Krishi Vigyan Kendra
The Education Commission (1964-66) recommended that a vigorous effort should be made to establish specialized institutions to provide vocational education in agriculture and allied fields at the pre-and post-matriculate levels in order to cater the need of training large number of boys and girls coming from rural areas. The Commission further, suggested that such institutions must be termed as ‘Agricultural Polytechnics’. The recommendation of the Commission was thoroughly discussed during 1966-72 by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Planning Commission, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and other allied institutions. Finally, the ICAR mooted the idea of establishing Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Agricultural Science Centres) as innovative institutions for imparting vocational training to the practicing farmers, school dropouts and field levelextension functionaries
The ICAR Standing Committee on Agricultural Education, in its meeting held in August 1973,
observed that since the establishment of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) was of national importance which would help in accelerating the agricultural production as well as in improving
the socio-economic conditions of the farming community, the assistance of all related institutions should be taken in implementing this scheme. The ICAR, therefore, constituted a committee in 1973 headed by Dr Mohan Singh Mehta of Seva Mandir, Udaipur (Rajasthan), for working out a detailed plan for implementing this scheme. The Committee submitted its report in 1974.
At present there are 642 KVKs, out of which 435 are under State Agricultural Universities (SAU) and Central Agricultural University (CAU), 55 under ICAR Institutes, 100 under NGOs, 35 under State Governments, and the remaining 17 under other educational institutions. The KVK of Bhavnagar district has been functioning under the administration of Lokbharti Gramvidyapith Trust, Sanosara since October, 10. (date or year?)
MANDATES OF KVK
Front-Line Demonstration (FLD) : The FLDs on newly recommended agricultural technologies are laid out at farmers' field with an aim to inform them about the recommendations and to obtain their feed-backs about the demonstrated technologies.
On-Farm Testing (OFT) :With an objective of area specific assessment and refinement of agricultural technologies, as well as to provide technical backstopping to the farm innovations, On-Farm Testing is carried out by KVK.
Training :Need-based vocational trainings programmes for farmers, farm women, school dropouts and field level extension functionaries are carried out by KVK to impart skill and knowledge about recommended technologies in agriculture and allied sectors.
Source of Information :For giving impetus to the activities of agriculture and allied sectors in the district, KVK acts as a source of information by providing technical backstopping? through technically trained staff as well as by organizing joint activities with line departments (governmental), non-governmental organizations(NGOs) and other agencies for the benefit of farming community in the district.
Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Bhavnagar has initiated its activities in the district from November, 2010. A multidisciplinary approach is adopted for different extension activities. KVK has decided following thrust areas for organizing the extension activities
||To diversify the cropping system and to enhance productivity of main seasonal crops
||To increase area production and productivity of horticultural crops
||To improve management practices of milch? animals
|Soil and Water Conservation
||To promote rain water harvesting and efficient use of land and water resources
||To carry out skill oriented training programmes of rural youth for income generating activities.
Krishi Vigyan Kendra is maintaining coordination with State Agricultural Universities, Zonal Project Directorate, Jodhpur and ICAR, New Delhi for regular reporting of activities as well as for technical feedback from agricultural scientists. Simultaneously, KVK of Bhavnagar has established functional linkages with Line Departments of Govt. of Gujarat, Bhavnagar farmers' groups and NGOs of different villages to extend its extension activities in the district.