A treatise on “navigating extension advisory services through digital disruption”

By Dr. Shaik N Meera (and summarized for e-Agriculture News)

Extension services and extension professionals face a disrupted extension advisory services opines Dr Shaik N Meera in a recent blog. The disruption comes as technology services and farmers’ centric approaches which offer extension-like services are on the increase.

Extension Advisory Services (EAS) delivery in India have limited scale, sustainability and impact. Globally, it is estimated that public extension systems’ outreach does not exceed 6.8 per cent of farmers (GFRAS, 2012).

Do current extension services meet the needs of the farmers when compared to Extension Advisory Services (EAS) systems?

Perhaps, the current thinking process of EAS does not take into consideration (not delivered if already considered) personalised, exceptional, retail-like experience: time and mission criticalness of extension services. It is about providing these services as how, when and where it is most convenient for them, not us.

Digital disruption, which is happening across industries yet is also bringing significant values to individuals and organisations. How agriculture can leverage on the strengths of digital disruption was analysed in depth in aforementioned blog. The blog takes the following approach,

1. give farmers what they want,
2. start-up Digital Disruption,
3. winning the game of disruption –the extension way,
4. navigating through digital disruption.

Read the full blog here