Farmer-Led Extension Approaches

Dr. Kaushik Kumar
Research Associate,
Directorate of Ext. Education
Anand Agricultural University,
Anand

 Farmer Led Extension is a promising
approach where in farmer leaders were
utilized as extensionists to transfer the
technologies they learned with a view to boost
up the production.
 The FLE approach gives farmers the
opportunity to share their experiences and
practices through a method demonstration
with fellow farmers in the area.
What is Farmer Led Extension ?

Components Production-led Farmers-led
Purpose/
objective
Transfer of production
technologies
Capacity building,create para-professional
extension workers, strengthening local institutions
Goal Food self -sufficiency Livelihood security including
food,nutrition,employment to alleviate
poverty,sustainabilty and conserving biodiversity
Approach Top-down, commodity
and supply driven
Participatory, bottom-up and demand driven
Actors Mostly public
institutions
Pluralistic with public, private, non-government
and farmers organizations as a partner rather than
competitors
Mode Mostly inter personal/
Individual approach
Integration of clients oriented on farm
participatory learning methods supported by ICTs
and media
Paradigm shift from production-led to farmers-led extension system

Components Production-led Farmers-led
Role of
extension
agents
Limited to delivery mode
and feedback to research
system
Facilitation of learning, building overall
capacity of farmers and encouraging
farmers experimentation
Linkages/
liaison
Research-Extension-Farmers Research- Extension-Farmers
Organizations(FIGs, CIGs, SHGs)
Emphasis Information management,
Production “Seed to Seed”
Knowledge management and sharing
Critical areas Improvement, production
and protection
Decision support system, integrated
farming system approach, natural
resource management, clients group
formation and community
empowerment
Critical inputs Money and material Access to information, building human and
social capital
Accountability Mostly government To farmer rather than donors

How farmer-to-farmer or Farmer-led approaches work in practices
1. Farmers do have capacity to experiment.
2. Farmer to farmer extension is a feasible, low
cost way of spreading the results of
experiments and other technical information.
3. Learning by doing is a major ingredient of farmer to
farmer extension
4. Links between Para Extension Workers (PEWs) and multiple
sources of technical information contribute importantly to
effectiveness.

“over 50 percent of farmers who received farming related
information from sources like Radio, TV and newspapers actually
‘tried’ the information or adopted the recommendations,
 whereas over 80% of those who obtained the information from
‘input dealers’ or ‘other progressive farmers’ tried or adopted them.
About 65 per cent of farmers who accessed information from
extension workers or the ‘Krishi Vigyan Kendra’ actually tried or
adopted”.
National Sample Survey Organisation
(NSSO) revealed………

 ‘Farmer participation and feedback should become
on integral part of agricultural resource and
technology transfer.’
 Indicated that farmer-to-farmer learning and
technology transfer is most frequent and is found to
be reliable.
National Commission on Farmers
stressed that……..

9
 Language : Farmer – extensionists speak same language as their
colleagues, both literally and culturally , easing communicate and
understanding
 Relevance : Farmer – extensionists are likely to understand their
colleagues constraints, potentials and aspirations better than more
educated, non farming professional extensionists
 Availability : Farmer – extensionists can often be available at times
more suited to other farmers then professional extensionists find
possible
 Accountability : Farmer – extensionists Farmer working in their own
communities are more directly accountable to the farmers
The Most significant these can include

10
 Credibility : Farmer extensionists have the same background and farm
under similar constraint as other farmers. Their demonstrations of new
technologies and management practices can therefore be more convincing
than those undertaken by professional extensionists.
 Sustainability : At the end of project the farmer extension in staying in
the community and may continue to pursue agricultural or other rural
development initiatives

11
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Collective action
Equity
Reasons for Group Led Extension

Farmer-Led Extension
Farm
school
Farmers
Field School
Farmers-
Scientist
Forum
Farmers
club
Farmer
Interest Group

“Farm school is a field where latest technology were
demonstrated to progressive and interested farmers
who undergo training for certain period of time. Farm
schools help in speedy dissemination and adoption of
technologies through training of progressive farmers on
the latest production technology.”
1. Farm School

FARM SCHOOL IS A
Farm School is a way of disseminating technical information based on a
participatory and interactive learning approach.
FSs provide participatory platforms for improving decision-making capacity and
stimulating local innovation for sustainable agriculture.
It offer community-based non-formal education to groups of
20 to 25 farmers.
Farm school focuses on identifying concrete solutions for local problems by means
of increasing the capacity of individuals and local groups for critical analysis and
decision-making.
The host achiever farmer is designated as Farmer Scientist / Farmer Professor in the
respective crops / enterprises considering his area of expertise

Objectives and Benefits of Farm School
 Objectives:
 To establish a cost-effective system of on farm training to farmers in every village of the
country.
 To double agricultural productivity and farm incomes by dissemination of advanced
agricultural technologies for plant nutrition, pest management and water conservation.
 To demonstrate that annual income of Rs. 50,000 or more can be achieved by application of
advanced agricultural production methods on irrigated lands.
 Benefits:
 Cost effective system for training 25 million farmers a year in advanced methods of
agricultural production.
 Speedy transfer of technology by demonstrating advanced agriculture production practices on
farmers lands in village.

Characteristics of a farmer to be selected
as leader in Farmer Led Extension
Farmer should be:
 Innovative
 Hard working & Active
 Honest and credible
 Interested in learning
 Accepted and committed to the community
 Interested to share his knowledge and skills with fellow
farmers
 Must be experienced in conducting a technical
demonstration/field day/FFS earlier
 Willing and capable of bearing cost and risk
 Must be land owner and have experience in cultivating.
 Farm should be near to his residence

Issues in Farm schools
1. Special emphasis to women farmers so that rural development is complete.
2. The farm schools should be recognized as complimentary and supplementary to
extension services.
3. Training extension personnel
4. Gender sensitization
5. Formation and strengthening of farmers organizations
6. Effective use of mass media
7. Increasing accountability and transparency in farmer-led groups by adopting certain
measures

Farmer Field Schools (FFS) consist of groups of people with a
common interest, who get together on a regular basis to study the
‘how and why’ of a particular topic.
The topics covered can vary considerably from Integrated Pest
Management (IPM), organic agriculture, animal husbandry, and soil
husbandry, to income- generating activities such as bio-agents
production.
2. Farmer Field Schools

Objectives of FFS
 Empowering farmers with knowledge and skills.
 Making farmer expert in their own fields.
 Sharpen the farmers ability to make decision that make their
farming profitable and sustainable.
 Sensitizing farmers in new ways of thinking and problem solving.
 Helping farmers learn how to organize themselves and their
communities

• Grow healthy crop.
• Conserve natural enemies of crop pests
• Observe crop regularly
• Farmers become experts in their own field
Basic principles of FFS

Elements of FFS
1. The Group :
2. The Field:
3. The Facilitator:
4. The Curriculum:
5. The programme leader:
6. Financing :
21

Characteristics of the Farmer Field School
Approach
Farmers as Expert
 The Field is the Primary Learning Material
 Extension Workers as Facilitators Not Teachers.
 The Curriculum is integrated
 Training Follows the Seasoning Cycle
 Regular Group Meetings
 Learning Material as Learner generated
 Group dynamics/team building

Ground working
activities
Training of Facilitators
on
Establishment and
running FFS
Evaluating PTDs
Field Days
Graduations
Farmer run FFS
Follow up by
Facilitators
Steps Conducting in FFS

Ground working
activities
on
Establishment and
running FFS
Evaluating PTDs
Field Days
Graduations
Farmer run FFS
Follow up
Facilitators

Ground working
activities
on
Establishment and
running FFS
Evaluating PTDs
Field Days
Graduations
Farmer run FFS
Follow up
Facilitators
`

Ground working
activities
on
Establishment and
running FFS
Evaluating PTDs
Field Days
Graduations
Farmer run FFS
Follow up by
Facilitators

3.Farmers Scientists Forum
 The Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV) Rahuri, Maharashtra has been
implementinting Farmer-led extension since 2005.
 The Farmers Scientist Forum was established comprising 40 Farmers-Scientists Clubs of 1500
member farmer in the jurisdiction of the ten district of the university.
 The basic idea of formulating the FSCs is to demonstrate and to educate the farmers about
technology generated by the university at different location.
 Participatory research extension approach is being promoted through the Farmers Scientists
Forum. Regular monthly meeting and review meeting are organized and there is an interaction
between FSC members and university scientists.
 Important activities undertaken by FSF under Farmer –led extension approach are:
1. Seed Village programme
2. Capacity building of 800 members of FSCs.
3. Demonstrations through Farmers Participatory Action Research Project sponsored by
ministry of water Resource: New Delhi.

4.Farmer Interest Group
• Farmers Interest Group is an informal, voluntary and self-governing association of
farmers and farm women, formed at village level.
 Formation of Farmers’ Interest Group
1. Farmers will be organised on the basis of communality of interest.
2. The activity selected required mutual help and support to operate and maintain
particularly in self-help group category for production, marketing etc.
3. It will be an informal organization of interested farmers at village level.
4. There is a clear visibility of individual benefit for the group members.
5. Group will have the mechanism to plan and procure knowledge, technical skills,
inputs and marketing services for that particular commodity.
6. Group identification and recognition at different level is necessary.
7. Commodity production activities would be under taken by members themselves.

5. Farmer’s Club
 The emerging needs in agriculture sector are adoption of location specific skill, technologies
and promote greater value addition to agricultural produce to compete in international market
for transmitting latest agricultural techniques to farmer’s field. Need a better relationship with
banks.
 This intermediate role of farmer’s club played an important role to strengthen the powers of
farmers to help market their produce. which is initiated by NABARD in late 1982.
• FUNCTIONS:
I. Coordinate with banks to ensure credit flow among its members and better relation with the
bank and its member.
II. Organise meeting per month where, various fields of agricultural and allied specialist to
discuss the technical updated knowledge.
III. Liaison with corporate input suppliers to purchase bulk inputs on behalf of members.
IV. Organise joint activities like value addition, processing, collective farm produce marketing
etc. for the benefit of members.
V. Undertake socio-economic developmental activities like , education, health, environment etc.

CASE STUDY OF SUCCESSFUL
FARMERS’ FIELD SCHOOL
IN INDIA

Farmers field school in Gujarat state
• A farmer’s progress towards sustainability:
Farmer : Muljibhai Premjibhai
Village : Miyani, Ta: Hadvad, DI: Surendranagar
Land : 8 acre (irrigated)
Animal : 2 buffaloes, calves, cow and 1 pair of bullock.
Family member : 7 member
• 5 years ago his farming practice was unorganised and he used to grow local and
hybrid varieties of jowar, Pearl millet, Cotton, Wheat, Sesame, Cumin and
vegetables on his farm within two seasons of the year.
• Later he joined the FFS as a member along with 14 others from his village. He
learned the details about new information from FFS and started practising it on his
own farm as well as plan for the next season.
• The 1st thing he came to know was about the vermiwash - the wash of earthworms
present in a watery extract of compost. Applying Vermiwash has helped in the
growth of plants and helps in maintaining the soil texture.
• The benefits of vermiwash are enhanced when mixed with cow urine. For the last 1
½ years he gained good results in cotton and vegetable farming.

• Then, 2nd time there was a discussion in one of the FFS meetings about less water
intensive farming. During that time, there was a talk about drip irrigation. In
summer less irrigation is possible and less saline water can be given to crops
through this method and he started drip irrigation in 1 acre.
• The progress in his farming began 3 years ago. Before that his annual income was
about Rs. 70000/- and now it has doubled with an increase in profit. And in this
progress his wife has been of great support him and his son started doing farming
with a thoughtful approach.
• He has a dream to make his farm an ideal one and it is important that he pass this to
on his children in a better shape than he received.

SUCCESS STORY OF FARMER FIELD SCHOOL
IN INDIA

I. Farmer : Duraisamy
Village : Erangattuthottam, District : Erode State ; Tamilnadu
• Opined that before attending the FFS, he was not able to identify the insects and used 6-7
chemical sprays in the field.
• Through Farmers field school, he came to know about the cotton pests and their natural
enemies and sprayed chemical only once.
• Result: The cotton plants beared more squares and bolls. He said that, through FFS, he has
developed the ability to take crop management decision by his own.
II. Farmer :Seethalakshmi from
Village : Adireddiyur, District : Erode
• She expressed that earlier she used to apply inorganic fertilizers like urea, potash and DAP
to the cotton field. But after the cotton soil being tested through the capacity building
programmers, inorganic fertilizers like urea, potash were decreased and usage of organic
amendments like FYM, neem cake were used by which the plant looked healthy with
optimum yield (8 q/ha).
Cotton FFS 2008- A farmers participatory extension strategy for
dissemination of cotton technology in Erode district:

ચોમાસુ ડાાંગર જી.એ.આર 13 જાત નુ વિક્રમી ઉત્પાદન
નામ– ભગિતભાઇ નારણભાઇ ઉંમર:- 55 િર્ષ
અભ્યાસ:- બી.એ(ઇકોનોમીક્સ)
પ્રમુખ:- સરદાર કકશાન ક્લબ
જમીન ધારકતા:- 7 વિઘા
અનુભિ:- 25 િર્ષ
ગામ-બેચરી તાલુકો-ઉમરેઠ,
જીલ્લો- આણાંદ
E-Mail ID- farmersclubbechari@yahoo.com
મો.નાં-9428437219
•આજ્થી પ ાંચ વર્ષ પહેલ હાં વર્ોથી ચ લીઆવતી ચીલ ચ લ ખેતી પધ્ધ્્ત અપન વતો હતો. જેથી મ ર ખેતી ઉત્પ દન સ ર આવત
નહોત.
•આત્મ પ્રોજેકટમ ાં જોડ યો ત્ય રથી તેન દ્વ ર ચ લતીવવવવધ વવસ્તરણની વ કેફ થયો.
•આત્મ પ્રોજેક્ટ દ્વ ર આયોજીત ત લીમમ ાં મખ્ય ચોખ સાંશોધન કેન્દ્ર, નવ ગ મ ખ તે ટ્રેનીંગ મેળવી.
•જમીનનાં પૃથ્થકરણ કર વવ.
•જમીનની પવષ તૈય રીન ભ ગ રૂપે સેન્દ્ન્દ્રય ખ તર,લીલો પડવ શ,જૈવીક ખ તરો,જેવ જમીન સધ રક ખ તરોનો ઉપયોગ કયો
•ડ ાંગરની ફેર રોપણી મ ટે ખેતરન સરખ ન ન ક્ય ર ઓ બન વી એક વીઘે ૫ થેલી સેન્દ્રીય ખ તર,૧૫ કકલો ડી.એ.પી,૨૦ કકલો
એમોનીયમ સલ્ફેટ તથ ૫ કકલો ઝીંક સલ્ફેટ પ ય ન ખ તર તરીકે સરખી રીતે પાંખીને ગ વલ કર્ું.
•ચોમ સાં ડ ાંગરની વ વણી મ ટે સધ રેલ જાત GAR-13 જાત પસાંદકરી વૈજ્ઞ વનકપ્ધવતથી વ વણી કરેલ હતી.
•ડ ાંગરની રોપણી મ ટે ધરૂવ ડીયાં બન વવ ની જગ્ય એ ઉન ળ મ ાં ર બીંગ પ્ધવત અપન વેલ છે.

અનુ. િર્ષ પાક ખચષ ઉત્પાદન(કકલો) આિક ચોખ્ખો નફો
1 2010-11 ચોમાસુ ડાાંગર 22590/- 6400 103200/- 80610/-
2 2011-12 ચોમાસુ ડાાંગર 21490/- 7360 123360/- 101870/-
3 2012-13 ચોમાસુ ડાાંગર 20215/- 8480 153080/- 132865/-
•ડ ાંગરન બીય રણને ધરૂ ન ખત પહેલ દવ નો પટ આપી ધરૂવ ડીર્ાં બન વર્ાં.
•ડ ાંગરની ફેર રોપણી મ ટે ધરૂ ઉપ ડીને ઉપરન ભ ગની ૩ થી ૫ ઇંચ જેટલી ટોચો ક પી ન ખી જેથી ઇયરો તથ
ઇંડ ઓનો ન શ થ ય.
•ડ ાંગરની ફેર રોપણી બ દ ૧૦ થી ૧૫ કદવસે પ ૂવતિ ખ તર તરીકે ૧ વીઘે ૨૦ કકલો ન ઇટ્રોજન તરીકે એમોનીયમ
સલ્ફેટન સ્વરૂપમ આપેલ હત.
•વનિંદ મણ વનયાંત્રણ મ ટે રોપણી બ દ બીજા કે ત્રીજા કદવસે વનિંદ મણન શક દવ રેતીમ ાં ભેળવી ડ ાંગરની
ક્ય રીમ ાં પખવ થી પ કમ ાં નીંદ મણ થતાં નથી.
•ચોમ સ ડ ગરમ ાં જી.એ.આર 13 જાત નાં વૈજ્ઞ વનકપ્ધવતથી વ વેતર કરીને 2012-13 મ ાં 8480 કકલો પ્રવત
હેક્ટર વવક્રમી ઉત્પ દન મેળવેલ છે
•ર ષ્ટ્ટ્રીય કૃવર્ અને ગ્ર મીણ વવક સ બેન્દ્ક તરફથી તેમને બેસ્ટ ક મગીરી બજાવવ બદલ બેસ્ટ ફ મષસ ક્લબનો
ર જ્ય કક્ષાનો િર્ષ૨૦૧૦-૧૧માાં એિોડષ મળેલ છે.
•મહીન્દ્રા & મહીન્દ્રા ટ્રેકટર કાંપનીનો મહીન્દ્રા સમૃધ્ધી સેન્દ્ટર તરફથી િર્ષ ૨૦૧૨માાં કકસાન નાં-૧ એિોડષ મળેલ છે.
•આત્મ પ્રોજેક્ટ આણાંદ તરફથી આત્મ બેસ્ટ ઓગેન ઇઝડ ગ્રપ એિોડષ િર્ષ ૨૦૧૧-૧૨માાં એિોડષ પણ મળેલ છે.
તથા નેશનલ પેન્દ્શન યોજનાના ગુજરાતમાાં િધુ ખાતા ખોલાવ્ય્કા બદલ તથા તેનો લાભ ખેડુતોને આપિા બદલ
બેન્દ્ક ઓફ બરોડા દ્વારાિર્ષ૨૦૧૪માાં એિોડષ મળેલ છે.
•સમગ્ર દેશમ ાં સૌપ્રથમ વખત આણાંદ જીલ્લ મ ાં સ્વર્ણિમ કૃવર્ મહોત્સવ- ૨૦૧૦ દરમ્ય ન આણાંદ જજલ્લ ન તમ મ
365 ગ મોમ ફ મષસ ક્લબ બન વવ માં આવેલ હતી. બેચરી ગ મની સરદ ર કકસ ન ક્લબ ને રાજ્ય લેિલે બેસ્ટ
ફામષસ ક્લબનો એિોડષ માનનીય કૃવર્ માંત્રીશ્રી કદલીપભાઇ સાંઘાણી સાહેબના હસ્તે મળેલ છે

Challenges of Framer-led Extension Approach
 Changes in organizational Structure and Professional Attitude
 Strengthening Farmers’ Organizations
 Participatory Planning Is Still Dominated by Village Leaders
 Farmers’ Acceptability
 Fiscal Sustainability
 Logistics

Steps ahead……..
 Promoting Farmer Interest Groups and Women Interest
Groups for strengthening Farmer-led extension.
 Capacity building of these organized groups for advanced
agricultural production technologies.
 Special emphasis should be on women farmers.
 Farmer group to be equipped with market intelligence,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for access to
market information.

e-mail address: kaushikgk707@gmail.com
Phone no. : 09033364101

Farmer-Led Extension Approaches

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

Similaire à Farmer-Led Extension Approaches

Similaire à Farmer-Led Extension Approaches (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Farmer-Led Extension Approaches

Notes de l'éditeur