Browsing by Author "Jayasree Krishnankutty, M"

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Agricultural anthrapology : An emerging field
(Department of Agriculture Extension, College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University, 2020) Lakshmi, Muralikrishna; Jayasree Krishnankutty, M
Empowerment of vegetable farmers through market - led extension
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2007) Shinogi, K C; Jayasree Krishnankutty, M
The word empowerment can not be contained in its dictionary meaning itself. This word has been ostensibly used without knowing what its weight is. The present study examined the empowerment of vegetable farmers in four dimensions viz., social empowerment, personal empowerment, technological empowerment and economic empowerment through market-led extension activities. Sixty vegetable farmers, participating in self-help groups from two districts and sixty vegetable farmers from the same districts, doing vegetable cultivation with out any self-help group participation took part in the study. The result highlights the fact that the self-help group of respondents had empowerment at the four dimensions and thus ensured the total empowerment. Socio-economic variables viz., educational status of the farmer, family income, land owned, leased land under vegetable cultivation and farmer’s experience in vegetable cultivation also proved their relation to the empowerment level through the study. It was found that personal empowerment had a role in enhancing social participation and social recognition that led to social empowerment and technological empowerment through the increased use of information sources. These changes in people equipped them to add more and more amount to their income and economic empowerment had happened. The empowerment threshold was calculated by correlating two variables such as social participation and personal empowerment. The maximum equal score of personal empowerment that could be attained by the SHG and non-SHG group of respondents who were having the same level of social participation was fixed as the threshold value of empowerment.
Environmental pollution experienced by agricultural systems: a stakeholder perspective
(Department of Agriculture Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2020) Lakshmi Muralikrishna; Jayasree Krishnankutty, M
Exploratory study for resilient wheat farming in Nigeria
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2022) Salisu Ahmad Dambazau; Jayasree Krishnankutty, M
Wheat growing has been the most difficult aspect of Nigerian agriculture for decades. Certain issues remain unresolved, posing a threat to the country's goal of diversifying revenue and lowering its growing reliance on imported wheat. Low wheat production, insecurity in Nigeria's wheat region, a lack of mechanized and updated farming techniques, and uncompetitive pricing are among the issues. This study for resilient wheat farming in Nigeria was conducted with the specific objectives of exploring the sociopolitical situation affecting wheat farming, studying the perceived effects of climate change on production of wheat and livelihoods of wheat farmers, analysing the government policies and schemes on wheat production, examining the marketing behaviour of wheat farmers, and arriving at policy options for resilient wheat farming in Nigeria. In view of the key research objectives, an ex-post facto research design was employed. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted where three states (Jigawa, Kano and Yobe) and six local government areas (Ajingi, Bade, Garun Malan, Kafin Hausa, Nguru and Ringim), two from each state, were selected for the study. Furthermore, forty respondents were randomly selected from each local government area, making the total sample size of 240. Personal interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect primary data. A pre-test was also conducted to ensure the validity of the instruments. Secondary data was gathered from policy documents, relevant literature, government reports, newspapers, and so on. The elicited data was tabulated, analyzed, and interpreted by the use of descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, likert scale of summated rating, content analysis techniques (MAXQDA 2022 statistical software), price spread analysis, compound growth rate analysis, Kruskal-Wallis test, discriminant function analysis, and the Kendell coefficient of concordance test. The study revealed that the farmers were within their active age, married, and living below the poverty line, have low levels of education, mostly explored additional sources of income, and have enough years of experience in wheat farming. The farmers have marginal land size and acquired it through one method, using mostly certified and non-certified seeds and sourcing it mostly from two places while in contact with an extension agent most of the time. The respondents also participated in other activities for livelihood earning and have a larger number of household members, mostly with one earning member. The study revealed that the most common biotic, abiotic, social and political stress affecting wheat crops and farmers differ with regard to location. The major stresses affecting wheat farmers in Nigeria were pests and diseases, wild birds, marketing of their produce, rodents and domestic animal attacks. The social and political situations affecting wheat production were identified as internal social factors, external social factors, and political factors. Lack of good cultivation practices and the knowledge level of the farmers were the major internal social factors. These, among others, prevented the farmer from fully adopting the recommended agronomic practices. While the major external social factors were consumer food habits, consumer demand for convenience, lower produce prices, and high input costs, The political factors identified were social security issues, inconsistent government policies, intricacies in implementation, the role of the media in publication, role-playing by the milling industries, international trade interests, and lack of political will. No doubt, wheat millers imported more than required in 1986. It may have been a means for them to sabotage AWPP's success. The present approach employed by the milling industry, if sustained, will surely boost the wheat crop production in the country. Further findings indicated that the overall growth rate during the study period was -1% for production and only a minimal growth rate of 2% for harvested area, while a 5% positive growth rate was recorded in imports. It was a clear indication of the low yield of the wheat crop in Nigeria. The findings affirmed that the respondents were aware of climate change, with the majority of them having a medium perception of its effects on wheat production in Nigeria. There was a significant difference among the respondents with regard to the climate change perception which was influenced by their age, educational level, secondary occupation, years of experience, contact with extension agents, and household size. Additionally, Nigeria’s climate has no or little effect on wheat crop production. However, it may be that wheat production in Nigeria has been affected largely by human action rather than climatic and environmental factors. The findings inferred that the wheat production policies were domiciled in Kano state and that there was no equal distribution and allocation of resources among the states. The Anchor Borrower Program (ABP) is the only program having participants across the study areas. This may be because there is advancement in policy handling among the implementing agencies. The ABP failed to capture sustainability in production as well as rural infrastructural development in the program statement. The Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) document left no stone unturned, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is driving the implementation of the policy. The policy document gives priority to stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities and is more concerned about sustainability in the production of the priority crops as well as reliability in the marketing channels. The document considers modern day agricultural approaches through the involvement of private sectors in all areas of the agricultural commodity value chain. For the improvement of rural livelihoods, the policy considered the development of the farming communities’ infrastructure. However, the respondents have a medium perception of government policy and scheme on wheat production in Nigeria which influenced by their age, educational level, secondary occupation, years of experience, contact with extension agent, farm size, household size and monthly income, and there was no significant difference in their perception. The majority of the respondents sell their produce immediately after harvest if the price is favourable due to financial urgency for both wholesalers and retailers in the case of Jigawa and Yobe, and consumers in the case of Kano. The majority sell in the local market due to proximity and using trucks as their main transportation facility. The study also inferred that the majority of the respondents relied on informal sources of market information and utilized them regularly. This revealed the kind of trust the respondents gave to those sources and affirmed the weakness of the extension system in the study areas, especially in Yobe state. There were four marketing channels in Jigawa and Kano, while three were identified in Yobe. The producers received the highest percent of the marketing share in channel I (producer –consumer) and a higher amount in channel II (producer–retailer–consumer). The marketing margin was higher in channel III (producer–wholesaler–retailer–consumer) and the producers received a lower amount when compared with channels I and II. This indicates that the more the actors, the less the producers share. There was no additional information obtained from channel IV as it involved industrial processes. Moreover, the study shows that there was significant variation between the states with regard to the variables under study among the respondents between the states. The variable marketing behaviour had the most prominent effect in predicting membership in the group between Kano and other states, while farm size was the most prominent effect between Jigawa and Yobe. The variability in net income of a wheat farmer in Nigeria could be predicted with 99.3% accuracy using age, total output, selling price, straw price, quantity of pesticide used, frequency of irrigation, and total cost of production. The study confirmed that the major constraints affecting wheat farmers in Nigeria were a lack of government intervention, a weak extension system, high input and pest and disease costs, a low output price, insufficient credit facilities, a lack of high-yielding varieties, poor yield, and a lack of a regular market. There was strong agreement on the most important constraints among the respondents of different states. For Nigeria to achieve the desired outcome, focused commitments and the adoption of a multi-dimensional approach are required. Political factors were the major concerns surrounding the wheat production sector and would be overcome through a yearly stakeholders' round table meeting to review the situation. External social factor issues would be addressed by raising awareness and establishing a commodity board to ensure remunerative prices for farmers and reasonable prices for consumers, as well as a consistent supply of raw materials to milling industries. Extension should be intensified to enhance the knowledge level of the farmer for better understanding and increased adoption of new varieties. This could help to overcome internal social issues. More young people need to be persuaded to work in wheat farming in order to increase production and sustainability. Resilient wheat farming in Nigeria could be achieved through focused commitments across the stakeholders’ line. Legislation should be enacted to deal with saboteurs, and the adoption of a multi-dimensional approach toward solving any unforeseen circumstances, should be resorted to.
Exploratory study on organic farming among smallholder farmers
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2021) Visakha, T; Jayasree Krishnankutty, M
Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It emphasizes the use of management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs, taking into account that regional conditions require locally adapted systems. The study was formulated with objectives to identify the components of organic farming in the selected organic homesteads, identify the marketing channels utilized by farmers and work out their marketing efficiency, analyze the biodiversity in the selected organic homesteads, explore the constraints experienced by farmer and formulate suggestions for promoting organic farming in the state. The study was conducted in Malappuram district of Kerala state. comprising of Nilambur and Wandoor blocks with a sample size of 30 organic homesteads picked out using random sampling techniques. Data were collected by using structured interview schedules and direct observation. The results revealed that components of organic farming in the selected homesteads were use of bulky organic manure, concentrated organic manure, green leaf manure, green manure crops, bio fertilizer, liquid organic manure, traps, bio control agents and organic pesticides. The study assessed the diversity of plants in organic homesteads. Nilambur block recorded the higher diversity (0.84) followed by Wandoor block (0.73). Nilambur block recorded the higher species richness (1.96) followed by Wandoor block (1.80). The major crops marketed in the study area vegetables and banana. Vegetables studied were chilli, bitter gourd, cowpea and Amaranthus. In the case of cowpea highest marketing efficiency was recorded in channel I (Producer –consumer) and lowest in channel II (Producer-retailer-consumer) ,whereas bitter gourd highest marketing efficiency was recorded in channel I (Producer – consumer) and lowest in channel II (Producer-retailer- consumer), in the case of chilli highest marketing efficiency was recorded in channel I (Producer – consumer) and lowest in channel III (Producer- Govt agency (horticorp) – consumer), In amaranthus highest marketing efficiency of was recorded in channel I (Producer – consumer) and lowest in channel II (Producer-retailer-consumer ) . In thecase of banana highest marketing efficiency was in recorded in channel I (Producer – consumer) and lowest in channel II ( Producer-retailer-consumer) . Source of income, annual income had showed higher positive correlation with biodiversity index of organic homesteads. A comparative study between the farmers from two blocks revealed that education and annual income were significantly different of these two blocks of farmers. The major constraints faced by farmers were lack of premium price for organic produce, less market price, lack of crop insurance, wild animal attack, low yield, high wages, and labour shortage and pest and disease problems. Suggestions brought forth by the study for promoting organic farming are designing implementing awareness programs for the consumers, development of model organic farms with institutional support, providing financial incentives for promoting organic farming, ensuring availability of quality organic manure at reasonable price, enhancing the supportive role in government marketing of organic produce and encouraging setting up of organic kitchen garden in homesteads, organic certification More studies on organic farming especially on the marketing aspects are needed to develop viable solutions for the challenges faced by the promoting system.
Inter generational role of ethnic medicines in the livelihoods of tribes people in Malappuram
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2022) Shamna, N; Jayasree Krishnankutty, M
Conservation of traditional knowledge of human health has recently become a global concern. Medicinal plants and herbs are being lost due to lack of awareness and deforestation. In Kerala, the diversified system of traditional practices based on their ethnic medicine knowledge has prevailed among the tribal communities since time immemorial. Medicinal plant collection is one of the major livelihood avenues for the tribespeople. They are being exploited by the external tradesmen in medicinal plants trade, which push them to further economic backwardness. The study was conducted at Malappuram district of Kerala. Three major tribal communities viz., Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkans were selected. The study followed ex-post facto research design conducted among 180 tribal respondents. Thirty members were selected randomly from different stakeholders for perception study. The study revealed that only 36.96% of the elderly tribespeople, 27.54% of the middle aged tribespeople and 26.15% of the young tribespeople had ethnic medicine knowledge. Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Score (cumulative sum of citation, knowledge use pattern and knowledge use frequency) was used to measure the ethnic medicine knowledge of the tribespeople in the study. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the young, middle and elderly age categories of the tribespeople were 6.41, 5.16 and 7.94 respectively. Further, a chi square test was performed and found that there is a significant relation existing between age and ethnic medicine knowledge. The relationship between the Knowledge Use Behaviour and the age was compared by using Kruskal-Wallis test. It was found that there is significant difference in Knowledge Use Behaviour among the three age categories. The study also documented the ethnic medicine knowledge of the tribal respondents in three age groups. It was found that the elderly, middle aged and young tribespeople knew the usage of 75, 42, 30 medicinal plants respectively. The three tribal communities viz., Paniyans, Arandans and Kattunaikkans shared their knowledge about 61, 37 and 47 numbers of medicinal plants respectively. A chi square test was done and found that knowledge of three communities differs significantly. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the respondents of Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkans tribal communities were 6.85, 6.45 and 6.62 respectively. The study found that only 24 (29.27%) of the tribesmen and 29 (29.57%) of the tribeswomen had ethnic medicine knowledge. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the tribesmen and tribeswomen were 5.79 and 7 respectively. Out of 72 tribespeople depending on the medicinal plant collection, only 15 (21.13%) are women, the rest of the 56 (78.87%) people are men. But in case of number of Vaidyas in selected colonies, the number of women Vaidyas are more (15) compared to male Vaidyas(11). The weighted mean knowledge use behaviour score was 2.77 and mean ethnic medicine knowledge score was 6.45, which means the use of knowledge is lower compared to their actual knowledge. Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA) of the three tribal communities was carried out separately. Twenty four variables were reduced into 2 factors which explain 61%, 61% and 60% of the total variance of the data for Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkas respectively. In case of Paniyans, the variables were grouped into Natural resources dependency factor and Cosmopoliteness and social connectivity factor. For Kattunaikkans, the variables were grouped into Personal empowerment factor and Social empowerment factor. For Aranadans, the variables were grouped into Economic activities factor and Cosmopoliteness and social connectivity factor. Binary logistic regression was performed to calculate the relationship between the natural resources utilization of the tribespeople for their livelihood requirement and the independent variables. This test revealed that the variables such as age, number of income sources, medicinal plant collection experience, and leadership quality had positive and significant effect on the natural resources utilization among the tribespeople. Ethnic medicine value chain with the involvement of tribespeople was studied. The major marketing channel was the channel involving primary collectors, commission agent, wholesalers, Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturing Units (AMMUs), retailers and consumers. All the marketing channels of the ethnic value chain involving tribespeople were figured out. Share of the primary collectors (tribespeople) in the value chain was found out for the major 12 medicinal plants. Low price for the medicinal plant sold was major constraint in marketing and the unavailability of the produce was the major constraint in the collection as perceived by tribespeople. To measure the perception of the stakeholders and to identify the constraints of tribespeople, Kendall`s coefficient of concordance was used. According to the stakeholders, “middlemen selling these products for a huge sum of money to wholesalers while tribespeople are not paid enough for their effort” and “awareness on importance of value addition activities is very low among the tribal people” were the major constraints experienced by the tribespeople in ethnic medicine trade. Multi dimensional analysis diagram for a problem viz., lower return in ethnic medicine trade by tribespeople was developed by using RAAKS (Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Knowledge System) framework. A focused and participatory approach by understanding the essence of tribal culture and their actual need is the actual solution of the existing problems. Value-based training on the importance of the tribal culture and its unique relationship with the forest, skill-based training on the identification of medicinal plants, and scientific plucking procedures of the plant parts can be imparted to tribespeople.
Scenario analysis of Mushroom microenterprises
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2021) Swathy Suresh, K S; Jayasree Krishnankutty, M
Mushrooms have aroused man's interest since the dawn of civilization. They are considered as one of the most important high quality protein rich vegetable crops. Mushroom entrepreneurship if promoted, will offer plenty of advantages and have the capacity to assist rural society in establishing more long term economic growth. Kerala has an immense potential for mushroom production due its low cost, easy availability of raw materials, and round-the-year production capability. Even though a field with great scope for exploration, the studies with extension aspects are very limited and in this backdrop the present study was conducted to know about the current scenario of mushroom cultivation. The current study entitled “Scenario analysis of mushroom microenterprises” was conducted in Kerala Agricultural University. Data collection was carried out among 120 mushroom entrepreneurs. Sixty mushroom entrepreneurs each from Thrissur and Palakkad districts, mainly engaged in production (spawn / mushroom) and marketing; production, processing and marketing were randomly selected. The independent and dependent variables were selected for the study on the basis of judges rating. An interview schedule was prepared to collect data from mushroom entrepreneurs. Then the collected data were arranged, scored and analyzed using suitable statistical tools. The results revealed that among the 120 mushroom units, majority (56.66%) units were production and marketing type and 43.33 per cent of mushroom units were production, processing and marketing type. The analysis of mushroom unit structure showed that, majority (40.83%) of mushroom entrepreneurs had production unit size above 500 sq.feet; 54.16 per cent had kutcha type of mushroom shed; family or group labour was the source of labour for 75.83 per cent of mushroom entrepreneurs and majority of them had equipments in the range of 2 to 4 in numbers. A large proportion (43.33%) of mushroom entrepreneurs belongs to the age category 31-40 years and around 40.83 per cent of them were graduates. Agriculture along with mushroom cultivation was the family occupation of majority (37.5%) of the mushroom entrepreneurs. Nearly 41.66 per cent of mushroom entrepreneurs were received income per season in the range of Rs/- 25,000 – 50,000 and around 51.66 per cent had obtained yield per season above 150 Kg. Majority (28.33%) per cent of mushroom entrepreneurs had an experience of two and half to three years and about 30.83 per cent choose direct selling to consumers and local markets as their major marketing avenue. For transporting the mushroom products 68.33 per cent of mushroom entrepreneurs were used their own vehicle. Majority of the mushroom entrepreneurs had medium level of economic motivation (80%), risk orientation (54.16%) and extension contact (71.66%). In case of mobility, the frequency of visit for most of the mushroom entrepreneurs were to nearby panchayath and town for various purposes. Institutional supports like training and SHM subsidy were availed by majority (48.33%) of the mushroom entrepreneurs. The various institutions providing support includes Kerala Agricultural University, Extension Centres, Research Organizations, State Horticulture Mission and Kudumbasree District Mission. The analyses of producer characteristics were carried out using two way contingency table and chi-square test, and inferred that there exist a positive significant relationship between the type of mushroom shed and yield; marketing avenue and income; marketing avenue and family occupation. Other salient findings from the study revealed that majority (61.66%) of mushroom entrepreneurs were females and nearly 85.83 per cent were sole entrepreneurs. Around 81.66 per cent of mushroom entrepreneurs had their own source of investment for mushroom cultivation. Oyster mushroom was the major type cultivated by 68.33 per cent of mushroom entrepreneurs, 35 per cent of them were collecting mushroom spawns from various government sources and nearly 79.16 per cent didn’t face any problem regarding the quality of yield and spawn. Around 84 per cent of mushroom entrepreneurs had trade mark for their mushroom products. Polythene cover was the packing material used by 75.83 per cent of mushroom entrepreneurs. The performance of mushroom units includes four dimensions ie., Social Capital Indicators (SCI), Good Mushroom Cultivation Practices (GMCP), Efficiency Indicators (EI) and Incremental Expansion (IE). The overall performance score shows that, majority (62.5%) of mushroom units performs under medium category. Using discriminant analysis and binary logistic regression, a comparison was done with dimensions of performance index and type of units. The result stated that the dimension Social Capital Indicators (SCI) is the significantly discriminating one for type of units. The relationship of independent variables with the performance of mushroom units had been analyzed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient method. The independent variables like size of production unit, income per season, yield per season, experience, type of mushroom shed, marketing avenue, risk orientation, extension contact, mode of transport for sale of goods and institutional support shows a positive significant relationship and the variables such as source of labour and family occupation shows a negative significant relationship with the performance of mushroom units. The major constraints faced by mushroom entrepreneurs were marketing difficulty, price instability and lack of market information. Finally, strategic options such as promotion of direct marketing method, extension interventions, creating public awareness, providing trainings, etc. were suggested for the improvement of mushroom enterprises. A futuristic scenario analysis was also conducted to predict the futuristic possibilities of mushroom enterprises in Kerala.