All the Districts in Maharashtra have already prepared the District Strategic Research and Extension Plans (SREPs) which include various agricultural extension activities for increasing agriculture, horticulture and live stock production. To give focused attention to market-led extension, each ATMA District would prepare a Marketing Strategy Supplements (MSS) to the SREP. The MSS will be developed under the guidance of experts in marketing extension and agribusiness based in the VANAMATI Nagpur who would be trained and oriented in the concepts and procedures of preparing MSS and market-led extension at the MANAGE, Hyderabad. They would become resource persons to guide, mentor and facilitate District teams to prepare MSSs.
Preparation of MSS in each District would follow following steps in logical sequence:
All the Districts in Maharashtra have already prepared the District Strategic Research and Extension Plans (SREPs) which include various agricultural extension activities for increasing agriculture, horticulture and live stock production. To give focused attention to market-led extension, each ATMA District would prepare a Marketing Strategy Supplements (MSS) to the SREP. The MSS will be developed under the guidance of experts in marketing extension and agribusiness based in the VANAMATI Nagpur who would be trained and oriented in the concepts and procedures of preparing MSS and market-led extension at the MANAGE, Hyderabad. They would become resource persons to guide, mentor and facilitate District teams to prepare MSSs.
Preparation of MSS in each District would follow following steps in logical sequence:
- Step I: Orientation of District Core Team
- Step II: Training of AES team
- Step III: Data collection, data analysis, identification and prioritization of research, market led extension issues
- Step IV: Developing strategies for market led extension and focusing issues, developing outline /framework for MSS on the basis of the Project thrust area
- Step V: Developing activity schedule and approval of MSS by ATMA
The SREP and MSS documents will act as a template for setting a direction towards market-led extension and agricultural productivity enhancing activities in the District. Further, these will facilitate resource allocation across program areas. The MSS and SREPs, therefore, would become the basic documents for the development of work plans at village, block and District level. The objective is not to duplicate what is already being supported under the centrally sponsored ATMA (extension reforms) and other schemes, but to fill critical gaps in the on- going schemes with special focus on market-led extension. This will help in making efficient use of the public funds provided by the GOI and GOM, including ‘Support to State Extension Program for Extension Reforms’, ‘National Agricultural Development Plan’ and ‘National Food Security Mission’.
The Block Technology Team (BTT) members of the project areas would identify the activities of SREPs and MSSs which are relevant to their Taluka. These will act as guiding principle for identifying activities for preparing the Block Action Plans which will be combined to prepare District Annual Action Plan. The BTT and FIAC members shall take following issues into consideration for preparing the Block Action Plan:
- Extension activities identified in SREPs and MSSs
- Group demand as identified by FIAC members
- Ongoing scheme activities for dovetailing with MACP activities
- Success stories identified for replication