Impact of daesi program on knowledge levels of input dealers in andhra pradesh, India

Most of the farmers in India seek farm advice from input dealers but majority of these dealers do not have formal agricultural education. In order to build their technical competency in agriculture, National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) has launched a self-financed “One-year Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers (DAESI) Program” so that they can blend their business with extension services besides discharging regulatory responsibilities. A knowledge test was developed to study the impact of DAESI Program on knowledge levels of input dealers, by taking 45 trained and 45 non trained dealers randomly from 3 districts of Andhra Pradesh. Results of the study showed that there exists a huge gap in the knowledge levels of trained and non trained input dealers. The findings clearly showed that the diploma programme had contributed to increased knowledge levels of input dealers on crop production technologies which are sufficient to give suitable advice to field level problems of farmers.