International Extension Education Conference 2020
Role of NGOs in Extension Services: Opportunities & Challenges
Background
India has a long tradition of voluntary service since the vedic period. The spirit of
voluntarism has grown with the inspiration of many great men like lord buddha, swami vivekananada, rabindra nath
tagore and mahatama gandhi and many others. The idea behind the practice is spiritual realization of the self
as depicted in the motto “service to mankind is service to god”. Voluntary organizations (vos) and
non-governmental organizations (ngos) play a significant role in rendering voluntary services to the poor and
marginalized sections of society. Their services are now acknowledged and considered as powerful tools by the
government and psus in policy making and implementation of developmental and welfare programmes for
socio-economic transformation. It is observed that ngos help to make the distribution of extension services
more equitable through participatory methods by providing training, guidance and handholding support to
self-help groups for effectively functioning and managing pooled resources in a democratic way. They try to
integrate various sectors of rural economy, agricultural off farm activities, agro-industrial activities
through programmes of leadership development, training and education. The functions of ngos and vos have
changed over from relief and welfare work to community development and sustainable management of resources.
Most of the ngos once focused on the enhancement of social skills are now, with the expanded donor resources
being invested in extension,oriented towards entrepreneurial activities by hiring the best extension advisors.
These new ngos are very successful in competing for and carrying out donor-driven projects and they are also
providing advisory services.
Objectives
This international conference is an attempt to find the redefined role of ngos in
agricultural extension in present context, their advocacy and community empowerment efforts in terms of
generating institutional pluralism and building democratic process in serving the society.
Anticipated outcome of the conference
Non-governmental organizations (ngos) play a significant role in rendering voluntary
services to the poor and marginalized sections of society. They have made a remarkable contribution in the
extension services of india. The studies on extension research must be compiled and generalized for further
refinement and application. A significant research base and deliberation of ngos agricultural extension would
provide a foundation for quality extension services and policy frame work to in support of government.
Who May Participate
Agricultural personnel, extension workers, professors, teachers, job providers, scientists, researchers,
students, financial organizations, policy makers, administrators, NGO managers, farmers and other professionals and stake holders
related to agricultural extension research and extension service.