Agribusiness and Extension Management

About the Book :

Agribusiness, though not a new concept, is gaining momentum after economic liberalisation. Recent advances in agricultural technology have opened the floodgates of agribusiness development in India. We all know that Indian agriculture has gone through considerable changes resulting in greater level of commercialisation and diversification. Agribusiness development is the key to achievements of socio-economic development of India in coming years. The above scenario calls for reorientation of present agricultural extension system to meet the demands of farmers. In the context of present agricultural scenario, the issues related to agribusiness development and the role of extension system in promoting agribusiness activities are examined in this volume. This book is the result of a national conference on Agribusiness and Extension Management: Status, Issues and Strategies, held at Hyderabad during December 2001. The chapters included in the volume have been contributed by eminent development professionals and scientists. It is hoped that this book will be of enduring interest and use to policy-makers, field practitioners, academicians, students and others who are involved in fostering agribusiness development through extension service.

About Author :

Dr. B.S. Hansra, Assistant Director General (Agri. Extn.) at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi had been Professor and Head; Department of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Punjab). He taught UG and PG courses in extension education at P.A.U., Ludhiana for more than two decades and guided extension. programmes of the University. He has authored ten books and more than 180 research and popular papers. He has been awarded National Fellow Award during 1995 by the Indian Society of Extension Education. He is closely associated with many national and international professional societies.

K. Vijayaragavan is a Principal Scientist at the Division of Agricultural Extension, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. He is a well-known extension scientist and has more than 25 years of teaching, research, training and extension experience in the areas of extension management and rural development. He was a visiting scholar at Ohio State University, U.S.A. during 1998. He is a prolific writer and has several publications to his credit in the form of research papers, books and manuals. He also served as an Editor of Indian Journal of Extension Education for about a decade.