Agricultural extension is the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education, training and assistance. It is aimed to develop agriculture practices through research and development. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has initiated several extension approaches including Krishi Vigyan Kendras (1974) with its mandate ranging from vocational training to technology assessment and demonstration for its application and capacity development.

However, there are various issues with agricultural extension in India, including

• Low public spending on agriculture research and development despite the recommended expenditure of around 2 percent of GDP.
• Deficiency of infrastructure such as irrigation, connectivity, electricity, logistics and price incentives limit the impact of extension services thereby hindering agriculture growth.
• One-size-fits-all approach in a country with a large number of farmers categorized as small and marginal and not factoring in aspects such as resource availability, agro-climatic conditions etc.
• Lack of capacity and resources within civil society organisations to make a significant impact across regions. Though NGO-led extension models offer far more variety and display sensitivity to local priorities and conditions.
• Lack of functional coordination at field level among the government, private sector, NGOs and others providing agriculture extension services.
• Absence of quality standards leaves questions of accountability, as the majority of farmers are not in a position to pursue legal remedies in case of erroneous or even harmful advice.

Role of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in strengthening the national agricultural research extension system

• Identifying farming systems, field problems and developing action plans: KVK scientists visit on the ground and identify the grass root level problems existing in the villages, which are pivotal for designing future action plans.
• Technology development: Technology development is a continuous process and in this KVKs act as a crucial player in testing, adaptation and integration of proven technologies.
• Front line demonstration: KVKs demonstrate proven technologies for the first time to convince farmers and extension workers to establish production potential of technologies on the farmers’ fields.
• Capacity building: Through capacity development programs of farmers and extension personnel, KVKs update their knowledge and skills on modern agricultural technologies.
• Work as knowledge and resource centre of agricultural technologies for supporting initiatives of public, private and voluntary sector in improving the agricultural economy of the district.
• Provide farm advisories using ICT and other media means on varied subjects of interest to farmers. Today, KVKs are the focal point for Assessment, Refinement and Demonstration of front line technologies for all developmental activities related to agriculture, community and industries in rural India.

Due to changing agricultural conditions—including climate change, increasingly degraded and marginalized land coming into production, limited water availability, increasing use of inputs, rising fuel costs, and unknown market opportunities—farmers require access to timely, reliable, and relevant information that can support the complexity within which their farm enterprises operate.