Developing Market-Driven Extension System in India

India's agricultural extension system is at a pivotal point in its development. During the past 50 years, the Indian extension system has evolved to reflect national priorities. At the outset, extension worked to bring about broad-based rural development. However, the food crises starting in the late 1950s refocused the efforts of extension on food security and increasing food production. The combination of Green Revolution technology in the late 1960s and Training and Visit (T&V) Extension in the mid-1970s enabled India to achieve food self-sufficiency during the 1980s–1990s. At the same time, malnutrition and poverty continue to be persistent problems for the rural poor. As a result, the Government of India, with the assistance of the World Bank, designed and pilot-tested a new extension approach that would decentralize the extension system, refocus it on agricultural diversification, thereby making it more market-oriented. This paper describes the Agricultural Technology Management Agency or ATMA model that was successfully pilot-tested from 1998–2005 in an effort to increase farm income and rural employment. The first part of the paper describes how this decentralized extension system is organized; the second part describes the steps followed in creating a market-driven extension system. Finally, the paper summarizes the impact of this approach on the cropping systems, farm income and getting farmers organized in 28 pilot districts. Based on these results, the Government of India is expanding the coverage of the ATMA model and effectively transforming the extension system into one that is both decentralized and market-driven