.1 Introduction

Of late, a lot of emphasis is being given on innovative extension approaches at the field level, in order to ensure an effective implementation of the Transfer of Technology (ToT) process. Many such new initiatives have been undertaken in India, the details of which are as under:

7.2 ATMA

Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is a registered society of key stakeholders involved in agricultural activities for sustainable agricultural development in the district. It is a focal point for integrating research and extension activities and decentralizing day-to-day management of Agricultural Extension System at the field level.

7.2.1 Salient features of ATMA

ATMA is established at district level as an autonomous institution providing flexible working environment involving all the stakeholders in planning and implementation of extension activities. ATMA is a unique district level institution, which caters to activities in agriculture and allied sectors adopting a farming systems approach and convergence of programmes of related departments. Local research and extension priorities are set through Strategic Research and Extension Plans (SREPs), which are developed using participatory methodologies.

ATMA is registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 that has considerable operational flexibility. It operates under the guidance of a Governing Board (GB) that determines program priorities and assesses program impact. The executive head of ATMA is known as the Project Director (PD) and reports directly to the ATMA Governing Board.

One of the most important activities undertaken by ATMA is to prepare Strategic Research and Extension Plan (SREP), which consists of detailed information about agriculture and allied sectors in the district. The purpose of preparation of SREP is to identify research and extension needs of the district. This helps in undertaking only those extension activities which are needed by farmers in the district. SREP is prepared with full participation of farmers and their representatives at different level. Technical officers of agriculture and allied departments as well as from KVKs and other research institutions fully participate in preparation of SREPs. Based on the research-extension strategies given in the SREPs, block/district level plans are developed by ATMA institutions. The State Extension Work Plan developed at state level is a consolidated activity-wise plan incorporating all the district level plans and the state level activities. In order to provide needed Human Resource Development (HRD) support in the innovative areas of extension delivery, State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) has also been established in each state.

7.3 Farmer Field Schools - A New Participatory Approach

The farmer field school is a form of adult education, which evolved from the concept that farmers learn optimally from field observation & experimentation. FFS is a tool to build capacities of farmer groups through participatory approach for promoting sustainable agricultural development, managing crop eco system, to make them better decision makers in sustainable use of resource at the cropping, farming & watershed levels.

The term “Farmer Fields Schools” came from the Indonesian expression Sekolah Lapangan meaning just field school. The first Farmer Field School was established in 1989 in Indonesia for control of Brown Plant Hopper pest in rice through Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

Although Farmer Field Schools were designed to promote IPM, empowerment has an essential feature from the beginning. The curriculum of the FFS was built on the assumption that farmers could only implement IPM once they had acquired the ability to carry out their own analysis, make their own decisions and organise their own activities. The empowerment process, rather than the adoption of specific IPM techniques, is what produces many of the developmental benefits of the FFS.

7.4 Participatory Extension Approaches

Participatory extension provides a framework for extension staff to participate with village Communities in facilitating development planning and activity implementation. This approach ensures the extension response becomes community driven and assist village communities implement their planned activities with routine monitoring and evaluation of activities and development progress. Importantly, as the name implies, the extension process is seeking maximum participation from women and men from all groups within the target village communities. People’s participation implies the active involvement in development of the rural people, particularly disadvantaged groups that form the mass of the rural population and have previously been excluded from the development process. FAO experience has shown that through participatory programmes and activities it is possible to mobilize local knowledge and resources for self-reliant development and, in the process, reduce the cost to governments of providing development assistance. People’s participation is also recognized as an essential element in strategies for sustainable development of agriculture.

People’s participation should be viewed as an active process in which people take initiatives and action that is stimulated by their own thinking and deliberation and which they can effectively Influence. Participation is therefore more than an instrument of implementing government projects. It is a development approach which recognizes the need to involve disadvantaged segments of the rural population in the design and implementation of policies concerning their well-being. While participatory approaches have been successful in many countries at stimulating self--help activities at the local level, they can and should also be followed in the design, implementation and evaluation of large scale projects.

7.4.1 Different participatory approaches

Participation aims at bringing about change in people’s attitude which is critical on the part of the people involved towards their environment and adoption of interventions for agricultural development. In recent years, there has been a lot of developments, in the use of participatory approaches. Some of these approaches focus more on problem diagnosis, other are more oriented to community empowerment, some concentrate on facilitating farmer-led research and extension, while others are designed to get professionals in the field to listen to farmers. Some of the these approaches are;

7.4.1.1 Rapid rural appraisal (RRA)

RRA is a social science approach that emerged in the early 1980s for applications in development cooperation. In it, a multidisciplinary team makes use of simple, nonstandard methods and the knowledge of local people to quickly elicit, analyze and evaluate information and hypotheses about rural life and rural resources that are of relevance for taking action. RRA techniques are an attractive alternative to conventional survey methods when the aim is not to systematically capture precise figures, a typically time-consuming and cost-intensive undertaking, but rather speedy and action-oriented assessment of local knowledge, needs and potentials with an aim to elaborating strategies to resolve conflicts or investigate specific problems. They are also suitable for shifting the focus of conventional surveys onto essential aspects.

7.4.1.2 Participatory rural appraisal (PRA)

PRA is a way of enabling local (rural and urban) people to analyze their living conditions, to share the outcomes and to plan their activities. It’s a “handing over the stick to the insider” in methods and action. The outsider’s role is that of a catalyzer, a facilitator and convenor of processes within a community, which is prepared to alter their situation.

7.4.1.3 Participatory learning approaches (PAL)

PLA is an approach for learning and organizing participation of local communities and groups for interacting with them, understanding them and learning from them. It helps in initiating a participatory process, in sustaining it and in opening up vistas of avenues for participation. It is a means of identifying and facilitating intended groups and evoking their participation and also opening ways in which such groups can participate in decision-making, project design, planning, execution and monitoring.

7.4.1.4 Participatory learning methods (PALM)

PALM uses the key RRA concepts, but emphasizes participation by village residents and the function of the externals as catalysts and partners for self-determined development. The aim of PALM is to go beyond “appraisal” and arrive at participatory analysis and a common understanding of rural conditions. The focus is on learning from and with local people. In order to avoid stimulating false expectations.

7.4.1.5 Agro-ecosystem analysis (AEA)

An agro ecosystem is created by the combination and inter reaction of ecological and socioeconomic processes. Analysis of the diagrams gives rise to a table of the most important factors influencing the “system properties”. The system properties are: 1) productivity (net output of an evaluated product), 2) stability of productivity under normal conditions, 3) sustainability of productivity under stress, and 4) equitable distribution of production and the resources and inputs required to achieve it.

7.4.1.6 Participatory action research (PAR)

PAR is “learning-by-doing” approach in which the investigator places his/her knowledge at the disposal of local groups. The following is expected of an action researcher: awareness of one’s own limitations and value orientation; willingness to empathize with and share the problems and needs of local people; knowledge of their history and political and economic situation. The action researcher then engages in a dialog with the local groups, and works together with them in small discussion groups to search for solutions to the their problems.