About ATMA

ATMA is a society of key stakeholders involved in agricultural activities for sustainable agriculture development in the district. It is a focal point for integrating Research and Extension activities and decentralizing day-to- day management of the public Agricultural Technology System (ATS). It is a registered society responsible for technology dissemination at the district level. As a whole the ATMA would be a facilitating agency rather than implementing Agency. The funds allotted for ATMA includes Establishment of ATMA office at district headquarters, strengthening of line departments by providing infrastructural facilities, establishing FIACs The ATMA will not encourage any practice or program which, the line departments were already initiated. With the minimum budget, ATMA can introduce or demonstrate some of the programs as innovative model, which can be replicated by farmers’ organizations.

Why ATMA

The main goal of ATMA is to up lift the social life and standard of living of the farmers through awareness campaign, training and exposure visit for proper utilization of lands and resources available as well as proper management of On-Farm and Off-Farm Technology related to agriculture and allied activities. We took keen interest in awareness campaign; training and exposure visit of farmers. The objections and functions of ATMA may be enumerated as follows: - To provide a single platform to agriculture and related allied departments at district and Block level. Diversification and intensification of different farming systems that would increase farm productivity and household incomes especially for resource poor and disadvantaged farmers. To increase the quality and type of technologies being disseminated by the extension system. Enable the Research Extension (R-E) system to become more demand driven and responsible for solving farmer’s problems. To ensure the participation of farmers in planning and execution of the project through bottom up planning. To improve in productivity and income of existing enterprises and commodities within existing farming system. To identify success stories already present in the district and spread them amongst other groups of farmers. To provide training, exposure visit for capacity building of the block level officials member of Farmers Advisory Committees, Officials and non-officials members of Management Committee (M.C.) as well as Governing Board (G.B.) and also for innovative farmers. To organize awareness campaign, amongst farmers at village level to organize them in-group. To organize training, field days and demonstration for skill up of the groups. To capture Success Stories after inception of the Project and document them. The ATMA at district level would be increasingly responsible for all the technology dissemination activities at the district level. It would have linkage with all the line departments, research organizations, non-governmental organizations and agencies associated with agricultural development in the district. Research and Extension units within the project districts such as ZRS or substations, KVKs and the key line Departments of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Horticulture and Fisheries etc. would become constituent members of ATMA. Each Research-Extension (R-E) unit would retain its institutional identity and affiliation but programmes and procedures concerning district-wise R-E activities would be determined by ATMA Governing Board to be implemented by its Management Committee (AMC).