IARI-Post Office Linkage Extension Model for effective outreach of frontline extension

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1 IARI-Post Office Linkage Extension Model for effective outreach of frontline extension Division of Agricultural Extension ICAR-IARI, New Delhi

2 Agricultural Extension Major challenges Majority of the states have their extension staff up to Block level. Most of the existing extension personnel perform multiple roles. Technology generation is very fast and dissemination is not keeping pace (Extension worker: farmer ratio is very wide 1 : 5,000 (9788) in India v/s 1 : 625 (1035) in China) (Davis et. al, 2010; Ragasa et. al, 2013) (one extensionist : 1200 farmers) (Kaegi, 2015) In India, out of 143,863 positions in the Department of Agriculture, only 91,288 posts are filled (Chandre Gowda, 2011). RAS services reach 6.8% farmers (GFRAS, 2012), 6% (Ghimire, 2014). One extension worker per 280 farm households (China and Vietnam). Indonesia, each extension worker covers about 2.8 villages. (GFRAS, 2012) Educational background and professional expertise of VLW is not sufficient to address diverse information need- knowledge updating required Branch post masters of post offices in rural areas can be potential extension agents after training

3 Post Office Potential Alternatives 1,55,015 POs in the country Almost 90% of these post offices are in rural areas (1,39,144 post offices) About 6.5 lakhs employee Rural branch post office caters to 5-6 villages and the branch post masters (BPM) mostly are farmers. During last 10 years, decline in the mail and delivery of ordinary post Collaborative activities with other agencies (bank, investment agency, insurance departments) increased by 15-20% EPP/BP (BNPL) takes 4-6 days, Retail post, Media post Republic of Korea, postal services were successfully utilized for e-commerce and farming particularly fish farming for marketing of the produce using ICT enabled technologies (ITU, 2010)

4 IARI-Post Office Linkage Process Identification of BPMs, sensitization of BPMs and farmers Crop monitoring and technical advice by IARI & KVK scientists (periodically) and BPM (regularly) Seed packets per farmer: Seed sent per post office: BPMs and farmers identify the farmers for demonstrations Performance reporting of IARI crop varieties by the farmers as well as BPM wheat (10 kgs.), paddy (5 kgs.), mustard (1 kg) wheat (2 q), paddy (1 q), mustard (20 kgs.) 1 seed packet for the village post master as incentive Seeds of improved variety sent to the BPM through Express Parcel Post/Business Post Overall planning for next year as per farmers and BPM s feedback KVK-PO Partners

5 Coverage of IARI-Post office Linkage Extension Model Number of Post Offices No. of Post offices covered No. of demonstrations Number of demonstrations

6 IARI-Post Office Linkage Extension Model States covered: 14 Districts covered: 55 Districts to be covered: 100 POs to be covered: 500

7 Dissemination of various crop varieties through post office ( ) Season Crop Varieties No. of demonstrations Kharif 2015 Rabi Paddy Maize Wheat Mustard PB 1121, 1509, P 44, P 2511, P 1612 PC 3 HD 3086, HD 2967, HD 2932 and HD 3059 Pusa Mustard 26, 28 and Summer 2016 Bottle Gourd Pusa Naveen 650 Mungbean Pusa Vishal 40 Through IARI Post Office Farmer linkage, total of 2622 demonstrations under 130 post offices were conducted Total 2622

8 Performance of IARI paddy varieties Variety Range of yield (q/ha) Av. Yield (q/ha) Advantages (%) PB PB P P P 2511 performed well (yield advantage 9%) in M.P., U.P. and West Bengal, preferred by farmers due to short duration, low water requirement and higher market price Bakanae disease has been reported in PB 1509 IARI Basmati varieties recorded 11 16% yield increase over Basmati 370 in Jammu and Sharbati in Uttarakhand

9 Performance of IARI Wheat Varieties Crop Variety Range of Yield (q/ha) Av. Yield (q/ha) HD 2967 was preferred by farmers across project locations for more yield and grain size HD 2967 and HD 3086 less affected by terminal heat Pusa Mustard 28 and 30 preferred by the farmers for yield and high oil content (~40%) in (J&K, Rajasthan, Western UP, Haryana and MP) Pusa Mustard 26 was preferred by the farmers because of its short duration (107 days) in eastern parts of the country (Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand) B:C ratio of Pusa Mustard 30 was recorded as high as 1:2.97 Yield Advantage (%) of IARI variety Benefit - Cost Ratio Wheat HD HD HD Mustard Pusa Mustard Pusa Mustard Pusa Mustard

10 Capacity building of farmers and branch post masters and its impact Particulars Knowledge Score before training Knowledge Score after training Increase in knowledge Farmers (n=150) Mean Std. dev. Branch Post Masters (n=7) Mean Std. dev % 65.2% Training programmes was organised for capacity building at KVK, Sheopur and KVK Sirohi Organised field day on 16/12/2014 at Maina Puthi branch post office area in Meerut. Production, protection and post harvest related technologies covered

11 Timeliness in seed delivery in Sitapur Crop Before normal planting After normal time (days) planting time (days) Paddy (n=49) 21 (38%) 15 (27%) 10 (18%) 9 (17%) Wheat (n=66) 45 (53.57%) 27 (32.14%) 6 (7.14%) 6 (7.14%) Mustard (n=30) 15 (50%) 10 (33.33%) 5 (16.66%) 0 Timeliness in seed delivery in Buxar Crop Before normal planting time (days) After normal planting time (days) Paddy (n=30) 16 (53.33%) 7 (23.33%) 2 (6.66%) 5 (16.66%) Wheat (n=30) 16 (53.33%) 7 (23.33%) 3 (10%) 4 (13.33%) Mustard ( n=18) 12 (66.67%) 6 (33.33%) 0 0 Majority of paddy, wheat and mustard farmers received seed before (1-10 days) normal planting time

12 Farmers perception of quality of seed disseminated No loss of weight in seed packet in Buxar, Sitapur (8.57%) Farmers received mixtures in seeds Sitapur (18.5%) and Buxar (16.6%) Poor germination of IARI seed reported (Sitapur-14% and Buxar-13%)

13 Satisfaction level of farmers about the model Parameter Sitapur (n=70) Buxar (n=30) Mean Score Ranking Mean Score Ranking Timeliness 2.96 II 2.75 II Quantity 2.29 III 2.25 III Quality 3.21 I 3.30 I Technology backstopping 1.53 IV 1.70 IV Majority of farmers in Sitapur were satisfied with quality of technology followed by timeliness, quantity and technology backstopping

14 Role of stakeholders and linkage mechanism Training on Application of Pusa Hydrogel and Bio-fertilisers for Higher Productivity and Water Use Efficiency organised from August 31 September 1, 2015 and 22 KVK scientists participated Deliberated with the stakeholders to design stakeholders role and linkage mechanism during Zonal KVK Workshop of Zone VII at Ujjain (September 8-10, 2015) Workshop on Innovative Agriculture Extension Model for Effective Outreach: Sharing of Experiences among Stakeholders ( ) Project proposal involving 10 ICAR institutes and 5 ZPDs for up-scaling and outscaling of this model has been submitted to DAC&FW for funding under RKVY Central Scheme

15 Comparative performance of Pusa Hydrogel Crop Treatment Yield (q/ha) HD 2932 No. of Irrigation Yield (q/ha) HD 2967 No. of Irrigation Wheat Farmer s practice Mustard (PM 26) Pusa Hydrogel with limited irrigation Crop Treatment Yield (q/ha) No. of Irrigation Maize (PIO 3396) Farmer s practice 12 2 Pusa Hydrogel with limited irrigation 13 1 Farmer s practice Pusa Hydrogel with limited irrigation Application of Pusa Hydrogel saved 1-2 irrigations in wheat, mustard and maize

16 Performance of Different Bio- fertilizers on IARI varieties Crop Bio- fertilizers Demo Yield (%) Paddy (P-2511) Wheat (HD 2967) Check Yield (%) Yield Increase (%) BGA Liquid Zinc Solubilising biofertiliser Liquid Zinc Solubilising biofertiliser Liquid Azotobactor

17 Strength perceived by stakeholders Strengths Mean score Rank Timely delivery of seeds 4.44 II Village postmaster as local extension agents 2.26 V Cost effectiveness 2.20 VI Reaching distant farmers 4.54 I Advisory services through post master 3.92 III Technology backstopping through KVKs 3.64 IV Constraints Constraints perceived by stakeholders Mean score Rank Lack of incentive to the BPMs 4.0 I Unable to satisfy farmers demand of seed (quantity) 2.7 IV Delay in delivery of seeds 2.9 III Difficulty in handling problems of farmers 1.7 VI Information gap regarding variety of which seed was 2.3 V sent BPM biasness in selection of beneficiaries 3.7 II

18 Frequency of farmers visiting post office and village post master increased significantly and post masters were acting as opinion leader in the community. Social network and communication pattern in the rural society changed. Social recognition of the village post masters enhanced (doing meaningful community service) Self-satisfaction and Additional income Feedback of village post masters 18

19 Major conclusions drawn IARI-Post Office Linkage Extension Model found as cost effective and successful means for making the improved agricultural technologies available in the rural areas in relatively less time. More than 90% of farmers received seeds within 4 6 days of despatch. Yield of major cereals, oilseeds and vegetables increased 11 30%. Capacity building activities benefited both the village post masters and farmers. Knowledge gain (23 36%) was recorded. Alternate extension mechanism for dissemination of technology (Village post masters as community based extension agents) and effective outreach of institution to remotely located farmers. 19

20 Interaction Meet Zone Venue Date No. of participants I PAU, Ludhiana April 7, II BVC, Patna December 11, IV ZPD, Kanpur August 28, VI RARI, Jaipur September 2, VII IGKVV, Raipur September 5,

21 Issues emerged Seeds of latest varieties to be sent to the KVKs for further dissemination In case, IARI varieties are not relevant according to the situation of the districts, technology suitable for the area may be disseminated using this mechanism. The technology performance at the village level must be shared with Zonal Project Directorate during various meetings and ought to be reflected in KVKs' Progress Report. Host institutions of KVKs to be informed Zonal level workshop of partner KVKs proposed The PC or SMS of selected KVKs/ Scientist from ZPDs proposed to be recognised as Associate in this project and will be responsible for overall planning and execution of the activities in the district/overall coordination and monitoring of the programme at Zonal level. KVK and selected village post masters may select the beneficiary farmers in each season and seeds can be sent directly to the farmers and village post masters Seed delivery channel may be critically looked into to evaluate its efficiency and assess seed quality once the seed is delivered to the farmers

22 Media Coverage

23 Krishi Dak

24 Way Forward Expand to 100 Distt. of 14 states KVKs for Technological back stopping & seed multiplication KVKs as source of seed - PO charges depends on distance-lower cost within the same Distt. Sale of seeds through Village POs (Retail Post) Information dissemination through Media Post & Direct Post Dissemination of other Technology possible- BGA, Biofertilizers, Hydrogel etc.

25 MoU with Department of Post Intimation to CPMGs of all 14 states about the model, involvement of BPMs and further expansion Remuneration to Rs per annum National level/inter ministry dialogue (as Hon ble AM has suggested)

26

27 Designing Seed Self-sufficiency through Retail Post Model I Model II KVK KVK Technical Assistance Seed Growers Association Retail Post Retail Post IARI

28 Economic efficacy of seed dissemination through IARI - Post Office Linkage Model Wheat (High volume) 2.71 Bottle gourd (Low volume) B:C Ratio 4.07 Mustard (Low volume) (n=200) The B:C ratio for the spread of low volume crop mustard was found highest (1:4.07) followed by bottle gourd (1: 2.71) than that of high volume crop wheat (1: 1.92)

29 29 Comparative Economics of seeds sent through post office and purchased from Govt. agencies/local market n=100 Particular Seed sown per farmer Wheat (HD 2733) sent through post office Wheat (DBW 17, WH 373, PBW 502) (Govt. agencies/ local market 10 kg (1000 m 2 ) 10 kg (1000 m 2 ) Paddy (P 44) sent through post office Paddy (Narendra 359, Saryu 52) (Govt. agencies /local market 2 Kg 2 Kg (1000 m 2 ) (1000 m 2 ) Total Seed cost Rs. 300 Rs. 200 Rs. 70 Rs. 44 Postal cost/ Transport cost Rs. 189 Rs. 20 Rs. 38 Rs. 4 Total Cost (A) Rs. 489 Rs. 220 Rs. 108 Rs. 48 Average Yield (q/1000 m 2 ) Gross return (Rs/1000 m 2 ) (B) Cost of production (Rs/1000 m 2 ) (C) Total cost accrued (Rs/1000 m 2 ) (A+C)=(D) Net Return (Rs/1000 m 2 ) (B-D) Difference in Net Return (Rs/ha) Rs (@ Rs 1400/q) Rs (@ Rs 1400/q) Rs (@ Rs 1000/q) Rs (@ Rs 1000/q)