Agricultural Extension

Unit -1

Introduction to Agricultural Extension

B.Sc Agriculture II

Extension EducationDefinition and Concepts:

The term extension was first used in the United States of

America in the first decade of this century to con notes the extension of

knowledge from land grant colleges to the farmers through the process of

informal education.

In India, extension work was primarily started by F.L.

Brayne (1920) in Punjab the term community development and extension

education became more popular with the launching of community

development projects in 1952 and with the establishment of the national

extension service in 1953, Since then, community Development has been

regarded as a programme for all-round development of the rural people and

extension education as the means to achieve this objective

Definition and Concepts:

1. Extension Education deals with practical items of information which is

useful for rural people which solve their daily problems, specially those

relations to agricultural production. (Thorat)

2. Extension Education is an integral behavioral science which contributes

towards the understanding and formulation of methods and procedures for

bringing planned change in human behavior.

3. Extension education is education for the betterment of people and for

changing their behavior i.e. knowledge, skill and attitude.

4. Extension education is the dissemination of useful research findings and

ideas among rural people to bring out desirable changes in their social and

cultural behavior.

6. Extension education in an applied behavioral science, the knowledge of which is

to be applied for desirable changes in the behavioral complex of the people.

7. Extension is an education and its purpose is to change the attitude and its purpose

is to change the attitude and practices of the people with whom the work is done.

8. Extension education is a science which deals with various strategies of change in

the behavioral patterns of human beings through technological and scientific

innovation for the improvement of their standard of living.

9. Extension is to teach a person how to think, not what to think, and to teach

people, to determine accurately their own needs to find solution to their own

problems and to help them acquire knowledge and develop convictions in that

direction.

10. Extension is an out-of school system of education in which adults and young

people learn by doing. It is a partnership between government, the land grant

colleges and the people, which provider services and education designed to meet the

needs of the people

Importance of Extension Education:

1. Extension uses democratic methods in educating the farmers.

2. Extension helps in adoption of innovations.

3. Extension helps in studying and solving the rural problems.

4. Extension increases farm yields and improve the standard of living

of farmers.

5. Extension makes good communities better and progressive.

6. Extension contributes to national development programmers.

Importance and Scope of Extension Education

Scope of Extension Education

It includes all activities of rural development. So extension programmers

should be dynamic and flexible. The areas indicating scope of Extension

are listed below:

1. Increasing efficiency in agricultural production.

2. Increasing efficiency in marketing, distribution and utilization of

agricultural inputs and outputs.

3. Conservation, development and use of natural resources.

4. Proper farm and home management.

5. Better family living.

6. Youth development

7. Leadership development.

8. Community and rural development.

9. Improving public affairs for all round development.

Objectives of Extension EducationObjectives:

1. To raise the standard of living of the rural people by helping them in

right use of their resources.

2. To help in planning and implementing the family and village plans for

increasing production in various occupations.

3. To provide facilities for better family living.

Specific Objectives1. To provide knowledge and help for better management of farms and increase

income.

2. To encourage the farmers to grow his own food, eat well and live well.

3. To promote better social, natural, recreational, intellectual and spiritual life

among the people.

4. To help rural families in better appreciation of SWOT in their village.

5. To open new opportunities for developing talents and leadership of rural

people.

6. To build rural citizens who are:

i) Proud of their occupation.

ii) Independent in thinking.

iii) Constructive in outlook.

iv) Capable, efficient and self-reliant in character.

v) Having love of home and country in their heart.

Principles of Extension EducationPrinciples:A principle is a statement of policy to guide decision and action in a consistent

manner (Mathews).

A principle is a universal truth that has been observed and found to be truth and

a settled rule of action.

The principles of extension education are given hereunder:

1. Principle of cultural difference:

1. People differ in thinking, living and culture.

2. Extension education methods should be in line with these differences.

3. It is difficult to recognize non-material culture than material culture.

4. The blue print of extension programme for one area may not suit to other

areas.

5. Changes will have to be made in the programmes according to changing

situations.

2. Principle of cultural change:1. Culture undergoes change due to extension.

2. Change occurs otherwise also.

3. Extension Workers should gain the confidence of people.

4. Extension workers should organize result demonstration.

5. After increasing production, the Extension workers should concentrate on

marketing.

6. Extension workers have to change to meet the cultural changes among the

people.

3. Principle of grass-root organization:1. Extension workers should pay attention to all the groups’ needs and interests.

2. Imposed innovations have no relevance to groups.

3. People will accept the innovations only when they find those useful.

4. Principle of interests and needs:1. People and extension workers should work together.

2. Co-operation and help of each other needed for social upliftment.

5. Principle of interests and needs:1. People should voluntarily participate.

2. Work should start from interests and needs of people.

3. Fulfillment of needs create interests.

4. First concentrate on felt needs and then develop felt needs.

6. Principle of participation:1. Attachment will not develop by offering ready made things.

2. Participation develops leadership and increases confidence.

3. Involving leaders increases people’s participation.

7. Principle of adaptability in the use of teaching methods:1. People differ in knowledge and understanding.

2. Method should vary accordingly.

3. Use of more than one method is beneficial.

4. If needed new methods must be devised to meet new situations.

8. Principle of leadership:1. Extension workers should utilize local leadership for increasing speed of

work.

2. Identification, training and encouragement of leaders is necessary.

9. Principle trained specialists:1. Agricultural and other sciences are developing speedily.

2. Maintaining competency in any of these sciences is a continuous process.

3. Without specialist’s support the extension cannot strive.

4. SMS is responsible to solve the extension workers problems.

5. Subjects Matter Specialist (SMS) is a link between research and application

of research.

6. SMS should have broad outlook and be well versed.

10. Principle of satisfaction:1. The extension programme should give satisfaction to the people.

2. People will not participate if they do not get satisfaction.

11. Principle of whole family approach:

1. Extension work should reach all the family members.

2. Neglecting any member may result in rejection of innovations e.g.

Hybrid maize in U.P.

12. Principle of evaluation:

1. Determining the research results in unbiased way is necessary.

2. Intermittent review of progress is necessary.

3. Corrective measures are needed if the direction is found wrong

4. Behavioural changes should be measured.

5. Evaluation helps in improving the quality of work.

13. Principle of applied Science and Democracy:

1. People have freedom to accept or reject the technology.

2. Applied agricultural Science is a two way process.

There is no universally accepted definition of

rural development. The term is used in different ways in vastly

divergent contexts. As a concept, it connotes overall development of

rural areas with a view to improve the quality of life rural people. As a

phenomenon, it is the result of various physical, technological,

economic, socio-cultural and institutional factors. As a discipline, it is

multi-disciplinary in nature representing an intersection of agricultural,

social, behavioural and management of sciences.

In short, rural development is a process that aims at improving the

standard of living of the people living in the rural areas.

Rural development may be defined as overall development of rural

areas to improve the quality of life of rural people. It is an integrated

process, which includes social, economical, political and spiritual

development of the poorer sections of the society.

What is Rural Development

Rural development can be defined as, helping rural people set

the priorities in their own communities through effective and democratic

bodies, by providing the local capacity; investment in basic infrastructure and

social services, justice, equity and security, dealing with the injustices of the

past and ensuring safety and security of the rural population, especially that of

women.

According to Robert chambers, rural development is a

strategy to enable a specific group of people, poor rural women and men, to

gain for themselves, and their children more of what they want and need. It

involves helping the poorest among those who seek a livelihood in the rural

areas to demand and control more of the benefits of rural development. The

group includes small scale farmers, tenants and the landless.

Thus, the term rural development may be used to imply any

one of the above-mentioned connotations. The avoid ineffective floundering

among the myriad definitions, we shall define rural development as A Process

leading to sustainable improvement in the quality of life of rural people,

specially the poor.

Objectives of Rural Development

1. Changes in what people know their knowledge of themselves of

their society and of their physical environment.

2. Changes in what people can do their skills, mental and physical.

3. Changes in what people think and feel their attitude towards

themselves towards their society and towards their physical

environment.

4. Changes in what people actually do their actions related to factors

determining their own welfare.

As we know the 60-70% of rural population in India lives

in primitive conditions. This sorry state exists even after 60 years of

independence. So that Rural Development programmes have urgency in

the present condition also.

There are many obstacles in the rural development

programmes which are as under

1. In 21st Century, there is no electricity supply in many villages.

2. Now also many rural peoples using primitive methods of cooking, living

and farming and they have trust on these methods.

3. By using primitive cook stoves, around 300,000 death / year takes plan

due to pollution.

4. 54% of India’s population is below 25 years and most of them live in

rural areas with very little employment opportunities.

Problems in Rural Development

5. Literacy is the major problem in rural development programme.

6. The poor extension linkage causes slow growth of rural

development.

7. Untrained, unskilled, inexperienced staff in extension linkage

cannot provide satisfactory help to rural peoples.

8. Every one want to go to the cities, so that rural people’s remains

as ignores part by the policy makers also.

9. Privatization concept is useful for rural development but,

government not praying much attention to this aspect.

10. Policy makes prepared policies, programmes for betterment of

rural people but, if these programmes are not implemented very well

then have no used.

Improvement in the quality of life of rural people is

the important agenda of rural development programme. In India –

a country where the number of people living in rural areas, rural

development programme is necessary aspect.

Rural development implies both the economic

betterment of people as well as greater social transformation. The

basic objective of all rural development endeavors / programmes

has been the welfare of the millions. In order to achieve this,

planned attempts have been made to eliminate poverty, ignorance

and inequality of opportunities. A wide spectrum of programmes

has been undertaken so far, to alleviate rural poverty and ensure

improved quality of life for the rural population especially those

below the poverty line.

Importance of Rural Development

In the initial phase of planned rural development, the

concentration was on sectors of agriculture industry, communication,

education and health. The Ministry of Rural Development places

importance now on health, education, drinking water, housing and road so

that the quality of life in rural areas improves and the fruit of economic

reform are shared by all sections of the society.

With time and experience, it is realized that accelerated

and meaningful development can be achieved only if people of the grass

root are involved, “people’s participation” has become the keyword in

rural development programmes. The participation of the people is

necessary to provide the rural people with better prospects for economic

development

Shriniketan Attempt

Methods to Achieve the Objectives:

1. Creating a spirit of self help.

2. Developing village leadership.

3. Organizing village scouts called “Brati Balika”.

Activities:

1. Demonstrations on farmers’ fields.

2. Dairy to supply pure milk and animals to farmers or breeding.

3. Poultry farm.

4. Training and organizing the weavers.

5. Training in tanning, pottery, embroidery, tailoring etc.

6. Film shows, meetings, village meals.

Short Comings:

1. Too much emphasis on ‘Center’.

2. Confined to limited villages.

3.Tagore’s interest in ‘idea’ catching on.

This project was started by Mr. Spencer Hatch, an American Agricultural

Expert in Travancore State under the auspices of Y.M.C.A. in 1921.

Objectives:

1. To bring about completed upward development towards a more

abundant life for rural people spiritually, mentally, physically, socially

and economically.

Activities:

1. Self help with intimate expert counsel working principles of the centre.

2. Agriculture.

3. Cottage Industries.

4. Community projects.

5. Bee Keeping.

7. Poultry Keeping etc.

Marathandam Attempt

Strong Points:

1. Special training of staff, their enthusiasm and sincerity was

developed.

2. A comprehensive plan.

3. Started with the existing conditions.

4. Low cost.

Short Comings:

1. Lack of adequate funds.

2. Lack of Government banking.

3. Lack of continuous contacts with the villagers.

4. Religious standing of the institution.

Rural uplift movement on a mass scale was first

started by Mr. F.I. Brayne, Dy. Commissioner in the Gurgaon district of

Punjab in 1920. The work gathered momentum after 1933 when Mr. Brayne

was appointed as Commissioner of Rural Reconstruction in the Punjab. In

1935-36, the Government of India granted Rs. One crore for the work which

acted as a stimulus. After that the work was transferred to the Cooperative

Department and Better Living Societies were organized to take up this work

in the villages.

Objectives:

1. To increase agricultural production.

2. To stop wastage of money on social and religious functions.

3. To improve healthy standard of the people.

4. To organize welfare programmes.

Gurgaon Experiment

Activities:

1. Appointment of village guides.

2. Propaganda through films, folk songs, dramas etc.

3. Rural Economics and domestic Economics Schools.

Short Comings:

1. A one man show.

2. Village guides were un-experienced and untrained.

3. No comprehensive planning.

4. No continuity in the work.

5. Limited to few villages.

6. Force not persuasion.

Gandhian Constructive Programme / Sewagram:

Self contained and self sufficient village life was the dream of

Gandhiji. He was aware about the grassroots’ problems of India, rural set up

and he wanted to solve these problems without intervention of any outside

agency. He wanted to solve these problems by local people and through local

resources. People know Gandhiji not only as a Mahatma or political agitator,

but also as a social and economic reformer. He made people to understand that

India lives in villages and that the common man’s upliftment is the upliftment

of the country.

Regarding development work in the country, he emphasized

that the “salvation of India lies in cottage industries.” They key-words of his

economy are: -Decentralized production and equal distribution of wealth

Self-sufficiency of Indian villages.

For equal distribution of wealth, cruel process of extermination was not

followed but throughout the heart of the owners by persuasion and appeal to

the better sense of man.

According to him self-sufficiency of Indian villages can be

achieved by eradicating middlemen, so that the farmer could get the full

price for his produce. He wanted that the tiller should be able to consume

his own products like fruits, milk, vegetables etc. Only then will come up the

true India.

For better of people he formulated an 18 point programme,

which includes the promotion of village industries, basic and adult education

rural sanitation, uplift of backward tribes, uplift of women, education in

public health and hygiene, propagation of natural language, love for the

mother tongue, economic equality, organization of kisans, labour and

students and so on.

He wants to make villagers self-sufficient and also want to

develop stamina which is useful against oppression and injustice. The

important institutions, which were organized to foster his ideas were; all

India Spinner Association, All India Village Industries Association, Gandhi

Ashram at Tiruchungodi, Gandhi Niketan at Kallupatti, Gandhi Gram at

Dindigal, Gandhi Sewa Sadan at Porur (Malawar), Kasturba Ashram in

Trichr, Kerala. Truly speaking, the Gandhian constrictive Programme was

became big institutions and simple ideas became philosophies.

His emphasis on Khadi became the Charka movement

and then, the All India Khadi a Village Industries Board. His thought,

against untouchability and caste system, resulted in the organization of

Harijan Sewak Sangh and many like this. He created leaders like Vinoba

Bhave, Nehru, Jayaprakash Narayan, Mira Ben etc. who came form

common stock, but got inspiration from Gandhi.

Web References:

1. Agri info.in

2. ICAR e-courses