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ThesisItem Open Access Decision support system on nutrient recommendations for rice - an end - user assessment(Department of Agricultural extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2011) Swafah, C; KAU; Ahamed, PEffective transfer of technology is very crucial in agricultural development of any nation. This is a challenge particularly for countries like India where diverse farming, highly fragmented land holdings, large number of farmers, several official languages are involved in the process. As a result only a fraction of farming community is largely benefited by utilizing the new technological advancements. The information needs of agriculture at large are diverse and complicated. Reaching right information at right time is a major challenge through conventional extension methods. Thus introducing modern information and communication technology is a better option. It is an established fact that fertilisers contribute up to 50 percent to total production. However, the prevailing communication gap between scientific groups and farming communities is making the task highly difficult for practical implementation of official fertilization practices in the field. Farmers are not fully aware of nutrient doses Vs fertiliser quantities resulting in improper fertilization practices in the field. Such improper practices are leading to imbalance in nutrient use and finally leading to soil fertility degradation. The major requirement in this communication process is compilation, classified arrangement and proper management of diverse information on various fertilisers, nutrient doses for a wide range of crops and cropping systems. This has to be done in such a way that the specific information is quickly accessible and easily translated in to a practical recommendation. Realizing this, Kerala Agricultural University through a collaborative research programme with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has come up with a decision support system entitled ‘Nutrient Recommendation Syatem for Rice’ (NRSR). The NRSR is a generic decision support system for rice capturing the selected seven rice cropping systems of Kerala, expected as an user friendly software package for choosing appropriate or available manurial and fertilizer options aiming sustainable yields and reasonable farmer’s profit. The NRSR will aid as a decision making tool for calibrating the required dose of fertilizers for a particular area of land in a specific cropping system, specific to soil test data and arriving at the total cost of each manures and fertilizers. This package supported with touch screen option, will act as an efficient extension tool for the agricultural officers, rice scientists, and other extensionists in decision making and prescribing appropriate nutrient management options (Ganesan, 2006). Developing a DSS software is a time consuming and resource intensive project. So a systematic user-participatory assessment exercise, prior to its large scale recommendation is imperative. The study was conducted to identify the gaps and to assess the technical quality, information efficiency, and userfriendliness as perceived by end- users. The research was conducted among the agricultural officers of Thrissur and Palakkad districts of Kerala as they were two leading districts in rice cultivation in the state. The respondents from both the districts agreed that it could save the time of user in getting solutions for field problems, and also it is cheaper when compared to the process of seeking human expertise. An increase in knowledge level of respondents regarding nutrient management aspects of rice cultivation also happened after giving exposure to NRSR. The main suggestions obtained for the refinement of software were as follows: 1.The fertiliser calculator provided in NRSR is capable of performing straight fertiliser calculation only, and unable to calculate fertiliser dose for complex fertilisers like Factomphose which is commonly used and easily available nitrogen source. So it should also be included in the system. 2. The fertiliser calculator in the system was designed in such a way that it is according to lowmedium- high status of soil fertility, it should be sensitive to numerical data of soil test for getting more accurate results. 3. NRSR should be developed in local language so that maximum users could benefit. 4. NRSR should be linked and updated according to weather forecast and given in the web to access by all kinds of users at any time. 5. More clear photographs should be included to diagnose the symptom easily. 6.Demo videos for seed treatment, mat nursery preparation and other operations in rice should also included in the system. 7. The latest rice varieties with specific charecteristics and photographs should also be included in NRSR.ThesisItem Open Access Performance effectiveness of Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee programme in Palakkad District (MGNREGP).(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2011) Lawrence, Prabu C; KAU; Shilaja, SPoverty eradication is a long term goal of India. Since independence number of poverty alleviation programmes were launched. It would be incorrect to say that all the poverty alleviation programmes had shown the result much expected. In this way the ongoing programme the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme is a flagship programme of Government of India. It is launched on February 2006 with the aim of enhancing livelihood security and poverty reduction. The study entitled “Performance effectiveness of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme” is an attempt to study the performance effectiveness of the programme in terms of stakeholder participation, stakeholder satisfaction and physical and financial achievement. The study ‘Performance effectiveness of Mahatma Gandhi national Rural Employment Guarantee Programme was conducted in three Grama Panchayats of Palakkad district namely Agali, Eruthenpathy and Kannadi panchayat. The Multi stage Random sampling technique was followed in the selection of block, panchayat and beneficiaries. Two sets of respondents were selected for the study namely beneficiary respondents and beneficiary officers. Total sample size for the study was 120 which include 90 beneficiary respondents and 30 beneficiary officers. The dependent variable selected to measure the performance effectiveness of the programme were extent of stakeholder participation, stakeholder satisfaction and physical and financial achievement. Independent variables were selected which includes age, sex, caste, education, marital status, family type, family size (Socio-personal variables), annual income, expenditure pattern (Socio-economic variable), level of aspiration, economic motivation, attitude towards MGNREGP, perception about MGNREGP (Socio-psychological variable) and contact with officials, media exposure and social participation (Extension communication variables). The study revealed that 76.66 per cent of the beneficiary respondents actively participated and 7.77 per cent very actively participated in MGNREGP. With respect to beneficiary officers 22 per cent actively participated and 50 per cent were participated in MGNREGP. With regard to extent of satisfaction of beneficiary respondents, 50 per cent were very much satisfied and 50 per cent were satisfied with the MGNERGP, whereas satisfaction of officer was measured in terms of job satisfaction which indicated that above 50 per cent of the beneficiary officers were satisfied. The achievements of physical targets were measured in terms of increased employment, enhanced wage earnings, participation of marginalised group, strengthening and conservation of natural resources, enhanced purchasing power of rural household’s and poverty reduction. It is revealed from the study that an increasing trend in all these aspects. The study indicated that 67.78 per cent of the respondents belonged to middle age group of which above 90 per cent of them were women and married. Most of the respondents were having nuclear family and forty per cent were having 4 members in their family. Above 60 per cent of the respondents belonged to backward community and 54 per cent were illiterate. Regarding the annual income, 54.45 per cent of the respondents earned income ranging between Rs.30001 and Rs.45000 whereas 40 per cent of the respondents annual expenditure was less than or equal to Rs.25000 and 34.44 per cent were in the range between Rs.25001- Rs.30000. The level of aspiration was found to have 65 per cent of the respondents under low level of aspiration (past), 80 per cent of the respondents under medium level aspiration (present) and above 60 per cent of the respondents under high level (future) aspiration. Economic motivation is an important motive for a person to perform more effectively to improve his/her economic performance. The economic motivation of the respondents was found to have 55 per cent of the respondents under higher level of economic motivation and strive hard in all possible ways to raise their income. The study revealed that 88.89 per cent of the beneficiary respondents had favourable attitude towards MGNREGP of which 20 per cent were having highly favourable attitude. With respect to beneficiary officers 60 per cent had favourable attitude and 26.67 per cent had highly favourable attitude towards MGNREGP and also indicated that above 90 per cent of the respondents perceived that ‘MGNREGP helps to improve the livelihood of rural poor, empower the rural women as well as it is a blessing to women and unskilled labourers and it has resulted creation of useful assets in the village, strengthened the natural resources. It also perceived as a best programme in the era of rural development. The constraints such as delay in wage payment, not getting continuous employment, getting employment under MGNREGP at the peak time of agricultural work, getting work distant place were perceived by the beneficiary respondents as important constraints. With respect to beneficiary officers more work load, inadequate technical support, and identification of works to meet the registered households were perceived as important constraints. The major findings of the performance of MGNREGP as perceived by respondents revealed that ‘relevance and usefulness of work to the village/people, quality of the work executed, process of registration, selection of works, issue of job cards, execution of works were ranked as effectively performed. The relationship between independent and dependent variables revealed that education and social participation showed positive significant relationship with extent of participation. With regard to satisfaction, education, social participation and performance were having positive and significant relationship. The panchayat wise comparison of selected independent and dependent variables using ANOVA revealed that family size, contact with officials, perception and satisfaction were found to have significant differences between panchayats whereas rest of the variables age, education, annual income, mass media exposure, economic motivation, social participation, expenditure pattern, attitude, performance and participation were positive but not had significant differences. The results of the canonical correlation indicated that extent of social participation, caste, education, marital status, performance, mass media exposure, contact with officials, age and future level of aspiration were the key variables in deciding the performance effectiveness of MGNREGP through extent of participation and extent of satisfaction.ThesisItem Open Access Performance effectiveness of state horticulture mission - Kerala : a case study(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2011) Chinchu, V S; KAU; Padmanabhan, V BThe National Horticulture Mission (NHM) was launched during the year 2005-06 to provide a thrust to the development of horticulture sector in the country. State Horticulture Mission- Kerala is an organization functioning in the state under the Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala since November 2005 for the implementation of National Horticulture Mission programme. The organization envisages end to end development of the horticulture sector in the state of Kerala from production to marketing. The study was undertaken with the specific objective of studying the performance effectiveness of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala in terms of achievement of physical and financial targets, stakeholder participation and beneficiary satisfaction and to identify the constraints and formulate a strategy for increasing the effectiveness of the programme. The study was conducted in Thiruvananthapuram district among 31 numbers of implementing officers of State Horticulture Mission schemes and 100 numbers of beneficiary farmers of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala. Secondary data from State Horticulture Mission-Kerala were also depended during the study. The dependent variables in the study were achievement of physical targets, achievement of financial targets, stakeholder participation and beneficiary satisfaction. The independent variables for implementing officers were age, sex, education, rural/urban background, job experience and exposure to internet and IT and the independent variables for beneficiary farmers were age, sex, education, family type, annual income, experience, information source utilization, farm size, innovativeness and adoption. The important findings of the study are listed below. 1. With respect to the physical targets, out of the 15 components, 11 had an achievement percentage of more than 80% and only four components had an achievement percentage lesser than 80%. 2. Similarly, in case of financial targets, out of the 15 components, 11 had an achievement percentage of more than 80% and only four components had an achievement percentage lesser than 80%. 3. Implementing officers have an impressive participation in the implementation of the schemes of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala. 4. The participation of beneficiary farmers in the schemes of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala is very good. 5. Majority of the beneficiaries are satisfied with the activities of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala. 6. Difficulty in the marketing of horticultural produce under SHM-K schemes followed by absence of proper storage facility for horticultural products under SHM-K schemes were found to be the most important constraints by both implementing officers as well as beneficiaries of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala. With regard to the degree of performance effectiveness of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala, the researcher could come to the following conclusions: 1) The achievement of physical and financial targets by State Horticulture Mission-Kerala was impressive. 2) There observed a high degree of participation among both categories of stakeholders of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala, namely, implementing officers and beneficiary farmers. 3) The level of satisfaction of beneficiary farmers of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala was good. The following are the important suggestions from the part of the researcher for the improvement of State Horticulture Mission programme. 1. It would be more beneficial for the farmers if State Horticulture Mission increase their rate of assistance to 50% for the recurring agricultural expenses. 2. State Horticulture Mission-Kerala must establish a greater and direct contact with the farmers of the state. A toll-free number can serve the purpose. 3. State Horticultural Mission-Kerala can explore the idea of forming a task force under its belt. 4. The minimum requirement of land area for implementing the schemes of State Horticulture Mission-Kerala must be reduced. 5. State Horticulture Mission-Kerala must give greater thrust in the storage, value addition and marketing of horticultural produce from small and marginal farmers.ThesisItem Open Access Homestead based agro biodiversity - a farmer participatory study(College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2011) Krishna, Priya N; KAU; Jayasree, KrishnankuttyHomestead farming is a traditional practice of multiple and mixed cropping in small holdings in Kerala. Home gardens are an integral part of the livelihood systems, and could contribute to the family food, income and the conservation of biodiversity. Home garden is one of the components of agro biodiversity. The home garden agro ecosystem is an important system for the maintenance of agro biodiversity beyond its primary function in crop production, household food security and nutrition. It is an important area for effectively implementing programmes geared towards biodiversity conservation, food security and sustainable development. This study was undertaken in Thrissur, Thrikkur, Pananchery and Adat panchayats were selected representing high elevation lands, medium elevation lands and low elevation lands respectively. From these panchayats 15 homesteads were selected purposively based on farm size making a total sample size of 45. Inventory of crop and other plants was prepared for 45 homesteads and divided into different categories with the percentage occurrence of each crop. It was noted that 100 per cent occurrence is obtained for coconut crop. Next crop which recorded the highest frequency was banana i.e.97.78 Biodiversity of homesteads of these regions were estimated based on two major biodiversity indices namely Margalef index (1958) and Shannon-Wiener diversity index (1985). Margalef index measures the species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index measures the species diversity. Based on this low elevation lands recorded the highest species richness and species diversity. The level of awareness about agro biodiversity was assessed. More than 55 per cent of the respondents were having medium level of awareness. The level of perception about ecosystem services of homesteads was also found medium among the respondents. Positive correlation between farmer’s awareness on agro biodiversity was observed for three variables namely education, information source utilization and innovativeness were positively and significantly correlated at 1 per cent level of significance. The correlation analysis for the perception of the stakeholders about the ecosystem services of the homesteads had similar results. Age and occupation had negative correlation. Gender roles in agro biodiversity confirmed that most of the activities were undertaken by women farmers. Kitchen garden activity which is recorded the highest per cent i.e. 90. Most important constraint faced by farmers in homestead based agro biodiversity conservation was the unavailability of water. The next important constraint was scarcity of labour and high cost of labour which was expressed by 95.56 percentage of respondents. Unsustainable human activity was the main threat to homestead based agro biodiversity conservation with the highest frequency of occurrence i.e. 100 per cent. Second most important threat was large scale introduction of cash crops and mono-cropping (96.67 per cent). To conclude, variability in home gardens exists within region and between regions and as the size of holding increased, agro-biodiversity was found to decrease. The homesteads surveyed, generally were rich in agro-biodiversity. Women gender contributed more to conserving it.ThesisItem Open Access Accomplishing food security through community based initiatives in Thrissur:A participatory analysis(College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2010) Mridula, N; KAU; Jiju P, AlexFood security has become a matter of serious concern the world over. Recently in Kerala there is an increased emphasis on community-based organizations (CBO) as a means of increasing agricultural production and thereby food security. The study intended to appraise the nature and relative role of CBOs involved in ensuring food security, explore the extent of awareness of various stakeholders in agricultural development process and factors contributing to it, identify gaps in food grain production in a selected Grama Panchayat and assess possible interventions to ensure food security through community based initiatives. Observations on the basic details of CBOs included the details of members, year of start, production and market details, subsidiary enterprises, marketing of products, relation with local bodies, skills and aspirations of CBO members and difficulties encountered. The different constraints faced by the extension agents in implementing food security programmes were also noted. The awareness level of stakeholders on the different dimensions of food security concerns of the community was assessed. Farmers were found to have better awareness on production and nutrition dimension; CBO members had better awareness on the distribution and socio economic dimensions as well as food security as a whole. The extension agents had the least awareness on all the four dimensions. . Positive correlation between farmer’s awareness on food security and age was found and negative correlation was found between their awareness and sex. Negative correlation between age, farming experience and income of extension agents and awareness was observed. Significant, positive correlation between CBO member’s awareness and their age was noted. Positive correlation between awareness and their farm size and negative correlation between awareness and education were also observed . It was also found that negative correlation existed between awareness and farm size of the people’s representatives. A methodology for quick assessment of food requirement of a locality was developed through participatory method in Kuzhikany North watershed of Kodakara Panchayath. A synthesis of wealth ranking and survey and recall method was employed. The daily requirement of food grain, vegetables, pulses and tubers for individuals of each class was found out through memory recall method. This tool can be used in any place for rapid estimation of food requirement. The requirement and production of different food items in the above panchayath was found out and considerable difference was noted. The major policy implications of the findings of the study include reorientation of agricultural development planning on the basis of location specific food requirement, intensification of household production of vegetables and tubers, formulation of exclusive programmes for food security, standardizing the procedure for leasing out land in a participatory mode, and mediating the process of leasing out private paddy lands for food production. LSGIs should facilitate gender sensitive farm mechanization for CBOs to operate effectively in food security programmes and organise focused and customized programmes for building awareness on food security for all the stake holders.