Can Post Offices of Rural India be the Driver for Agricultural Technology Dissemination? Experiences of Action Research

Action research on validating the linkages with post offices in the dissemination of farm technology was done. Post offices and their personnel (50) at the district, block and villages levels in Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh, were contacted. Organizational analysis of Indian Postal Department helped identify the scope for entering into linkages for the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. Seeds of improved varieties were disseminated and different possible dissemination modes were experimented. The trend analysis of post office works showed sharp decline (about 50%) in the mail and delivery of ordinary post. Similarly, the sale of postal stamp and revenue stamp had declined to the same extent. The collaborative activities through tie-ups with other agencies like SBI, ICICI, mutual fund agencies, Oriental Insurance, etc. had increased (15-20%), which provided the opportunity for establishing linkages. Up to summer/zaid 2013, more than 1900 farmers under 18 post offices in five states covering 181 villages have been reached through this innovative technology dissemination model. The major crops included in the programme are wheat, paddy, pigeon pea, bajra, mustard, bottle gourd, pumpkin and okra. The farmer-to-farmer diffusion of improved variety of wheat was found to be 32 times of the total area originally covered by seed quantity disseminated through post offices. The cost sharing and capacity building of farmers and post office personnel were the other innovative interventions to make the linkages more successful. Based on the experiences and lessons learnt, future action plans have been suggested.