Inter-Departmental Seminar B Sc (AG)

At the beginning of the session, Mr. Kalpataru Nanda, Asst. Prof., Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding addressed the audience and welcomed them to attend the seminar session. Then Mrs. Mita Meher, Asst. Prof., Department of Extension Education was invited to deliver her seminar presentation on the topic “Knowledge Transfer Pathways in Agricultural Innovation Systems: A Meta-Analysis of Extension Effectiveness”.

The speaker gave a brief introduction on the topic emphasizing the effectiveness of different agricultural extension pathways within Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems. Her report was a meta analysis of the findings from multiple peer-reviewed studies conducted between 2015-2024, covering thousands of farmers across developing countries. The findings demonstrated that agricultural extension services significantly enhanced farmer outcomes, with increased adoption rates by 15-25 %, improved crop yields by 10-20%, and rise in farmer incomes by ₹5,000-10,000 per hectare depending on local contexts and interventions. The analysis also revealed that face-to-face extension achieved the highest adoption rates (50-60%), followed by group learning and farmer-to-farmer approaches (40-50% each), while digital methods achieved 30-40% adoption rates but offered superior cost-effectiveness and scalability for reaching larger farmer populations. The study identified four critical success factors that determine extension effectiveness: demonstrable economic benefits (showing 2-3x higher adoption when clear financial advantages are evident), trust relationships between farmers and advisors (2x multiplier effect), visible demonstration of results in local contexts (1.5-2x improvement), and locally relevant recommendations adapted to specific farming conditions (1.5-2x multiplier).

The presentation gave a clear understanding on the topic and was highly praised by faculty members and students following a brief question-answer session. At the end, vote of thanks was given by Mr. Kalpataru Nanda and the session was concluded.