A.  HRD Activities 

CAFT training on “Enhancing Managerial and Communication Competencies of Extension Professionals for Achieving Professional Excellence”:  Division of Agricultural Extension organized ICAR-sponsored 21 days CAFT Training entitled ‘Enhancing Managerial and Communication Competencies of Extension Professionals for Achieving Professional Excellence’ from January 05 - 25, 2026 to equip agricultural extension professionals with advanced communication and managerial skills essential for enhancing their effectiveness in knowledge dissemination and stakeholder engagement. Twenty-Three (23) participants including Assistant Professors, SMS at KVKs, Chief Technical Officers from 11 different states were attended this program. The training program was structured into Three thematic modules focusing on communication competencies, managerial competencies and field visits.

Winter School on “Developing Agri-Entrepreneurial competencies for farmers’  empowerment” :  The ICAR sponsored Winter School training programme on “Developing Agri-entrepreneual competencies for Farmers Empowerment” organized by Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi during March 06-26, 2026 was aimed to sensitizethe participants about the concepts, latest advances and issues faced in developing agri-enterprise and to equip the participants with essentials skills toenable farmersto launch and manage their own agri-enterprises. The course covered concepts like: Entrepreneurship Development Process, Agripreneurship through Farmer Led Innovations, Maximizing Farm Profits, Business Planning, Preparation of Project Proposal for Agri-enterprises, Financial Management, Value Chain Management,Post-harvest Management, Marketing Research and Information Network, and soft skillslike Business Negotiation and Communication Skill. The participants were also exposed tofloricultural interventions, protected cultivation, seed business, post-harvest processing, precision farming& Hi-tech Agribusiness and organic farming opportunities for agri-enterprise development.

CAFT Training Program

The division of Agricultural Extension organized a twenty one days CAFT training program on “Extension Approaches and Initiatives for Enhancing Farmers' Income through Nutripreneurship” during the period of January 3- 23, 2025. There were nineteen Assistant professors, Scientists and KVK SMS were participated in the program. They also gained expertise about the Nutri-sensitive entrepreneurship development activities and exposed well with field experiences under the guidance of the CAFT Director Dr. Satyapriya, Head, Division of Agricultural Extension and team members

Winter school Program

The Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, successfully organized the ICAR-sponsored Winter School Programme on the theme “Augmenting Communication & Managerial Competencies of Extension Professionals” from January 21 to February 10, 2025. This training program aimed to equip agricultural extension professionals with advanced communication and managerial skills essential for enhancing their effectiveness in knowledge dissemination and stakeholder engagement. A total of 20 participants from various institutions across the country attended the training programme under the guidance of  Course Director Dr. Satyapriya, Head, Division of Agricultural Extension and team members. The diverse activities, expert-led sessions, and exposure to advanced technologies significantly contributed to their professional development. The positive feedback from participants underscores the program's impact, reinforcing its importance in strengthening agricultural extension services in India.

Training organized: The five-day training programme on “Enhancing Personal Effectiveness of Technical Staff (T-1)” was successfully organized from December 1 to 5, 2025, at the Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. The programme was conceptualized with the objective of empowering newly recruited technical personnel with contemporary skills, the right attitudes, and updated knowledge required to support modern agricultural research and institutional processes.A total of 56 T-1 staff members participated in the programme, including staff from IARI Jharkhand, IARI Assam, various regional centres of IARI, and different divisions of IARI, New Delhi.

B. Extension Activities

Farmers’ Scientist interaction workshop on Climate Resilient Agriculture in India: Opportunities and challenges

The Division of Agricultural Extension in collaboration with IARI-NICRA and Climate Trends organization conduced a Farmers’ Scientist interaction program about the Climate Resilient Agriculture in India and its’ Opportunities and Challenges on 22 October, 2024. Scientists, farmers, development stakeholders, NGO officials and students participated in the programme. The program highlighted the recent climate change impacts in agriculture in northern India, introduction of climate –resilient crops and cultivation practices, climate change adaptation through diversification of horticultural crops, market oriented solutions to ensure the sustainability of the agriculture production of the climate vulnerable regions. Finally the program was ended with the keynote address by Dr. R. N. Padaria, Joint Director (Extension), ICAR-IARI, New Delhi. There were 80 farmers and development stakeholders form the states of Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were attended the program. Also Dr S. Naresh Kumar PI, IARI-NICRA & Head, Division of Environmental Sciences, ICAR-IARI  and Dr. L. Muralikrishnan, Scientist, Agricultural Extension and others assisted for the event.

Farmers’ Scientist interaction program about the Climate Resilient Agriculture in India

International Women’s day celebration

On March 8, 2025, the International Women’s day celebration program was organized in the Division of Agricultural Extension under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan project. Joint director Extension Dr. R. N. Padaria was chief guest in the program and Women scientists explained about the importance of International women’s day celebration. They also given a training-cum-field visit exposure to women farmers for their enhanced responsibilities in agriculture and agri-entrepreneurship movement; the event brought together distinguished experts, and stakeholders to discuss women’s contributions to agriculture and ways to enhance their participation in sustainable farming practices. The event was attended by over 75 participants including women farmers of Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh and Rudrapayag district of Uttrakhand as well as the scientists and students of IARI.

Participation in different Committees  for organizing Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela, 2025

Participation in Viksit krishi Sankalp Abhiyan 2025

The scientists of the Division visited the farmers’ fields under the Viksit krishi Sankalp Abhiya

on various dates from May 29- June 12in different blocks of Rohtak, Dadri,Sonepat, Ballabgarh

Panipat, Mudlana, Faridabad, Patudi, Ballabgarh, Jevar, and Delhi.

Participating Institutes: ICAR- IARI, ICAR-IASRI, NBPGR, NRIIPM, NIAP, NIPB, NBSS&LUP, ATARI, Jodhpur, ATARI, Kanpur KVKs & Line Department

  Overview of Viksit krishi Sankalp Abhiyan

Visits of the scientists from Division under Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan

C.Workshops and Seminars

One day workshop on “Bright Spots of Food System Sustainability in India.”

The Division of Agricultural Extension at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, through its Technology Scouting and Forecasting Committee (TS&FC), successfully organized a special lecture on the emerging theme “Bright Spots of Food System Sustainability in India.” The session was delivered by Dr. Julie Fortin, Scientist at the Institute of Social Sciences in Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, Germany, on 1st October 2025 at 11:00 AM in the Training Hall of the Division of Agricultural Extension. The lecture provided valuable insights into sustainable food systems and highlighted global perspectives, enriching the knowledge and understanding of students and faculty members.

Participation in International conference “Evergreen revolution-the pathway to biohappiness- organized with MSSRF partnership with ICAR at NASC Complex from 7th- 9th August, 2025.

Participation of scientist (no. 14) from the division in International conference “Evergreen revolution-the pathway to biohappiness- organized with MSSRF partnership with ICAR at NASC Complex from 7th- 9th August, 2025.

A Farmers’ Evening Forum discussion was conducted under Workshop on Farmers’ Voices: Moving towards Biohappiness   was conducted on 7th August, 2025 participated by 45 farmers.

The session provided a platform for farmers to reflect on their leadership roles, showcase innovations, and share experiences related to sustainable farming, biodiversity conservation, and community well-being. Each participating farmer presented a five-minute reflection on their journey, highlighting success factors.

                Stakeholders Consultation Workshop on "Methodological Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness of FPOs” on March, 11, 2026

A Stakeholders’ Consultation Workshop on “Methodological Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)” was held on March 11, 2026, at ICAR–IARI, New Delhi under the NEMA Phase II project. The workshop aimed to develop a robust and comprehensive framework for evaluating the performance and impact of FPOs. The event witnessed the participation of around 80 stakeholders, including policymakers, scientists from various ICAR institutes, Directors and representatives of ICAR-ATARIs, FPO representatives, farmers, and other key stakeholders. In his address, Dr. Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR–IARI, highlighted the pivotal role of FPOs in enhancing farmers’ incomes, particularly for small and marginal farmers who often face marketing and institutional challenges. A detailed presentation on the conceptual framework, evidence-based approaches, research design, and evaluation methodology for FPOs was delivered by Dr. Ranjay K. Singh, ADG (Extension), ICAR. The deliberations and insights generated during the workshop are expected to significantly contribute to the development of a structured evaluation framework, thereby supporting informed policy decisions and strengthening the FPO ecosystem in the country.

          Dignitaries and participants of stakeholder consultation workshop

Participation in Exhibition on “Empower Women, Empower India: Visit Bharat with Nari Shakti” at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi on 31st July. Two women scientist and one technical Officer of Division of AgrilExtension have participated in the exhibition. The poster (no.8) on women empowerment, technology for women, women entrepreneurship was displayed for visitors.

         D. Farmer Centric Programmes 

Kisan Gosthi cum Farmers’ Field day programme  on Farmer Participatory seed production and Climate Smart Agriculture under ICAR-Farmer First Program

The Division of Agricultural Extension in collaboration with ICAR-Farmer First Program organized a Kisan Gosthi cum Farmers’ Field day program on 9^th January, 2025  at Dadhota village cluster of Palwal district of Haryana. At the beginning, Dr. L. Muralikrishnan, Scientist (Senior Scale) welcomed farmers and emphasized the importance of farmers’ participatory seed production, importance of seed village concept under the changing climate related farming systems’ issues. Dr. Sanjeev Sharma, Senior Technical Officer from Seed Production unit explained about the practical aspects of seed production at farmers’ field level. There were 50 farmers from 12 villages near to the Dadhota village cluster who actively participated in the program.

Farmers’ Scientist interaction meet and training program on climate resilient agricultural practices

On 31^st January 2025, NICRA - Farmers’ Scientist interaction meet and training program on climate resilient agricultural practices were conducted in the Rajpur village of Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh. The climate resilient technology demonstration related project intervention was organized by the NICRA team of IARI and Division of Agril Extension.  A total of 120 farmers attended in the event. Dr. L. Muralikrishnan, Scientist (SS) emphasized the importance of adoption of climate resilient agriculture for climate resilience and sustainable agricultural production.

Field Day on Improved Wheat variety HD 3406

The Division of Agricultural Extension organized a Field Day on improved wheat variety HD 3406at Jahari village, Sonipat, Haryana under the in-house project “Agricultural Extension for Nutrition and Health (AE4NH)- Strategies and Models” on 28^th Feb 2025. The programme was coordinated by a team of experts including  the Scientists from the Division of Agricultural Extension- Dr. Sukanya Barua (Principal Investigator  of AE4NH project), Dr. L Muralikrishnan, Dr. Subhashree Sahu, and Dr Misha Madhavan M, along with Dr Dinesh Kumar, Principal Scientist (Agronomy); under the guidance of Dr. Satyapriya, Head, Division of Agricultural Extension. Twenty-five farmers actively participated in the Field Day. The core activities of the event revolved around expert discussions in the wheat fields.

• • • • • Focus Group Discussions:
          Three Focus Group Discussions were conducted with the farmers (Capsicum, Cucumber, Tomato, flowers) practicing protected cultivation and officers of State Horticulture Department regarding the functional mechanism, support and the impact created by National Horticulture Mission under MIDH in villages Manoli and Dipalpur of Sonipat district, Haryana.
        • Twenty demonstrations were conducted on paddy varieties (PB 1401, PB 1847, PB 1692, PB 1885, PB 1979, and PB 1985) and biofertilizers (Pusa Cyanonutricon and Pusa Mycorrhiza) under the Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav (MGMG) project in the villages of Jahari, Sandel Kila, Sandel Khurd, Shejadpur, and Tharu in Sonipat district, Haryana.
        • “Agricultural Education Day” program on 3rd December 2024 at the Government Senior Secondary School, Amarpur village of Palwal district of Haryana (No of beneficaires:180 students)
        • Participation in Innovative farmers meet organized at ICAR-IARI, New Delhi Dr. B. P. Pal Auditorium attended by 340 farmers including 40 awardee farmers.

Training on improved varieties of IARI at Baghpat District, Uttar Pradesh

The Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR-IARI, conducted training  on improved crop varieties developed at IARI on November 3, 2025, at Lachouda and Fakharpur villages in Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh, under the in-house project “Agricultural Extension for Nutrition and Health: Strategies and Model.” The demonstrated varieties included HD3386 of wheat; Pusamustard30 and Pusa Vijay of mustard; and Pusa Rohini, Pusa Bharti, Pusa Chetki, Pusa Pragati, Pusa Madhabi, Pusa Rudhira, Pusa Kasuri, Pusa Udit, and Pusa Seti of tomato, spinach, radish, pea, onion, carrot, methi, coriander, and turnip, respectively. The programme was organized under the guidance of Dr. Satyapriya, Head, Division of Agricultural Extension, and attended by Dr. Sukanya Barua, Scientist (Sr. Scale), and Mr. Satyaprakash, STO.

Glimpses of Seed Distribution 

   Training on Improved Agricultural Practices under Farmers’ FIRST Project

   A training programme under the Farmer FIRST project was organized at Dadota village, Palwal district, Haryana on 24^th September, 2025. During the programme, scientists created awareness on Integrated Nutrient Management, utilization of local resources for nutritional security, and emphasized the importance of Pusa decomposer for crop residue management. The programme was attended by 70 farmers.

Three-day training programme on “Skill Development and Agri-Entrepreneurship for Enhancing Sustainable Livelihoods of SC Farmers” at Jaunti Village, North-West Delhi,

A three-day training programme was conducted under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) of ICAR–IARI, New Delhi on “Skill Development and Agri-Entrepreneurship for Enhancing Sustainable Livelihoods of SC Farmers” from 17–19 February 2026 at Jaunti Village, North-West Delhi, for 50 Scheduled Caste farmers.The training programme featured a comprehensive series of lectures aimed at strengthening farmers’ technical knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and resilience for sustainable livelihoods.At the end of the training minor farm implements and vegetable seeds kits from ICAR-IARI were distributed among the trainees.

Farmer Training and Awareness Programme for SC farmers of Chatra, Jharkhand

One-day Farmer Training and Awareness Programme was organized on March 09, 2026 for Scheduled Caste (SC) farmers of Chatra district, Jharkhand, by the Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR–IARI, New Delhi, in collaboration with ICAR–IARI Jharkhand and KVK Chatra, under the project titled “Capacity Building and Livelihood Enhancement of Scheduled Caste Farmers through Input Support in Chatra District, Jharkhand.”The programme witnessed the enthusiastic participation of more than 400 farmers, including both men and women. It aimed to enhance farmers’ knowledge on scientific farming practices, improved agricultural technologies, and viable strategies for increasing farm income.During the programme, essential agricultural inputs such as improved seeds, sprayer machines, gumboots, seed kits, and other farm equipment were distributed to facilitate the adoption of modern agricultural practices. Subject matter experts provided technical guidance, shared best practices, and motivated farmers to embrace innovative technologies for sustainable agricultural development.

Farmer Training and Awareness Programme for SC farmers of Sirmour District, Himachal Pradesh

A one-day Farmer Training and Awareness Programme for Scheduled Caste (SC) farmers was organized on 17 March 2026 in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh by the Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR–IARI, New Delhi, in collaboration with KVK Sirmour, under the project titled ‘Integrated Capacity Building and Input-Based Livelihood Support for Scheduled Caste Farmers in Sirmour and Solan Districts, Himachal Pradesh’. The programme witnessed the enthusiastic participation of over 400 farmers, including both men and women. The training provided comprehensive insights into scientific farming practices, improved agricultural technologies, and various strategies aimed at enhancing farm income.” Agricultural inputs like improved seeds, sprayer machines, gumboots, seed kits, and other agricultural equipments were distributed among farmers for enabling them to adopt modern technologies in their fields.

Celebration of Hindi Diwas

Hindi Diwas was celebrated during Hindi Chetna Maah on 18^th September, 2025. Different completion was organized for promotion of Hindi Rajbhasha. The scientist, student and all the  staff of Division of Agricultural Extension  has participated in the event.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and Tree Plantation Drive

The activities of cleanliness of Division and premises was taken place under Swachh Bharat abhiyaan on 10^th September, 2025. On 17^th September 2025, tree plantation drive cum Swachchta Abhiyaan was organized and tree plantation was done by Joint Director (Extension).

Participation in Divisional events

·  Participation of scientist and staff in Vishesh Swatchtta Abhiyaan 5.0 organized in Division of Agril Extension on 12.10.2025.

·  Participation of scientist and staff in Rashtriya Ekta Diwas on 31.10.2025 organized in Division of Agricultural Extension.

Participation in Deeksharambh 2025

The Induction Programme was organized for the newly admitted M.Sc. and Ph.D. students on November 28, 2025. As part of the programme, scientists interacted with the students and facilitated a visit to various facilities in the Division, as well as to ATIC and Pusa Krishi Haat.

Fresher’s Welcome Programme: A fresher’s programme was organized for the students on December 4, 2025, with the objective of facilitating interaction with the faculty and introducing them to the Division. All faculty members and students actively participated in the programme.

 Report on Celebration of World Intellectual Property Day at Division of Agricultural Extension, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi