Annual Report 2009-2010 - Department of Agriculture & Co-operation

Annual Report 2009-2010
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is also given through Meghdoot postcards/inland
letters nationwide. A Kisan Knowledge
Management System (KKMS), to provide correct,
consistent and quick replies to the queries of
farmers is being developed.
9.22 Extension Education Institutes (EEIs):
Four Extension Education Institutes, namely,
Nilokeri (Haryana), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad
(Andhra Pradesh), Anand (Gujarat), and Jorhat
(Assam) are operating at the regional level. The
objectives of EEIs are to improve the skills and
professional competence of extension field
functionaries of agriculture and allied
departments in the fields of i) extension
education, ii) extension methodology, iii)
information and communication technology, iv)
training methodology, v) communication, vi)
extension reforms scheme, vii) market-led
extension, etc.
9.23 During 2009-10, EEIs have planned 157
courses with 3,140 participants. Till November
2009, 2,184 participants have undergone training
in 101 courses.
9.24 Model Training Courses (MTCs): Model
Training Courses of eight days' duration on the
thrust areas of agriculture, horticulture, animal
husbandry, and fisheries extension are supported
by the Directorate of Extension (DoE) with the
objective of improving professional competence,
upgrading knowledge, and developing technical
skills of subject matter specialists/extension
workers of agriculture and allied departments.
During the current financial year, 75 Model
Training Courses have been planned, out of
which 45 training courses with 900 participants
have been organised till December 2009.
9.25 The National Gender Resource Centre in
Agriculture (NGRCA), set up as a unit of the DoE
of the DAC under the Scheme of Extension
Support to Central Institutes/DoE, reflects the
national commitment of empowerment of
women through a strategy of mainstreaming and
agenda-setting. The Centre acts as a focal point
for the convergence of gender-related activities
and issues in agriculture and allied sectors within
the DAC, adding a gender dimension to
agriculture policies and programmes, and to
render advocacy and advisory services to the
states/UTs for internalising gender-specific
interventions for bringing farm women in the
mainstream of agriculture development.
9.26 The following are the macro/micro-level
and action research studies/tasks undertaken:
The evaluation and impact assessment of the
Central Sector Scheme of Women in
Agriculture was outsourced to Development
and Research Services, New Delhi. The
revised final report has been received.
The review and analysis of existing schemes/
programmes of the DAC with regard to the
incidence of benefits and cost of delivery of
services for women in agriculture was
outsourced to the Xavier's Institute of Social
Services, Ranchi, Jharkhand. The revised final
report is awaited.
The analytical study on existing state policies,
programmes, interventions, processes and
their impact on women's access to land has
been outsourced to MANAGE.
Mainstreaming gender concerns in
agriculture, outsourced to the Centre for
Management Development, Thycaud,
Trivandrum, Kerala.
Gender Sensitisation Modules (GSM) for
programme implementers at three different
levels, namely, senior, middle, and cuttingedge
level, have been developed by the
NGRCA through MANAGE. Funds were
released at the end of 2008-09 to SAMETIs
of 13 states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and
West Bengal, for conducting 122 GSM
training programmes of 3 days duration to
cutting-edge level extension function-aries,
which are being conducted during 2009-10.
Proposals for conducting GSM training
programmes from the SAMETIs of the
remaining states are in the pipeline.