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With the shrinking of physical resources and increasing scarcity of land use products, such as food, fuel, feed, and fiber, along with increasing awareness regarding the risks associated with climate change, there have been great challenges for agricultural research, education, and extension. The textbooks on agricultural extension have not been updated in recent years, and they do not cover recent developments and reforms in Agricultural Extension. The Old Testament of the Bible as well as ancient writings about the Greek philosopher Socrates contains some astonishingly up-to-date extension wisdom; thus, ‘old’ does not always mean ‘outdated’. However, the world has changed in many respects over the past thirty years, and this is also true with rural extension. In this sense, updating provides an opportunity to carefully check the validity of concepts, statements, and recommendations and their relevance for extension work today and tomorrow, thereby including recent developments and experiences as well. Agricultural extension is one of the important drivers of farmers’ development through the conscious use of communication and dissemination of useful technologies emanating from research stations. The role of extension field staff is to work as a carrier of innovations from the research to the farmers. The dissemination of innovations is impossible without the agricultural extension sector. Extension work requires a collaborative effort of both rural people and extension workers. The aim of the extension agency is to transmit reliable, authentic, and doable technologies, advice, and guidance for the socio economic development of rural people. Further, extension is seen as a broad effort directed at rural development linking with other sectors in addition to the transfer of agricultural technologies. Extension reforms to make it farmer-centric and participatory have been initiated in recent years focusing on strategic planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. It is now realized that participatory extension management using various participatory tools will improve the decision making capacity of the farmers. Village-level micro-planning and Strategic Extension and Research Planning (SREP) have become imperative in the extension reforms in India for which support is given by the Government of India to the States and UTs. Gender mainstreaming is another area that needs thrust in the extension management system. In addition to traditional extension methods, modern methods of extension have become cost-effective and sustainable. Since agriculture and rural development are intimately associated and mutually inclusive, the extension officers must be conversant on various Rural Development Programs.

Introduction Extension is a form of education, and extension services provide information, advice, and education for rural development in many countries. It was used for sharing ideas, beliefs, knowledge, and information with rural people in an informal way. In the mid-nineteenth century, extension services were institutionalized, and public funding was spent for organized extension activity in rural areas. Extension Education The word ‘extension’ is derived from two Latin roots, namely ‘ex’ meaning ‘out’ and ‘tensio’ meaning ‘stretching.’ Hence, extension means stretching out Figure 1.1. Extension does not have a universally recognized definition. According to Webster, education is a process of teaching to develop the knowledge, skills, and character of students. Sociologist Rodney Stark declares that “Education is the cheapest, most rapid and most reliable path to economic advancement under present conditions.” Education is a lifelong process, and it is necessary to transfer experience and knowledge to the next generation for political and socio-economic development. University extension started at Cambridge University, London University, and Oxford University before the nineteenth century. The success of extension in Britain led to the initiation of extension education in the United States later. In India, university extension was introduced after the establishment of State Agricultural Universities in a similar pattern to Land Grant Colleges in the United States. Extension as a form of education facilitates the learning or acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, and habits. As an education, it can be informal, formal or non- formal. It can also be categorized as child education, adult education, technical education, health education, social science and humanities, etc. Formal education: It is an institutionalized, chronologically graded, and well- structured system of education that starts from schooling to higher education. Formal education is usually given in structured classrooms in schools and colleges with a fixed syllabus, course curriculum, and certificates awarded after examination. In formal education, only qualified teachers impart education to the students.

India faced a series of famines from 1857 to 1901, for which the government was forced to appoint some commissions. The Famine Commission of 1880 recommended the establishment of a separate Department of Agriculture at both the central and provincial levels. Based on such recommendations, the Agricultural Departments were established in 1981–1982, and some acts like the Land Improvement Act and Agricultural Loans Act, 1988 and Co- operative Act, 1904 were passed and development departments were established. As a protection measure, some irrigation projects were created. The Famine Commission (1901) also recommended for establishment of Agricultural Research Stations and Colleges. The Imperial Agricultural Research Institute along with an Agricultural College was established at Pusa Institute. As per the Government India Act of 1919, all departments connected with rural development to the major provinces and agricultural development became a State subject. Rural Development works were made provincial subjects from 1935. Various diversified efforts for rural reconstruction were made for the development of extension in India during the Pre- Independence and Post- Independence periods. These extension programs were launched in four stages as indicated below. Stage I: Pre- Independence Extension Stage II: Post- Independence Extension (1947–1953) Stage III: Community Development and National Extension service (1953–1960) Stage IV: Intensive Agricultural Development (1960 onwards) Pre- independence extension in India Between 1903 and 1946, eight important area- specific programs were implemented for rural development while the Grow More Food Campaign was implemented in the entire country to increase food grains production. The description of these programs/projects is given below in brief.

Introduction Communication is a process for exchanging ideas, facts, feelings, or impressions between two or more individuals for a common understanding. Communication is required for transferring technology or obtaining farmer feedback to adopt technology in the field. Good communication is the essence of good teaching. Communication is a whole learning process in which the teacher sends a message through a channel to the receiver as a means of teaching. In traditional extension, there was direct contact between the extension worker and farmer to communicate research innovations and to obtain farmer feedback. In this system, only a few farmers had direct contact with the extension worker while the majority of farmers were contacted less frequently. Daniel Benor has tried to improve traditional extension through a “training and visit” (T & V) system designed to emphasize the organizational and training components of extension and improve communication with the farmers. In considering extension as a vehicle for communicating with large numbers of farmers without any discretion, the communication process and its role in extension need to be followed by the extension workers. what is Communication? Communication is a process of transferring a message from a source (communicator) through a channel to the receiver (communiqué). It is defined by different scientists in a different manner keeping the intent in view. However, it is accepted that communication is a process where a message is transferred from the source (communicator) to the receiver (communiqué). Some definitions of communication are indicated below. • J. Paul Leagan (1961) defines communication as a process where two or more individuals exchange ideas, facts, and impressions for mutual gain and common understanding of the content and use of a message. • “Communication is a purposeful process, which involves sources, messages, channels, and receivers.” – Andersch et al. (1969). Van den Ban and Hawkins (1988) defined communication as the process of sending and receiving messages through channels that establish a common meaning between a source and receiver.

Introduction A teacher uses different aids in addition to lectures for effective teaching. Similarly, a trainer uses different training methods to make learning effective. In Agricultural Extension the extension worker as a teacher has to design and use appropriate teaching methods depending upon the group to make the teaching effective. According to Leagans (1961) “extension teaching methods are the basic and proven devices used to create situations in which communication can take place between the instructor and the learner.” Extension methods are powerful tools for extension workers to effectively communicate certain messages. Some studies suggest that the adoption of innovations by the farmers requires different teaching methods at different stages of learning. These methods are required for imparting new knowledge and skills to the farmers to adopt new practices for their increased production and income. The choice of extension teaching methods depends on the target audience, location, and availability of time for teaching. Classification of extension Teaching Methods Extension teaching methods are classified according to use, form, and function as shown in Table 4.1. Classification According to Use The extension methods could be individual or interpersonal, group contact, or mass contact as shown in Figure 4.1. Individual contact methods: Individual methods provide face- to- face contact with individuals. Those techniques are very effective in teaching new technologies and creating goodwill among farmers and extension people. When few people are to be contacted and they are at a close distance, the individual methods are effective. The extension worker contacts directly to an individual and gets his feedback through different means like personal visits, telephones, SMS, etc. The individual contact method is useful for rapport building and easy to obtain feedback. But the method is time- consuming and quite expensive.

Introduction Innovation as a new idea, method, or object may be developed by research or by a farmer. Diffusion is a special type of communication on innovations. The proper use of innovation is called adoption. Communication is different from diffusion in the sense that communication covers all types of messages whereas diffusion is concerned with a message of new ideas. The extension workers need to understand the meaning of diffusion, adoption processes, innovation, etc. by which farmers accept new ideas. Adoption is a sequence of thoughts and actions which an individual goes through before s/he finally adopts a new idea. The adoption process is a mental process for passing the new idea to final adoption. In the diffusion process, the new idea spreads from its source of invention or creation to its ultimate users or adopters. Perception is an activity through which an individual becomes aware of objects around oneself and of events taking place. Elements in the Diffusion of Innovations The four main elements in the diffusion of innovations are innovation, communication channels, time, and social systems. The Innovation Innovation is a new idea expressed in terms of knowledge, persuasion of decision for adoption. The perceived attributes of innovations are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. Relative advantage: The innovation should have a relative advantage over the existing ideas in terms of economic and social-prestige factors, convenience, and satisfaction. The advantage can be influenced by providing various incentives. Compatibility: The innovation should be compatible with the socio-cultural values and beliefs of people.  

Introduction The history and evolution of extension in India during the Pre- independence and Post- independence periods have been narrated in Chapter 2. The major breakthrough in Agricultural Extension was the introduction of the T&V system with WB support from 1977 to 1997. The system tried to establish a strong linkage between the research and extension. Technical messages received from research stations were transferred to the farmers through an organized extension system at fixed time intervals and obtained feedback from the farmers about the technologies. However, the system was constrained by structural problems at organizational level. The system adopted a classical top- down approach and the recommendations were suitable for irrigated areas bypassing the rain- fed areas. After the withdrawal of support from WB, the T&V system was constrained by the paucity of funds to manage the manpower created, and the unpaid farmers did not continue to work. After withdrawal, it was considered necessary to make the extension more demand- driven, participatory, group extension, and farmer- centric with possible convergence for which extension reform in India was necessary. Extension reform in India There are many countries where extension and advisory services reforms are occurring globally (Swanson and Rajalahti 2010; World Bank 2012). Since agro- ecological conditions and access to markets vary within most countries, decentralized extension system was needed. It was considered that decentralized and demand- driven extension allows farmers to participate in setting the agenda and demanding extension and research priorities. The extension reforms made the system reach the smallholders, resource- poor, and women, and also focused on sustainability. When the donor funds dry up or the pilot projects end, the farmers no longer have access to the extension services (Birner and Anderson 2007). Therefore the public extension needs to be sustainable in extension services delivery.

Approaches in Extension Agricultural extension services have gone through various stages over the years, from the individual farm visits approach to the T&V approach. All these approaches are characterized to a greater or lesser extent, by a “ top- down” planning. Extension approaches mostly determine the direction and nature of the system in terms of structure, leadership, program, methods and techniques, resources, and linkages. Extension approach is a style of action within a system which embodies the philosophy of the system. Although there are many approaches to agricultural extension, there is certain commonality in them. All approaches function through non- formal education and all have agricultural content for the development of rural people. Ministry- based General Extension Ministry of Agriculture was entrusted with agricultural extension in a top- down manner for planning for the adoption of technologies. An increase in national production is taken as the measure of success. All persons engaged in agriculture are the clients of this public extension who are served by extension staff. Program formulation and implementation are guided by public interest. Ministry- based extension faces difficulty in serving the majority of potential clientele and financial constraints that force it to reduce the staff. Whereas extension demands location- specific technologies and flexible decisions, the university extension is mostly top- down in nature. As the approach lacks a two- way approach the messages are not location specific. Production alternatives are absent in this approach. The Training and Visit Approach (T&V)  

Extension Program Planning an extension program involves decision- making about the work of the organization. Extension program planning covers a set of objectives to be achieved by various activities included in the planning. Extension organization needs to decide the goal it aims at, the target group, the content of extension message, its use, and organization of all activities. The program includes situation analysis, and an action plan for solving people’s problems which is drawn in advance. Extension workers have to decide the goals, target group, messages, extension methods, and media and organization of activities. While setting the goal, the perception of the present situation and the vision of the desired situation should be borne in mind. The target group is normally larger than the extension worker contacts directly or through mass media. The target group can be contacted indirectly. The extension content depends on the goal, the target group, and the extension strategy. The content should be so selected that it can be implemented with the resources available to the farmers locally. A combination of extension methods need to be used. The extension program needs to be flexible and can be easily implemented by the organization. Extension Program Planning Extension program planning indicates an account of the activities to be undertaken by the organization. The essential phases of program planning in extension are analyzing the situation, setting goals and objectives, identifying problems and gaps, developing work plan, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and reconsideration.  

Concept of Community Development A community is a group of people, who live in a geographical area and have interests in each other for the purpose of making a living. It is a form of social organization existing between the family and the state. Development connotes growth and implies gradual and sequential phases of change. A community development program means a program for gradual change in a group of people living in a geographical area and having an interest in each other for making a living. It involves the principles of sustainable development, empowerment, inclusivity, social justice, human rights, participative democracy, and equality. It is a collaborative and facilitative process of people who share a common purpose of building the capacity to have a positive impact on quality of life. • Community development is a movement intended to promote better living for the whole community with the active participation and on the initiative of the community. • It is a balanced program for stimulating the local potential for growth in every direction in both wealth and welfare by themselves with minimum outside help. • It is technically aided and locally organized by self-help. • Community development is adopted by many governments to reach village people and to make more effective use of local initiative and energy for increased production and better living standards. • Community development is a process of social action in which the people of a community organize themselves define their needs and problems and plan for action.

Initially, rural development followed a top-down approach based on the information collected through the traditional survey method. It was soon noticed that the perception of the development professionals from the “top” was at variance with the perception of the rural masses. Visits were made and extractive surveys were carried out with the help of structured formats and questionnaires. These surveys had several biases such as spatial, season, person, caste, religion, project, education, etc. These limitations led to a search for a new method for understanding rural situations. New methods and approaches such as Farming System Research (FSR), Exploratory Survey and Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) were attempted during the 1970s to overcome the deficiencies of conventional survey methods. Moving away from extractive survey questionnaires, two families of approaches and methods, referred to as Rapid Rural Appraisal and Participatory Rural Appraisal evolved in the 1980s and 1990s. Origin of PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal is ‘an approach and methods for learning about rural life and conditions from, with and by rural people’. It is defined as a family of approaches and methods to enable rural people to share, enhance and analyse their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan and act. According to Robert Chambers (1992), there are five main trends that decorate the principal method of PRA: Activist Participatory Research, Agro-ecosystem Analysis, Social Anthropology, Field Research on Farming Systems, and Rapid Rural Appraisal.

Introduction Decentralization means the action or fact of reducing or undoing “centralization” or “concentration.” The dictionary meaning of decentralization is “The process of transferring the functions from the Central Government to the local units.” Decentralization is devolving power of decision–making with the lower level of organization. In a decentralization, delegation and devolution of power are given to the lower level. Devolution implies a situation in which lower ranking units acquire greater autonomy in respect of certain defined functions, including decision-making authority. Devolution of functions, powers, and responsibilities are normally granted through legislation. Decentralized Planning in India With the introduction of the Community Development Programme (CDP) and National Extension Service (NES) in 1952, increasing agricultural production had been on India’s agenda in different plan periods. The success of CDP and NES was reviewed by the Balawant Rai Committee in 1957 and the committee realized that community development can be achieved only when the community understands its problems, owns its responsibilities, exercises the necessary powers through its elected representatives, and maintains a constant and intelligent vigilance on local administration. The recommendation of the committee led to the preparation of plans at the level of state, district, block, towns, and Panchayats in the second plan period from 1957 to 1962. The Fourth Evaluation Report (Programme Evaluation Organization, Planning Commission) in 1959 recommended that organized and institutional participation by the public in development programs is bound to give better, more consistent, and more lasting results. In 1977, Ashok Meheta Committee suggested changing the concept of Panchayati Raj to a political institution. In 1981, the eminent economist Prof. M.L. Dantewala observed that the merit of decentralized planning is derived from its ability to discover dormant resources and skills and its endeavor to activate them. However, there was slow progress in decentralized planning up to the eighth plan (1992-97).

Gender Concepts Gender is different from sex. Sex is the biological and physiological characteristics that define humans as female or male. Gender refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated with being female and male and to the relationships between women and men and girls and boys. Sex symbolizes biological differences between men and women whereas gender is recognized as a social characteristic that cuts across caste, class, occupation, age, and ethnicity. Gender identifies the social relations between men and women and gender differentiates the roles, responsibilities, resources, constraints, and opportunities of women and men. Gender roles are dynamic which change over time. In contrast, sex identifies the biological differences between men and women. The difference between gender and sex is indicated in Table 12.1. Although women and men enjoy equal status in the law of the constitution, there exists a wide difference in how men and women are looked upon and handled by society. It is the society that has nurtured the ‘Gender gap’, as it is a socially constructed attribute of being male and female, by assigning roles and responsibilities with respect to one’s gender. In order to address gender issues, it is imperative that we understand the different fundamental gender concepts to deal with them effectively. Gender roles: Men and women have multiple roles. Women have productive, reproductive, and management of community assets roles whereas men have productive and other roles. Gender roles are learned behaviors in a given society/community, or other special group, that condition which activities, tasks, and responsibilities are perceived as male and female. Gender roles are affected by age, class, race, ethnicity, religion, and geographical, economic, and political environment. Some common terms relating to gender in use are indicated below.

A Adopter category 62 Agricultural Technology Management Agency 69, 70 ATMA Management Committee 70 Audio-visual aids 56 B Bio-Resource Flow 152, 186, 187 Blockage 32 C CDAP 75 Client-Controlled Extension 86 Commodity Extension 89 Communication 9, 10, 16, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 45, 52, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 72, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 107, 120, 122, 126, 202, 231