Research-extension gap in rice technology adoption among the farmers of South Kerala

Abstract

The study entitled ‘Research-Extension Gap in Rice Technology Adoption among the farmers of South Kerala’ was undertaken during the year 2020-2021 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki districts representing the rice growing tract of South Kerala. From each of the seven districts one panchayat with maximum rice farmers were selected in consultation with the PAO office and 15 farmers were selected from each panchayath, thus making a total of 105 respondents. The study was done to determine the extent of yield gap in rice production, level of adoption of selected KAU technologies in rice varieties, personal and social characteristics of rice producing farmers, its relation with level of adoption and constraints experienced by the rice growing farmers with suggestions for refinement. Eleven independent variables, namely, age, farming experience, area under rice cultivation, annual income, mass media exposure, extension participation, achievement motivation, risk orientation, credit orientation, innovativeness and knowledge level were selected through judges rating. Along with the selected variables, six additional variables like source of rice seed, labour utilization, popularity & acceptance of KAU varieties, ownership status, storage facility and value addition of rice & rice-based products were also included in the study. The level of adoption and yield gap in rice production were the dependent variables. Fifteen recommended practices in rice were selected from the package of practices of KAU by consulting the subject matter specialists to measure the extent of adoption. On analysis, it was found that 53.33 per cent of rice farmers belonged to middle age (48-65) category and 41.9 per cent of the rice farmers had medium level of annual income. Majority of the respondents (53.33%) belonged to medium category of area 151 under rice cultivation with medium farming experience (54.29 %). About 57.14 % & 46.67 % of rice farmers belonged to low category of extension participation and credit orientation. Majority of the respondent rice farmers belonged to the medium category of mass media exposure (60.95%), achievement motivation (49.52%), innovativeness (60.95%) and risk orientation (46.67%). Extent of knowledge about KAU rice technologies among farmers was medium for 60.00 per cent of farmers, low for 33.33 per cent and high for only for 6.67 per cent of farmers. The analysis of respondent rice farmers based on their yield gap in rice production revealed that Jyothi rice variety had a higher yield gap index of 28.91 per cent followed by 27.09 per cent in Kanchana, 24.35 per cent in Hraswa, 21.83 per cent in Uma and 20.53 per cent in Manurathna and it can be deduced from the Friedmann test results that socio-economic factors and institutional factors were the most important components affecting the yield gap of Uma rice variety whereas, biophysical and climatic factors were the most key factors influencing the Jyothi rice variety's yield gap. Thus, the higher yield gap in Jyothi can be significantly reduced by improving the biophysical and climatic factors corresponding to the farmers. The results of the adoption quotient revealed that, majority of rice farmers i.e., 50.47 per cent belonged to medium category of adoption, followed by 25.71 and 23.81 per cent in low and high category of adoption. The mean adoption quotient (AQ) was 61.77 per cent with a maximum and minimum AQ of 93.77 and 28 per cent respectively. In case of the recommended practices, six out of fifteen practices had an overall adoption percentage greater than 50 per cent. In the case of recommended varieties, adoption was higher for the variety Uma (64.76 %) followed by Jyothi (11.43%), Manurathna (7.62%), Kanchana (5.71%) and Hraswa (3.81%). According to Rogers (1982), farmer respondents were divided into different adopter categories. As per the findings, the late majority (42.86 %) category were the major portion of respondent farmers, followed by the early majority (28.57 %) and about 1.90 per cent of respondents were innovators. 152 The results of the correlation revealed that out of 11 independent variables selected for the study, 3 variables were positively and significantly related to the dependent variable adoption of recommended practices by rice farmers. The main factors that influence technology adoption of recommended practices were extension participation and achievement motivation at 1% significance followed by innovativeness at 5% significance and the remaining variables namely; age, farming experience, area under rice cultivation, annual income, mass media exposure, risk orientation and knowledge level possessed a non-significant relation with the extent of adoption. Farmer practices were documented, it showed that the number of farmer practices adopted were the highest in Trivandrum (53.33%) followed by Kollam (40%) and Pathanamthitta (40%) districts and farmer practices adopted least in the district of Kottayam (20%). The three major constraints faced by the rice farmers were high labour charges, non-availability of timely inputs and labours and flooding due to heavy rainfall. The major reason identified for cultivating KAU released rice variety was high yield whereas the major reason for not cultivating KAU variety was high cost of cultivation. The primary suggestion for refinement by the farmers were to make provisions for constructing check dams and strengthening bunds (93.33 %) and making available combines and harvesters at less rent (85.71 %). The findings of the study indicated that the extent of total adoption of recommended cultivation practices was medium (50.47%) among the rice farmers of Southern Kerala. An inquiry in to the yield gap of KAU released rice varieties among the farmers revealed that Jyothi rice variety had a higher yield gap index of 28.91 per cent. Hence, an extension focus must be given for making available location specific agricultural inputs and management strategies to bridge the yield gap.