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meeting/goshties with scientists has started but the general perception of the
farmers was that the frequency of such meets needs to be enhanced to at least
one interactive meet during each rabi and kharif season.
Based on the findings and conclusions of the study and keeping in
view the scope and significance of ATMA Programme aimed at reforming
the extension mechanism, AFC made a comprehensive and wide ranging
recommendations touching upon the entire gamut of the extension reforms
to facilitate Government of India to take a policy review of the scheme at the
appropriate levels so as to make the extension system truly farmer driven and
farmer accountable.
Acceptance of Recommendations and Issue of Revised Guidelines
The Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture, considered the
recommendations made by AFC at length and desired AFC to suggest
specific measures and ways & means for implementation of each of the
recommendations. Accordingly, AFC made a detailed presentation on the report
before the Technical Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government
of India chaired by the Additional Secretary (Agriculture) on 23.2.2010. The
presentation brought out the ground level bottlenecks in the implementation
process and suggested specific measures for overhauling the existing scheme
to make extension truly farmer driven and farmer accountable.
The Government of India started consultation process with the State
Governments and the MANAGE, being Nodal agency for implementation of
extension reforms, on the broad findings and recommendations made by AFC
in its report. Subsequently, the Ministry of Agriculture requested AFC to make
another Presentation on 25.3.2010 before the Technical Committee chaired by
the Additional Secretary (Agriculture) in which the Director General, MANAGE,
Hyderabad as well as Director (Agriculture) of six States from different zones
namely, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and
Maharashtra were invited for a detailed deliberation on the findings so as to
facilitate Government of India to take a policy decision for revising the existing
scheme.
Some of the major recommendations made in the report which have
since been accepted by the Government of India and are being incorporated in
the revised Guidelines such as the convergence of ATMA with other schemes
of the government.
Finally, the most crucial factor in the recent turnaround in agriculture
has been the increase in agriculture investment. There are two elements which
