National Mission on Agriculture Extension

✅Extension services, also called rural advisory services constitute a key input for improving the productivity in agriculture by providing timely advisory services to farmers to adopt best practices, technology, meet with contingencies, market information etc. In India, there are multiple agencies offering agricultural extension/advisory services. 

✅The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC), along with NABARD, has introduced a scheme for establishment of agri-clinics / agri-business centres ventures by the agricultural graduates.  

✅The ICAR is also associated in agriculture extension activities through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and the Institute Village Linkage Programme (IVLP) all over the country. 

✅ FPOs, NGOs and the corporate sector National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET), launched during the 12th plan period, consists of 4 Sub Missions:

 

1. Sub Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE): Adoption of quality seeds is the most cost-effective means for increasing agricultural production and productivity. Agri Clinics, Agri business centres, Kisan Call Centres will be used for providing extension services.

 

2. Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP): The Sub-Mission will cover the  

entire gamut of seed chain from nucleus seed to supply to farmers for sowing. SMSP  

also envisages strengthening of Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA) in order to put in place an effective system for protection of plant varieties, rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage development of new varieties of plants.

 

3. Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM): There is a strong co-relation between farm power availability and agricultural productivity. 

🔸Therefore, Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization focuses on farm mechanization. The Sub-Mission will mainly cater to the needs of the small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm power is low to offset the adverse economies of scale and high cost of individual ownership through institutional arrangements such as Custom Hiring Centers, mechanization of selected villages, subsidy for procurement of machines etc.

 

4. Sub Mission on Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine (SMPP): The mission envisages increase in agricultural production by keeping the crop disease free using scientific and environment friendly techniques through promotion of Integrated Pest Management.

 

✅The aim of the Mission is to restructure & strengthen agricultural extension to enable delivery of appropriate technology and improved agronomic practices to the farmers. 

✅'Custom Hiring Centers (CHC): CHCs are basically a unit comprising a set of costly,  

advance and bigger farm machinery, implements and equipments (used for tillage, sowing, planting, harvesting, reaping, threshing, plant protection, inter cultivation and residue management) meant for custom hiring (on rental basis) by farmers on rental basis who could not afford to purchase the high-end agriculture machineries and equipment. Govt.  

✅through SMAM is providing funds/subsidy to Rural level entrepreneurs, SHGs etc. to set up CHCs. Under the SMAM scheme, subsidy is being provided by Govt. @ of 40% of the project cost to individual farmers up to a project cost of Rs.60 lakh and 80% to the group of farmers up to a project cost of Rs. 10 lakh for setting up Custom Hiring Centres.

 

✅As per Economic Survey 2019-20, farm mechanization in India is only about 40 per cent as compared to about 60 per cent in China and around 75 per cent in Brazil.

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