Recent Trends in Agricultural Extension and Capacity Building of Farmers in India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21523830Keywords:
Agricultural extension, Capacity building, Climate-smart agriculture, Digital agriculture, Farmer empowerment, India, Information and Communication Technology (ICT)Abstract
In India agricultural extension has witnessed an overwhelming shift in paradigm from traditional technology-transfer model to a multifaceted, demand and market driven strategy with digitally enabled system. Witnessed several challenges- climate change, volatility in market, deterioration in farm profitability and natural resource degradation has demanded effective extension approaches for enhancement of capacity among farmers. According to reports, latest advancement included ICT- enabled advisory services, climate smart agriculture (CSA), digital agriculture, and farmers’ producers organization (FPOs), educational platforms for e-learning, artificial intelligence (AI), precision agriculture, along-with participatory extension methodologies. Synthesis of recent literature on emerging agricultural extension approaches and farmer capacity-building initiatives in India has been performed. This review highlighted significant challenges, trends, opportunities, and future directions for consolidating extension systems in order to boost farmers’ resilience, productivity and livelihood sustainability. Attributes like household size, farm size, training exposure, awareness of programmes on extension remarkably influenced farmer’s adoption through extension provision. The review focuses on literature published between 2009-2026. A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple academic databases, including Google Scholar, Consensus, ResearchGate, etc. The review is both rigorous and reflective, capturing the depth and breadth of research on recent trends in agricultural extension and capacity building of farmers in India.
References
Agrawal, S. K. (2026). Changing Role of Agricultural Extension in India: From Technology Transfer to Digital, Market-Linked and Networked Advisory Systems. Journal of Agricultural Extension Management. DOI: https://doi.org/10.56093/JAEM.v26i2.1
Aker, J. C. (2011). Dial “A” for agriculture: a review of information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries. Agricultural economics, 42(6), 631-647.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2011.00545.x
Arulmanikandan, A. M., Shehrawat, P. S., & Malik, J. S. (2024). Empowering Farmers through Digital Agricultural Practices–A. Journal of Community Mobilization and Sustainable Development, 19(1), 9-16.
Birner, R., Davis, K., Pender, J., Nkonya, E., Anandajayasekeram, P., Ekboir, J.,& Cohen, M. (2009). From best practice to best fit: A framework for designing and analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services worldwide. Journal of agricultural education and extension, 15(4), 341-355. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13892240903309595
Cherupelly, N. K. (2022). Alternative Agricultural Extension Functionaries in India: Substantive Role of ICTs – Study of e-Choupal. Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, 14(3), 132–139. https://doi.org/10.5897/JAERD2021.1277
Chetri, P., Sharma, U., & Ilavarasan, P. V. (2021). Role of Information and ICTs as Determinants of Farmer's Adaptive Capacity to Climate Risk: An Empirical Study from Haryana, India. https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.09766
Davis, K., Nkonya, E., Kato, E., Mekonnen, D. A., Odendo, M., Miiro, R., & Nkuba, J. (2012). Impact of farmer field schools on agricultural productivity and poverty in East Africa. World development, 40(2), 402-413. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2011.05.019
Eastwood, C., Klerkx, L., Ayre, M., & Dela Rue, B. (2019). Managing socio-ethical challenges in the development of smart farming: from a fragmented to a comprehensive approach for responsible research and innovation. Journal of agricultural and environmental ethics, 32(5), 741-768.OI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2019.100289
Fabregas, R., Kremer, M., & Schilbach, F. (2019). Realizing the potential of digital development: The case of agricultural advice. Science, 366(6471), eaay3038. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay3038
Gao, Y., Zhang, X., Wu, L., Yin, S., & Lu, J. (2017). Resource basis, ecosystem and growth of grain family farm in China: Based on rough set theory and hierarchical linear model. Agricultural Systems, 154, 157-167. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.03.013
Genius, M., Koundouri, P., Nauges, C., & Tzouvelekas, V. (2014). Information transmission in irrigation technology adoption and diffusion: Social learning, extension services, and spatial effects. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 96(1), 328-344.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajae/aat054
Govindan, P. (2026). Artificial Intelligence (AI) Revolution and Digital Agricultural Innovations in India: Golden Opportunities for Sustainable Growth in Indian Agricultural Sector. Artificial Intelligence (AI), 10(05).
Holzapfel, S., & Wollni, M. (2014). Is GlobalGAP Certification of Small-Scale Farmers Sustainable? Evidence from Thailand. The Journal of Development Studies, 50(5), 731–747. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2013.874558
Khan, R. P., Gupta, S., Daum, T., Birner, R., & Ringler, C. (2025). Levelling the field: A review of the ICT revolution and agricultural extension in the Global South. Journal of International Development, 37(1), 1-21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3949
Klerkx, L., Jakku, E., & Labarthe, P. (2019). A review of social science on digital agriculture, smart farming and agriculture 4.0: New contributions and a future research agenda. NJAS: wageningen journal of life sciences, 90(1), 1-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2019.100315
Kumar, A., Malik, J., & Kamboj, M. (2022). Relevance of Extension Advisory Services in Climate Smart Agriculture: A Review. MAUSAM, 73(3). https://doi.org/10.54302/mausam.v73i3.5937
Mittal, S., Gandhi, S., & Tripathi, G. (2010). Socio-economic impact of mobile phones on Indian agriculture (No. 246). Working paper.
Nagar, A., Nauriyal, D. K., & Singh, S. (2024). Factors Influencing Adoption of Technical Advice from Agricultural Extension Services: Evidence from a Field Survey in Western Uttar Pradesh, India. The Indian Economic Journal, 72(5), 741-754.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00194662241254502
Nettle, R., Crawford, A., & Brightling, P. (2018). How private-sector farm advisors change their practices: an Australian case study. Journal of Rural Studies, 58, 20-27.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.12.027
Ongachi, W., Belinder, I., Bhat, B., Hussain, S., et al. (2026). Strengthening Agricultural Extension Services to Enhance Farmers’ Capacity and Resilience for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review. BMC Agriculture. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44399-026-00039-9
Ponnusamy, K., & Padaria, R. N. (2021). Research in agricultural extension: Review of its contribution and challenges. Horticulture, 305, 314-67. https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v91i5.112978
Rathi, H., & Duhan, P. K. (2026). ICT-driven Agricultural Development: A Review of Digital Transformation and Farm Decision-Making in India. International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development. DOI: 10.33545/26180723.2026.v9.i5c.3576
Rose, D. C., Wheeler, R., Winter, M., Lobley, M., & Chivers, C. A. (2021). Agriculture 4.0: Making it work for people, production, and the planet. Land use policy, 100, 104933. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104933
Sah, U., Singh, S. K., & Pal, J. K. (2021). Farmer-To-Farmer Extension (F2FE) approach for speedier dissemination of agricultural technologies: A review. The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 91(10), 1419-1425. https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v91i10.117403
Shaik, N. M., Arun Kumar, S., Waris, A., et al. (2022). E-Learning in Extension Systems: Empirical Study in Agricultural Extension in India. Indian Journal of ExtensionEducation.https://epubs.icar.org.in/ejournal/index.php/IJEE/article/view/125686
Vaishnavi, P., Thirumal, A., & Kaviya, S. G. (2025). Strengthening Climate-Smart Agriculture Through Digital Extension: A Systematic Review of Technologies, Adoption, and Policy Implications. International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research, 9(12S), 785–791. 10.33545/26174693.2025.v9.i12Sj.6602
Varshney, H., & Singh, S. K. (2019). ICT in Agriculture India and Way Forward. IndianFarming,69(1).https://epubs.icar.org.in/ejournal/index.php/IndFarm/article/view/86719
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Saikat Mukherjee, Bireshwar Kundu, Rupa Das

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.