KVK

Krishi Vigyan Kendra

1. Dr. J. Meenambigai Associate Professor Department of Agricultural Extension Annamalai University

2. KVK Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) are  agricultural extension centres  incorporated by  ICAR  ( Indian Council for Agricultural Research ) and its affiliated institutions at the  district level  to provide various types of farm support to the agricultural sector in India . KVK, a project of ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) for  testing and transfer of Agricultural technologies at the grassroots level . These centres are located in every state of the country . These are usually associated with a local agricultural university and serve as an ultimate  link between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and farmers , and also aim to apply agricultural research in a practical and localized setting . All KVKs fall under the jurisdiction of one of the 11 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) throughout India.

3. Need for setting up of Krishi Vigyaan Kendras The Indian agriculture faces many challenges, including a high percentage of smallholder farmers, lack of supply chain infrastructure, and extreme weather conditions . A key strategy in addressing these issues, in addition to policy support and a functioning market, is using technology to better understand and adapt to complex challenges . However, higher-level research about modern agricultural trends, such as Climate Change and GMO, takes place in universities. The practical implications of this research, or their relevance to a certain local context, are not readily apparent. 

4. Need for setting up of Krishi Vigyaan Kendras The same goes for ground-level innovations which are effective in one local context but may not be extensible to others. Especially in areas with such geographic complexity as India, agricultural extension departments such as KVKs serve to gather, test and disseminate knowledge between centralized institutions and a geographically-dispersed rural population.

5. Criteria for Setting up of KVKs A KVK can be formed under a variety of host institutions, including agricultural universities, state departments, ICAR institutes, other educational institutions, or NGOs . The 700 KVKs in operation per the ICAR website are split into 458 under State Agricultural Universities, 18 under Central Agricultural Universities, 64 under ICAR institutes, 105 under NGOs, 39 under state departments or other public sector undertakings, and 16 under other miscellaneous educational institutions.  A KVK must own about 20 hectares of land for the purpose of testing new agricultural technologies.

6. History of KVKs The ICAR mooted the idea of establishing  Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Agricultural Science Centres)  as innovative institutions for imparting vocational training to the practising farmers, school dropouts and field level extension functionaries . The ICAR Standing Committee on Agricultural Education, in its meeting held in August 1973, observed that since the establishment of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) was of national importance which would help in accelerating the agricultural production as also in improving the socio-economic conditions of the farming community, the assistance of all related institutions should be taken in implementing this scheme.

7. History of KVKs The ICAR, therefore, constituted a committee in 1973 headed by Dr Mohan Singh Mehta of Seva Mandir , Udaipur (Rajasthan), for working out a detailed plan for implementing this scheme. The Committee submitted its report in 1974. The first KVK, on a pilot basis, was established in 1974 at Puducherry (Pondicherry) under the administrative control of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. 

8. Responsibilities and Mandate of KVKs On-Farm Testing  – It is responsible for conducting on-farm testing to identify the location specificity of agricultural technologies under various farming systems . Front-line Demonstrations  – It is also entrusted with organizing Front-line demonstrations to establish  production potential of various crops and enterprises on the farmers’ fields . Organizing Training & Capacity Building  – It also organizes need-based training for farmers to update their knowledge and skills in modern agricultural technologies related to technology assessment, refinement and demonstration, and training of extension personnel to orient them in the frontier areas of technology development.

9. Responsibilities and Mandate of KVKs Awareness Creation  – It is also responsible for creating awareness about improved agricultural technologies among various clienteles through an appropriate extension programme . Production  – It conducts the production of  quality seeds ,  planting materials ,  livestock breeds ,  animal products ,  bio-products  etc., as per the demand and supply the same to different clienteles . Education Centre  – It needs to work as a resource and knowledge centre of Agricultural Technology to support the initiatives of public, private and voluntary sectors for improving the agricultural economy of the district.

10. Krishi Vigyan Kendras Portal The central Government launched  Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) Portal  which helps in monitoring the functioning of KVKs at the National level and in providing timely information and advisory to the farmers . The aim of the portal is to transfer the technologies developed by the agricultural scientists to the farmers in a fast and effective manner using web and mobile technology as well as to monitor the activities of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)

11. The objectives of the portal are To create a platform to monitor the various activities as well as resource utilization by various KVKs ; To create a database of the various programmes organized by the KVKs along with their detailed information and learning resources ; To help the farmers in resolving their queries using web and mobile technologies ; To provide information about various facilities and activities performed by the KVKs and to provide linkage to other important information such as weather and market information.

12. Thank YOU