What is the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA)?

ATMA — the Agricultural Technology Management Agency — is a district-level autonomous society set up under the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare's centrally-sponsored Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms scheme. It was piloted in 28 districts from 1998–99 under a World Bank assisted programme and scaled nationwide from 2005–06. ATMA is the on-ground vehicle for restructuring public agricultural extension from a single-line department model into a participatory, decentralised, farmer-driven and bottom-up model that converges crop husbandry, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, sericulture and allied sectors at the district. Each ATMA is registered as a society chaired by the District Collector / District Magistrate, with the Project Director (ATMA) as the member-secretary and chief executive. From 1 October 2024 ATMA is funded through the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE) under the Krishonnati Yojana umbrella.

How is ATMA structured at the district and block?

ATMA has a three-tier district architecture and a two-tier block architecture. At the district, the ATMA Governing Board — chaired by the District Collector and including line-department heads, the KVK head, the SAU representative, the lead bank officer, farmer representatives and NGO representatives — sets policy and approves the Strategic Research and Extension Plan (SREP). The ATMA Management Committee, chaired by the Project Director (ATMA), executes the Annual Action Plan. At the block, the Block Technology Team (BTT) — block-level officers of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries and allied departments — implements the extension calendar, and the Farm Information Advisory Committee (FAC), chaired by an elected farmer member, ensures farmers' voices shape block plans. Farmer Friends (one per two villages, typically) anchor village-level outreach, and Farm Schools run on lead farmers' fields demonstrate cropping-system technologies through the season.

What is the ATMA cost-share pattern?

ATMA follows the standard centrally-sponsored scheme cost-share pattern notified by the Department of Expenditure for centrally-sponsored schemes: 60:40 between the Government of India and general states, 90:10 for the eight North-Eastern states (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura) and the Himalayan states / UTs (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh), and 100% central funding for the Union Territories without a legislature. Annual ATMA allocations to states flow against the SMAE / Krishonnati Yojana Annual Action Plan approved by the State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) chaired by the Chief Secretary, and are drawn down by district ATMAs against utilisation certificates and physical-progress reports uploaded on the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare's extension MIS.

What does ATMA actually do for farmers on the ground?

ATMA funds and runs a broad set of extension activities through the district line departments, KVKs, state agricultural universities and ICAR institutes. The core delivery instruments are Farmer Field Schools (typically 25–30 farmers, one full cropping cycle, focused on a recommended package of practices), Farm Schools on lead farmers' fields that demonstrate cropping-system technologies through the season, frontline demonstrations of new varieties, intra-state and inter-state exposure visits for progressive farmers, Kisan Mela at the block and district level, capacity building of extension staff and Farmer Friends, and support for Commodity Interest Groups (CIGs), Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) and women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs) that later graduate to Farmer Producer Organisations. Skill development trainings on micro-irrigation, INM / IPM, post-harvest handling, value addition and farm mechanisation are routinely sanctioned under ATMA in convergence with KVKs and SAUs.

Where do I find the current ATMA / SMAE operational guidelines and state allocations?

The primary source is the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare at agriwelfare.gov.in, which publishes the ATMA / SMAE operational guidelines, the Annual Action Plan format and per-unit cost norms for Farmer Field Schools, exposure visits, Kisan Mela, frontline demonstrations and the Farmer Friend honorarium. The dedicated extension portal at extensionreforms.dacnet.nic.in maintains state and district dashboards. The Press Information Bureau (pib.gov.in) carries the Cabinet press release of 1 October 2024 announcing the consolidation of SMAE under Krishonnati Yojana. State-level project staff should refer to their State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) — every state has one — which is the in-state training and capacity-building arm for ATMA, and to their State Nodal Department (typically the Director of Agriculture) for the current Annual Action Plan and district sanctions.

How is the Farmer Friend selected and what do they do?

Farmer Friends are village-level barefoot extension volunteers identified by the Gram Panchayat or the Block Technology Team and trained by the local KVK or SAMETI on the recommended cropping-system package, INM / IPM, soil-health-card interpretation, seed treatment and post-harvest practices. The norm is one Farmer Friend for every two villages, drawing a small honorarium from the ATMA Annual Action Plan. Their role is to maintain village-level extension diaries, mobilise farmers for Farmer Field Schools and exposure visits, demonstrate season-specific advisories on their own field, route farmer queries to the BTT and the KVK Scientific Advisory Committee, and help register Commodity Interest Groups and Farmer Interest Groups that later graduate into FPOs. Farmer Friend cadres also become the last-mile node for Soil Health Card distribution, PMFBY enrolment drives and KCC awareness campaigns, in convergence with the relevant scheme guidelines.

ATMA Guide — Agricultural Technology Management Agency, Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE) under Krishonnati Yojana, BTT / FAC / Farmer Friend Architecture and KVK Convergence

The Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is the Government of India's district-level vehicle for decentralised, participatory, farmer-driven agricultural extension. Piloted in 28 districts from 1998–99 under a World Bank-assisted programme and scaled nationwide from 2005–06, ATMA replaced the single-line department model with a society chaired by the District Collector that converges crop husbandry, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, sericulture and allied sectors. ATMA is funded by the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE), which since 1 October 2024 sits under the new Krishonnati Yojana umbrella along with NFSM, NMEO-Oilseeds, NMEO-OP, the Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material and the Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Mechanization (ISAM). This guide covers the ATMA architecture, the Block Technology Team / Farm Information Advisory Committee / Farmer Friend model, the cost-share, where farmers actually see the benefit, and how ATMA converges with Krishi Vigyan Kendras, ICAR institutes and state agricultural universities. For the wider portfolio see our India government schemes for farmers reference.

At a glance

Scheme type: centrally-sponsored scheme of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW). Piloted 1998–99 (28 districts, World Bank-assisted); national rollout from 2005–06; restructured as a sub-component of the National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET) in the 12th Plan under SMAE; consolidated under Krishonnati Yojana by the Union Cabinet on 1 October 2024.
Mandate: bottom-up, decentralised, multi-disciplinary, farmer-driven district extension converging agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, sericulture and allied sectors.
Delivery unit: District ATMA society chaired by the District Collector; ATMA Management Committee chaired by the Project Director (ATMA); Block Technology Team (BTT) and Farm Information Advisory Committee (FAC) at the block.
Cost-share: 60:40 centre-state for general states, 90:10 for NE and Himalayan states / UTs, 100% central for UTs without a legislature.
Planning unit: Strategic Research and Extension Plan (SREP) at the district, refreshed periodically through farmer consultation; Annual Action Plan (AAP) sanctioned by the State Level Sanctioning Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary.
Typical interventions: Farmer Field Schools, Farm Schools, frontline demonstrations, intra- and inter-state exposure visits, Kisan Mela, Farmer Friends, Commodity Interest Groups and Farmer Interest Groups, skill development training.
Portals: extensionreforms.dacnet.nic.in, agriwelfare.gov.in.

The October 2024 restructuring — SMAE under Krishonnati Yojana

On 1 October 2024the Union Cabinet approved the rationalisation of the DA&FW centrally-sponsored portfolio into two umbrella schemes. The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE) — which houses ATMA along with the Mass Media Support to Agricultural Extension component and the Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres scheme — is now consolidated under Krishonnati Yojana alongside NFSM, NMEO-Oilseeds, NMEO-OP, the Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material and the Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Mechanization (ISAM). The parallel umbrella, Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY), groups the sustainable-agriculture instruments — regular RKVY, the Soil Health Mission, Rainfed Area Development, Per Drop More Crop, Sub-Mission on Agroforestry, PKVY and Crop Residue Management.

ATMA continues to operate as the district delivery agency with its full architecture intact — only the funding route through SMAE has moved under Krishonnati. States can cross-flex up to a notified percentage between sub-components within Krishonnati in a given financial year, simplifying the appraisal route at the State Level Sanctioning Committee.

District and block architecture

ATMA Governing Board (district): chaired by the District Collector / District Magistrate; members include line-department heads, the KVK head, the SAU representative, the lead bank officer, farmer representatives (including women and SC/ST representation), NGO representatives, and the Project Director (ATMA) as member-secretary. Approves the SREP and the Annual Action Plan.
ATMA Management Committee (district): chaired by the Project Director (ATMA); executes the Annual Action Plan, releases funds to BTTs and implements convergence with KVKs, SAUs and ICAR institutes.
Block Technology Team (BTT, block): block-level officers of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, sericulture and allied departments; runs the block extension calendar — Farmer Field Schools, frontline demonstrations, exposure visits and Kisan Mela.
Farm Information Advisory Committee (FAC, block): chaired by an elected farmer member; brings farmer voice into block planning and validates the BTT's calendar.
Farmer Friend (village): one per two villages (typical norm); barefoot extension volunteer trained by the KVK or SAMETI; honorarium drawn from the Annual Action Plan.
Farm Schools (village): on lead farmers' fields, demonstrate the recommended cropping-system package through a full season.

Cost-share and how states draw funds

ATMA follows the standard centrally-sponsored scheme cost-share pattern: 60:40 for general states, 90:10 for the eight North-Eastern states (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura) and the Himalayan states / UTs (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh), and 100% central for UTs without a legislature. Annual ATMA allocations to states flow against the SMAE / Krishonnati Yojana Annual Action Plan approved by the State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) chaired by the Chief Secretary, and are drawn down by district ATMAs against utilisation certificates and physical-progress reports uploaded on the DA&FW extension MIS at extensionreforms.dacnet.nic.in.

What ATMA funds on the ground

Farmer Field Schools (FFS): 25–30 farmers per school, full cropping cycle, focused on the recommended package of practices for a specific crop / cropping system, with the local KVK / SAU scientist as resource person.
Farm Schools: on a lead farmer's field, demonstrating the cropping-system package through the season for visiting groups of farmers.
Frontline demonstrations: of new varieties and recommended packages, typically anchored by the local KVK or AICRP centre.
Exposure visits: intra-district, inter-district, intra-state and inter-state visits for progressive farmers to FPOs, research stations, food parks, processing units and Krishi Vigyan Mela.
Kisan Mela: block and district-level farmer fairs that aggregate technology demonstrations, agri-input vendors and KVK / SAU stalls.
Skill development: trainings on micro-irrigation, INM / IPM, post-harvest handling, value addition, farm mechanisation and bee-keeping, in convergence with KVKs, SAUs and SAMETI.
Commodity Interest Groups / Farmer Interest Groups: seeding of producer groups around a specific crop or activity, that subsequently graduate into Farmer Producer Organisations.
Capacity building: of BTT officers, Farmer Friends and FAC members, anchored by SAMETI in every state with MANAGE Hyderabad as the apex.

Convergence with KVKs, SAUs and ICAR

ATMA does not duplicate research or own a research station — it is the district-level convergence layer. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) network, operated by ICAR through its Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) zonal structure, serves as the technology assessment, refinement and demonstration arm in each district. KVK heads sit on the ATMA Governing Board, and ATMA sanctions Frontline Demonstrations, Farmer Field Schools and capacity-building events that are typically anchored by the local KVK or the state agricultural university (SAU). ICAR institutes and All India Co-ordinated Research Projects (AICRPs) feed location-specific recommendations into the SREP through the Zonal Research and Extension Advisory Council (ZREAC), and SAMETI in every state runs ATMA-cadre training.

Convergence with PM-KISAN, KCC, PMFBY and the wider portfolio

ATMA is the extension envelope — the production-side schemes need a credible last-mile to actually land on farms:

PM-KISAN: ₹6,000/year income support; the ATMA Farmer Friend cadre helps with eKYC awareness and grievance redressal.
Kisan Credit Card: working-capital credit to procure the inputs recommended in Farmer Field Schools and demonstrations.
PMFBY: crop insurance against yield-loss risk on the focus crop demonstrated through ATMA FFS.
Soil Health Card: the soil-test-based recommendation backbone for INM / IPM packages taught in ATMA FFS.
NFSM: cluster demonstrations and seed minikits flow through ATMA-mobilised farmer cohorts in notified districts.
Per Drop More Crop: micro-irrigation demonstrations under PMKSY-PDMC delivered through ATMA Farm Schools.
PM-RKVY / Krishonnati Yojana: SMAE / ATMA now sits under Krishonnati alongside NFSM, NMEO-Oilseeds, NMEO-OP, ISAM and the Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP).

References

agriwelfare.gov.in — Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare — ATMA / SMAE operational guidelines and per-unit cost norms.
extensionreforms.dacnet.nic.in — ATMA extension reforms portal — state and district dashboards, Annual Action Plan workflow.
manage.gov.in — National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad — apex training institute for state extension cadres and SAMETI.
icar.org.in — Indian Council of Agricultural Research — KVK network and ATARI zonal coordination that anchors ATMA frontline demonstrations.
pib.gov.in — Press Information Bureau — Cabinet press release of 1 October 2024 announcing the Krishonnati Yojana consolidation under which SMAE / ATMA now sits.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA)?: ATMA — the Agricultural Technology Management Agency — is a district-level autonomous society set up under the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare's centrally-sponsored Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms scheme. It was piloted in 28 districts from 1998–99 under a World Bank assisted programme and scaled nationwide from 2005–06. ATMA is the on-ground vehicle for restructuring public agricultural extension from a single-line department model into a participatory, decentralised, farmer-driven and bottom-up model that converges crop husbandry, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, sericulture and allied sectors at the district. Each ATMA is registered as a society chaired by the District Collector / District Magistrate, with the Project Director (ATMA) as the member-secretary and chief executive. From 1 October 2024 ATMA is funded through the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE) under the Krishonnati Yojana umbrella.
How is ATMA structured at the district and block?: ATMA has a three-tier district architecture and a two-tier block architecture. At the district, the ATMA Governing Board — chaired by the District Collector and including line-department heads, the KVK head, the SAU representative, the lead bank officer, farmer representatives and NGO representatives — sets policy and approves the Strategic Research and Extension Plan (SREP). The ATMA Management Committee, chaired by the Project Director (ATMA), executes the Annual Action Plan. At the block, the Block Technology Team (BTT) — block-level officers of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries and allied departments — implements the extension calendar, and the Farm Information Advisory Committee (FAC), chaired by an elected farmer member, ensures farmers' voices shape block plans. Farmer Friends (one per two villages, typically) anchor village-level outreach, and Farm Schools run on lead farmers' fields demonstrate cropping-system technologies through the season.
What is the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE) and how does it relate to ATMA?: The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Extension (SMAE) is one of the four sub-missions of the National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET) created in the 12th Plan, alongside the Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material (SMSP), the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) and the Sub-Mission on Plant Protection and Plant Quarantine (SMPP). SMAE itself houses the ATMA scheme along with the Mass Media Support to Agricultural Extension component and the Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres scheme. From 1 October 2024 the Union Cabinet consolidated SMAE under the Krishonnati Yojana umbrella alongside NFSM, NMEO-Oilseeds, NMEO-OP, the Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Material and the Integrated Scheme on Agricultural Mechanization (ISAM, the renamed SMAM). ATMA continues to operate as the delivery agency in every district, drawing its annual envelope through SMAE under Krishonnati.
What is the ATMA cost-share pattern?: ATMA follows the standard centrally-sponsored scheme cost-share pattern notified by the Department of Expenditure for centrally-sponsored schemes: 60:40 between the Government of India and general states, 90:10 for the eight North-Eastern states (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura) and the Himalayan states / UTs (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh), and 100% central funding for the Union Territories without a legislature. Annual ATMA allocations to states flow against the SMAE / Krishonnati Yojana Annual Action Plan approved by the State Level Sanctioning Committee (SLSC) chaired by the Chief Secretary, and are drawn down by district ATMAs against utilisation certificates and physical-progress reports uploaded on the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare's extension MIS.
What does ATMA actually do for farmers on the ground?: ATMA funds and runs a broad set of extension activities through the district line departments, KVKs, state agricultural universities and ICAR institutes. The core delivery instruments are Farmer Field Schools (typically 25–30 farmers, one full cropping cycle, focused on a recommended package of practices), Farm Schools on lead farmers' fields that demonstrate cropping-system technologies through the season, frontline demonstrations of new varieties, intra-state and inter-state exposure visits for progressive farmers, Kisan Mela at the block and district level, capacity building of extension staff and Farmer Friends, and support for Commodity Interest Groups (CIGs), Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) and women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs) that later graduate to Farmer Producer Organisations. Skill development trainings on micro-irrigation, INM / IPM, post-harvest handling, value addition and farm mechanisation are routinely sanctioned under ATMA in convergence with KVKs and SAUs.
How does ATMA work with KVKs, ICAR and state agricultural universities?: ATMA is the district-level convergence agency — it does not duplicate research or own a research station. Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) operate under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and its Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI) zonal structure, with each KVK serving one district as the technology assessment, refinement and demonstration arm. The KVK head is a member of the ATMA Governing Board, and ATMA sanctions Frontline Demonstrations, Farmer Field Schools and capacity-building events that are typically anchored by the local KVK or the state agricultural university (SAU). ICAR institutes and All India Co-ordinated Research Projects (AICRPs) feed location-specific recommendations into the SREP through the Zonal Research and Extension Advisory Council (ZREAC) — the SREP is the district's three-year extension priorities document, prepared with farmer consultation, that anchors the ATMA Annual Action Plan. See the AgriBot Krishi Vigyan Kendras directory for KVK contacts in each district and our universities-and-research-institutes reference for the SAU and ICAR network.
Where do I find the current ATMA / SMAE operational guidelines and state allocations?: The primary source is the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare at agriwelfare.gov.in, which publishes the ATMA / SMAE operational guidelines, the Annual Action Plan format and per-unit cost norms for Farmer Field Schools, exposure visits, Kisan Mela, frontline demonstrations and the Farmer Friend honorarium. The dedicated extension portal at extensionreforms.dacnet.nic.in maintains state and district dashboards. The Press Information Bureau (pib.gov.in) carries the Cabinet press release of 1 October 2024 announcing the consolidation of SMAE under Krishonnati Yojana. State-level project staff should refer to their State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) — every state has one — which is the in-state training and capacity-building arm for ATMA, and to their State Nodal Department (typically the Director of Agriculture) for the current Annual Action Plan and district sanctions.
How is the Farmer Friend selected and what do they do?: Farmer Friends are village-level barefoot extension volunteers identified by the Gram Panchayat or the Block Technology Team and trained by the local KVK or SAMETI on the recommended cropping-system package, INM / IPM, soil-health-card interpretation, seed treatment and post-harvest practices. The norm is one Farmer Friend for every two villages, drawing a small honorarium from the ATMA Annual Action Plan. Their role is to maintain village-level extension diaries, mobilise farmers for Farmer Field Schools and exposure visits, demonstrate season-specific advisories on their own field, route farmer queries to the BTT and the KVK Scientific Advisory Committee, and help register Commodity Interest Groups and Farmer Interest Groups that later graduate into FPOs. Farmer Friend cadres also become the last-mile node for Soil Health Card distribution, PMFBY enrolment drives and KCC awareness campaigns, in convergence with the relevant scheme guidelines.

Architecture, cost-share ratios and SMAE / Krishonnati Yojana consolidation above summarise the Union Cabinet approval of 1 October 2024 and publicly available DA&FW operational notes on agriwelfare.gov.in and extensionreforms.dacnet.nic.in. Per-unit cost norms, Farmer Friend honorarium and Annual Action Plan formats are revised through DA&FW operational circulars; State Nodal Departments and District ATMA Project Directors should verify current terms before sanctioning activities.