Creating awareness about the benefits of the technology and imparting necessary skills to the persons involved in various activities is an important pre-requisite for the large scale adoption of any new technology and hybrid rice is not an exception. Hybrid seed production involves many intricacies and hence the seed production personnel and the seed growers need to be trained on various aspects.

Keeping this in view, training programmes were organized on hybrid seed production technology for the personnel of both public and private sector seed agencies, seed growers and farm women. Similarly short duration training courses were organized at different centres on hybrid rice cultivation for the benefit of farmers and farm women.

In all 37 training programmes and one inter-state farmers visit were conducted. About 1400 participants were trained in various aspects of hybrid rice seed production and cultivation (Table 6.1). As a special programme, one inter state farmer's visit was organized by Karjat centre.

About 20 progressive farmers and four officials from Department of Agriculture, Maharashtra, visited hybrid rice seed production and F1 cultivation plots in and around Mandya, Maruteru, Hyderabad and Karjat. The farmers were very much impressed by seeing the hybrid rice crop at different places. The main aim of such a visit was to convince the farmers regarding the potential of the technology and there by motivating them to take up large scale hybrid rice cultivation and seed production. Many more such inter-state farmer's visit in major hybrid rice growing states in the country will be organized in the ensuing years.