During the mid-1990s, the Government of India and the World Bank began exploring new approaches to extension that would address these system problems and constraints. The result was a new, decentralized extension approach, which would focus more directly on agricultural diversification and...

The measures of poverty involves a) the specification of the threshold income level below which a person is considered poor (the poverty line) and b) construction of an index to measure the intensity and severity of poverty suffered by those whose income is below the poverty line. Sen(1976) has...

As part of the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), a makhana value chain study was organized in Bihar, in collaboration between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in Patna, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Food Policy...

Presently, Indian agricultural extension has wide mandates and despite the pluralistic extension approaches, its coverage and use of services is limited; particularly in rain-fed regions that are represented by marginal and smallholder farmers’. Hence, there is need to develop “need-based”...

Potato is the fourth major food crop after rice, wheat and maize in Bihar. It occupies less than 5% of net sown area with production only 4th after rice, wheat and maize. Potato a short duration crop has special significance since it gives exceptionally high yields/unit area/unit time and has...

The study is based on data collected under the project entitled “Tracking change in rural poverty in household and village economies in Eastern India”. Data were collected from sample households through panel interview method in four villages namely; Arap, Baghakole, Inai and Susari. The...

During the mid-1990s, the Government of India and the World Bank began exploring new approaches to extension that would address these system problems and constraints. The result was a new, decentralized extension approach, which would focus more directly on agricultural diversification and...

An estimated 85% of Afghanistan’s population lives in rural areas, most of which are resource poor farmers whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and livestock in agro-pastoral or crop-livestock systems. Agriculture – including the processing of agricultural and livestock products --...

Decentralizing a large, complex national extension system is not easy, but the Government of India appears to be moving toward this long-term goal. Although ATMA model has been successful in addressing many of the extension problems and has shown exceptional impacts during the NATP phase but it...

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) provide opportunities for developing a variety of safe and cost effective, prophylactic, and curative medicines for a number of maladies. It is estimated that the primary health care of over 80 per cent of the world’s population still depends on plant based...