India - Kerala Agricultural Extension Project

Document of FILE COPy The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No.2863-IN, INDIA STAFF APPRAISAL REPORT KERALA AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT May 1, 1980 Education and Agricultural Institutions Division South Asia Projects Department lrhis document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization s  CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS US$1.00 Rupees (Rs) 8.40 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Metric System ABBREVIATIONS AD - Agricultural Demonstrator ADA - Additional Director of Agriculture AEO - Agricultural Extension Officer APC - Agricultural Production Commissioner BDO - Block Development Officer CDO - Community Development Department DAE - Directorate of Agricultural Extension DAO - District Agricultural Officer DDA - Deputy Director of Agriculture DEA - Department of Economic Affairs DOA - Department of Agriculture DTC - District Technical Committee EEI - Extension Education Institute GOI - Government of India GOK - Government of Kerala HYV - High Yielding Varieties ICAR - Indian Council of Agricultural Research IRRI - International Rice Research Institute JAO - Junior Agricultural. Officer JDA - Joint Director of Agriculture KAU - Kerala Agricultural University PAO - Principal Agricultural Officer SDAO - Subdivisional Agricultural Officer SMS - Subject Matter Specialist STC - State Technical Committee T & V - Training and Visit System of Agricultural Extension VEW - Village Extension Worker VLW - Village Level Worker  FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY INDIA KERALA AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT Table of Contents Page No. I. BACKGROUND .......................................... 1 Introduction ................................... 1 Agriculture in India ........................... 1 Agricultural Extension ......................... 2 Existing State Projects ........................ 4 Agriculture in Kerala .......................... 6 Agricultural Services in Kerala .... ............ 7 II. THE PROJECT .........................................9 A. General Description ........................ 9 B. Detailed Features .. ....................... 10 The Extension Methodology .10 Incremental Staff Requirements .12 Training .13 Housing .14 Transport .14 Equipment .14 Operating Expenses .15 Monitoring and Evaluation .15 III. COST ESTIMATES AND FINANCING . .15 A. Cost Estimates .15 B. Proposed Financing .16 C. Procurement .16 D. Disbursement and Audit .17 IV. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT .18 Extension Service .18 Input Supplies .19 State Level Coordination .19 Linkages between Extension and Research 19 Monitoring and Evaluation .22 Farm Information .22 V. BENEFITS, JUSTIFICATION AND RISKS .22 Financial Benefits .22 Economic Benefits .22 Project Risks .23 VI. AGREEMENTS TO BE REACHED AND RECOMMENDATIONS 24 This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.  Table of Contents (Continued) ANNEXES I Table 1 Summary of Project Costs Table 2 Civil Works Table 3 Vehicles and Equipment Table 4 Training Costs Table 5 Incremental Staff Salaries Table 6 Incremental Operational Costs Table 7 Requirement and Availability of Extension Staff Table 8 Requirement of Extension Staff by Years Chart 21128 - Extension Organization Chart 21127 - Linkages between Extension and Research II Training III Table 1 Implementation Schedule Table 2 Estimated IDA Disbursements MAP IBRD 14690  INDIA KERALA AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROJECT I. BACKGROUND Introduction 1.01 The proposed project would be the eighth in a series of IDA assisted projects designed to reorganize and strengthen agricultural extension in India. 1/ Under the project, the Government of Kerala (GOK) would reorganize its extension service to provide farmers, on a regular and systematic basis, with up to date advice on farming practices best suited to their specific con- ditions and capable of having an immediate impact on production and income. This would be achieved by strictly programmed visits from regularly trained field staff, supported by professional advice from the Department of Agricul- ture (DOA) and from research. 2/ The project was prepared by GOK with assis- tance of staff of the Bank's Resident Mission in India. Initial appraisal took place in August 1979, but with follow-up visits in December when staffing details were finalised. This report is based on the findings of the appraisal mission consisting of Messrs. J. Q. Harrison, R. J. G. Le Breton (IDA), and C. M. Mathur (Consultant). Agriculture in India 1.02 The area of India is 3.27 M km of which 49% is cultivable. India's population of over 630 M is growing at an annual rate of 2.0%. National income has grown at nearly 4% per annum since 1950, and the per capita GNP reached US$150 in 1976. Although average per capita income has increased, in general there has been little change in the living standards of the vast masses of urban and rural poor, conservatively estimated at 270 M people with incomes below the poverty line of US$73 per capita per year. Thus, GOI's development plans give priority to alleviating poverty and creating employment, especially in rural areas. 1/ The seven previous projects are described in the following appraisal reports: Assam Agricultural Development Project, Cr. 728-IN West Bengal Agricultural Extension and Research Project, Cr. 690-IN Rajasthan Agricultural Extension and Research Project, Cr. 737-IN Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Extension and Research Project, Cr. 712-IN Bihar Agricultural Extension and Research Project, Cr. 761-IN Orissa Agricultural Development Project, Cr. 682-IN Composite Agricultural Extension and Research Project (Haryana, Gujarat and Karnataka), Cr. 862-IN 2/ The main principles of the proposed extension reform are described in Agricultural Extension: The Training and Visit System (World Bank, 1977)  - 2 - 1.03 Agriculture is the dominant sector of the Indian economy and con- tributes about 45% of GNP. It engages about 70% of the labor force and provides the base for about 60% of India's exports. During the last decade, GOI development plans have emphasized agriculture and sought to raise foodgrain production by increasing the use of irrigation, fertilizers, plant protection chemicals, and seeds of improved varieties. In support of this, GOI has modernized and expanded its agricultural credit institutions and accelerated the development of irrigation. More recently, increased attention has been given to the establishment of improved extension services and upgrading the research capabilities needed to support this extension effort. 1.04 Despite these endeavors and the impressive results of the Green Revolution in some areas, primarily in the wheat-growing northwestern states, annual growth in total foodgrain production over the last 15 years has been only about 2.3%, or approximately equal to the population growth. Per capita production of a number of other important crops, including cotton and oilseeds, has fallen during the period. Furthermore, India's agriculture is particularly susceptible to the vagaries of weather and foodgrain production can vary as much as 20% between successive years. Although expansion of irrigation facil- ities to reduce this variation remains a priority, GOI recognizes that the bulk of India's cropped area and over half of its farmers, cannot, in the foreseeable future, benefit from water-intensive agricultural technologies emphasized since the 1960s. Moreover, although much appropriate research is available, yields under rainfed conditions have shown little or no improvement over this period--a fact which prompts this project's emphasis on rainfed as well as irrigated farming. Agricultural Extension 1.05 State Governments have direct responsibility for agricultural exten- sion; they operate through their Departments of Agriculture (DOA), generally with the cooperation of other state departments, including Community Develop- ment. While organization varies between states, the extension service is generally headed by the Director of Agriculture who reports to the Secretary of Agriculture. He is assisted by staff located at state, zonal and district levels. The Collector (the senior representative of the civil administration at the district level) coordinates activities between the various agencies of government, with the District Agricultural Officer (DAO) representing DOA. Below the district level, Agricultural Extension Officers (AEO) generally report on routine matters to the Block Development Officer (BDO), an official of the state Community Development Department. In some states, locally elected councils (panchayats) also play a role and the BDO are responsible to these bodies. Given the multitude of local activities and lack of direct administrative control by DOA, AEO are often diverted to non-agricultural activities. The village level worker (VLW), a multipurpose worker and gener- ally an employee of the Community Development Department, is supposed to spend 75-80% of his time on agricultural extension under the direction of the AEO. However, the VLW is administratively responsible to the BDO and the lack of a well-defined agricultural program, combined with the demands of his other activities, generally result in his spending very little time on agricultural extension. The same is generally true of the AEO. What little extension work is done is neither planned systematically, nor supervised adequately.  - 3 - 1.06 Over the years, dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of the multipurpose worker for increasing agricultural production has led to the development of a variety of special programs focussing on particular crops, areas, or techniques. Staff employed under these schemes are usually under the administrative control of various subject matter departments of DOA. In a given state, such schemes usually cover only a few districts and only part (e.g. one crop) of the farmers' operations. These schemes have tended to dissipate extension efforts in many uncoordinated directions and divert attention and resources from the need to reform the main line extension agency. 1.07 There are us.ally too few staff to cover the farming community adequately and they lack sufficient mobility to reach farmers systematically and regularly. In addition to the organizational problems mentioned above, the extension service often suffers from inadequate and outdated staff train- ing. Furthermore, linkages with research have been tenuous and irregular. All these factors have hampered effective extension work. They have resulted in a general stagnation in agricultural production with most extension person- nel having low status, low pay and poor morale. 1.08 With yields in irrigated and rainfed areas remaining at levels well below potential, GOI has become increasingly concerned with improving agri- cultural extension. A new system of extension--the Training and Visit System (T & V)--based on frequent and regular farm visits by full-time, adequately trained extension personnel was developed in 1974 with IDA assistance. Under this approach, a substantial portion of the multipurpose VEW is transferred from Community Development Departments to DOA to work exclusively on agri- cultural extension. The results from the Chambal Irrigation Scheme in Rajasthan, 1/ where the system has been in operation since 1974, are impres- sive. CHANGES IN YIELDS IN THE CHAMBAL IRRIGATION SCHEME (RAJASTHAN) Average Yields