Farmer led extension, Market led extension and Expert System in extension.

 The participatory and bottom-up extension approach where farmers, rather than professional extensionists or researchers have acted as principal agents of change in rural communities for livelihood security and poverty alleviation through the formation of farmers' organizations.

Steps of promoting farmer-led extension

1. Identification of innovative farmer-extension agents

2. Group formation

3. Capacity building

4. Promotion of farmers participatory research and extension programs for location-specific technology development

5. Farmer groups are to be equipped with market intelligence and ICT for access to market information

Farmer-led extension: The changing role of farmer

• Beneficiary

• Facilitator

• Decision Maker

• Manager

• Executor

Concept of Farmers Field Schools (FFS):

• The Farmer Field School is evolved from the concept that farmers learn optimally from field observation and experimentation in 1989 (Indonesia).

• In this cyclical learning process, farmers develop the expertise that enables them to make their own crop management decisions.

• Farmers Field Schools (FFS): A Group Extension Process Based on Adult Non-

Formal Education Methods.

• If I hear it, I forget it. If I see it, I remember it. If I discover it, I own it for life.

• Technically strong facilitator

• Based on crop phenology and time-limited

• Group study

• Field School Site

• Activity flow in Integrated Pest Management

Actors in FFS:

1. Farmers: Farmers are selected & they are willing to be learners in the farmer's field school. Participants should be able to read and write willing for regular participation. Active involvement sharing learn skill & knowledge & to adopt identified practices.

2. Collaborator: He is a farmer or farm woman who provides land for conducting a field study. The collaborator farmer should be cooperative, non-political, volunteer to spare his or her land and bear the input cost, be available during sessions.

3. Facilitator: The facilitator is a technically competent person to lead members and he will participate in a discussion session as a contributor rather than a leader and help the farmers to carry out the activities. A good facilitator should be technically competent & possess social communication & organizational skill to handle FFS effectively.

An FFS engages a group of typically 25-30 farmers in season-long learning activities which take place in the field or center around concrete field problems. All FFSs include a Field Day in which farmers make presentations about IPM and the results of their studies.

Farmers Interest Group(FIGs): It is an informal, voluntary, and self-governing association of farmers and farm women formed at the local level, for the purpose of economic cooperation aimed at improving and sustaining the resource base-economic, social and natural.

• Farmers will be organized based on the commonality of interest in undertaking a

‗BASE‘

• It will be an informal organization of interested farmers at the village level

• A homogenous group of 10-15 farmers

• Be a practicing male or female farmer of the same village or the nearby village

• Willing to participate in meeting/training/discussion periodically

• Willing to contribute nominal sum towards membership and group activities

• Meet once every week to plan and review

Farmers Club: Initiated by NABARD,1982

• Earlier known as ‗Vikas Volunteer Vahini (VVV) Programme‘

• Informal forum of farmers in the village or cluster of the village generally in the operational area of a bank

• Coordinate with the banks to ensure credit flow among its member and forge better bank-borrower relationships.

• Organize a minimum of one meeting per month and depending on the need there would be 2-3 meetings per month

• Non-members are also invited to attend the meeting

• Undertake socio-economic developmental work like community works, health, environment, etc.

.

Market-led Extension:

• Even after 60 years of independence, the quality, timely and cost-effective delivery of adequate inputs remains a dream.

• Farmers are not able to sell their surplus produce remuneratively

• Plenty of distress sales among farmers

Need:-

• Conversion of F-L-E into M-L-E

• Orientation of extension system with knowledge and skills related to the market.

• Minimization of production cost.

• Introduction of export-oriented product.

• Modernization of wholesale markets or new markets with new Agricultural policy.

• Transport facilities

• Regular updating of market intelligence

• Production technologies like improved varieties, organic farming, usage of biofertilizers and bio-pesticides, IPM and right methods of harvesting, etc.

• Post-harvest management like processing, grading, standardization of produce, value addition, packaging, storage, certification, etc. concerning food grains, fruits, and vegetables, eggs, poultry, fish, etc.

• Contract farming

• Private modern terminal markets

• Food retail chains

• Food safety and quality standard

• Certification

• WTO regulations

• Markets must be available and profitable. Potential risks include:

– Rapid price fluctuations;

– Highly competitive markets;

– Limited number of buyers.

Problems:-

1. Production related

ü Seasonality of production: Supply is not uniform throughout the year.

ü Perishability of produce: Problem of storage.

ü Bulkiness of production: Transportation problem.

2. Market related

• Non – availability of Market Intelligence:

• Lack of information about the market.

• Existence of many middlemen

• Inferior quality of produce.

3. Extension related

• Lack of communication

skills.

• Lack of credibility.

• Insufficient information

related with market and

many more….

Suggestions:-

Training program for extension worker Workshop on Market-Led Extension at the regional level

To introduce a market-oriented approach into extension subjects.

Difference between production-led Extension and Market-led Extension

Advantages of Market-led Extension

1. To diminish the role of middlemen in the marketing system Reduce the glut or scarcity of product

2. Gives more income Guides them to decide regarding the selection of crop per farming situation

3. To link farmers close to consumers Regulate production based on consumer preferences for quantity, quality, variety food safety

Principles of market-led Extension

1. If there is no market, farmers should not be encouraged to produce a specific crop or product.

2. If farmers can not easily transport the product

3. If the crop or the product can not be successfully grown or produced within the district

4. To diversify into a variety of different high-value crops/products

Expert System

Meaning:

Is an intelligent computer program that uses knowledge and inferences procedures to solve problems ( Daniel Hunt,1986 )

• To make farming more efficient and profitable.

• To enhance the performance of agricultural extension personnel and farmer

• To reduce the time required in solving the problem.

• To maintain the expert system by continuously upgrading the database

It is an intelligent computer program having the ability to explain reasoning.

Ø The concept came from Artificial Intelligence.

Ø To enhance the performance of agricultural extension personal and farmers

Ø To make farming more efficient and profitable

Ø To reduce the time required in solving the problem

Component of Expert system

1.The Crop Doctor:

• It was developed using ―if and thenǁ rule-based program with help of dot net server

• Purely image-based

2. Decision Support System: A DSS is an interactive system that helps decision-makers utilize data and models to solve unstructured or semi-structured problems.The appropriate decision of the day to day crop practices

3. Information System

Wed based static and dynamic information where all the contents and technologies related to the concerned crop is loaded

Human Resource of Extension:-

• Short supply of extension agents.

• Lower level of education of extension agents.

• Less number of female extension agents.

• More number of farmers per extension worker.

• Poor ratio of SMS to agents.

• More area to be covered by agents.

ADVANTAGES OF EXPERT SYSTEM

• Solves critical problems by making logical deductions without taking much time

• It combines experimental and conventional knowledge with the reasoning skills of specialists

• To enhance the performance of average worker to the level of an expert

Limitation of Expert System:-

• Expensive computer program

• Mostly developed not in regional languages

• Requires AC power and internet connection all the time

• Complex software requires computer skilled personnel

Need:

• Agricultural technology is constantly changing day by day

• To deal with the overgrowing complexities of agricultural technologies.

• To make efficient and accurate decisions.

APPLICATION OF EXPERT SYSTEM IN AGRICULTURE

• Crop production estimates

• Crop selection

• Soil management

• Nutrient management

• Plant diseases and pests management

• Weed management

Benefits of Expert System:

A. FARMERS

ü Maximization of benefit.

ü Efficient use of available resources and infrastructure.

ü Awareness of cost-benefit ratio before actual adoption.

ü Appropriate Decision making.

ü Encouraging for diversification.

ü Encouraging for quality production

B. PRIVATE AGENCIES

ü Creating scope for developing infrastructure

ü Generating Rural Employment

Application of Expert System

1. Crop selection

2. Crop production estimates

3. Plant diseases and pest management

4.Soil management

5.Weed management

6.Irrigation Management

Whole farm planning, etc.

Agriculture Expert System –worldwide

1.POMME

2.COMEX

3. CALEX

4. CUPTEX

Expert system in India

1.Wheat Crop

2.Rice crop Doctor

3.Grape cultivation

4.AGREX (fertilizer, crop protection, irrigation scheduling, etc.)

• POMME is an expert system for apple orchard management. POMME advises growers about when and what to spray on their apples to avoid infestations. The system also provides advice regarding the treatment of winter injuries, drought control, and multiple insect problems.

• COMEX is a crop management expert system for cotton which can predict crop growth and yield in response to external weather variables, soil physical parameters, soil fertility, and pest damage.

• CALEX system has been developed for agriculture management. It is domain-independent and can be used with any commodity. CALEX consists of three separate modules: an executive, a scheduler, and an expert system shell.

a) The executive serves as the primary interface to the user, to models, and to the disk.

b) The scheduler generates a sequence of management activities by repeatedly activating the expert system.

c) The expert system makes the actual management decisions

• CUPTEX is an expert system for cucumber production management under plastic tunnels. CUPTEX has been developed to be used by agricultural extension service within the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, and by the private sector. The main objective of developing such systems is to transfer new technology in agro management to farmers through packaging this technology using expert systems.

• Features of CUPTEX

• This will lead to increasing the production and hence the national income, on one hand, and reducing the production cost on the other hand.

• CUPTEX is composed of three expert systems for fertigation, plant care, and disorder remediation.