The group approaches

• GON has adopted the farmers’ group approach of extension service delivery for reasons of cost effectiveness, group learning and joint decision making.
• To access government services, farmers are required to be organized into such groups having persons of similar interest in enterprise types.
• Agriculture and livestock farmers’ groups are generally in separate groupings.
• They are advised by extension workers to conduct regular monthly meetings and to raise welfare funds.
• The JT/JTA contact FGs to select candidates from among farmers to make use of available external trainings, to conduct demonstrations, to participate in agricultural tours and in other activities offered under government funding.
• These groups ultimately graduate into cooperatives as formal institutions and get operated following business-like operations and for purposes of accessing benefits provided to cooperatives from the government.