Personal, Socio-Psychological Characteristics of Technical Staff of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and their Participation in Decision Making Process

摘要

THE present growth rate of population in India demands production of additional 5-6 million tonnes of food every year for ensuring food security at the household level. To increase the food production at the rate of at least three per cent per year the efforts of government organizations alone is not sufficient. There is a need for collective efforts of both governmental and non-governmental organizations for agricultural development and in turn rural development. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), during the fifth five year plan, launched an innovative project for imparting training in agriculture and allied areas to the farmers, school drop-outs and field level extension functionaries in the country by establishing Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). The first KVK, on pilot basis, was established in 1974 at Pondicherry under the administrative control of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore (Choudhary, 1999). Since then 440 KVKs have been established in 252 districts in the country during the last 30 years (Anony., 2006).