63 Lakh Farmers Trained by ICAR, KVKs Institutes in 4 Years

Over 2000 new crop variants have been released from food crops, oil seeds, pulses, commercial crops, horticultural crops, potential crops and fodder crops not only for stable production but also surplus production from 2014 to 2022. It is also reported that KVKs and the ICAR Institutes in the last three years trained more than 62.99 lakhs farmers.

To invent new farm technologies ICAR has taken multiple initiatives over nine years on genetic enhancement of plants, animal, fish optimum productivity regardless of biotic and abiotic stresses through sustainable intensification, and mechanization of agricultural food systems, enhancing value, safety and income through food processing, invention of energy efficient technologies, farming practices, and promoting technology transfer to the farmers and stakeholders.

Coordinated by the National Agricultural Research System a total of 98 Agricultural Research Institutes, 5 Deemed Universities and 3 Central Agricultural Universities along with 63 State Agricultural Universities, 4 Universities with Agriculture Faculties have been mandated to oversee research and innovation in the agricultural sector. The new research technologies are disseminated by an established network of 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras at district level which are coordinated by 11 Agricultural Technology Application and Research Institute.

Krishi Vigyan Kendras are responsible for disseminating knowledge-based activities such as on-farm testing of location-specificity tech, frontline demonstrations of improved agricultural technologies, capacity development of farmers, knowledge and skill upgradation,  providing farm advisories and production and distribution of quality seeds as well as planting materials.

Agricultural Technology Management Agency been implemented by the center with the purpose of enhancing the availability of latest agricultural technologies in different thematic areas which would help promote and increase the production, through activities like Farmers Training, Demonstrations, Exposure Visits, Kisan Mela, Mobilization of Farmers Groups and Setting up of Farm Schools.

In the last three years and the current year, training of 62.99 lakhs farmers, 1.49 lakhs on-farm trials and 10.29 lakhs field level demonstrations were conducted by the KVKs and ICAR Institutes.

PM-Kisan portal was launched in February 2019 to have an authentic platform for information related to farmers. It helps to assist farmers in farm operations along with transferring cash benefits to farmer accounts though PFMS. It has a list of location wise benefited farmers and easy monitoring of fund transactions all over the country and many other facilities. mKishan, another portal that has served as a database to shift farmers down to Block level & to select specific agricultural commodities along with features like correction of messages by the supervisory officers, searchable database of previous advisories. Through these portals a total number of more than 12.0 crores and 5 crores have been benefited, respectively. 

Schemes of the Government like Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Rastriya Krishi VikasYojna (RKVY), Sub-Mission of Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP), Seed Hubs (Pulses, Oilseeds, Millets), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and are implemented by State Governments, ICAR Institutes and Central/State Agricultural Universities.