Get the focus back
Experiences over seven years offer opportunities in NICRA's many failures to calibrate the programme better to changing climate
RIGHT FROM its conception, nicra was planned around the wide network of kvks, agricultural extension units set up in every district of the country to assist farmers. The entire implementation of the programme lies with these extension centres, even though the agriculture ministry admits that kvks are equipped with “modest infrastructural facilities”.
Each kvk has a sanctioned strength of 16 employees, including six subject specialists and a project coordinator for nicra. But in reality, kvks are usually short-staffed and many posts are shortterm contracts. The experience with research fellows hired to implement nicra is also similar. The result is that many positions are vacant at any given point in time.
“The nicra project is only a part of the larger responsibilities of a kvk. kvk personnel have to look after other villages in the district. It is impossible to scale-up operations if personnel vacancies are not filled,” says Sujan Biswas of Cooch Behar kvk, where three of the six posts are vacant.
nicra has failed in one of its most basic metrics of evaluation—participation. One of the most striking gaps in the entire roll-out of the programme has been the low number of participants who have enrolled in the programme. In Kalari, participation is just over 30 per cent; in Nandok, it is less than 20 per cent; and, in Muttar, Kerala, it is around 10 per cent of the total households. Even in a successful village like Bongheri, the proportion of participants to the number of households is about 67 per cent. In both Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, the lack of participation has forced kvks to look for other villages which are more enthusiastic.
“Farmers have to be coaxed to try out something new. It is the biggest challenge in agriculture throughout the country,” says R Bhagwati, who is the joint director at the Indian Council of Agri-