2 March 2026, Kolkata
A one-day Zonal Review Workshop of the Farmer FIRST Programme (FFP) was organised in hybrid mode at ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kolkata under the Chairmanship of Dr Pradip Dey, Director-cum-Chairman, Zonal Programme Management Committee (ZPMC), FFP. The workshop reviewed the achievements of five FFP centres in Zone V for the year 2025–26.
Dr R. Roy Burman, Assistant Director General (Agricultural Extension), ICAR graced the occasion as Chief Guest. In his address, he emphasized the need for systematic retrospection and scaling up of technologies through active involvement of State Departments and other relevant stakeholders by developing and sharing an inventory of technologies under Zone V. He advocated adopting a whole-village approach to ensure nutritional security, climate resilience, and entrepreneurship-based business model development. He further suggested that FFP centres completing nearly a decade of operation should formulate an appropriate exit plan and create sustainability funds to ensure continuity and stability in adopted clusters even after project completion.
Dr T. K. Datta, Vice-Chancellor, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences (WBUAFS), Kolkata, attended as Special Guest. He appreciated the initiatives of the WBUAFS FFP team in initiating artificial insemination in goats in the project area. He opined that saturation of all FFP modules in an existing cluster, along with a well-defined exit plan, should be carefully chalked out before expanding to new project areas. He also expressed gratitude to the Council and the Agricultural Extension Division for sanctioning a new FFP centre to WBUAFS, Kolkata.
Dr A. Sarangi from ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management, Dr G. A. K. Kumar from ICAR-Central Rice Research Institute, Dr. S. Batabyal from the Directorate of Research, Extension and Farms (DREF), WBUAFS, Kolkata, and Prof P. J. Mishra, Dean, Extension Education, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, attended as Guests of Honour. Principal Investigators (PIs), Co-PIs, and Senior Research Fellows (SRFs) from the five FFP centres also participated online.
In his presidential address, Dr Pradip Dey highlighted the key components of the Farmer FIRST Programme Farm, Innovations, Resources, Science and Technology and elaborated on the programme’s significance and impact in Zone V. He underscored the farmer-centric approach of FFP, wherein farmers act as co-developers of technologies. He also emphasized assessing the suitability of technologies in specific agro-ecological situations while evaluating their impact and adoption under the six modules of FFP.
Prof S. Batabyal appreciated the Council for sanctioning an FFP centre at WBUAFS, Kolkata, and assured that the project would be implemented in accordance with FFP guidelines to achieve its defined objectives within the stipulated timeframe.
Prof P. J. Mishra stressed the importance of crop diversification using resilient varieties and advocated for the promotion of digital agriculture, including the use of social media, drone technology, and other frontier technologies.
Dr G. A. K. Kumar suggested expanding the scope of FFP by increasing the number of villages or centres, or both. He also emphasized the development of an adoption strategy of the FFP model by State Governments, alongside strengthening entrepreneurship development and integration with agri-business incubators.
Dr A. Sarangi highlighted the application of mobile apps in agricultural technology dissemination and underscored the importance of developing a geospatial database to facilitate the transition from an agro-climatic to an agro-ecological approach. He also recommended integrating the FFP model with various Government of India schemes for enhanced impact.
During the technical session, all PIs and Co-PIs of the five existing FFP centres presented their physical and financial achievements for the year 2025–26. The presentations were critically reviewed by the dignitaries and panel members.
A total of 45 participants attended the workshop.
(Source: ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute Kolkata)
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