1. THE MILLION FARMERS’ SCHOOL & DIGITAL EXTENSION INITIATIVE
NATIONAL RABI WORKSHOP
NEW DELHI, 20TH SEPTEMBER’19
AMIT MOHAN PRASAD
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, AGRICULTURE
Govt. of Uttar Pradesh

2. The Idea To double the farmers’ income, three things are needed
Reduce the cost of cultivation, increase the production and obtain the rice price for the farmers
Technology has a crucial role to play in all the three
Extension is the main vehicle for taking new technology to the field
Therefore, we must focus on agriculture extension in order to enhance productivity, production, market linkages and farmer’s income

3. Agriculture Extension
There is a separate programme called National Mission on Agriculture Extension and Technology (NMAET)
Under this, Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is tasked to carry out extension work
Every programme like NFSM or BGREI or NMAET has a component of demonstration in farmers’ fields
However, extension has remained the weakest area in agriculture and input management has gained supremacy

4. Extension in Campaign Mode
The idea was developed during an interaction with the farmers at Mathura
The cascade model of training was used to train the trainers
A module of one hour per day for five days was thought of
Course content was designed and finalized
State level officers functioned as KRPs and prepared district level Master Trainers through VC
Master Trainers trained the Trainers (TA/BTM/ATM) at the KVKs and other centres

5. The Course Content Day 1: Rabi crops, Soil health and Crop cycle
Day 2: Agriculture Inputs, Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries
Day 3: Prime Minister Fasli Bima Yojana; Various subsidies under different schemes
Day 4: Raising Farmer’s Income; Agriculture diversification and Horticulture
Day 5: Plant Protection, Online registration of farmers and Direct Benefit Transfer

6. Current Design
The module has been converted into a four day programme with one and half hours every day
Convergence with other allied departments is the big focus now
Staff of Horticulture and Animal Husbandry Department collaborates
In the fourth edition (June 2019) technical staff of sugar cane department participated actively
The confidence of farmers on this system of extension has increased gradually

7. The Launch
Launched on the 5th of December by Hon’ble Chief Minister

8. Running of Modules
It is launched with a lot of fan fair across the state
Public representatives participate in the launch with great enthusiasm
Entire development administration comes out in support of this programme anchored by Agriculture Department
Four editions completed; more than 4 million farmers trained so far and counting…….
Cascade model of training is used for trainers’ training
Each farmer gets a free copy of the module

9. The Training Paradigm
Use of technology is a major feature of the training programme (AV, NIC, live streaming…)
Random number technique used for knowledge test………App for attendance of farmers
While information and knowledge of farmers about the better practices, better varieties etc is going up, the spin off has been the capacity building of our own staff
There can be no better method to build the capacity of the field staff
Participation of women farmers is a heartening feature.

11. Digital Extension Initiative Vaigyanikon Ki Baat, Kisaano ke Saath
This experiment was done on the 4th of June
The video conferencing facility across the state set up by NIC was utilised
At the State Level Centre, Hon’ble Minister, top agricultural scientists and senior officers of agriculture and allied depts were present
These came from ICAR, CIMMYT, Basmati Foundation, State Agriculture Universities and State Government Departments
Resources from SAUs and KVKs were widely used for this

12. Vaigyanikon ki Baat…..
Apart from the scientists, we had two progressive farmers also at the State HQ
Shri Ram Saran Verma and Shri Bharat Bhushan Tyagi have been awarded Padma Sri this year for farming
At the district level centres, progressive farmers and departmental officers were made to sit
Therefore, this was a two way communication where the scientists and farmers were able to interact

13. Digital Extension….
Topics are selected carefully, according to the time of the year and audience
Latest edition was on 11th of September, focused on women farmers; Sudha Pande and Biatana Devi were star speakers
Presence of renowned scientists is an attraction for the farmers in the NIC halls as well as the villages
Entire program is live streamed which can be seen by farmers in the villages and elsewhere

14. Viewing in the Villages

15. Viewing (continued…)

16. Viewing (continued…)

17. Impact Assessment of TMFS
IFPRI recently did an impact assessment of TMFS and found statistically significant difference in knowledge level of farmers!
Their findings include (other benefits):
Enhanced job satisfaction among employees
Enhanced capacity of employees
Better communication established between farmer and department

18. Thank You!