Para Extension Approach (PEA) for the Corporate Tea Sector: A Novel Approach to empower field staff and workers of tea estates with agricultural knowledge and technologies

Previous adoption studies revealed that there is wide agricultural knowledge gap in the supervisory and worker level employees of corporate sector tea estates which is a bottleneck to successful implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) at field level. Considering the urgency of bridging this knowledge gap, TRI is pleased to introduce Para Extension Approach (PEA) as a feasible way out.

Under this approach, qualified Field Officers/Asst Field Officers/Welfare Officers/EMAs of estates are regularly trained on most needed subject areas by the TRI to develop them as Para Trainers who in turn are expected train their juniors, estate worker groups with TRIs assistance. The training will cover not only tea related technical subjects but also subjects related to human productivity such as health, nutrition, attitude change etc.  This approach has been tried out on a pilot scale in few estates and found to be effective in the following aspects;

1. Improving accessibility to agricultural knowledge related  information on GAPs and improved agric technologies in supervisory and worker level plantation employees
2. Improving  efficiency of training the plantation workers
3. Developing positive attitude of field staff and workers towards their job and implementation of GAPs
4. Improving work standard & output and standard of work attendance to work etc.

TRI is now pleased to introduce Para Extension Approach to RPCs as collaborative projects and interested RPCs are requested to inform the Director/TRI in order to initiate work. For more details on Para Extension Approach, you may contact Dr. V S Sidhakaran/Project Leader (Para Extension) via email vsidha@yahoo.com.