Impact of Extension Services Provided by ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) on Small and Marginal Farmers in Rural Assam

Abstract

Agricultural Extension Services aim at disseminating new knowledge and skill to farmers to aid them in adopting new agricultural technologies and use their resources efficiently. Agricultural knowledge improves their skill and decision-making and enhances more efficient utilization of agricultural technologies. With a sample of 160 famers collected from Golaghat district of Assam by using multi-staged random sampling method, this study attempts to understand the impact of extension services provided by ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) in rural Assam. The Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique is employed to control for potential sample selection biases. The analysis and findings reveal that the extension services provided by ATMA in the study area positively impacts on the income and paddy production of the small and marginal farmers. Timely dissemination of extension services which meet the actual needs of the farmers can impact the farmers income and output production to larger extent.

Keywords

• ATMA; Agricultural Extension Services; Propensity Score Matching; Small and marginal farmers; Assam