Krishi Vigyan Kendras: Working for Farmer's Welfare

Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Farm Science Centres) are the District level institution serving as an agriculture knowledge resource & capacity development centre which plays indispensable role in front line extension regarding agriculture system in scientific way.

First Krishi Vigyan Kendra was established in March 21, 1974 at Pondicherry by Indian Council of Agriculture Research, New Delhi in light of recommendations laid by Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta Committee. With the approval of planning commission, ICAR initiated 18 KVKS during the fifth five year plan (1974-79). In the Independence Day speech on August 15, 2005, the then Prime Minister of India stated that by the end of 2007, there would be one KVK in each rural district. Currently there are total 731 KVKS (one in each district; some district also possess 2 KVKS) across the nation. These KVKS are administered by ICAR, SAU, NGOs, and other agencies. Initially it was opened solely for providing training in frontier areas of agriculture and now it assists in providing vocational training to field-level extension workers, school dropouts, and farmers in practice.

KVK staff includes experts/subject matter specialists (SMS)/scientists from various disciplines of agriculture and allied sciences, along with supporting staffs. They train male and female farmers and youths related to the areas of their interest. These trainings are of different nature like vocational, one day thematic trainings, etc. In addition to these, SMS act as trainers for other extension functionaries working in the field level. KVK has been responsible for playing a pivotal role in improving the socio-economic conditions of farmers in the unreached rural areas.

Mandates of KVK:

KVKs plays a critical role in the refinement of technologies for specific situations and locations by serving as a two-way link between research and farmers.

The KVKs' primary mandate is technology assessment, refinement, and demonstration for adoption. On-Farm Testing (OFT) evaluates the location-specificity of agricultural technology across diverse farming systems.