DAESI Course in Karnataka: Eligibility, Syllabus, Exam, Certificate, How to Apply and Link with the Pesticide Dealer Licence

DAESI stands for Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers. MANAGE, Hyderabad, runs it through State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institutes (SAMETIs) and nodal training institutes, to turn practising input dealers into para-extension professionals. Per the MANAGE page, it is open to practising dealers and aspirants who have at least appeared for the 10th class examination. It runs for 48 weeks, with weekly contact classes in physical mode on Sundays or market holidays. Karnataka has two state nodal bodies, SAMETI (South) at UAS Bengaluru and SAMETI (North) at UAS Dharwad. The MANAGE course pages I read do not say DAESI is a pesticide licence qualification, so ask your licensing office what it accepts. For payment, batch dates and seats, check the current MANAGE page and SAMETI.

DAESI is the Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers. MANAGE, the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management in Hyderabad, describes it as a one-year diploma that builds the technical competency of agri-input dealers so they can serve farmers better and act as para-extension professionals.

The MANAGE DAESI page opens with the problem it is meant to solve. It says agri-input dealers are a prime source of farm information for the farming community, besides supplying inputs and credit, but that the majority of them do not have formal agricultural education. It says MANAGE launched the one-year diploma in 2003, and that the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare of the Government of India decided to implement the programme for input dealers in all the states because of its positive impact.

The page adds that the programme is implemented by MANAGE through State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institutes (SAMETIs). Technical information is delivered through contact classes by agricultural experts and practitioners at district level. Use that page as the reference and check its current version before you plan.

The sections below follow the MANAGE pages one by one: mission, objectives, roles, eligibility, structure, modules, records, marks, certification, and then the licence question and the Karnataka enquiry route.

The MANAGE Mission page states it in one sentence: to transform practising input dealers into para-extension professionals, thereby strengthening the agricultural extension system, so that these dealers can serve the farmers better. The mission is about the dealer's role as an adviser, not only as a seller.

The Mission page has no other text. The course structure page adds the reasoning. It says the first contact point for the majority of farmers is the agri-input dealer, and that while buying different inputs for farming operations the farmer naturally tries to find out from the dealer about the use of inputs, both in terms of quality and quantity. It says that if these dealers can be shaped as para-extension professionals by providing the requisite knowledge, they can professionalise extension services.

In plain words, MANAGE is describing a dealer who answers a usage question with knowledge, because the farmer is already asking him. DAESI is the course designed to supply that knowledge.

The MANAGE Objectives page lists four. Orient dealers on location-specific crop production technologies with reference to field problems; build their capacity in efficient handling of inputs; impart knowledge about the laws governing regulation of agricultural inputs; and make dealers an effective source of farm information at village level, a one-stop shop for farmers.

The Objectives page words them exactly as follows: orientation of input dealers on location-specific crop production technologies of broad-based agriculture with reference to field problems; building the capacity of input dealers in efficient handling of inputs; imparting knowledge about the laws governing regulation of agricultural inputs; and making input dealers an effective source of farm information at the village level (one stop shop) for the farmers. The structure page repeats the same four objectives.

Two of the four are worth noting for anyone thinking about licences. The third objective is knowledge of the laws that govern agricultural inputs. That is a learning objective of the course. The page does not describe the diploma as a licence document, which is the subject of a later section.

On the current MANAGE pages, MANAGE implements the programme through SAMETIs. A network of nodal training institutes (NTIs) at district level delivers it. A facilitator sets the papers, conducts the examinations and evaluates the answers. The SAMETI of the state awards the diploma on authorisation by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation.

The MANAGE site menu also lists pages on selecting NTIs, recruiting facilitators and training dealers. This post does not describe those beyond the two pages listed in the table that I opened.

MANAGE's Selection of NTI page says public and private institutes with certain credentials can be selected to organise the programme. They need experience in training and in implementing agriculture schemes, classroom and teaching infrastructure, an official with agriculture knowledge, and, for private bodies, a minimum annual turnover. The page names the criteria, not any list.

The Selection of NTI page lists the credentials: experience in organising training programmes and implementing central or state government schemes related to agriculture; infrastructure such as a classroom and teaching aids, including a computer and projector; the ability to mobilise appropriate resource persons to handle sessions and field visits; an official on the rolls with agriculture knowledge and experience in conducting related training; and, for private organisations and NGOs, a minimum annual turnover. Interested institutes apply in a format given on the page.

The MoU page says the selected NTI enters into a tripartite agreement with ATMA and the SAMETI for organising the programme. If a body offers you a DAESI seat, a fair question is whether it is a selected NTI under this arrangement, and the SAMETI can tell you.

MANAGE's list of state nodal implementing agencies has two entries for Karnataka: Karnataka-South and Karnataka-North. The South entry is the State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bengaluru. The North entry is the SAMETI at UAS Dharwad. Ask the one that covers your district.

The MANAGE list of state nodal implementing agencies gives each of them a director's address and contact details. I do not print the phone numbers or emails here, because contact details change. Take them from the MANAGE list or the university website when you call.

The MANAGE pages I read do not describe a Karnataka course design that differs from the national one. The course design below is therefore the one MANAGE publishes, and the institute that runs your batch will tell you the local arrangements.

Per the MANAGE main page, the course is open to all practising input dealers, or candidates aspiring to become input dealers, who have at least appeared for the 10th class examination. Rural unemployed youth who wish to establish an agri-input enterprise may also enrol. The eligibility page adds sponsored candidates.

The MANAGE eligibility page states that the course is open to all the practising input dealers who have appeared at least for the 10th standard exam, and to candidates sponsored by input agencies, agri-business companies and agri-cooperatives. The page does not list a degree requirement. So a dealer, a shop employee sponsored by a company or a cooperative, or a young person planning a shop can fall within the stated criteria on education.

MANAGE's main page describes dealers, aspirants and rural unemployed youth as separate groups, and mentions payment arrangements for them. I do not print the amounts because they are updated. When you enquire, tell the institute which group you belong to, and ask what applies to you.

The MANAGE eligibility page says enrolment of candidates may be done in three ways: the facilitator contacting input dealers individually, officials of the agriculture department or ATMA, or dealers' associations. A candidate therefore may hear about a batch from any of these routes. The page also links an application form.

The page is headed "Eligibility and Enrolment" and covers the criteria first and the enrolment channels second. It also states a minimum number of candidates for a batch, which I do not print, because batch rules can change. What this means for you is simple. If a batch is being formed in your area, the facilitator, the agriculture department or ATMA officials, or your dealers' association may be the first to tell you.

The MANAGE main page and menu carry an "Application Form" link. Use the form the institute running your batch asks you to use, and confirm with the institute that it is the current one.

The MANAGE main page says the duration of the programme is 48 weeks, including 80 sessions and eight field visits spread over a year. The technical portion is delivered through weekly contact classes, in physical mode, at designated NTIs by subject experts and practitioners, on Sundays or market holidays of the respective location.

The course structure page words the duration slightly differently: the programme is spread over a period of 48 weeks with 40 classroom sessions and eight field visits. So you will see both 40 and 80 sessions online, depending on which MANAGE page is quoted. Both pages agree on 48 weeks and eight field visits. Ask your institute how it counts the sessions in your batch.

The scheduling on Sundays or market holidays is stated by the MANAGE page. Only your institute can confirm the local class day.

MANAGE's main page says the revised course curriculum consists of 16 modules. Its course structure page lists 13 theory modules under "Module-wise Coverage of Theory and Practical Sessions". The two pages differ in count, and the module-by-module list for the revised 16 modules is not shown in the text of the pages I read.

The main page names the themes of the revised curriculum: basics of agriculture, soil health management, crop production technologies, leveraging agricultural value chains through collectives, latest technologies in agriculture and agri-entrepreneurship. The structure page lists the 13 module names given below. Treat the list as what MANAGE publishes on that page, and check the current page for the revised list.

The structure page has a second list headed "Proposed Practical Sessions / field visits against each module". It names eleven entries. The page gives names only, with no description of what happens in each, so ask your institute which practical sessions and visits it plans for your batch and when.

Two points follow from the page. The list has eleven entries, while the theory list has thirteen, so not every theory module has a practical entry of its own on that page. And the entry on crops is described by the page as "predominant crops of the district", which ties it to the place where the batch is held. The main page also says the programme includes eight field visits spread over the year.

The MANAGE main page says diploma candidates are expected to submit or present a sketch book, problem-solution registers, field records, a herbarium and assignments every week. After all the sessions, candidates appear for final examinations. Successful candidates in the written test and viva voce are issued the Diploma.

The MANAGE exams page shows that some of these carry marks: field record, records for sketches, presentation of assignment and problem-solution record all appear in the distribution of marks. The page does not give a separate mark for a herbarium, and the page does not explain how each record is to be written, so ask the facilitator what format the institute expects.

Because the main page says these are submitted or presented every week, it is sensible to plan for a weekly routine from the first class, rather than catching up before the exam. The page does not say more than that, and I do not add rules beyond it.

The MANAGE exams page distributes 150 marks: theory exams 100 (quizzes 20, mid-term 30, final 50), records and assignment 30, and practical exams 20 (spotting 10, viva-voce 10). The pass percentage to obtain the diploma is 40, according to the certification page.

Source: the MANAGE exams page. The page gives marks only, so I do not describe how each quiz or exam is held. Reading the table, theory is two thirds of the 150 marks, records and assignments one fifth, and the practical exam the rest. The weight of the records is why the previous section matters.

The MANAGE certification page says the pass percentage to obtain the diploma is 40. It gives the result bands as 40 and above Pass, 60 to 80 First Class, and above 80 Distinction. The results are declared on the marks obtained by each candidate.

The table is as the page prints it. The page does not label the range from 40 to 60 separately beyond "Pass", and it does not say what the marks are out of for these bands, so I do not add a conversion. If the figure matters for a sponsor, a company or a form, ask SAMETI how the result is stated on the certificate.

The MANAGE certification page says the facilitator is responsible for all the activities such as setting the question papers, conducting the examinations and evaluating the answer scripts, records and assignment. The practical examination, consisting of spotting and viva-voce, is conducted with the help of an external expert.

This is the page's heading "Question Paper Setting and Evaluation". It puts paper-setting with the facilitator and brings in an external expert for the practical. It does not say who the facilitator must be; the MANAGE menu lists a separate page on recruiting facilitators, which I did not use.

For a candidate, the useful step is to ask your institute who the facilitator for your batch is, and to put any exam question to that person.

According to the MANAGE certification page, failed input dealers will be given an opportunity to appear only for the Final Theory Exam along with the input dealers of the immediately following batch. If there is no subsequent batch, the NTI conducts a special exam for the failed candidates within six months, on the same syllabus.

So the page does not ask a failed candidate to repeat the whole programme. It names the final theory exam. It does not say how marks already earned in records, assignments and practical are treated in the re-attempt, so ask the institute to explain it in writing before you start.

Successful candidates are awarded the Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers. The MANAGE certification page says the diploma will be awarded by the SAMETIs of the respective states, on being authorised by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

The MANAGE main page says the same in different words: after the final examinations, the successful candidates in the written test and viva voce exam will be issued the Diploma. The two pages together tell you what to ask SAMETI: who signs the certificate in your batch, and what it shows.

The MANAGE menu also lists pages on duplicate certificates, including the issue procedure and corrections. If you lose a certificate, those pages are the place to start, because I have not described their content. Keep scanned copies of your certificate and your record of attendance anyway.

DAESI is a diploma in agricultural extension services for input dealers. No page I opened calls it a university degree or equates it to one, so do not describe it as a degree on a signboard or in a form.

The MANAGE DAESI pages I read, covering the main page, mission, objectives, structure, eligibility, exams and certification, do not say that the diploma is a pesticide licence qualification. They describe a training diploma. What your licensing office accepts for your licence is a question for that office.

The one link to the subject is the third objective: knowledge about the laws governing regulation of agricultural inputs. That is a subject the course teaches, and it appears as a theory module on the structure page (Acts, Rules and Regulations related to Agricultural Inputs). It does not turn the diploma into a licence document by itself.

This post does not describe any licence rule, because rules change. Ask the licensing office in writing which qualification it accepts today. Keep the dealer licence guide open to see which documents are involved.

For renewal, use the licence renewal guide. For the shop economics, the dealer margin guide explains the margin chain.

The MANAGE pages I read do not say DAESI is mandatory for fertiliser or seed dealers. They describe it as open to practising input dealers in general, and the module list covers soil health management, seed and seed production, and pest and disease control together. Ask your licensing office what it requires for your category.

The word "input dealers" on the MANAGE page is not limited to one product line. The structure page's module list includes Soil Health Management, Seed & Seed Production and Pest and disease Control in Agriculture, among others, so a dealer of any of these inputs will find something relevant. Whether it is needed for a licence in your category is a separate matter for the licensing office, as the previous section explains.

The MANAGE pages I read do not describe a single national application. A workable route is to check eligibility on the MANAGE page, contact the SAMETI that covers your district, ask which nodal training institute is running or forming a batch, get the application form and the amount in writing, and then submit the form.

1. Check eligibility on the MANAGE page and the eligibility page, and decide whether you are a practising dealer, an aspirant, a sponsored candidate or rural youth planning an input business.
2. Contact SAMETI (South) at UAS Bengaluru or SAMETI (North) at UAS Dharwad, whichever covers your district. Take current contact details from the MANAGE list or the university website.
3. Ask which nodal training institute near you is running or about to run a batch, and who the facilitator is.
4. Ask which application form to use. The MANAGE page links an "Application Form"; use the form your institute asks for.
5. Ask for the list of documents. The institute decides what it needs.
6. Pay only through the institute's official process and take a receipt. Do not pay a private agent or an unofficial admission centre, and confirm the batch and the amount before you pay.
7. Keep your sketch book, registers, field records and assignments up to date every week, as the MANAGE page expects, because several of them carry marks.

The route can differ from one state to another and from one institute to another. That is why a direct call to SAMETI is the first step, not a form from a website.

Ask for the amount payable for your category, the batch dates, the seats, the institute and the certificate details in writing. These points change from batch to batch, so this post does not print them. The table lists what to ask and why, using what the MANAGE pages say.

This table is the most useful part of the post for someone about to pay. If you can get all the answers in writing, you know more than most admission pages will tell you.

Plan the qualification first, then the shop. Ask the licensing office which qualification it accepts for the person named on your licence, ask SAMETI about the next batch, and only then invest in stock. A new shop with a clear qualification plan has fewer surprises.

An order of work that fits the sources above:

• Ask the district licensing office which qualification it accepts for the pesticide licence today, and ask for the answer in writing.
• If DAESI is acceptable, or you want it anyway for the knowledge, ask SAMETI about the next batch using the question table above.
• Read the dealer licence guide for documents and the application, and the agri-input shop business plan for capital and margins.
• Plan stock after the licence, with the rabi stock list as a starting point.
• If you are starting from nothing, the guide to starting an agriculture business covers the wider choices.

The MANAGE pages I read give the course design, roles, modules and assessment, but nothing specific to Karnataka on payment, batches, seats, institutes running a batch now, or licence treatment. Treat each as open until SAMETI or the district office confirms it, and ask in writing.

If you can get these answers in writing, you will be better informed than most people who enrol through an agent.

Conclusion

DAESI is a government-sponsored, one-year diploma for input dealers, designed and implemented by MANAGE through SAMETIs and nodal training institutes. Karnataka has two state nodal bodies in MANAGE's list, SAMETI South at UAS Bengaluru and SAMETI North at UAS Dharwad. The MANAGE pages give the mission, objectives, eligibility, 48-week design, modules, marks split, pass mark and certificate process, but not the Karnataka payment, batch or seat details, and the course pages I read do not say DAESI is a pesticide licence qualification. Call the SAMETI for your district and the licensing office first, get their answers in writing, and then join a batch.