Browsing by Author "Allan Thomas"

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Augmenting the livelihood of coconut farmers through resilient extension approach
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2019) Greeshma Susan Mathew; Allan Thomas
Influence of school vegetable gardens on the students and teachers of Thiruvananthapuram district: an expository analysis
(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Dilip, S; Allan Thomas
Multidimensional analysis of apipreneurship prospect in south Kerala
(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2020) Devapriya Kaimal, S; Allan Thomas
Multidimensional analysis of the performance of agri clinics and agri business centres scheme(ACABC) in Kerala and Andhra pradesh
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2019) Dumpala Santhosh Reddy; Allan Thomas
Participatory technology intervention and its assessment through environmental scanning of high range home gardens in Idukki district: An action research
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture , Vellayani, 2022-09-05) Nithish Babu M.; Allan Thomas
The study on “Participatory technology intervention and its assessment through environmental scanning of high range home gardens in Idukki district: Action research” was conducted during 2017 to 2020 with the objectives to identify the crop dominance cum its technology gaps through environmental scanning of the high-range home garden systems and thereafter conduct action research for assessing the technology adoption through participatory technology intervention. Kerala is often consecrated as the 'Mecca of home gardens', owing to its rich species diversity, sustainability, ethnic values and as a means of livelihood. It contributes to the food, nutritional, economic needs and biodiversity security of the state fulfilling the different pillars of socio-economic and environmental stability in almost 70 lakhs home gardens in the state. In this study, Idukki district was selected with the intention to identify the variability in the structure and cropping pattern of the home garden systems of the high range areas. The numerical and economical dominance of crops were worked out in different crop based high range home gardens on a seven-point continuum and the results revealed that banana, black pepper, cardamom and cabbage were the most dominant crops in the high range home gardens. However, there were 25 crops in banana-based, 22 crops in black pepper-based, 23 crops in cardamom based and 37 crops in vegetable-based home gardens. An exploration on the diversity profile of high range home gardens under four agro ecological unit of Idukki revealed that significant variability existed in the crop diversity in high range home gardens. The diversity for the four major crop based home gardens viz., ‘banana, black pepper, cardamom and vegetables’ based home garden was calculated using Shannon-Weiner index of diversity and the highest total mean diversity index (2.185) was recorded in banana-based home gardens whereas the lowest diversity index was noted in vegetable-based home gardens (1.034). On enumerating the crop wise diversity index for different crop based high range home garden system, maximum biodiversity was observed for spices (1.425, 1.548 and 1.274) respectively in banana based, black pepper based and cardamom based high range home gardens. However, in vegetables-based home gardens maximum biodiversity (1.252) was observed for vegetables. The lowest biodiversity index was recorded in forage crops (0.054) for banana based high range home gardens, medicinal plants (0.417) in pepper-based home gardens, tubers (0.282, 0.019) respectively in cardamom and vegetables based high range home gardens. On comparing the region wise diversity index, it was observed that the courtyard had maximum biodiversity (2.596, 2.455, 2.312 and 1.189) respectively in all the four dominant crop based high range home gardens. However, the diversity index for banana and vegetable based high range home gardens did not vary much for courtyard and mid-region biodiversity. The technology need assessment for top seven dominant crops was done and the results revealed that production technology was the most needed compared to protection and value addition technology in banana and vegetables based high range home gardens. However, in black pepper and cardamom based high range home gardens, protection technology was the most needed compared to production and value addition. On assessing the perception of farmers for the technology needs of different crops under the four attributes viz., technology not available; technology available but not applicable; technology available, applicable but not sustainable; and technology available, applicable but sustainable, it was noted that highest weighted mean score was observed for the attributes viz., technology not available and technology available but not applicable for both production and protection technologies. The practice wise technology needs studies also reconfirmed the above findings with maximum technology need reported for nutrient management (5.50, and 5.00) in the case of banana and vegetables-based home gardens respectively, whereas for black pepper-based home gardens, maximum technology need was reported for foot rot disease (5.30). In the case of cardamom-based home gardens, maximum technology need was reported for cardamom thrips (4.40). Maximum of three levels of vertical diversification was observed in banana itself in banana-based home gardens, whereas in black pepper based home gardens maximum diversification was noted for black pepper and turmeric with three levels of vertical diversification. In cardamom-based home gardens, maximum vertical diversification was recorded in cardamom with four levels of diversification whereas in vegetable based home garden maximum diversification was noted in cabbage, strawberry, potato and carrot with two levels of vertical diversification. The study on the extent of horizontal diversification revealed that about 40 per cent of the banana-based home gardens exhibited 5-tier horizontal diversifications. About 46.67 per cent of black pepper dominant home gardens showed 4-tier of horizontal diversification whereas cardamom based home gardens exhibited 3-tier diversification. In case of vegetable based home gardens, more than 50 per cent of the home gardens exhibited more than 6-tier of diversification. About 75 per cent of the home gardens were comprised under the category of 4, 5 or 6 tier horizontal diversification. Based upon the technology needs of the dominant crops in different cropbased home gardens, frontline demonstrations were conducted in four home gardens on production aspects of banana and cabbage, and protection aspects for black pepper and cardamom. The study clearly highlights that adoption of scientific approach in banana cultivation and correct use of technology in accordance to KAU POP will help the farmer to derive more profit (BC ratio2.06) through improved production and also will enable the farmers to learn the skill of judicious use of fertilizers and pesticides. The adoption of scientific plant protection operations in black pepper also aids the farmers to counteract the impact of foot rot disease. However, in cardamom, farmers practice was more effective and it may be due to the usage of new generation insecticides and the frequent application of pesticides. The lower efficacy exhibited by KAU practice may owe the factors viz., development of resistance to quinalphos and also due to longer application intervals. The adoption of KAU POP practices increased the yield in cabbage compared to farmer practices, but the yield / plot was highest in farmers field as compared to KAU practice that can be substantiated by the additional plant number maintained by the farmer due to the adoption of lower spacing. The crowdsourcing of knowledge was done in four stages for different crops like banana, black pepper, cardamom and cabbage dominant home garden systems. The results on the checklist monitored by the lead farmer through crowd sourcing and percentage adoption of production activities of banana revealed that 86.30 per cent of the farmers fully adopted the technology. The high adoption of almost all practices or activities can be attributed to the outcome of crowdsourcing knowledge through farmer participatory approaches. The crowd sourcing studies on management practices of foot rot disease of black pepper revealed that more than 70 per cent of the farmers fully adopted the technology. The drenching of potassium phosophonate 3ml per litre @ 5-10 litres per vine was the most adopted practice (93.33 %) in black pepper based high range home gardens of Idukki district. In case of management practices of thrips in cardamom, the results showed that 70 per cent of the farmers fully adopted the recommended practices. However, it was interesting to note that farmers used different type of new generation pesticides, despite of its higher cost for the management of thrips to get high returns for the produce. In vegetable-based home gardens, the study revealed that 71.11 per cent of the farmers fully adopted the recommended practices. It was also noted that among the nine prescribed cultural operations 100 per cent of the farmers practiced earthing up operations, and 86.67 per cent of the farmers fully adopted the techniques of split dose application of fertilizers in right quantity and spraying of Pseudomonas. A total of seven technological dimensions were identified as suitable for the high range home gardens. The economical (7.79), environmental (7.87) and psychological (7.80), dimensions were the most important ones perceived by the participating farmers whereas economical (7.27), psychological (7.45), and political (7.40) dimensions were the important dimensions as perceived by the non-participating farmers. In case of extension personnel’s, economical (7.18), environmental (7.14), and psychological (6.76) dimension were perceived as the most important ones. The results of the cluster analysis revealed that the different clustering of sub dimensions of different major dimensions invariably shows the interaction effect. The study on distribution of respondents based on the extent of adoption of recommended practices revealed that about 40 per cent of banana farmers showed higher adoption rate of recommended practices whereas 70 per cent farmers of black pepper showed medium level of adoption. About 77.67 per cent and 60 per cent of cardamom farmers and cabbage growing farmers exhibited medium level of adoption. The relationship between ten independent variables with the dependent variable extent of adoption was worked out for the four major crop based high range home garden systems. It was found that in case of banana growing farmers five out of ten independent variable were positively and significantly correlating with the extent of adoption, wherein innovativeness (0.598), irrigation potential (0.665) and economic motivation (0.707) were significant at 1 per cent level of significance and market orientation (0.431) and extension contact (0.369) was significant at 5 per cent level of significance. In case of black pepper growing farmers four out of the ten independent variables were positively and significantly correlating with the dependent variable, wherein market orientation (0.541), extension contact (0.464), irrigation potential (0.607) and economic motivation (0.825) were significant at 1 per cent level of significance. Among the cardamom growing farmers it was found that five independent variables were found to be positively and significantly correlated with the extent of adoption, where market orientation (0.817), extension contact (0.834), innovativeness (0.727), irrigation potential (0.617 and economic motivation (0.533) were significant at 1 per cent level of significance. In case of the vegetable growing farmers, it was found that five out of the ten independent variables were positively and significantly correlated with the extent of adoption, wherein land area (0.521), market orientation (0.659), extension contact (0.579) and economic motivation (0.704) were significant at 1 per cent level of significance and annual income (0.381) was significant at 5 per cent level of significance. This study on the gender roles in different crop-based high range home gardens revealed that in case of banana, black pepper, cardamom and vegetablebased home gardens men involved more in land preparation, planting, crop protection and harvesting operations and women were involved in weeding and value addition however in case of vegetable based home gardens women engaged in irrigation also. The constraints delineated were, unpredictable natural calamities related crop loss (365) followed by extortionate cost of inputs (352), inadequate knowledge on scientific crop production (347) and lack of extension services (337) in the decreasing order of importance. The major suggestions as perceived by extension personnel’s for refinement of home garden farmers were, development of package of practices in tune with the home garden system (94.16%) and follow up and assistance by extension agencies on the adoption of recommended scientific practices (92.50%), promotion of FIGs and FPO’S for post-harvest handling and marketing (96.00%) and inclusion of market clusters to increase profit and to reduce the risk (92.50%). To conclude, the study establishes different level of dominance and diversity profile and delineated the technology needs, technology adoption and different dimensions suited for high range home gardens. The extent of horizontal and vertical diversification, the extent of adoption of technologies through crowd sourcing and the relationship of independent variables with extent of adoption was determined. The gender roles, constraints and suggestions for promoting sustainable high range home gardens were delineated.
Perceived usefulness andcontent analysis of post graduate theses in agriculture : The case of college of agriculture,Vellayani
(Department of agricultural extentsion, college of agriculture, Vellayani, 2019) Deinichwa Dkhar; Allan Thomas
Problems and prospects of medicinal plant cultivation in Thiruvananthapuram district
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2000) Allan Thomas; Padmanabhan, V B
A research study entitled "Problems and prospects of medicinal plant cultivation in Thiruvananthapuram district" was undertaken with a view to assess the knowledge of the medicinal plant cultivators on the medicinal value of the plants cultivated by them, to identify the training need of the cultivators in medicinal plant cultivation, to study the market orientation of the cultivators, to analyse the cost-benefit relationship of medicinal plant cultivation and to identify the problems and solutions in medicinal plant cultivation. One hundred medicinal plant cultivators were selected from the four taluks of Thiruvananthapuram district using stratified random sampling technique with proportionate allocation. Data were collected by using a structured interview schedule. Knowledge was assessed by developing a knowledge test for the study. Training need was identified using the method developed by Bhatnagar (1987). Market orientation was studied by using the method developed by Anantharaman (1991), which included identification of marketing channels and analysis of cost- benefit relationship of medicinal plant cultivation by using input-output analysis in terms of economic aspects of medicinal plant cultivation. Problems and solutions in medicinal plant cultivation as perceived by the cultivators, procurers and retail shop dealers were identified by using open-end questions. Ranking was done to identify the importance of the problems and solutions. Majority of the medicinal plant cultivators had medium to high-level knowledge on the medicinal value of the plants cultivated by them. The independent variables, namely, age, farming experience, experience in medicinal plant cultivation, farm size, area under medicinal plant cultivation, annual income, income from medicinal plant cultivation, extension contact, extension participation, mass media exposure and information seeking behaviour were having significant and positive relationship with knowledge. The variable education was found to have no relationship with knowledge on medicinal value of plants cultivated by them. Marketing was perceived as the most important area of training at knowledge level followed by processing, storing, seeds and sowing, harvesting, land preparation, manuring, weeding, plant protection and irrigation in the descending order of importance whereas for training need at skill level, processing was holding first preference followed by harvesting, storing, marketing, seeds and sowing, land preparation, plant protection, manuring, weeding and irrigation. Market orientation of the cultivators was studied under two heads, namely, identification of marketing channels and analysis of cost-benefit relationship of medicinal plant cultivation. Among the marketing channels identified, the producer-dealer-ayurvedic medicine manufactures was the channel through which bulk of the produces were marketed. The cost-benefit relationship of medicinal plant cultivation revealed that it was a profitable enterprise. The problems identified in the descending order of importance by medicinal plant cultivators, procurers and retailers were, pre-harvest and post-harvest handling, lack of storage facilities unorganised marketing, non availability of genuine planting materials, lack of developmental and extension service, lack of research work for developing new varieties, lack of credit/loan facilities, lack of cultivators package of practices, over- exploitation of wild medicinal plants, fluctuations in market price, substitution and adulteration, confusion with respect to identification of the species, inexorable monetisation of medicinal plant economy, absence of practical training, climate and soil and lack of co-ordination among medicinal plant cultivators. Training of farmers in pre-harvest and post-harvest handling of medicinal plant produce, providing suitable storage facilities, creating a regulated market for the medicinal plant produces, ensuring regular and timely supply of genuine planting materials through government and service agencies, initiating more research for developing new varieties of improved medicinal properties, providing credit or loans through institutionalised agencies at low interest rates, providing the farming community with a unique and standardised package of practices recommendations of an authentic expertise body, conserving the wild economically important medicinal plant species and initiating participatory and group approaches in medicinal plant cultivation only can help the farmers to solve the aforesaid problems. Medicinal plants are a national treasure. Preventing extinction and preserving the great Indian medicinal heritage is of much importance. With the advent of 21 st century due to global search for "alternatives" in health care, there is a tremendous resurgence of interests in traditional system of medicines by popularising medicinal plant cultivation.
Prospects and problems of agro food parks (AFPs): a multi-dimensional analysis
(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2020) Rin Rose Antony; Allan Thomas
Research trends and academic research productivity of Ph.D. dissertations in Kerala Agricultural University
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture ,Vellayani, 2022) Muppidi Spanditha; Allan Thomas
The study entitled “Research trends and academic research productivity of Ph.D. dissertations in Kerala Agricultural University” was undertaken in the year 20120-21. The main objectives were assessment of research pattern and productivity of the Ph.D. research in terms of proportion published or cited. The study explored determinants of Ph.D. students’ research efficiency as perceived by the teachers and constraints and suggestions as perceived by students and teachers in the conduct of doctoral research will also be studied. The entire PhD theses submitted to College of Agriculture, Vellayani for the five years from 2015-2019 were enumerated, categorized under different divisions and will be subjected to qualitative content analysis. A total of 80 respondents comprising of 50 students and 30 teachers were selected for the study. During 2015- 2019, crop production division has maximum number of theses (33) submitted and overall theses submitted were maximum (24) during 2017. The result on content pattern of PhD research was conducted based on various parameters. In terms of crops/areas focused, majority (20.27%) of studies were concentrated on cereals (rice), followed by vegetables (14.87%), fruits (13.51%), and tuber crops (8.11%). For the period 2011-2014, 19 PC groups had 80 per cent or more untouched thrust areas 100 per cent of these belonged to Spices and Plantation Crops (SPC), Pulses and Oil Seeds (POS), Forage and Green Manure Crops (FGM), Gender studies (GS) and AgroEconomic Studies (AES). During 2015-2017, 14 PC groups were found to have 80 per cent or more untouched areas among which Floriculture (FL), Post-Harvest Technology (PHT), Sugar and Tuber Crops (STC) groups had 100 per cent of untouched areas. It was observed that over the years’ number of thrust areas decreased but the percentage of untouched areas showed an increasing trend. In case of number of objectives by using quartiles, all divisions showed medium range (2-4) of objectives with 82.43 per cent. On summarisation, majority (32.43%) of studies had two objectives. Overall data based on mean number of references using quartiles indicated that social science theses had low number of references (<223) while remaining divisions had medium range (223-369) of references. In the studies, 65.07 per cent of theses referred most from 2001 and above. Most commonly used research design among crop production theses was Randomised Block 228 Design (RBD) with 40.42 per cent, Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 47.06 per cent in crop protection, RBD and CRD both with 40.91 per cent among crop improvement theses, exploratory research design (60.00%) in social science and CRD and ex post facto design both with 50 per cent in community science. With the categorisation of statistical methods under seven categories, majority of the studies in crop production used parametric tests and methods (61.54%), basic statistics (47.72%) in crop protection, Parametric tests and methods (33.33%) in crop improvement, basic statistics (59.26%) in social science and Parametric tests and methods (35.30%) in community science. With reference to sample size, majority (50.00%) of Community Science department theses had less than hundred sample size. However, it was interesting to note that sample size in majority (60.00%) of theses under social science ranged from 201-300 and in remaining all divisions majority of theses had range 101- 200. In case of type of sampling methods, majority (40.00%) of the theses conducted studies using random sampling. Under social science division, majority (75.00%) of Agricultural Extension theses studied independent variables ranging from nine to thirty. Academic research productivity was assessed based on proportion published and cited. On perusal of data, crop production division had published two papers on an average (42.42%) and half of the community science studies had published more than two papers. To summarise, publications less than two accounted the most with 39.19 per cent. Publications in peer reviewed journals were categorised under different indexing lists where it was noted that majority of the publications (82.42%) belonged to National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) rated journals followed by Google scholar (12.12%), Copernicus index (2.42%), others (2.42%), University Grants Commission - Consortium for Academic Research and Ethics (UGC-CARE) list (1.21%) and Scopus index (0.61%). Citations distribution based on year showed that majority of theses (84.05%) cited were from 1991 and above whereas based on source it was found that among 35 types of sources identified journals were cited on majority among all divisions. Other types of major sources cited were books, proceedings, Master of Science (M.Sc.) theses, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) theses and e-resources. Geographic distribution of citations indicated that international publications were cited more compared to national publications among all departments except agricultural 229 extension. Among all departments, average number of citations from national and international publications were cited more in Community Science with 217 and 416 average number respectively. In terms of average number of citations, based on range highest range (272-843) was found in plant breeding and genetics department whereas average number of citations was observed highest in community science department (633) with range of 448-827. Attitude of students towards PhD research was studied. It was found that 74.00 per cent of students possessed good attitude and only 16.00 per cent of students had very good attitude towards PhD research. About 86.67 per cent of teachers perceived that students possessed good attitude towards research and 13.33 per cent teachers recognised that students had very good attitude towards doctoral research. On the whole in case of perception in adequacy based on research themes, teachers opined that there was 23.4 per cent of gap and students opined 32.20 per cent of gap which currently does not address the problems of Kerala agriculture. The major constraints in conducting doctoral research as perceived by students were insufficient funds (Rank 1), lack of advanced research facilities and equipments (Rank 2), and insufficient lab facilities (Rank 3). Insufficient lab facilities (Rank 1), lack of advanced research facilities and equipments (Rank 2) and insufficient funds (Rank 3) were perceived as constraints by teachers. In order to overcome the ascertained constraints suggestions as perceived by teachers were provision of central instrumentation facility, increasing contingent grants/funds, participation in external aided projects, exposure of students to advanced methods or equipments, enforcement of research collaborations in interdisciplinary or with other organisations/institutes (national or overseas), giving maximum exposure to students by participating in conferences and seminars (national or international) and also improving students research skills with proper training via lectures or practical classes that enhance their knowledge and skill before conducting research. In order to improve academic research productivity, it is necessary to encourage students in publishing more quality articles in peer reviewed journals with high NAAS ratings (6+ impact factor) and other similar indices and also conducting research with deliverable output through publications which is monitored and reviewed systematically.
Risk behaviour of vegetable farmers in special agricultural zones in Kerala: an empirical analysis
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2022-11-04) Navitha Raj; Allan Thomas
The study on “Risk behaviour of vegetable farmers in Special Agricultural Zones in Kerala: An empirical analysis” was conducted during 2018 to 2021 with the objectives to identify the crop dominance in vegetables, analyse the perception on different risk sources, develop a risk attitude scale and risk propensity index of the vegetable farmers. The study also delineated the factors influencing the farmer’s attitude towards the risks in vegetable farming and profiled farmer’s strategies at combating the risks associated with vegetable farming. Blocks of Devikulam in Idukki district, Kanjikuzhy in Alappuzha district, Pazhayannur in Thrissur district and Chittoor- Kollengode in Palakkad district, identified as SAZ for vegetables were selected as the location for study. A total of 270 vegetable farmers selected randomly from six panchayats representing different AEUs in the blocks were the respondents of the study. Thirty extension personnel from the SAZs were also included in the study. The numerical, economic and total mean dominance of crops were worked out for each SAZs. The results revealed that cowpea was found to be the most dominant crops in the SAZ Kollengode with a total mean value of 3.20 and in Pazhayannur (2.97). The most dominant crop in SAZ Chitoor was found to be tomato (3.40). Bhindi (4.49) and beans (4.12) were found to be the most dominant vegetable crops in SAZ Kanjikuzhy and Devikulam respectively. Vegetable crop biodiversity profile of SAZs was calculated using ShannonWeiner diversity index and the highest total mean diversity index for vegetables was found in Kollengode panchayat (1.118) followed by Kanjikuzhy (1.108). Least diversity for vegetables was found in Chelakkara panchayat of SAZ Pazhayannur (0.740). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by LSD test was performed to identify the variations in diversity between panchayats and it was found that the diversity of vegetables grown in Kollengode, Kanjikuzhy, Devikulam and Vattavada panchayats were high and on par compared to the 239 vegetable diversity in Vadakarapathy and Chelakkara panchayats that were low and on par. Risk perceptions play a key role in the production and investment behaviour of farmers. Mean scores and ranks based on farmer’s perception on each source of risk under each risk category was found out. Results revealed that risk due to pest and diseases had emerged as major production risk in Kollengode (4.87), Vadakarapathy (4.64) and Kanjikuzhy (4.18) panchayats. Whereas, climatic variations (4.33) and fragmented land holding (4.49) emerged as major production risk in Vattavada and in Devikulam panchayats. In case of market risks, high cost of production was perceived as major market risks in Kollengode (4.04) and surplus production in Chelakkara (4.64) and Devikulam (4.31) panchayats. With respect to financial risks, complicated banking procedures emerged as major risk in five panchayats except in Vattavada panchayat where high demand of collaterals by banks (3.82) was the highest ranked risk. Import of produce from other states was perceived as the major institutional risk in Kollengode (4.47), Chelakkara (4.64) and Kanjikuzhy (4.62) panchayats whereas lack of government support (4.58) and lack of vegetable-oriented schemes (4.80) had emerged as highest ranked institutional risk sources in Devikulam and Vattavada panchayat. Labour shortage and migration was the highest ranked human risk source in Kollengode (4.33) Chelakkara (4.40), Vadakarapathy (3.76), Kanjikuzhy (4.07) panchayats whereas in Vattavada (3.58) and Devikulam (3.07) panchayats, farm accidents were perceived as major human risks. Paired wise comparison of risk sources revealed that in Kollengode, Chelakkara and Devikulam panchayats, production risks ranked first among all major categories of risks. In Vadakarapathy, Kanjikuzhy and Vattavada panchayats, price or market risk was the top ranked risk. An exploration into the severity of all the risk sources as perceived by farmers was done using the Pareto analysis. The results revealed that eighty per cent of the risk in vegetable farming was accounted by risk sources viz. crop damage by wild animals, surplus production of same crop, complicated banking 240 procedures, climatic variations, lack of vegetable oriented schemes, price fluctuation, high cost of production, lack of government support, import of produce from other states, labour shortage, high interest rate, poor soil quality, fragmented land holdings, water scarcity, poor extension to farmer linkage and incidences of pest and diseases. Distribution of respondents based on their risk propensity index values was done using mean and standard deviation and it was found that majority belonged to risk neutral category (69.63%) followed by risk takers category (18.15%) and risk averse category (12.22%). In order to know the distribution of respondents in each panchayat according to risk propensity, Skewness and Kurtosis was estimated and it was found that Kollengode had more risk takers. To understand the dispersion of risk neutral category, a scatter plot diagram was generated and the results revealed that risk takers were more in Kollengode and Kanjikuzhy whereas risk averse were more from Vadakarapathy, Chelakkara, Vattavada and Devikulam panchayats. Risk attitude scale was developed using the Likert’s Summated Rating method wherein 28 statements were selected from 95 statements using item discriminant analysis with ‘t’ value above 2.1 at 0.01 level of significance and with a high reliability coefficient of 0.95. On administering the scale on 270 vegetable farmers revealed that majority of the vegetable farmers (74.07%) belonged to moderately favourable category of risk attitude followed by farmers in the favourable risk attitude category (16.67%). Whereas farmers in the unfavourable category were 9.26 per cent. ‘P’ value was found to be less than 0.05 when administered with Kruskal–Wallis One Way Analysis of Variance which signified that there was significant difference between risk attitudes of farmers in more than one pair of panchayats. Thirteen personal and social characteristics of farmers were selected as independent variables of study. More than half (55.18%) of the farmers were found in the age group of 35-55 years, 46.30 per cent had gone up to middle school, 78.88 per cent of the farmers had an area up to 2.5acres, 37.03 per cent 241 respondents were engaged in vegetable farming and allied works and 53.33 per cent had economic water scarcity. With respect to all other variables, majority farmers were found in the medium category of respective variables. Hence to find the dispersion among respondents, mean value was used as the check value and it was found that majority of the respondents were in the low category viz. below mean in the case of vegetable farming experience (61.48%), annual income (55.56%), innovation proneness (56.67%), economic motivation (56.3%), extension participation (70%), social participation (94.44%), management orientation (58.89%) and high category with regard to credit orientation (53.7%). Result of correlation analysis between risk attitude and thirteen independent variables revealed that seven of the variables viz., area under vegetable cultivation, education, annual income, irrigation potential, extension participation, innovative proneness, economic motivation had positive and significant correlation with risk attitude of respondents at 1per cent level and variables management orientation and social participation at 5 per cent level. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was carried out to identify the most important variables that affect the risk attitude of vegetable farmers and it was found that four independent variables viz. innovation proneness, irrigation potential, vocational diversification and area under vegetable cultivation significantly predicted risk attitude (R2= 0.579) of vegetable farmers. Principal Component Analysis was done to identify the commonalities among the factors influencing the risk attitude and cluster them. Six principal components were selected having eigen value greater than one. PC1 named as personal socioeconomic variable explained for 44.39 percentage of variance. The risk management strategies adopted by vegetable farmers in the decreasing order of importance were mixed farming (4.82), crop diversification (4.03), investing in non-farm business (3.42), irrigation measures (3.40), decreasing area under vegetable crops (3.28) and producing at lowest possible cost (3.04). 242 On doing the perceived social benefit cost analysis of dominant crops it was found that beans (2.08) had the highest BC ratio followed by okra (1.79). Perceived social benefits of vegetable farming was assessed using the PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) analysis tool and it was found that farmers perceived economic benefits (16.54) above social benefits (14.95) and technological benefits (13.61). The top ranked constraints were inefficient pest and disease management (57.4%), non-remunerative prices of produce (51.58%), poor marketing facilities (50%), non-availability of labour during peak season and high wages (44.81%), poor support from government agencies (43.7%). Ensuring availability of vegetable subsidies (44.4%), timely availability of inputs (37.78%), availability of quality planting materials (35.55%), timely payment of money by government agencies such as Horticorp (35.18%), irrigation facilities and creating awareness on improved irrigation methods for vegetable cultivation (32.59%) were the major solutions as perceived by farmers for remunerative and sustainable vegetable production. To conclude, ascertaining the attitude of farmers towards risks is important in understanding the risk behaviour of farmers. Therefore, in this study, risk attitude scale was developed and administered to the vegetable farmers which revealed that majority of the vegetable farmers belonged to moderately favourable category of risk attitude. The perception of farmers on major risk sources in vegetables and their propensity to take risk were identified which revealed that majority of the farmers were found in risk neutral category. Dominance-diversity profile of vegetable crops in SAZs was identified. Farmer’s strategies to cope with risk and the constraints and solutions for remunerative and sustainable vegetable production were delineated.
Techno socio- economic characterisation of specialised homegardens : a dominance - diversity approach
(Department of agricultural extension, College of agriculture, Vellayani, 2013) Rahul Krishnan; Allan Thomas
This study entitled ‘Techno socio-economic characterization of specialized homegardens: a dominance-diversity approach’ was conducted at Palakkad, Thrissur, and Ernakulam districts covering 30 homegardens with 10 each from each district. It examines the structural configuration and its functional dynamics, delineates the technology gaps cum dimensions of technologies as perceived by farmers, investigates the cost-benefit analysis and cultural importance, evaluates selected aspects of women's participation in homegarden activities and constraints experienced by the specialized homegarden farmers. In this study Specialized homegardens are operationally defined as a special type of sustainable agricultural production system practised around the home with or without extended garden, with homegarden primary structure supplemented with specialized components like sericulture, apiculture, aquaculture, etc. making way for the homegardens to be categorized as subsistence with subsidiary commercial interest and/or made for a particular purpose to the extent that it becomes visibly different from the general types of the traditional types of homegarden farming system. The structural configuration and functional dynamics were identified using the measure of dominance, measure of Shannon and Wiener diversity index and the extent of horizontal and vertical integration in the specialized homegardens. 5-7 major crop dominance was observed and eighty per cent of the specialized homegardens had more than four tier horizontal diversification and ‘two’ levels of vertical diversification for economically dominant crop and around ‘three’ levels for specialized components. The economics of specialized homegardens revealed no significance between the benefit-cost ratios of the different specialized components, which suggests that the benefit is independent of the type of specialization. Also, more than 70 per cent of the respondents felt that middlemen were useful and essential in the marketing of homegarden produce but majority did not prefer middlemen in marketing of produce from specialized components. Technology gap assessment as perceived by the respondents using a Chi- square test revealed that, the distribution had the same technology needs (χ2= 0.598). Ten dimensions were felt important by all categories of respondents and an additional six dimensions perceived by the farmers were found to fall out of the ambit of extension and scientific community which was yet to be bridged. It was found that there were significant differences in the role of women in specialized homegarden activities. The foremost constraint identified was low price of the homegarden produce which was on par with the constraint ‘surplus produces but insufficient for marketing’. To conclude, primarily a system with dominance has been developed which is again derived from diversity index and extent of horizontal versus vertical diversification which will help in enumerating the commodity and non commodity nature of crops and hence enable better planning of homegardens for increased profit without depleting the biodiversity of specialized homegardens. Techno socio-economic dimensions of specialized homegardens were prioritized wherein 10 dimensions were felt important by all categories of respondents and six dimensions felt important by the farmers were not perceived to be important either by the Scientists or Agricultural Officers that needs to be addressed. Strategies like cluster marketing, group marketing and pooled marketing should be planned and implemented to overcome the constraints of the low price of produce and surplus insufficient for marketing to make this important production a durable and sustainable system.
Technology assessment and refinement in coastal homegardens of Kerala: linkages with biodiversity and household livelihoods
(Department of Agricultural Extension Education, College of Agriculture , Vellayani, 2024-01-15) Roshni Thampi; KAU; Allan Thomas; Joy, M
The study entitled “Technology assessment and refinement in coastal homegardens of Kerala: Linkages with biodiversity and household livelihood” conducted from 2019 to 2023 focused on the primary objectives to assess crop diversity, identify the dominance of crops, delineate technology needs, sorter dimensions of technologies and analyze the adoption and technology gaps through action research for sustainable coastal home garden systems. The study also examined the social anthropogenic variables of coastal home garden farmers and explored the linkages between biodiversity and household livelihoods in terms of perceptions and practices by farmers. Constraints in the coastal home garden farming system as perceived by farmers and extension personnel were also studied. The study was conducted in homegardens of three coastal Agro Ecological Units (AEU 1- Southern coastal plains, AEU 3- Onattukara Sandy Plains and AEU 4- Kuttanad) of southern Kerala. 35 farmer respondents were chosen from the home gardens of selected panchayats, comprising 15 participants and 20 non-participants who had at least 25 cents. The total numbers of respondents for the study were 165 comprising 105 coastal home garden farmers, 30 Agricultural Officers and 30 Scientists. Within the framework of Participatory Technology Assessment and Refinement, a collaborative effort was made to select appropriate technology for the primary crops within specific AEUs. This encompassed the evaluation of technology for bittergourd in AEU 1, chilli in AEU 3, and cowpea in AEU 4. Furthermore, Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) were conducted to showcase and validate KAU-proven technologies that were deemed suitable for these specific crops. The structural configuration in terms of dominance-biodiversity profile of crops in coastal home gardens of southern Kerala was studied under two aspects viz., numerical and economic dominance and the diversity profile of coastal homegardens in Kerala. The study revealed that in AEU 1, out of the 82 identified crops, the most dominant one was coconut (5.90) followed by bittergourd (5.81) whereas in AEU 3 a total of 78 crops were identified, of which the maximum dominance was noted with black pepper (5.65) followed by chilli (5.26). In AEU 4 a total of 85 crops were identified of which the maximum dominance was noted with cowpea (5.24). The study compared the mean diversity index across different AEUs and found that AEU 4 exhibited the highest diversity index at 1.547, followed by AEU 3 at 1.159, and AEU 1 at 1.058. When examining the crop-wise diversity profile of coastal AEUs, fruits had the highest diversity index at 0.998, followed by vegetables at 0.878, and spice crops at 0.850. Conversely, the lowest biodiversity index was recorded for tubers at 0.360 and ornamental plants at 0.357. In AEU 1, the maximum diversity index was observed for spices at 0.801, followed by vegetables at 0.770, and medicinal crops at 0.741, with tubers having the lowest diversity index at 0.350. In AEU 3 and AEU 4, the highest diversity index was noted for fruit crops at 1.181 and 1.164, respectively, while the lowest diversity index was recorded for medicinal plants at 0.225 and 0.226 respectively. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed no significant difference in crop diversity among selected AEUs, but there was a significant difference in crop-wise diversity for plantation crops, multipurpose trees, medicinal plants, tubers, and ornamental plants. In terms of region-wise biodiversity, the mid-regions had the highest diversity index at 1.433, while the courtyard of coastal home gardens had the lowest diversity at 1.117. The study on vertical diversification of crops in different coastal AEUs revealed that in AEU 1 maximum diversification was seen for banana with six levels of diversification whereas in AEU 3 maximum diversification was seen for banana and coconut with five levels of diversification. In AEU 4 the maximum diversification was seen for coconut and banana with four levels followed by cowpea and black pepper with two levels of diversification. The extent of horizontal diversification was also recorded and found that 40 % of the homegardens in AEU 1 had 5 tier diversification whereas in AEU 3, 60 % of the home gardens had 6 tier or more diversification. In case of AEU 4, 73.33% of the homegardens were having 6 and more tiers of diversification. The study revealed that a significant percentage (53.33%) of homegardens in all AEUs had six or more tiers of diversification. This study involved assessing the technology requirements for the top dominant crops in the selected AEUs. The study identified that in AEU 1, the maximum technology need was recorded with production practices of bittergourd (6.83), whereas in AEU 3, the highest technology need was noted with protection practices (leaf curl disease management) in chilli (6.67). In AEU 4, highest technology need was noted for production practices in cowpea (6.50). Based upon the technology needs of the dominant crops in different AEUs, FLDs were conducted in selected three homegardens on production aspects of bittergourd (AEU 1) and cowpea (AEU 4) and protection aspects for chilly (AEU 3). The FLD in all the AEUs of study clearly highlights that scientific approach in farming and correct use of technology in accordance to KAU POP will help the farmer to derive more profit through improved production. The B:C ratio for FLD studies on bittergourd cowpea was found to be higher (1.96 and 1.78) compared to farmers practices (1.37 and 1.42). Research showed that using scientific methods like KAU practices reduced leaf curl disease in chilli by 48.19%, emphasizing the importance of adopting these techniques. The study also examined how farmers adopted KAU practices. It was found that 77.14% of AEU 1 farmers had low adoption, while 74.29% of AEU 4 farmers had high adoption. In AEU 3, 51.43% had low adoption. The study also categorized farmers as innovators (0.95%), early adopters (16.19%), early majority (34.29%), late majority (32.38%), and laggards (16.19%). In the study, a reliable scale was developed to assess technology-related aspects in Kerala's coastal home gardens. The Single ANOVA tool helped choose indicators with a mean value below 4.49, resulting in 26 variables across 8 dimensions. For reliability, the odd-even split-half method was used, yielding a strong correlation of 0.846 for the half-test and 0.917 for the full test. Pearson's correlation coefficients also confirmed the scale's validity by exceeding 0.25 at a 0.05 significance level. The scale was administered to respondents and the results showed that participating farmers perceived economic dimensions (4.62), environmental dimensions (4.30), and psychological dimensions (4.31) as the most important. Non-participating farmers, on the other hand, considered economic dimensions (4.61), psychological dimensions (4.14), and human resource dimensions (4.12) to be significant. Extension personnel, in their evaluation, rated economic dimensions (4.28), human resource dimensions (4.04), and political dimensions (4.03) as the most important factors. Cluster analysis was done for different dimensions for different categories of respondents and it invariably shows interaction effects of different dimensions of technology. The analysis was done using Ward linkage with 26 indicators, representing 8 dimensions of technology in coastal homegardens. For participant farmers 3 clusters were identified. The first cluster comprised of 10 indicators viz., profit, sustainability, technical efficiency, interpersonal relationship, initial cost, bureaucratic support, perception of technology, coordination, supply chain and acquisition of information that showed strong association. The second cluster encompassed 12 indicators that demonstrated proficiency in areas such as credit access, effective decision-making, keen observability, viability, adept resource management, resource recycling capacity, reasonable price expectations, local resource utilization, ready availability, utilization of family labour, dependable delivery reliability, and skilled labour requirements. The third cluster, comprised of four dimensions, exhibited characteristics related to flexibility, strong social networking, effective budgeting abilities, and openness to utilizing open-source technology. Analysis of livelihood assets revealed that social assets scored the highest mean value (239.3) followed by human assets (227.3), physical assets (185.6), natural assets (172.3) and financial assets (176). ANOVA confirmed that there is significant difference between AEUs in case of all assets except human assets and Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the strength and significance of the relationship between these variables. The results showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.311, p < 0.05) between total assets and biodiversity. This suggests that as the total assets of the communities increase, the level of biodiversity also tends to increase. The study delved into gender roles within various coastal home gardens, with a focus on dominant crops. In AEU 1, particularly in bittergourd cultivation, men were predominantly engaged in labour-intensive tasks like land preparation (54.29%) and drain preparation (85.71%). Women, conversely, played more active roles in activities such as weeding (51.43%), kitchen gardening (57.14%), and harvesting (51.43%). Both genders actively participated in operations like irrigation (62.86%), plant protection activities (57.14%), and post-harvest tasks (51.43%). In AEU 3, where chilli cultivation was highlighted, men took on tasks like drain preparation (62.86%) and fencing (74.29%), while women were prominently involved in sowing seeds (68.57%), planting seedlings (57.14%), plant protection (57.14%), kitchen gardening (54.29%), harvesting (74.29%), and post-harvest operations (62.86%). Both men and women contributed to activities like applying manure (62.86%) and fertilizers, as well as weeding (54.29%). In AEU 4, centered on cowpea cultivation, men primarily handled land preparation (60%). Interestingly, women took on most responsibilities related to cowpea cultivation including, applying manure (57.14%), sowing seeds (51.43%), planting seedlings (51.43%), applying fertilizer (57.14%), weeding (51.43%), kitchen gardening (57.14%), and harvesting (60%). Both genders were involved in applying irrigation (54.29%). A chi-square test assessed the significance of gender differences in home garden activities, revealing a strong association between gender and agricultural tasks. The calculated chi-square statistic was 192.78, surpassing the table value of 33.92 at a 0.05% significance level, affirming the substantial gender differences in home garden activities. The study identified a total of 22 constraints within coastal home gardens, which were rated by respondents. The most significant challenges reported by coastal home garden farmers were, lack of scientific knowledge (1031) followed by salinity issues (rated at 1010), flooding concerns (1008), ineffectiveness of plant protection methods at recommended dosages (rated at 969), insufficient knowledge about plant protection chemicals (960), the impact of climate change (948), and the absence of proper drainage systems (916), listed in descending order of importance. Key suggestions to improve coastal home gardens as perceived by farmers and extension personnel were, the creation of customized packages of practices tailored to the coastal home garden system, enhanced on-going support and guidance from extension agencies for the adoption of recommended scientific practices and the promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to enhance post-harvest handling and marketing Social anthropogenic variables of coastal home garden farmers like age, education, gender, occupation, economic motivation, extension contribution, irrigation potential, information source utilization, credit orientation, training need, market orientation and adoption were also studied. In essence, the research revealed a multifaceted profile of dominance and diversity within the coastal home garden community. Furthermore, it outlined specific technology requirements, adoption patterns, and dimensions conducive to the development of coastal home gardens. Additionally, the study delved into aspects related to livelihood assets, gender roles, constraints, and provided valuable suggestions to promote the sustainability of coastal home gardens in the Kerala region.
Technology assessment in the homegarden systems
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, 2004) Allan Thomas; Bhaskaran, S
Homegardens of Kerala presents a traditional agroforestry system designed to meet the food, fodder, fuel wood and timber requirement of the farm households and to generate supplementary income through the sale of surplus (Salam and Sreekumar, 1991). The homegarden system has its unique structural configuration and cropping patterns. The structural and functional diversity of this farming system makes it a unique one. It is the predominant type of agricultural production system in the state of Kerala (Shehana et al., 1994). This study was undertaken in the Southern Kerala comprising Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts covering a sample size of 208 homegardens using multi-stage stratified random sampling technique which, examines the structural configuration, cropping system, type of homegardens, extent of contribution of dominant homegarden components to the annual homegarden income, marketing channels of major products contributing to the homegarden annual income, extent of adoption of technology/scientific practices, its relationship with the socio-personal characteristic of individual farmers, identifying the technology need of the homegarden farmers, the delineation of dimension of technology suited for homegardens and constraints experienced by homegarden farmers. The structural configuration, cropping patterns and type of homegardens were identified using the measure of Shannon and Wiener diversity index (Sagar and Singh, 1999), species richness (Margalef, 1958) and measure of evenness (Pielou, 1969). The measure of dominance in terms of structural, numerical and economic dominance was developed for the study. Based on this, ten major dominance systems were observed in homegardens. Types of homegardens were delineated based on added components to the homegarden primary structure. Six types of specialised homegardens were thus identified based on the additions to primary structure. Two more types were identified based on socio-cultural components in homegardens. On the economic front of homegardens, the extent of contribution of major components towards annual homegarden income, it was found that livestock, rubber and tapioca in Thiruvananthapuram; rubber, livestock, pepper and coconut in Kollam; livestock, coconut, arecanut and pepper in Alappuzha and rubber, livestock and coconut in Pathanamthitta contributed to a greater extent in terms of annual homegarden income. Marketing channels for the different crops in four districts were also identified and classified. Technology assessment revealed that a limited quantity of technology reached the homegardens. Only two-third of the respondents fell under medium category of adoption of scientific practices/technology. Factors influencing the adoption of scientific practices were identified as education, annual homegarden income, extension contribution, market orientation and knowledge on technology in homegardens. Fifty-four indigenous practices (ITK practices) were observed to be followed by the homegarden farmers. Maximum technology need was reported for unexploited and under exploited horticultural tree crops which was on par with fruit tree crops (mango and jack) and followed by beverage crops. Processing, value addition and storage requirements were immediate technology needs of the homegarden farmers. Drainage and soil amendment technologies were reported to be important for Alappuzha homegarden farmers. On delineation of dimensions of technologies as perceived by homegarden farmers, agricultural officers and scientists, twenty-four dimensions were felt important by all categories of respondents. Additional nine dimensions perceived by the farmers were found to fall out of the ambit of extension and scientific community revealing that there is a major requirement either overlooked by the scientific/extension system, which is yet to be bridged. The foremost constraint identified was surplus produce but that was insufficient for marketing. To conclude, primarily a system with dominance has been developed which is again derived from diversity index, species richness, evenness and measure of dominance. Variability in homegardens exists within regions, within and between districts, but was not influenced by holding size. Above all constraints, technology requirement and delineated dimensions of technology was worked out based actual homegarden situation, thus providing a holistic approach to the entire homegarden scenario of the four districts under study.
Technology assessment of the production practices of economically dominant crops in homegardens
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2015) Reeba Jacob; Allan Thomas
Technology needs and risks assessment of specialised homegardens
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2018) Sreelakshmi, C; Allan Thomas
Technology utilisation of bittergourd in Thiruvananthaapuram district
(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2016) Noobiya Basheer; Allan Thomas
Technology utilisation of organic plant protection practices of KAU
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Aparna, K V; Allan Thomas
Work life quality and job satisfaction of agricultural professionals in commercial banks of Kerala: a critical analysis
(Department of Agricultural Extension,College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, 2018) Vagvala Suryaja; Allan Thomas
Yield cap and technology adoption of rice in north Kerala: A multi-dimensional analysis
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture , Vellayani, 2022-01-21) Sneha N.; Allan Thomas
The study on “Yield gap and technology adoption of rice in North Kerala: A multidimensional analysis” was conducted in the districts Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts representing the Northern part of Kerala. One panchayath with maximum rice farmers from each district was selected in consultation with the PAO office. Fifteen farmers from each panchayath with a minimum holding of 50 cents of rice field were selected in consultation with the respective Agricultural Officer, thus making a total of 105 respondents from seven districts. Age, sex, education, farming experience, area under rice cultivation, income from agriculture, income from paddy cultivation, trainings received, economic motivation, innovativeness, scientific orientation, market orientation, extension orientation, level of awareness and knowledge were the independent variables selected through judges rating. Level of adoption and yield gap were the dependent variables. Sixteen recommended practices in rice cultivation were selected after consulting the subject matter specialists for the study on adoption. Most of the respondents belonged to middle age category (48.57 %) followed by old age (29.53%) and young age (21.90%). Majority of the respondents were males (81.90%). Majority of the respondents had education up to 10th (57.54%) level. Only 4.76% farmers possessed an education above graduation. A large proportion (69.52%) of the farmers had a farming experience of more than 20 years and only 7.62 per cent of the respondents had a farming experience of less than 10 years. 61.90 per cent of the respondents had less than 2 Acres of land under cultivation, only 2.85 per cent of the respondents had an area greater than 5 Acres. 43.80 per cent of the respondents had an income greater than one lakh, whereas 20.95 per cent of the respondents had an income less than Rs. 50,000. Majority of the respondents (39.04 %) had an income from paddy cultivation in between Rs. 50,000 to one lakh, however 27.61per cent had an income of less than Rs. 50000 from paddy cultivation. 75.23 per cent of the respondents had received less than five trainings, however only 0.95% of the respondents had received more than ten trainings. Most of the respondents belonged to a medium level of economic motivation (56.19%). 20.95 per cent respondents had a high economic motivation. Majority of the respondents had a medium level of innovation (64.76 %) with 12.38 per cent of respondents possessing high level of innovativeness. Majority of the respondents belonged to medium category of scientific orientation (55.23 %), and 21.90 per cent respondents had low scientific orientation. Most of the respondents had a medium level of market orientation (68.57%) with 11.42 per cent of the respondents owning a low market orientation. When 59.04 per cent of the respondents belonged to medium category of economic motivation only 17.14 per cent of respondents had high economic motivation. 196 All the respondents were very much aware and had the knowledge about the recommended moisture content of rice, 33.33 per cent were aware about the practice of installation of bird perches to reduce pests and 63.33 % of the respondents were not aware about spraying malathion solution in godown to check storage pest. Most of the respondents belonged to a medium level of adoption (51.42%) followed by 23.80% of respondents with high level of adoption. Independent variables viz., innovativeness, level of awareness and knowledge were significantly correlated to the extent of adoption. Farmer respondents were categorized to different adopter categories as explained by Rogers (1982). According to the findings 34.29 per cent of respondents were late majority followed by early majority (33.33 %) and only 0.95 per cent of the farmers were innovators. The most widely cultivated rice variety was Uma (96.19%) followed by Jyothi variety (17.14%). The yield gap was found to be highest for Jyothi variety of rice (29.86%). Friedman test was performed to find out the most important factors affecting the yield gap of rice in prominent rice varieties viz., Uma and Jyothi. Socio-economic and biological factors were the most important components affecting the yield gap of both the varieties of rice. Transplantation @ 2-3 seedlings per hill and use of chemicals for weed management were perceived as very useful by the respondents. 1000m2 seedbed for 1 hectare of rice field was a practice which was perceived very effective by the farmers. Market availability was the most important reason for the preference of paddy cultivation. Lack of awareness was the principle reason for non-adoption of recommended practices. Flood (34.29%) was the most important constraint faced by the respondents followed by lack of infrastructure (32.38%) and high labour cost (30.48%). The primary suggestion was to develop more effective government policies to support marketing of produce. To conclude, the study indicates, that innovativeness plays an important role in adoption of technology. Yield gap can be significantly reduced by improving the socioeconomic factors corresponding to the farmers. The presence of 34.29 per cent of late majority indicates that there exists enough space for improvement in paddy cultivation and scaling up the adoption using appropriate extension interventions through an integrated scientific approach.