Policy Framework for Agriculture Extension Interface with Private Sector Organizations
October 30, 2001, New Delhi

Address by Shri Ajit Singh, Union Agriculture Minister

Members on the Dais
Distinguished Participants
Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be here this morning at this Interface with the Private Sector to discuss the Policy Framework for Agriculture Extension. The Framework envisages reforms in the extension system transforming it from its sole monopoly of public extension to one where public, private, media and Information Technologies will work in partnership, each optimizing its special characteristics to best serve the farming community.

It is timely and appropriate that under the aegis of this Interface we reflect upon the strengths and weaknesses of the various players in the field of Agricultural Extension. We recognize that there exists outside the public domain not only vast financial resources but a whole universe of talent and wisdom which can meaningfully serve the agrarian community. We believe, that the task of managing agriculture in the future cannot be adequately addressed by the public extension agencies alone, but will require the combined strengths and synergies of a pluralistic, multi-agency system in which the private corporate sector, farmers' organizations, cooperatives, NGOs, para-professionals, small agri-businesses, self-help groups, input dealers and suppliers, electronic and print media and Information Technology will each contribute; according to its own strength and capabilities.

We need to harness all possible resources, both human and financial, for the gigantic task of providing a quantum jump to agriculture in this new millennium. As most of you are aware, in the 21st century, Indian Agriculture will be challenged as never before placing new demands upon the Research and Extension systems.

• Food Production must continue to outpace population growth as we confront the task of feeding upwards of a billion people.
• It is clear that poverty alleviation will be possible only through a more broadbased growth reaching out to the vast rainfed areas, for which scientific innovations hold the key.
• Very importantly, we must recognize that there are limits to growth, and costs attached to intensification of agriculture which underline the imperative for more sustainable agricultural practices
• There is need to sound a note of caution against resource profligacy and careless use of natural resources resulting in declining soil health and the depletion and pollution of scarce water resources,
• Of paramount importance is the dimension of agriculture marketing and value addition through agro-processing; increasing production by itself is no longer enough unless it is production which finds a suitable market.
• The stage has been set under the new World Trade Order for Agriculture to find its rightful place in the international arena. This is fraught with both opportunities and threats. A sensitive and responsive Research and Extension system can help turn the threats of a global market place into opportunities for the farming community.
• Significant advances in frontier sciences such as Bio-technology, where genetic changes can now be greatly speeded up and even engineered to order, have raised hopes of quantum jumps in production possibilities.
  

While the Green Revolution has been the principal instrument in imparting dynamism to agricultural growth, we have now entered a post Green Revolution stage of development. The vast rainfed areas of the country, which account for about 65% of area but only 45% of food output have remained largely outside the ambit of the Green Revolution. There is an Urgent need to respond effectively to the technology requirements of these rainfed regions. More so, because the bulk of the rural poor reside here.

Even in the well endowed regions, the Green Revolution appears to be running out of steam with wheat and rice yields plateauing off. In these regions the production frontiers need to be pushed back through breakthroughs in yield-enhancing technology.

No longer can the blanket prescriptions of the Green Revolution technologies be applied to the country's wide heterogeneity reflected in its 15 agro-ecological regions, 60 sub-regions and 120 agro-climatic zones. Issuing pre-set technologies to large heterogeneous groups of farmers has become meaningless. With a wide variety of agro-ecological conditions and heterogeneity in the class of farmers, location specific, farmer-driven, generation, assessment and dissemination of technology are now required in more decentralised institutional arrangements. Detailed indigenous knowledge and greater skill in blending modern and traditional technologies to optimise productive efficiency will be more than ever before the keys to farming success and sectoral growth. The demand for generation and dissemination of these new agricultural technologies will determine future research and extension agendas.

Public Extension played a major role in bringing about the spectacular achievements of the past. In the post-Green Revolution era, however, both Research and Extension face important challenges in the areas of relevance, accountability, and sustainability.

From Community Development started in 1952 through the Training and Visit System to the present Farming Systems Approach, the role of public extension has undergone several transformations. While the Training and Visit system served its purpose in the dissemination of Green Revolution technologies in the irrigated regions, its ability to respond to the changing technology requirements of the new generation of farming challenges is limited.

From the simple task of spreading the seed-fertilizer-irrigation package for the two major cereal crops i.e. wheat and rice, of Green Revolution era, consider the enormous range of activities that extension must now address, namely

• Crop technologies suitable to rainfed areas based on watershed approach
  Technologies for high value cropping systems including, horticulture, aromatic and medicinal plants, agro-forestry, livestock and fisheries,
• Technologies related to sustainable agricultural practices and natural resource conservation, such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM), Organic Farming, Use of Bio-fertilizers and Bio-Pesticides, Soil testing, Resource conserving technologies such as Zero-Tillage, Drip and Sprinkler irrigation etc,
• Post harvest technologies and advice for sorting, grading, packaging and quality control
  Marketing advice and market intelligence to enable farmers to make informed choices and undertake product planning in a demand-driven rather than a supply-driven mode.
• Advice on niche markets and export opportunities now that the WTO is likely to open up the international trade regime
  

Considering the wide sweep of the task, there is growing recognition that public extension by itself cannot meet the specific needs of various regions and different classes of farmers. Besides, public extension systems are under considerable financial strain. State governments, are already moving out of the provision of agro goods and services in many areas.

In fact, distribution of inputs, particularly fertiliser and pesticides, has been almost phased out from the public domain. Of the country's fertiliser distribution, nearly 70 % is through private trade with the remaining being in the cooperative sector. In remote and economically backward areas, State governments are providing incentives to private dealers to set up fertiliser distribution outlets. Of the nearly 1.50 lakh pesticide sale points in the country, the private and the cooperative sectors account for 85 and 12 percent respectively.

Outside the public sector, the agencies involved in the diffusion of technology are cooperatives, farmer organizations, NGOs, para-extension workers, corporate private sector, private dealers of inputs, Self-Help Groups, TV and radio systems and the print media.

Farmer Cooperatives have emerged as powerful institutions for technology dissemination in the case of sugarcane, grape and milk production. These structures, initially, were just marketing and processing links. They have now graduated into full fledged extension systems providing inputs and technical advice to their members.

The contract farming system benefiting both producers and processors has been successfully demonstrated in certain commercial crops and needs to be expanded. Private dealers of fertiliser, pesticides, seed and implements, extensively distributed, have emerged as major farm advisors while vending their products.

Small agri-businesses and Agri-Clinics are being set up to provide more customized advice to farmers. The para-extension worker has gained ground in response to the demand for cost effective service provision especially in supplementing the Cross-breeding programme in livestock. NGOs are taking up extension activities in many States. NGOs complement the public sector in community mobilisation, awareness generation, training and capacity building. Of the 261 Krishi Vigyan Kendras, involved in the generation and dissemination of local level technologies, 86 are run by NGOs

The electronic and print media as well as IT will need to be actively harnessed to widen and deepen the spread of extension messages. Public and private TV channels, public and private Information kiosks through internet access should be encouraged to undertake agriculture extension.

We envisage that the future extension will comprise of three arms, namely the public sector, more professional and operating in decentralized, bottom-up, farmer accountable institutional arrangements, complemented and supplemented by the private sector and augmented by media and Information Technology.

In the new economic regime where market forces will play a major role and the private sector will increasingly provide a variety of agro-services, responsibility of the State for effective enforcement of legislation which ensures quality control of inputs such as seeds, pesticides, fertilizers etc. will increase. State's role as arbitrator of conflicts between various private sector service providers will rise and systems to address grievances will need to be developed. However, in the emerging pluralistic scenario the role of public agencies would need to be redefined from being solely providers of services to graduate to an appropriate mix of provider, coordinator, facilitator, enabler and regulator.

A large section of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers as well as remote and backward regions would continue to need the services of the public service providers, as they are not likely to be serviced by a competitive private sector in the near future. Public functionaries role would increase in arbitration of conflicts, assuring accountability of all private service providers to the farmers and ensure transparency through provision of information. The overall environment of private provision of agro- services, will be encouraged through policy reform and institutional changes so that farmers' need are serviced more efficiently.

Today, the roles of public and private sectors are changing. Governments recognize that they should not be running corporations and actually providing all agro-goods and services themselves. Rather they must provide an enabling and stimulating environment for private sector growth through investment in infrastructure and capacity building and provision of information. It is in a stable macroeconomic context, supported by a fair, transparent and predictable policy, legal and regulatory environment, that a healthy private sector can grow. And it is in this context that the complementarities of public and private sectors in the provision of agro goods and services, can be best taken advantage of.

Cooperation between public and private sectors is an area where the optimal use of public and private sector resources can create added value for the rural community. The public sector brings to the partnerships its "public good" perspective coupled with its ability to provide safety nets for those who are ill-served by the market. The private sector adds entrepreneurial talent and commercial and financial skills.

Let me conclude by saying that this timely Interface with the Private Sector will benefit all of us. It provides an opportunity for the exchange of information, ideas and perceptions; it will give us an improved understanding of the strengths and limitations of the various partners who will form the fabric of the new multi-agency dispensation; it will help in identifying ways of fortifying our relationship.

This is not only the first step in our partnership but also a very important one. As we explore new avenues to work together and pursue our complementarities, we will realize the ever-increasing benefits of this cooperation and the farming communities that we serve will gain immeasurably.

We have only just begun and we still have a long way to go on this journey. In the spirit of cooperation and partnership we will be able to achieve greater success. I believe that the best is yet to come.

With these words I formally inaugurate this Interface with the Private Sector on Policy Framework for Agricultural Extension and wish the deliberations all success.