Entrepreneurial behaviour of Hi-Tech farmers in Kerala (Record no. 194366)

000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 05222nam a22001697a 4500
082 ## - DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION NUMBER
Classification number 630.71
Item number SHI/EN PG
100 ## - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Shilpa Karat
245 ## - TITLE STATEMENT
Title Entrepreneurial behaviour of Hi-Tech farmers in Kerala
260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC. (IMPRINT)
Place of publication, distribution, etc Vellanikara
Name of publisher, distributor, etc Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture
Date of publication, distribution, etc 2019
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent 121p
502 ## - DISSERTATION NOTE
Dissertation note M.Sc.
520 3# - SUMMARY, ETC.
Abstract The conventional farming system in Kerala witnessed a path breaking change in the recent years with the adoption of hi-tech farming, which is a promising venture for the educated youth and part time farmers who are progressively attracted to agriculture. Keeping in view of this increasing acceptance of hi-tech farming, Kerala State Agriculture Development and Farmers Welfare Department has initiated many programs to promote protected cultivation and precision farming in the state. However, the success of hi-tech farming is determined by crucial aspects such as the entrepreneurial attributes and marketing behavior of the farmer.
With this background, the present study was undertaken to analyse the entrepreneurial and marketing behavior of the hi-tech farmers, their linkages with other sectors, constraints faced by them along with a SWOC analysis of the hi-tech farming sector. The results of the study would be greatly helpful for the policy makers, government and extension workers in formulating plans for hi-tech farming sector in Kerala.
A total of 60 hi-tech farmers, 30 each of polyhouse and open precision were selected from Trissur and Palakkad districts through multistage sampling method. Entrepreneurial behavior was quantified using Entrepreneurial Behavior Index. The index was found to be higher (68.98) for open precision farmers compared to that of polyhouse farmers (64.87). Indices were formed separately for each of the nine selected dimensions of entrepreneurial behavior viz., innovativeness, decision making ability, achievement motivation, risk taking ability, planning ability, cosmopoliteness, self-confidence and information seeking behavior. Information seeking behavior gained highest index for both polyhouse and open precision farmers. Further, Mann-Whitney U test was performed to ascertain significance of the difference between two groups and it was found that the two groups were significantly different in their entrepreneurial behavior with respect to decision making ability, achievement motivation and self-confidence.
The marketing behavior of hi-tech famers was studied for polyhouse and open precision farmers. The components selected were marketed surplus, marketing channels, distance to market, mode of transport, price satisfaction, access to market information, access to storage and post-harvest handling or value addition. Since 12 of the 30 polyhouse farmers had quit commercial production, only 18 polyhouse farmers were considered in studying the marketing behavior. The results of Discriminant Function Analysis revealed that there was significant
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discrimination in marketing behavior of polyhouse and open precision farmers, particularly with respect to marketed surplus and distance to the market. The study also revealed that the hi-tech farmers had different types of backward linkages but their forward linkages were limited to linkages for market information and finance for marketing and did not have any kind of forward linkage with processing industries.
The major constraints faced by the polyhouse farmers were technical and financial in nature, namely, lack of knowledge on repair and maintenance, inadequate skilled labor, low income and inadequate guidance on production. The open precision farmers also faced technical and financial constraints such as high cost of infrastructure, repair and maintenance and lack of services for repair and maintenance. Inadequate access to post-harvest handling and processing facilities was found to be the major constraint in marketing for both polyhouse and open precision farmers.
SWOC analysis was conducted separately for the polyhouse and open precision farmers. It was found that the primary strength, weakness, opportunity and challenge in polyhouse farming were cultivation of unconventional crops that can fetch higher price in market, lack of knowledge on repair and maintenance, popularization of unconventional crops and limited sources of inputs in local markets respectively while that of open precision farmers were higher input use efficiency, high cost of infrastructure, large scale production to achieve self-sufficiency and difficulties in attaining new markets respectively.
The hi-tech farming sector can be uplifted by providing better training and consultancy services to the farmers as the results showed strong correlation between their entrepreneurial behavior and extension contact. Trainings can enhance their technical know-how to generate skilled labor in the hi-tech farming sector. The linkages of the farmers with processing industries has to be strengthened to substantially increase the income of farmers and prevent losses.
650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Agricultural Extension
700 ## - ADDED ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Smitha Baby(Guide)
856 ## - ELECTRONIC LOCATION AND ACCESS
Uniform Resource Identifier https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810156859
942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA)
Source of classification or shelving scheme
Item type Theses
Holdings
Not for loan Collection code Permanent location Current location Shelving location Date acquired Full call number Barcode Date last seen Koha item type
Not For Loan Reference Book KAU Central Library, Thrissur KAU Central Library, Thrissur Theses 2020-05-08 630.71 SHI/EN PG 174829 2020-05-08 Theses
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