Can campaign-based extension (Kisan Chaupals, KVK teams, field demonstrations) bring lasting change in farmer behaviour? Suggest ways to measure adoption rather than reach.

Agricultural extension carries research from the laboratory to the field. The Khet Bachao Abhiyan (KBA) – Rabi 2026 is a mission-mode drive. It plans to reach about 1 crore participants through 4,150 KVK–ATMA teams in 40 days [1]. Campaigns like this can start behaviour change, but on their own they rarely sustain it.

Where campaigns work

• A real knowledge gap exists: in the NPC study of the Soil Health Card scheme, farmers who followed their card reported 8–10% fertiliser savings and 5–6% higher yields [3].
• They use staff already in place: KVKs, ICAR institutes, SAUs and ATMA reach down to the Gram Panchayat level at little extra cost [1].
• Farmers see results for themselves: field demonstrations and local-language IEC (radio, Doordarshan) reach small and marginal farmers [1].
• Scheme convergence: the campaign also pushes Farmer ID creation, KCC saturation and PMFBY awareness [1].

Why the change rarely lasts

• Reach is not engagement: KBA Kharif 2026 reported 2.71 crore digital reach, but directly engaged only 7.17 lakh farmers in camps [2].
• Contact is thin: about 60 participants per team per day leaves no time for plot-specific advice [1].
• Too many messages: the campaign carries more than 20 themes. "Natural farming" (no chemicals) sits beside balanced chemical NPK use and green ammonia [1].
• The real drivers are untouched: skewed fertiliser prices remain. The stubble decision in Oct–Nov depends on the sowing window and whether machines are available, not on awareness.
• Campaigns become events: launches, ceremonies and pledges get the attention [4]. Even the Rabi release says adoption still needs monitoring [1].

Measuring adoption, not reach

Reach → Awareness → Trial → Adoption → Sustained use (next season)

Fig: Extension outcome chain; metrics must move rightward

• Baseline and endline field surveys of NPK ratio, input cost and yield. This repeats the NPC method [3], but with measured rather than self-reported data.
• Link Farmer ID to the Soil Health Card: track each farmer's fertiliser purchases (PoS sales data) season after season.
• Remote sensing: count farm fires and map pulse or oilseed area on rice fallows in the blocks the campaign covered.
• Outcome KPIs: share of farmers revisited by the same KVK, with third-party evaluations published before the next round.

Campaign extension is a useful entry point, not an endpoint. If it is combined with fertiliser price rationalisation, residue machinery in the same block, repeat contact and measured adoption, "Save the Fields" can become lasting soil stewardship. This would advance SDG 2.4 on sustainable food production.