Last Update: June 2025 (Extension Services (Agricultural Inputs))
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Extension Services (Agricultural Inputs)
This article deals with ‘Extension Services (Agricultural Inputs).’ This is part of our series on ‘Economics’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.
Introduction
Extension Services are expert services provided to the farmers that can help improve productivity by delivering timely advisory services to farmers to adopt best practices, technology, meet with contingencies, market information etc.
Explanation: Imagine a small farmer in Bihar growing wheat. He wants to increase yield but:
- Doesn’t know about the latest high-yielding wheat varieties
- Isn’t aware of how much fertilizer to use or when to irrigate
- Doesn’t know how to deal with pest attacks or a sudden drought
- Has no idea where he’ll get the best price for his wheat in the market
👉 That’s where Extension Services come in. These are expert advisory services provided to farmers by the government or agricultural institutions to help them do farming in a smarter, more scientific, and more profitable way.
But Problems
- In India, there is 1 Extension worker per 800-1000 farmers.
- 60% of farmers don’t get any service from Extension workers, according to the NSSO survey.
- Farmers depend on the progressive farmer of their area or marketing agent of some company for advice on the product they should use. But the problem is they will suggest only those products which give maximum profits.
- There is no lab to farm connectivity i.e. research done in agricultural labs doesn’t always reach the farmers in the field.
Steps taken by the Government
1. Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE)
- The program aims to bolster agricultural extension services throughout India to improve agricultural productivity.
- The Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is the key component of the SMAE, which focuses on sharing the latest agricultural technologies with farmers. ATMA is involved in farmer training, demonstrations, exposure visits, kisan melas, mobilisation of farmer groups, and the establishment of farm schools.
2. Various Apps
These include
- mKisan
- PUSA Krishi App
However, app usage is still limited due to literacy issues, regional language limitations, and lack of smartphone access among many small and marginal farmers.
3. Kisan TV
- Government can’t send the person to each village, but each village has TVs. Hence, the Government of India started Kisan TV in 2015.
4. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samridhi Kendra (PMKSK)
- PMKSK works under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers (announced in 2022)
- The program aims to convert existing Fertilizer shops into Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samridhi Kendra that will act as a “One Stop Shop” for all agriculture-related inputs (like fertilizers, seeds, insecticides, pesticides, etc.) and other agricultural services.
5. AgriClinics and Agribusiness Centres
- Agriculture Graduates set these up to provide paid advice to farmers on various issues. The Agriculture Ministry and NABARD support this scheme.
- This also helps generate rural employment for agri-graduates and promotes self-employment in the farm advisory sector.
6. Krishi Vigyan Kendras
- Krishi Vigyan Kendras are set up by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Agricultural Universities for frontline demonstration of agriculture technologies on the field, updating farmers about modern agriculture technologies and providing advisories to farmers using ICT.
- There are over 700 KVKs in India, but they are often underfunded and lack adequate staff for outreach.
7. Helplines
- Kisan Call Centre: To address farmers’ queries regarding agriculture and allied sectors.
- SMS portal for farmers
8. Student Ready
- Under this scheme, the village students are given Agro education.
9. Krishi Unnati Mela
- Fairs organized by ICAR to demonstrate new agricultural technologies to farmers.
- These melas also act as platforms for feedback collection and farmer-scientist interaction.