Agricultural Knowledge Transfer in India: a Study of Prevailing Communication Channels

Agriculture has been a part of human life since the beginning of the human race and the need for agricultural information is probably almost as old as agriculture itself. Babylonian clay tablets have been found that contain agricultural information. Blanchard (1997) hypothesized that, “the great library at Alexandria undoubtedly had many treatises on agriculture inscribed on papyrus”. Throughout history, in many civilizations, there have been libraries that have included agricultural information, and separate agricultural libraries were established in Europe in the mid-eighteenth century. In India, special attention was paid to development of an agricultural research infrastructure immediately after Independence. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) acts as a repository of information and provides consultancy on agriculture, horticulture, resource management, animal sciences, agricultural engineering, fisheries, agricultural extension, agricultural education, home science, and agricultural communication. It has the mandate to coordinate agricultural research and development programmes and develop linkages at national and international levels with related organisations to enhance the quality of life of the farming community. ICAR has established various research centres in order to meet the agricultural research and education needs of the country. It is actively pursuing human resource development in the field of agricultural sciences by setting up numerous agricultural universities spanning the entire country. The Technology Intervention Programmes also form an integral part of ICAR’s agenda which establishes Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) responsible for training, research, and demonstration of improved technologies. Agriculture universities were set up in various states and national level agriculture labs were established under the ICAR. Presently there are 38 state agricultural universities, 37 research institutes, five research bureaus, 17 national research centres, seven project directorates and other allied departments. These universities and laboratories have helped in bringing the Green Revolution, White Revolution, and Blue Revolution , and have helped the country to come out of the situation of food scarcity and achieve food self sufficiency and food surplus. The Indian agricultural sector provides employment to about 65% of the labour force, accounts for 27% of the GDP, contributes 21% of total exports, and provides raw materials to several industries.