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| Million Farmers' School: From Lab to Land | | |
Dr. Parveen Kumar, Dr. D. Namgayal
Farming is the backbone of Indian economy. The government from time to time has started many schemes for the benefit of farming community; but unfortunately a majority of them does not reach the farmers. Even after so many decades, the farming community is suffering from financial exclusion, institutional exclusion and technological exclusion. There is no dearth of developmental initiatives and farmer welfare programmes, but still the weakest link is the extension.
The present government has set up the ambitious goal of doubling the farmers' income by 2022. So, to achieve this it is necessary that the benefits of the governmental schemes must percolate down to them for whom these are meant. This target of doubling the farmers' income is not possible without addressing the weakness in the extension system. The present extension system in the country suffers from lack of technical men power, adequate financial support to the extension machinery and lack of accountability in the system. Different state governments in the country are already working on appropriate extension strategies and mechanism to achieve the desired goal of doubling farmers' income by 2022. Among the various extension programmes; the one to discuss here is the Million Farmers' School or the Kissan Pathshala Yojana being implemented by the government of Uttar Pradesh. It is basically an extension and outreach programme to connect the agricultural department's scientific and technical staff with the state's farming community. The unique part of this programme is its compaign mode, its modules that are adapted to each of the state's nine agro-climatic conditions. Also the timing runs parallel to the cropping season. The schools are in the form of a five-day teaching module. The classes launched in the previous rabi season were held over two phases the first during December 5-9 and second in December 11-15 across all Nyaya Panchayats, each connecting two or more villages. About 7,500 technical assistants and block technology managers were deployed for the Kissan Pathshala. Each of them did two five-day modules, adding up to 15,000 Pathshala and covering 10 lakh-plus farmers. The five-day course module covers a range of subjects from crop-specific advice for a particular region like which varieties to plant, what fertilizers to apply, when to irrigate and how to deal with pest and disease and information on new farm machinery, sprinkler/drip irrigation technology and post-harvest management practices, to awareness of government schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Parampragat Krishi Yojana, PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Soil Health Card and all other related schemes. This scheme serves two purposes. First it has revived the agricultural extension system in the state and second it has re-establish connection between the agriculture department and the farming community. Besides creating awareness among farmers of government schemes, farmers also got to know what they want to know. The fact that the schools are being held during the cropping season also forces the technical staff to address practical problems having immediate relevance. It also enables them to get immediate feedback and to take corrective measures if any required. A report in Indian Express quoted how farmers in a farmers' school conducted at a primary school for girls in Kishorpura village in Mauranipur tehsil of Jhansi district, were most concerned over how to save their already-sown Chana (Chickpea) and Matar (Field Pea) crops in a drought-like situation. They were also keen to know whether there was any government subsidy for the building of barbed-wire fences to bar the entry of stray cattles into their farms. This has emerged as a major problem in many rural areas, especially after heightened cattle vigilantism that made it difficult to dispose of redundant animals.
According to State Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, more than 10 lakh farmers of the state will be imparted training pertaining to modern farming techniques at the million farmers school, so that they can not only improve the production and productivity of crops, but eventually are able to increase their income. Apart from boosting farming mechanism in the state, information pertaining to animal husbandry, fisheries, poultry, gardening and horticulture will also be disseminated to the farmers, so that they can increase their income.
Programmes like the Million Farmers' School carry with them the added advantage of serving as a forum for a two way communication between agriculture department officials and farmers during every cropping season. Such schemes like the Million Farmers' School have the potential to transform Indian agriculture in today's scenario, where farmers are suffering from lack of technical knowhow and a poor produce and its low realization. The scheme no doubt is a very noble initiative but it can be made more dynamic and effective by involving the private sector in it. In the country the private sector like the private input companies, the agro-machinery firms, the ICT providers, the insurance companies and all others can be roped in to give timely and relevant advice to the farming community. They can also use their expertise to upgrade the skills of farming community. There is nothing to lose for farmers, because from where the advice comes does not matter, as long as it leads to higher yields and lower production costs. |
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