Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA)

What is ATMA

ATMA, is society of stakeholders involved in Agricultural activities for sustainable Agricultural Development. It is a Focal Point of Integrating Research and Extension activities land decentralizing day to day management of public Agricultural Technology system (ATS).

The ATMA is a registered society responsible for technology dissemination under the Chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner as a registered society, ATMA would be able contract and arrangement and to maintain revolving accounts that can be used to collect fees and there by recover operating cost.

Goals

1. To decentralize decision making to district level through the creation of ATMA.
2. To increase farmer input into programme planning and resources allocation.
3. To increase programme co-ordination and integration so that the programme thrusts such as farming system innovative farmer organization, technology gaps can be more effectively and efficiently be implemented.

The main functions of ATMA

1. Establishing farmer information and advisory center at block level.
2. Creating Block Technology Team consisting of block level Heads of the Line Department with Agriculture Officer as its officer incharge
3. Creating farmer advisory committees consisting of farmer relating to Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Dairy, Fishery and Soil Conservation with its Chairman Non Official (Farmer Among The Members).
4. To prepare bottom up planning of research and extension programme on the basis participate rural appraisal (PRA) technique in developing a strategic search extension plan of the district.
5. Forming different types of farmer organization with district. Such as Self Help Group (SHG), Farmer Interest Group (FIG) at village level and Farmer Organization (FO) /Commodity Association (CA) at Block and District level.
6. For the benefit of the farmer the information required for Marketing of their Product in the Distant market the use of information technology be supplied to the farmer by establishing Computer System using Internet at block level.
7. Arrange exposure visit to the Farm Organization/Commodities Association with in India for providing them the validating and refining technology to increase their income.
8. Arrange Demonstration of New Crops and Training to the farmers to increase their knowledge Agriculture and Allied activities.
9. For the Replication of success stories exposure visit would be arranged and successful farmers would be use as a resource person to replicate the success stories at faster speed.
10. Private sector is encouraged to involve in Technology Transfer.
11. New public Private partnership is developed.
12. Emphasis on in service is made to increase staff Competency and their behavior.

The ultimate objective of both research and extension system is to increase agricultural production. Formulating research and extension agenda based on producer’ requirement results in technology that will be more acceptable to users. This also helps in allocation of resources to both research and extension activities to be taken up in the district. Therefore, the strategic research and extension plan (SREP) for each district is the need of the hour to address then specific problems of the farming community especially resource poor and other disadvantaged groups.

The basic concept of NATP highlights the need to develop a cost effective and sustainable extension system to facilitate the farming community towards achieving prosperity.

The following thrust areas have been identified to operationlise this concept:

• Focus on farms and the farming systems.
• Integration of efforts of multiple service providers.
• Ownership of the Agricultural Technology System(ATS) by key stakeholders.
• Technological interventions in the form of intensification and diversification of the farming systems.
• Value addition and marketing intervention.
• Empowerment of farming community.
• Multiple communication and information support.

The responsibility of ATMA, is to bring together researchers, extensionists, farmers and other stakeholders (including NGO’s, and corporate and private sectors) to make, on the basis of joint diagnostic studies, district extension plan and recommendations for expanded adaptive research to introduce innovations in technology dissemination matched to local needs and situations.

In other words, ATMA, is mandated to develop a demand driven, situation specific, multi-actor oriented Strategic Research and Extension Plan (SREP) to accelerate agricultural development in the project district. The SREP to the basic document which not only decides the development activities that need to be carried out, but also in which manner and by whom it has to be done.