Abstract:
The study on the factors influencing the
development of agiculture among the 'Kanikkar' tribe of
Kerala was carried out with the following objectives:
To study the characteristic profile of the tribal
people.
To identify the agricultural development indicators in
tribal areas.
To assess the extent of agricultural development in
tribal areas.
To find out the association between the agricultural
development indicators and the selected socio-economic
characteristics of 'Kanikkars'.
To identify the factors influencing agricultural
development in tribal areas.
To identify the constraints affecting agricultural
development in tribal areas.
Kanikkars form the dominant tribe of South Kerala.
A sample of 100 Kani-farmers was selected from the five
Panchayats of Nedumangad Taluk of Thiruvananthapuram
District using purposive, proportional and random
allocation techniques. Personal interviews were conducted
with the help of a well structured and pre-tested interview
schedule. The data so collected were analysed with the help
of suitable statistical techniques.
The extent of agricultural development was assessed
using the three agricultural development indicators
selected for the purpose of the study/ which were the
dependent variables namely knowledge about improved
cultivation practices/ attitude towards farming/ and
adoption of modern techniques of cultivation.
The independent variables selected and utilised for
the purpose of the study were age/education/ farming
experience/ organisation participation/ risk orientation/
credit orientation/ cosmopoliteness/ extension
participation/ extension contact/ mass media participation
and land possession.
The salient findings of the study are as follows:
Nearly half of the respondents (49%) were young.
Majority of them had high levels of education/ risk
orientation/ credit orientation/ cosmopliteness and mass
media participation/ while most of them had low lev^s of
farming experience/ organisation participation, extension
participation/ extension contact and land possession.
Though majority of the Kanikkars hod o better
knowledge on the scientific cultivation practices and a
favourable attitude towards farming, the adoption level of ^ modern techniques of cultivation was low.
Of the 11 variables studied, land possession was
found to have a non-significant correlation with the three
dependent variables. Credit orientation was found to have a
significant correlation only with attitude. Of the
variables which were having a significant correlation with
the three dependent variables, age and farming experience
were negatively correlated.
The crucial variables through which indirect
effects were channelled were: education, risk orientation
and extension participation with regard to knowledge about
improved cultivation practices, education, cosmopoliteness
and mass media participation with respect to attitude
towards farming and age, farming experience and extension
contact with reference to adoption of modern techniques of
cultivation.