The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India

The Million Farmers School (MFS) is an innovative extension program initiated by the Department of Agriculture in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2017. Twice in a year, the department deploys its entire extension machinery to organize nearly 15,000 training programs for about a million farmers...

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Autores principales: Kumar, Anjani, Verma, Smriti, Prasad, Amit Mohan, Kishore, Avinash, Saroj, Sunil
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145936
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author Kumar, Anjani
Verma, Smriti
Prasad, Amit Mohan
Kishore, Avinash
Saroj, Sunil
author_browse Kishore, Avinash
Kumar, Anjani
Prasad, Amit Mohan
Saroj, Sunil
Verma, Smriti
author_facet Kumar, Anjani
Verma, Smriti
Prasad, Amit Mohan
Kishore, Avinash
Saroj, Sunil
author_sort Kumar, Anjani
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The Million Farmers School (MFS) is an innovative extension program initiated by the Department of Agriculture in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2017. Twice in a year, the department deploys its entire extension machinery to organize nearly 15,000 training programs for about a million farmers across all districts of the state. Unlike traditional extension services, MFS integrates various facets of agricultural knowledge into a packaged product and delivers through village-level trainings where printed material on the topics of training are also distributed among participants. This study presents early findings of a process evaluation, involving assessments of program design, implementation strategies, and estimation of benefits from program participation. In addition to consultation with public officials and community organizations, a state-level representative survey was conducted on a sample of both participating and non-participating households. The early results based on matching and instrumental variable methods—suggest that knowledge outcomes are significantly better among participants vis-à-vis non-participants. The results are robust to different model specifications. The study also qualitatively assesses various aspects of the program’s design and implementation, highlighting the constraints and challenges it faces and offers implementation advice for greater efficacy in its future course.
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spelling CGSpace1459362025-11-06T05:38:06Z The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India Kumar, Anjani Verma, Smriti Prasad, Amit Mohan Kishore, Avinash Saroj, Sunil agricultural knowledge extension agricultural extension farmers capacity development training programmes knowledge The Million Farmers School (MFS) is an innovative extension program initiated by the Department of Agriculture in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2017. Twice in a year, the department deploys its entire extension machinery to organize nearly 15,000 training programs for about a million farmers across all districts of the state. Unlike traditional extension services, MFS integrates various facets of agricultural knowledge into a packaged product and delivers through village-level trainings where printed material on the topics of training are also distributed among participants. This study presents early findings of a process evaluation, involving assessments of program design, implementation strategies, and estimation of benefits from program participation. In addition to consultation with public officials and community organizations, a state-level representative survey was conducted on a sample of both participating and non-participating households. The early results based on matching and instrumental variable methods—suggest that knowledge outcomes are significantly better among participants vis-à-vis non-participants. The results are robust to different model specifications. The study also qualitatively assesses various aspects of the program’s design and implementation, highlighting the constraints and challenges it faces and offers implementation advice for greater efficacy in its future course. 2019-12-13 2024-06-21T09:05:22Z 2024-06-21T09:05:22Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145936 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133195 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133206 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133226 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133227 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133316 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133672 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133684 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134222 https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-12-2021-0334 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Kumar, Anjani; Verma, Smriti; Prasad, Amit Mohan; Kishore, Avinash; and Saroj, Sunil. 2019. The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1888. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145936
spellingShingle agricultural knowledge
extension
agricultural extension
farmers
capacity development
training programmes
knowledge
Kumar, Anjani
Verma, Smriti
Prasad, Amit Mohan
Kishore, Avinash
Saroj, Sunil
The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India
title The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India
title_full The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India
title_fullStr The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India
title_full_unstemmed The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India
title_short The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India
title_sort million farmers school an evaluation of its impact on farmers agricultural knowledge in uttar pradesh india
topic agricultural knowledge
extension
agricultural extension
farmers
capacity development
training programmes
knowledge
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145936
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