Introduction

The Directorate performs as a leadership platform to design and implement need based and demand driven technology assimilation across the rural South Bengal districts of the State. And while doing so, apart from conducting stake-holders’ workshop and focused group discussion by the own EEUs and KVKs, it takes recourse to the feed-back that derives through the Zonal Research and Extension Advisory Committee (ZREAC) Meetings, ATMA vis-a-vis SAMETI channels and State Level Workshops of KVKs for assessment, synthesis and deciding upon divergent extension education needs of the rural gentry. Of late, and in the backdrop of growing momentum of SHG focused livelihood promotion movement across the state, the District Rural Development Cells (DRDCs) of different PRIs have also been increasingly getting utilized as effective instrument for assessment of extension education needs of vulnerable but hard thriving women groups in particular.

Farmers' Training :

The university through the Directorate of Extension and the Krishi Vigyan Kendras has organized 467 training courses with 17,423 numbers of trainees occupying 1315 training days during this period at its Farmers Training Centre, Kalyani on need based training issues.

Frontline Demonstration (FLD) Programme :

During 2014-15 to 2015-16, while around 663.45 ha area was put under crop / commodity based FLD programmes in association with 5420 nos. of farmers demonstrators as partners. Out of the total beneficiaries, 43.34 per cent were from Sc community and 9.02 per cent were from ST communities. A total of 94 nos. of FLD programmes covered wide range of issues - Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds, Flowers, Vegetables, Orchard management, Duckery, Backyard piggery, Homestead Goatery and the emerging areas of agriculture in its broad sense like soil health management, Integrated farming and Wasteland management.

Krishi/Udyan Mela/ Crop Exhibition/Technology week/Farmers'/ Field Days etc. :

During past 2 years has organized several number of Krishi, Mela, Udyan Mela, Crop Exhibition, Technology week, Farmers' Day, Field Days, IPM Fields Day etc to demonstrate advanced crop production and protection technology in agriculture, advanced tools in Farm mechanization, Protected cultivation, Preservation techniques of fruits and vagetables etc. The Field days were conducted mostly in the experimental sites of the concerned research projects, being carried out either in the University Farms or farmers' fields. (Refer Annexure-2 and 3)

Farmers- Scientists Interface and Diagnostic service :

During the period, 345 nos. of farmers – Scientists interfaces were also arranged on various important facets of agriculture and allied pursuits. In all, 815 scientists from the University side participated in the interface with a total of 7635 farmers (Annexure-4). Apart from farmers – Scientists interfaces, a total of 8365 nos. of cases were attended under diagnostic services like soil and water, and plant health and animal health care services through the network of Agricultural Technology Information Centre (ATIC) and KVK system of the university. While rendering this kind of advisory support, in addition to the farmers' call at the ATIC & KVKs, field diagnostic clinics were also organized periodically for ensuring decentralized services. In all, 7326 nos. of end users were given the benefit of advisory services based on plant and animal clinics.