MANAGE - Center for Agricultural Extension Innovations, Reforms and Agripreneurship (MANAGE- CAEIRA)

MANAGE – The Center for Agricultural Extension Innovations, Reforms and Agripreneurship (CAEIRA) is one of the thematic centers of the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE). CAEIRA focuses on enhancing the capacity of agricultural extension professionals, agripreneurs, aquapreneurs, research scholars, and students.

The center conducts various professional development activities such as training programs, seminars, workshops, internships, and startup mentoring programs to support agricultural advisory innovations and incubation systems. Faculty Development Programs (FDPs) provide prime stakeholders with enriched knowledge, skills, and new competencies. The "Evening for Learning" (E4L) webinar series proved to be an invaluable learning experience for agricultural students, scientists, university faculty, subject matter specialists, and extension professionals with the primary objective of raising awareness about emerging challenges in agricultural extension and spotlighting innovative approaches at both individual and organizational levels aimed at enhancing Extension Advisory Services (EAS).

Regular webinars and workshops enable the exposure of stakeholders to emerging trends in the sector such as Digital innovation, Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS), Community-based extension systems, Farmer to Farmer Extension, and sustainable development of food systems, with due emphasis on gender mainstreaming in the agricultural extension and Agri-startup ecosystem. The center also promotes agro-tourism by training stakeholders by linking Agricultural extension with Agro-Tourism and Agripreneurship.

CAEIRA collaborates with partner institutions and organizations, fostering innovation and sharing best practices. The center prepares status reports, conducts policy research, and engages in advocacy, providing insightful information that advances the understanding of agricultural extension at the national and international levels.

In the year 2017-18, MANAGE in collaboration with 30 agricultural universities formed the “MANAGE - University Alliance for Advancing Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services” as a Consortium for Development Dialogue on Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (AEAS) to revamp existing curricula in extension education and to keep educational programs aligned with the evolving needs of the agricultural sector. This includes identifying key areas of focus for extension research that will yield evidence-based policy recommendations, enhancing research competency through workshops on best practices, recording field innovations and disseminating them to relevant parties, and developing field extension models and sharing the most effective models thus contributing to the scalability and replicability of successful extension practices across different region.

MANAGE internships for Post-Graduate Students in agricultural extension intend to provide experiential learning to integrate knowledge and theory of extension education with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships allow students to learn recent advances in extension education, gain valuable applied experience, and facilitate to development of the professional network among the agricultural extension stakeholders.

MANAGE - CIA ( https://www.manage.gov.in/managecia/) is a part of CAEIRA, a Center of Excellence (CoE) in Innovation and incubation center that serves as a platform for agricultural startups to foster value chain extension, innovation, and ecosystem services to the farmers and other stakeholders. An ongoing webinar series is held every Saturday since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring a diverse range of speakers including accomplished entrepreneurs and researchers. The primary objective is to offer readily available advice to individuals aspiring to become entrepreneurs and to engage stakeholders, fostering cooperation and creativity within the agricultural entrepreneurship sphere.

For more information:

Dr. Saravanan Raj
Director (Agricultural Extension)
National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE)
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad- 500 030, INDIA
e-Mail: saravanan.raj@manage.gov.in

LinkedIn: MANAGE – CAEIRA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manage-caeira-ab5458280/