AoA under WTO agreements in spice sector in Kerala - a stakeholder analysis

Abstract

The AoA under WTO has special significance to Kerala agriculture where in 70 per cent of the cropped area is occupied by crops such as coconut, tea, cashew, coffee, rubber, spices 'etc most of which involve international trade. Most of Kerala's cash crops have strong international competitors. Though AoA has far reaching implications in the marketing of spices, it is not clear as to how far the farmers, traders and development officers are conversant about the provisions of AOA and related aspects. With this in mind, the present study was undertaken with the main objective of analyzing the level of knowledge of keystakeholders about AoA and the perception of key' stakeholders about the impact of WTO agreements on spices production and marketing. The study was conducted in two districts of Kerala viz, Idukki and Ernakulam, the areas that are well known for spice cultivation. Three categories of stakeholders namely farmers, traders and development officers which altogether constituted 120 numbers formed the respondents. The data were collected using pre-tested and well-structured interview schedule and suitable statistical techniques were employed in the analysis of data. From the study it was observed that most of the respondents were under low and medium knowledge categories. The influence of selected characteristics of respondents on their knowledge about AoA and perception about the impact of AoA on spice production and marketing was studied. The results of regression analysis of selected characteristics of farmers showed that 71 per cent of the variation in their level of knowledge and 77 per cent of the variation in their perception could be explained by all the selected variables together. The variation in the knowledge score and perception score of the three categories of respondents was also studied. There was significant variation in the knowledge score as well as perception score of traders and extension personnel where as between farmers and traders as well as between traders and extension personnel there was no significant variation.

A study on the role of media showed that all the four major dailies studied have covered more on aspects related to production and marketing of spices and a little coverage was given to AoA related aspects. A general analysis of the use of newspapers by the three categories of respondents indicated that majority of respondents subscribing these newspapers fell under high and medium knowledge level and perception category. As the print media has direct impact on the people in a state like Kerala, where newspaper reading is quite high the role of media for better' understanding and awareness about globalization is quite critical. The study, it is believed, would provide deep insight to the stakeholders on farming, on how to enhance their present condition. The content analysis of the four major dailies also could bring out some critical issues related to the coverage of areas about AoA.