Competency Mapping of the Extensionists Working in Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s in India

Policy, research, and extension support are among the various drivers that helped India to become self-sufficient in food production. In order to contribute better towards agricultural development, the extension and advisory agents need new capacities to confront the present challenges in agriculture. The present study was conducted in four Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) zones of Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s (KVK) selected by simple random sampling without replacement to map the present level of competencies of the extensionists. Twenty KVK from each zone were selected randomly and three extensionists from each KVK were selected by using simple random sampling technique. The total sample size was 240. Mapping of the competency was dealt in two parts viz Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Professional Competency (PC). Correspondence Analysis (CA) technique was used to map the professional competencies of the extensionists. The first part of mapping dealing with EI showed that the respondents had average level of EI. The analysis of the competencies showed that most of the competency statements for the extension professionals were clustered around the center of the biplot showing medium level of PC. Hence, this provides an opportunity to the policy makers to devise suitable strategies to develop these competencies of the extensionists so that they become efficient and effective in their job.