Inter-collaboration Network among Institutional Actors of Agricultural Knowledge Information System (AKIS): A Comparative Study between Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri Districts of West Bengal, India

Abstract

Agricultural extension institutions play different roles at village level. There is always a need of inter-collaboration network between different institutions. Information exchange among these organizations is important for technology generation, information dissemination and adoption. So, it is imperative to know the inter collaboration network among the institutional actors which requires proper investigation and analysis. A few works were found in India on inter-collaboration network among the institutional actors of Agricultural Knowledge Information System (AKIS). The objective of the study was to find out the inter-collaboration network among institutional actors of AKIS of two different districts of West Bengal and their comparative evaluation. The data were collected from 84 respondents from 19 different institutions employing a random sampling technique. The data were analysed through UCINET 6 and Netdraw software. It was found from the study that Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Comprehensive Area Development Corporation (CADC), Agricultural line department through Assistant Director of Agriculture (ADA), Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) and Farmer Producers’ Organisations (FPO) play a pivotal role in this network. It was found also from the study that Cooch Behar district had stronger inter-collaboration network among its institution’s actors than Jalpaiguri district.