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Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat
Assam Agricultural University is the first institution of its kind in the whole of North-Eastern Region of India. The main goal of this institution is to produce globally competitive human resources in farm sectorand to carry out research in both conventional and frontier areas for production optimization as well as to disseminate the generated technologies as public good for benefitting the food growers/produces and traders involved in the sector while emphasizing on sustainability, equity and overall food security at household level.
Genesis of AAU -
The embryo of the agricultural research in the state of Assam was formed as early as 1897 with the establishment of the Upper Shillong Experimental Farm (now in Meghalaya) just after about a decade of creation of the agricultural department in 1882. However, the seeds of agricultural research in today’s Assam were sown in the dawn of the twentieth century with the establishment of two Rice Experimental Stations, one at Karimganj in Barak valley in 1913 and the other at Titabor in Brahmaputra valley in 1923. Subsequent to these research stations, a number of research stations were established to conduct research on important crops, more specifically, jute, pulses, oilseeds etc. The Assam Agricultural University was established on April 1, 1969 under The Assam Agricultural University Act, 1968’ with the mandate of imparting farm education, conduct research in agriculture and allied sciences and to effectively disseminate technologies so generated. Before establishment of the University, there were altogether 17 research schemes/projects in the state under the Department of Agriculture. By July 1973, all the research projects and 10 experimental farms were transferred by the Government of Assam to the AAU which already inherited the College of Agriculture and its farm at Barbheta, Jorhat and College of Veterinary Sciences at Khanapara, Guwahati.
Subsequently, College of Community Science at Jorhat (1969), College of Fisheries at Raha (1988), Biswanath College of Agriculture at Biswanath Chariali (1988) and Lakhimpur College of Veterinary Science at Joyhing, North Lakhimpur (1988) were established. Presently, the University has three more colleges under its jurisdiction, viz., Sarat Chandra Singha College of Agriculture, Chapar, College of Horticulture, Nalbari & College of Sericulture, Titabar. Similarly, few more regional research stations at Shillongani, Diphu, Gossaigaon, Lakhimpur; and commodity research stations at Kahikuchi, Buralikson, Tinsukia, Kharua, Burnihat and Mandira were added to generate location and crop specific agricultural production packages.
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ThesisItem Open Access A study on entrepreneurial behaviour of agri-input dealers in upper Brahmaputra valley zone of Assam(2023) Trishnamoni Hazarika; Deka, ChittaranjanAgriculture is the backbone of economy because of its high share in employment and livelihood generation. Agricultural inputs are the inputs like, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, equipments, animal feeds, machineries etc.that are used in farm production. The person who provides agricultural inputs along with some agro advisory services to the farmers are the Agri Input Dealer. The agri-input dealers play an important role in ensuring that farmers access their necessary inputs for improving productivity in their respective farms. While purchasing the inputs, farmers seek for information from agri input dealers about the usage of inputs, both in terms of quality and quantity. The study was undertaken in two districts of Assam namely, Jorhat and Golaghat. A descriptive research design, following an ex-post facto approach was utilized for the study through a simple, purposive, and random sampling design. A total of 130 respondents were selected for the study. 40% respondents from each district were selected. With respect to profile characteristics of the respondents, the study revealed that majority of the respondents (63.846 %) belonged to the middle-age category. Near about half of the respondents (46.93%) had completed graduation and PG level of education. Majority (60%) of the respondents belonged to small sized family. Most of the respondents (40.77%) had 6-10 years of experience as an agri-input dealer. Around half (54.62%) of the respondents received 1-2 nos. of training programmes. Majority (80.76 %) of the agri-input dealers have received training on pest and disease control in agriculture. Around half (50.769%) of the respondents had marginal land holding and one third (33.85%) of the respondents had 2-4 lakhs of annual income from dealership. With regards to entrepreneurial behaviour of the respondents, the study revealed that majority (64.62%) of the respondents had medium level of innovativeness, medium level of achievement motivation ( 53.85% ), medium decision making ability ( 72.3% ), medium level of risk orientation (63.845%), medium level of co-ordinating ability (56.93%), medium level of planning ability (50.00%), medium level of information seeking behaviour (69.23%), medium level of cosmopoliteness (63.07%) and medium level of self-confidence(63.85%). With the help of Entrepreneurial Behaviour Index (EBI), entrepreneurial behaviour of agri-input dealers was calculated and came into the conclusion that majority (64.62%) of the respondents had medium entrepreneurial behaviour followed by high entrepreneurial behaviour (16.93%) and low entrepreneurial behaviour (18.46%). To determine the relationship between entrepreneurial behaviour and some selected independent variables, correlation and multiple regression analysis was used. Among 7 independent variables, 5 variables viz. age, education, years of experience as an agri-input dealer, nos. of training received, annual income received from dealership showed significant relationship with the entrepreneurial behaviour of agri-input dealers at 0.01 level of probability. In multiple regression analysis, it was found that among 7 independent variables, 5 variables viz. age, education, years of experience as an agri-input dealer, nos. of training received, annual income from agri-input business contribute significantly towards variation in the entrepreneurial behaviour of agri-input dealer at 0.01 level of probability. With regards to problem, the study showed that86.92% of respondents were facing problem due to complex procedure for procurement of inputs for the farmers. To combat this problem, any other procedure of maintaining log record other than Aadhar linking must be initiated by the government or must fix the glitches in the current system.83.07% were facing problem due to less demand of agri-inputs which is because of erratic rainfall which disturbs the cultivation practices of farmers in their fields. Proper irrigation facilities should be provided to the farmers to deal with this problem. Other problems faced by the input dealers are- “loss incurred by them due to lack of getting quick information about banning of pesticides”, “unscrupulous sale of agri inputs by the non licensees to the farmers”, “more market competition” etc. CONTENTThesisItem Open Access A study on managerial ability of the members of Agnigarh Producer Company Limited in Sonitpur district of Assam with reference to commercial litchi production(2023) Thakuria, Samar; Das, P. K.he study entitled “A study on managerial ability of the members of Agnigarh Producer Company Limited in Sonitpur district of Assam with reference to commercial litchi production” was conducted with the following objectives: 1. Measure the managerial ability of the members of Agnigarh Producer Company Limited with reference to commercial litchi production 2. Find out the factors influencing managerial ability of the members of Agnigarh Producer Company Limited with reference to commercial litchi production 3. Identify the constraints faced by the members of Agnigarh Producer Company Limited in management of litchi orchard The study was undertaken in Sonitpur district of Assam which was selected purposively, as the Farmer Producer Company dealing with commercial litchi production was operating in this district. FPC namely, Agnigarh Producer Company Limited of Sonitpur district was selected purposively for the study. A sample of 80 respondents was selected from the 13 selected villages following a proportionate random sampling technique. The primary data for the study were collected by the personal interview method with the help of a structured research schedule. The primary data for the study were collected during the month of February, 2023 and June, 2023. Keeping in view the objectives of the study, 18 independent variables and 1 dependent variable were included in the study. The independent variable included in the study were Age, Education level, , Size of operational land holding, Area under litchi cultivation, Annual net farm income, Litchi yield, Farm mechanization, Irrigated area under litchi cultivation, Level of farm wage payment related to litchi cultivation, Experience in litchi cultivation, Social participation, Adoption of recommended litchi production technology, Achievement motivation, Orientation towards the competition, Attitude towards modern agriculture, Risk orientation, Extension contact, Exposure to training on litchi cultivation. The dependent variable included in the study was the managerial ability of the members of Agnigarh Producer Company Limited with reference to commercial litchi production which was measured by using the scale developed by Jadav (2005). Extensive literature was browsed for seeking additional information on the conceptual framework of the dependent variable. Findings revealed that majority of the respondents (43.75%) belonged to middle aged category. Majority of the respondents (41.25%) had formal education up to higher secondary/PU level and there were not any respondents from illiterate, can read only category in the study area. Majority of respondents (41.25%) belonged to small farmer in land holding category. Majority of the respondents (50.00%) were having area from 0.10 to 1.5 ha under litchi orchard with medium annual net farm income ranging from Rs 94278.31 to Rs 156528.93. Majority of the respondents (60.00%) had medium level of litchi yield, medium level of farm mechanization (70.00%) and medium level of irrigated area under litchi cultivation (77.50%). Majority of them (80.00%) had medium level of farm wage payment related to litchi cultivation. Majority of respondents (53.75%) had 9-19 yearsof experience in litchi cultivation. Majority of the respondents (55.00%) were belonged from having membership in one organization. Majority of them (70.00%) had medium level of adoption of recommended litchi production technology, medium level of achievement motivation (68.75%), medium level of orientation towards the competition (67.50%), medium level of attitude towards modern agriculture (63.75), medium level of risk orientation (67.50%), medium level of extension contact (63.75) and high level of exposure to training on litchi cultivation (50.00%). Findings revealed that the majority of the respondents (61.25%) had medium level of managerial ability index. The mean score (56.62%) indicated that on an average the respondents had medium level of managerial ability index with standard deviation of 15.69. The value of co-efficient of variation (27.72) indicated that the respondents were relatively homogenous with respect to their level of managerial ability index.Majority of the respondents (50.00%) had medium level of knowledge on scientific practices of litchi,medium level of planning ability (63.75%), medium level of organizing ability(45.00%),medium level of supervising ability (72.50%),medium level budgeting ability(50.00%), medium level of coordinating ability (53.75%),medium level communication ability (60.00%).Majority of them(56.25%) had medium level of controlling ability,medium level ofdecision making ability (52.50%),medium level of human relationship ability (61.25%). Findings revealed that Mean supervising ability score (70.93) indicated that on an average the respondents had high level of supervising ability (ranked first),mean communication ability score (62.49)indicated that on an average the respondents had high level of communication ability (ranked second),mean decision making ability score (61.62) indicated that on an average the respondents had high level of decision making ability(ranked third).Mean organizing ability score (61.60) indicated that on an average the respondents had high level of organizing ability, mean human relationship ability score (60.62) indicated that on an average the respondents had medium level of human relationship ability, followed by mean controlling ability score (59.68) indicated that on an average the respondents had medium level of controlling ability, mean budgeting ability score (58.53) indicated that on an average the respondents had medium level of budgeting ability, mean coordinating ability score (56.81) indicated that on an average the respondents had medium level of coordinating ability which were ranked Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight respectively. Similarly, the mean planning ability score (53.74) indicated that on an average the respondents had low level of planning ability. The mean knowledge in scientific practices of litchi score (49.78) indicated that on an average the respondents had medium level of knowledge in scientific practices of litchi which were ranked ninth and tenth respectively. Findings of correlation analysis indicated that out of the 18 selected independent variables, 12 independent variables were significantly correlated with the managerial ability of the members of FPC. All these 12 independent variables viz., education level (0.687), size of operational land holding (0.520), area under litchi orchard (0.327), annual net farm income (0.686), level of wage payment related to litchi cultivation (0.404), experience in litchi cultivation (0.634), adoption of recommended litchi production technology (0.704), achievement motivation (0.716), attitude towards modern agriculture (0.465), risk orientation (0.793), extension contact (0.810) and exposure to training on litchi cultivation (0.587) showed significant and positive relationship with the managerial ability of the members of FPC at 0.01 level of probability. The findings of the regression analysis indicated that out of 12 independent variables, only 5 variables, viz., educational level (1.819), experience in litchi cultivation (0.415), achievement motivation (1.001), extension contact (1.588) and exposure to training on litchi cultivation (3.334) were found to contribute significantly towards variation in the managerial ability of the members of FPC. Two variables viz., educational level, experience in litchi cultivation showed significant contribution towards the managerial ability of the members of FPC at 0.05 level of probability. Three variables viz., achievement motivation, extension contact and exposure to training on litchi cultivation showed significant contribution towards the managerial ability of the members of FPC at 0.01 level of probability. The 12 independent variables fitted in the linear regression analysis could predict 92.30 per cent of the variation in the managerial ability of the members of FPC. Findings revealed that "High incidence of bats and birds" got the highest score (PCI-217) and hence was the 1st ranked problem of the majority of the respondents. Followed by "Litchi yield loss due to weather condition" which got the 2nd highest scores (PCI-200) and hence ranked as the 2nd major problem. “High cost of labour' was another problem faced by members of Agnigarh Produce Company Limited in management of litchi orchard which was ranked third on the basis of the 3rd highest score (PCI-199). "Scarcity of labour in time" was ranked 4th among problems faced by the respondents while with a PCI score-189. "Lack of irrigation facility" got the 5th rank among the problems based on the score of PCI-178 as mentioned by the respondents.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of Mechanization on Beneficiary Farmers Under APART Project in North Bank Plains Zone of Assam(2023) Alom, Suhail; Sharma, HaridraThe Assam Agricultural University,Jorhat launched the World Bank aided project “Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (APART)” during 2016-17. Since inception, the project is providing farm mechanization interventions to improve farm mechanization level in Assam. Considering the efforts made towards farm mechanization, it was felt imperative to understand the impacts of the APART project on farm mechanization. Hence, the present study – “Impact of mechanization on beneficiary farmers under APART project in North Bank Plains Zone of Assam” was conducted to find out whether the project is truly achieving its objectives. The objectives of the study were to measure the extent of mechanization by beneficiary farmers under APART project; assess the impact of mechanization on the beneficiary farmers under APART project and find out the problems faced by the project staff in effective implementation and by beneficiary farmer in adoption of the mechanization interventions. The study was carried out in Lakhimpur, Sonitpur and Darrang districts of North Bank Plains Zone (NBPZ) of Assam. A total of 100 beneficiary farmers were selected as respondents for the study. For the present study, 10 profile variable, 5 descriptive variables and 2 inhibitive variables were selected. The data were collected with the help of research schedule by personal interview method. Appropriate statistical techniques were used for analysis of data. The study revealed that majority of respondents 65.00 per cent belonged to 38-57 years category. Majority of respondents 27.00 per cent had middle school level education followed by primary level by 24.00 per cent. Majority of the respondents 75.00 per cent were found to have single family. A total of 70.00 per cent had medium land holding. Among the respondents, 41.00 per cent were found to have low innovativeness and 59.00 per cent of the respondents had medium level of scientific orientation. Majority of the respondents 55.00 per cent had 'only cultivation' as main occupation .Likewise majority of respondent 40.00 per cent received 2-days training and (majority 78.00 per cent)had medium degree of information exposure, Out of the all respondents 59.00 per cent of the respondents reported that the labor were not readily available for farm operations. To measure the extent of mechanization, 3 crops were selected viz., Sali rice, toria and potato. Highest MI was for potato 84.87 per cent followed by Sali rice 74.65 per cent . Toria showed lowest MI i.e. 51.29 per cent among the three selected crops in the study areas. Distribution of respondents according to MI showed that majority of respondents 72.00 per cent belongs to medium mechanization category. Out of the 10 profile variables, education level (r=0.665), innovativeness (r=0.534), training exposure (r=0.654), Occupational status (r=0.205), labour availability (r=0.729), degree of information exposure (r=0.369) and scientific orientation (r=0.279) were significantly and positively correlated with Mechanization Index (MI) at 1% level of probability. Size of land holding (r=-0.754) was found to be negatively correlated with Mechanization Index (MI) and the correlation is significant at 1% level of probability. All the profile (predictor) variables taken together explained the variation in the Mechanization Index (MI) 88.10 per cent (adjusted 2=0.881). For Sali rice, average area before mechanization was 1.04 ha and which increased to 1.44 ha after mechanization and the difference (t=19.622) was significant at 1% level of probability for the study area. Likewise the average production of Sali rice before mechanization was 41.70 q which increased to 79.20 q after mechanization. The difference (t=21.079) was significant at 1% level of probability for the study area. The average productivity was found to be 40.10 q/ha before mechanization and 55.00 q/ha after mechanization in Sali rice. The ‘t’ value was found to be significant at 1% level of probability for productivity (t=19.063). For toria average area before mechanization was 0.34 ha and area was increased with the application of mechanization that is 0.52 ha.The ‘t’ value was found to be significant at 1% level of probability for the study area (t=26.798).The average production of toria before mechanization was 2.68 q which was increased to 5.77 q after mechanization. The ‘t’ value was found to be significant at 1% level of probability for the study area (t=28.436). The productivity was found 2.68 q/ha before mechanization and 5.77 q/ha after mechanization. The ‘t’ value was found to be significant at 1% level of probability for the study area (t=16.201).For potato average area before mechanization was 0.92 ha and area was increased with the application of mechanization that is 1.24 ha. The ‘t’ value was found to be significant at 1% level of probability for the study area (t=24.226). The average production of potato before mechanization was 65.50 q which was increased to 245.64 q after mechanization. The ‘t’ value was found to be significant at 1% level of probability for the study area (t=16.670). The productivity was found 71.20 q/ha before mechanization and 198.10 q/ha after mechanization. The ‘t’ value was found to be significant at 1% level of probability for the study area (t=23.931).Finding reveal that the mean cropping intensity before mechanization was 131.42 per cent and after mechanization it increased to 140.93 per cent. The significance of mean cropping intensity before mechanization and after mechanization was tested by t-test (t=8.451) and was significant at 1% level of probability. The major constraints faced by the project staff in effective implementation of the mechanization intervention were - Lack of awareness on mechanization benefits leading to less adoption of farm machineries (Rank I); Problem in getting consensus of a group of farmers over fixing time and date of training programme due to pre-occupied time schedule of farmers (Rank II) ; Problem in regular monitoring of fields and activities of farmers due to limited staff, distance and limited transport facilities (Rank III) ; Varied responses and level of adoption among farmers’ (Rank IV) ; Large scale demonstration of machineries suffered due to small land holding in different villages (Rank V) and Non availability of organized farmers groups at village level creates problem during execution of the project (Rank VI).Major constraints faced by beneficiary tribal farmers in adoption of the mechanization intervention were - High fuel cost to run machineries (Rank I); Small and scattered land holding causing difficulties in management during peak crop season (Rank II); Non availability of required farm machinery at peak season as less number of farm machineries are available compared to demand (Rank III); Long distance between crop fields and fuel pumps leading high procurement cost (Rank IV); Non availability of trained person to maintain machines locally (Rank V) and Machineries of low quality leading frequent repairing (Rank VI).ThesisItem Open Access A STUDY ON ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOUR OF NURSERY OWNERS IN ASSAM(2023) Bhutia, Penchen Tshyoza; Borua, SajibNursery is a place where plants are propagated, cared for, grown, and then sold for use in commercial or residential gardens. Improved quality seedlings are raised under ideal circumstances until they are ready to be planted on a small or large scale. Nurseries are presently becoming popular economic agro-based enterprises and commercial ventures in horticultural sector. It has established its credibility by increased production, creating jobs in both rural and urban areas, and increasing exports significantly. To be profitable, establishing a nursery is a long-term endeavour that demands preparation and skill. New breed of entrepreneurs who are well versed in the modern principles of business management and who have the desirable attitude, values and behaviour are required to show a significant outcome in this sector as success of any enterprise depends on entrepreneur’s efficiency and effectiveness. Understanding nursery owners' entrepreneurial behaviour will allow change agents and extension machinery to intervene to correct, modify, alter, or promote appropriate behavioural changes that will allow nursery owners to pursue their business profitably and sustainably. The study was undertaken in three districts of Assam namely, Jorhat, Nagaon and Golaghat which were selected purposively as it is located in close proximity to the only Agricultural University in the state. A sample size of 90 was taken using convenience sampling. 30 nurseries were selected from each district under the study. Primary data for the current study was collected in the month of April- June. The findings of the present investigation revealed that majority of the respondents (55.56%) belonged to the middle-aged category. Most of the respondents (46.67%) had high level of education. Majority (56.67%) of the respondents belonged to small sized family while 91.1% of the respondents had marginal land holding. Most (62.22%) of the respondents belonged to medium income category. Majority (80%) of the respondents had easy access to labour available on both weekdays and weekends. The study also revealed that most (52.22%) of the respondents had medium level experience in nursery business while majority (71.11%) of the respondents had medium level of training exposure and had attended 1-3 number of trainings conducted by various external sources. In terms of various parameters related to entrepreneurial behaviour the study reveals that majority (74.44%) of the respondents had medium level of innovativeness, medium level of achievement motivation (57.78%), moderate decision-making ability (68.89%), medium level of risk orientation (51.11%), moderate level of coordinating ability (57.78%), moderate level of planning ability (60.00%), medium level of information seeking behaviour (77.78%) and medium level of self-confidence (86.67%). With the help of Entrepreneurial Behaviour Index (EBI), entrepreneurial behaviour of nursery owners was calculated and came into the conclusion that majority (68.89%) of the respondents had moderate entrepreneurial behaviour followed by high entrepreneurial behaviour (17.78%) and low entrepreneurial behaviour (13.33%). The problems stated by the respondents included non-availability of desired inputs at the right time, high cost of inputs, lack of knowledge about proper techniques of marketing, lack of knowledge on proper utilization of land under nursery and many more. In terms of natural calamities high rainfall was stated as the most occurring problem for the outdoor nurseries though measures have been taken to overcome the problem. On the other hand, flood was stated as a major problem by almost all the nursery owners of Nagaon district. By overall evaluation of problems, problems related to inputs ranked first followed by land utilization problems, problems related to storage, institutional problems, marketing problems, transportation problems, problems related to natural calamities, social problems and personal problems.ThesisItem Open Access A study on technological gap in adoption of recommended maize cultivation practices by the shareholders of Nameri Valley Farmer Producer Company in Sonitpur district of Assam(2023) Dutta, Maitrayee; Das, P. K.The findings of correlation analysis revealed that variables age, education level, family type, institutional linkage, occupational status, operational land holding, experience as a grower, exposure to training on maize cultivation, net annual farm income, availability of working capital for maize cultivation, farm mechanization, knowledge on maize cultivation, economic motivation, degree of commercialization of maize cultivation showed significant and negative correlation with the extent of technological gap in adoption of maize cultivation practices by the shareholders of Nameri Valley FPC. Variables net annual income from maize cultivation and risk orientation had no significant relationship with technological gap in adoption of maize cultivation practices by the shareholders of Nameri Valley FPC. The variables which were significantly correlated with the extent of technological gap in adoption of recommended maize cultivation practices were further considered for multiple regression where the value of R2 (0.840) indicated that 14 independent variables could explain 84.02% of the variation in the extent of technological gap in adoption of recommended maize cultivation practices by the shareholders of Nameri Valley FPC. Among the computed PCI values for the production constraints, damage caused by the elephants has the highest value of 227 and has been ranked first as perceived by the shareholders. Occasional damage of the crops by flood was ranked as the 2nd most important constraint with PCI score of 220, followed by high incidence of army worm which was ranked as the 3rd important constraint in maize cultivation practice with PCI score-219. Lack of proper irrigation facilities, lack of knowledge about identification of diseases (PCI-210), high cost of insecticides and pesticides (PCI-180), less opportunity of training on maize cultivation (PCI-178) was ranked as 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th constraints respectively faced by the respondents in cultivation of maize crop. As regards the computed PCI values for the marketing constraints, lack of proper transport facilities has the highest value of 220 and has been ranked first as perceived by the growers. ‘Lack of market related information’ was ranked as 2nd important constraint with PCI-208. Low selling price (PCI-200) and low quality planting material (PCI-195) were ranked as the 3rd and 4th constraints respectively.ThesisItem Open Access A STUDY ON PERCEPTION OF ASSAM AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS FARMING AS A MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD(2023) S, KAVIYA; Borah, DebajitThe study entitled “A Study on Perception of Assam Agricultural University Students Towards Farming as a means of Livelihood” was carried out in all three campuses with faculty of agriculture in Assam Agricultural University i.e., CoA, BNCA and SCSCA. The research was carried out with the objective to study the perception of agricultural students towards farming as a means of livelihood, to identify the factors influencing the willingness of students to take up farming as a means of livelihood and to find out the difficulties faced by students while selecting farming as a means of livelihood. A proportionate stratified sampling design was followed for selecting a total of 300 respondents from 3rd year and 4th year students. Data were collected with the help of google form sent through mail during April-May, 2023. The findings of the study revealed that all the students were in the age of 20-24, 55.33% and 44.67% of the students were males and females. 47.33% and 52.66% of respondents were 3rd year and 4th year. Most of the students (72%) were had obtained CGPA of 7.00 to 8.50.16% of respondents had selected agronomy as their elective subject. 56% and 44% of respondents were from rural and urban background. About 63% of the respondents had small (1-4) family.46.67% and 51% of students mother and father were graduated and almost half (49%) of the fathers were government employment and most of the mothers were housewife. About 72% of respondent’s family had medium level of annual income. 61% of students had operational land holding for farming, among 74% of the students had marginal land holding. More than two-fifth (45%) of students had very-low level of resource availability. Around 71% of respondents had no farming experience and 63% of students had contact with Agri professionals. 73%, 64%, 68%, 72% and 67% of the respondents had medium level of achievement motivation, self-confidence, risk orientation, mass media exposure and agricultural business anxiety, respectively. Nearly two-third (65%) of students had medium level of perception towards farming as a means of livelihood. Most of the student’s perception towards farming was “It develops awareness about the surrounding environment”. Family size, Achievement Motivation, Self-confidence, Risk orientation, Mass media exposure and Agricultural Business Anxiety were significantly related with perception towards farming as a means of livelihood. The association of elective subject, parent’s education, parent’s occupation and farming experience with the perception of students towards farming as a means of livelihood was found. Majority of the respondents (83%) were willing to take up farming career and most of the students were willing to grow ornamental plants. Binary logistics regression revealed that academic performance, annual income of family, operational land holding, farming experience, achievement motivation, self-confidence, risk orientation and agricultural business anxiety were the factors that influencing the willingness of students to take up farming as a means of livelihood. The major difficulties faced by students while selecting farming as a means of livelihood were risk of crop failure, chronic fluctuation of prices of agricultural products, high cost of cultivation and lower returns and unpredictable climate change. Some of the suggestions given by students to overcome the problems were financial assistance from government, regulation of prices of agricultural produces, improvement of quality of rural life and infrastructure. So, efforts should be made by government, policy makers and planners to reduce the enormity of the problems given by the agricultural students while selecting farming as a means of livelihood.ThesisItem Open Access A STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF TRIBAL SUB PLAN ON POVERTY ERADICATION IN DHEMAJI DISTRICT OF ASSAM(2023) Doley, Karishma; Borah, DebajitThe study entitled “A Study on Effectiveness of Tribal Sub Plan on Poverty Eradication in Dhemaji district of Assam” was carried out in Dhemaji district of Assam with a view to study the effectiveness of TSP on poverty eradication. The specific objectives of the study were: 1. To study the profile characteristics of tribal beneficiary and non-beneficiary of the study area. 2. To measure the poverty level of the beneficiary and non- beneficiary tribal people in the project area. 3. To identify the barriers of the development of the respondents as perceived by them. The study was conducted in Dhemaji district as it is one of the highest tribal population districts of Assam. All the sub-divisions of Dhemaji district were selected for the study. A purposive and random sampling method was followed for the study. The total sample size was 160 consisting of 80 beneficiary and 80 non-beneficiary tribal farmers in the study area. For the present study a total of 12 independent variables, 1 dependent and 1 descriptive variable were selected. Data pertaining to the study were collected through personal interview method during March-April, 2023. Appropriate statistical techniques were used for analysis of data. The findings with respect to the selected profile characteristics of the respondents indicated that majority of the respondents (58.75 % beneficiaries and 53.75 % non-beneficiaries) belong to middle aged category i.e. 35 years to 55 years. In case of beneficiary respondents 35% had high school level of education and 36.2 % of non-beneficiary respondents had middle school level of education. More than half (60 percent) of the beneficiaries were male while only 40 per cent of the beneficiaries were female. The tradition of joint family system in tribal community was being restored by nuclear families. 63.75 percent of the beneficiary respondents belonged to nuclear family and the remaining 36.25 percent belonged to joint family. In case of non-beneficiary respondents (57.4 %) belonged to nuclear family and the remaining 42.5 percent respondents belonged to joint family. More than 60 % have nuclear family status and the family size is less than 4 members in the family of the respondents. The major occupations of both the category of respondents were only cultivation, which was one of the reasons of poverty in the area. The poverty level for both beneficiary and non-beneficiary respondents was measured using the Global Multi dimensional Poverty Index. The Index includes three dimensions viz., Health, Education and Living Standards with ten indicators such as nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets. Among the 10 indicators the deprivation of improved cooking fuel (21.92 % in beneficiary and 19.71 % in non-beneficiary) and deprivation of improved sanitation (17.3 % in beneficiary and 17.06 % in non-beneficiary) were two leading contributors to multidimensional poverty index in the study area. The index score of the tribal respondents showed that poverty level of beneficiary (0.146) and non-beneficiary (0.245) is significantly different. The association with the perceived poverty level of the beneficiary was found significant in case of education (r=-0.286), Occupation (r=-0.335), annual income (r=-0.650), Extension contact(r=-0.259) and social participation (r=-0.160) were found to have negative and significant relationship with the deprivation score of the beneficiary group of respondents. The findings also revealed that age(r=0.124), family type(r=0.111), family size(r=0.110), operational land holding(r=0.125), farming experience(r=0.125) were found to have no significant relationship with the deprivation score of the beneficiary respondents of the study area. The barriers of development stated by the beneficiaries of TSP included delay in obtaining approved benefits/input supply, Non-availability of suggested inputs e.g. varieties/breeds locally after project period, Distance from village to KVK is more, Unavailability of proper guidance regarding adoption of improved agricultural technology, Lack of knowledge about the varieties of crops/ breed of poultry provided, Lack of own capital, Lack of irrigation facilities, Frequent transfer of scientific staff from KVK/RARS, , Need of constant follow up of respective officer, High cost of feed for animals and birds, Lack of knowledge regarding various benefits under TSP, Lack of technical knowledge regarding plant protection appliances, Excessive formalities for institutional credit facilities, Lack of knowledge regarding various documents requires, Lack of technical knowledge regarding use of agricultural inputs, Dominance by few local individuals. Thus, it is concluded that strategies need to be formulated for further refinement of projects aimed at tribal agriculture development in the study area.ThesisItem Open Access A Study on Entrepreneurial Behavior of Watermelon Growers of Central Brahmaputra Valley Zone (CBVZ), Assam(2023) BHARADWAJ, KANGKANA; Borah, D.The present study entitled “A Study on Entrepreneurial Behavior of Watermelon Growers of Central Brahmaputra Valley Zone (CBVZ), Assam” was carried out with following objectives: 1. To analyse the Entrepreneurial Behaviour of Watermelon growers of the Central Brahmaputra Valley Zone. 2. To determine the factors influencing Entrepreneurial Behaviour of watermelon growers. 3. To identify the problems faced by the watermelon growers in relation to scientific watermelon cultivation. The study was undertaken in both the districts of Central Brahmaputra Valley Zone (CBVZ) i.e. Nagaon and Morigaon. A purposive cum random sampling design was used to select 180 respondents from 18 villages of both the districts. The primary data for the study was collected during February-April, 2023 through personal interview method with the help of a structured schedule. The findings of the study revealed that majority (66.11%) of the respondents belonged to middle-aged category, majority (38.34%) of the respondents had secondary level of formal education and comes relatively from medium sized family (53.33%). The study also revealed that majority of the respondents (41.12%) were small farmers with medium (68.34%) annual family income. Majority of the respondents had medium (69.45%) farming experience in watermelon cultivation. It is viewed that majority 76.12 per cent of the respondent did not get any training on watermelon cultivation. 72.22 per cent of the respondents had medium level of mass media exposure. In case of source of information majority of the respondents‟ main source of information was social media. Medium level of labour availability within household is viewed in the study area. About 62.22 per cent of the respondents had moderately favorable attitude towards watermelon cultivation. In case of various components related to entrepreneurial behaviour, the study revealed that majority (77.22%) of the respondents had medium level of innovativeness, medium level of achievement motivation (51.67%), moderate decisionmaking ability (67.78%), medium level of risk orientation (68.88%), medium level of coordinating ability (61.11%), moderate level of planning ability (47.77%), medium level of information seeking behaviour (73.33%), medium level of cosmopolitness (58.88%) and medium level of self-confidence (64.44%). The overall entrepreneurial behaviour of watermelon growers were found medium (68.33%) followed by low entrepreneurial behaviour (17.22%) and high entrepreneurial behaviour (14.45%). To determine the factors influencing entrepreneurial behaviour of the watermelon growers, multiple regression analysis was used where annual family income, net annual income from watermelon cultivation, training exposure, attitude towards watermelon cultivation were found to contribute significantly towards variation in the entrepreneurial behaviour of watermelon growers at 0.01 level of probability. Operational land holding and farming experience in watermelon cultivation contribute significantly towards variation in the entrepreneurial behaviour of watermelon growers at 0.05 level of probability. The contributory factors may be given more emphasis by the concerned agencies while formulating any project or related programmes on watermelon cultivation in the study area. With regards to the major problems, the study showed that „High cost of quality inputs‟ was the most important problem (ranked first) faced by the watermelon growers followed by perishable nature of watermelon, adverse effect of natural calamities, non availability of quality seed and non availability of irrigation facility, lack of credit facility, pest attack, lack of extension services. It is imperative to call for attention from government, policy makers, and planners to design effective watermelon production policy/strategy that would ensure to overcome the problems faced by the farmers for promoting watermelon production and to ensure economic development.ThesisItem Open Access EFFECTIVENESS OF RICE DEMONSTRATION UNDER APART IN JORHAT & SIVASAGAR DISTRICT OF ASSAM(2023) Borgohain, Himadri; Das, A.K.With the motive of long-term agriculture transformation in Assam, Govt. Of Assam started the project “Assam Agribusiness Rural Transformation Project” or APART. The study entitled “Effectiveness of Rice Demonstration under APART in Jorhat and Sivasagar district of Assam” was conducted in Jorhat and Sivasagar district. For measuring effectiveness three dimensions were selected which were change in area under rice cultivation, change in production and productivity and change in income. The extent of adoption of stress tolerant rice varieties and various techniques of crop establishment were also studied. The study revealed that majority of the respondents i.e 61.66 belonged to the middle aged group of 35 – 50 years. More than 3/4th i.e., 87.50% of the respondents were male while only 12.50% of respondents were female.31.6% of respondents had secondary level of education. The findings indicate that majority of the respondents i.e. 53.33% belonged to the medium size family with 5 to 7 members. 34.17% had small land holding of 1-2 hectare followed by 31.66% of respondents with marginal land holding of size less than 1 ha. The majority of 87.50% of respondents had medium level of annual income between Rs 1.97 lakhs to Rs 5.07 lakhs. Based on farming experience it was observed that majority of respondents with 70.83% had medium level of farming experience of 5-14 years. The majority of the respondents (59.16%) had medium level of extension contact. About 58.33% of respondents had medium level of training exposure (2-5 trainings) followed by 24.16% of the respondents had high level of training of more than 5 trainings. 50.00% of the respondents had medium level of exposure to mass media. It was observed that 96.6% of the respondents had fully adopted the STRV’s which were demonstrated to them in the later years. It was observed that majority of 63.79% of the respondents had medium level of adoption for STRV’s and their recommended practices. 21.55% of the respondents had high and 14.65% of the respondents had low level of adoption. It was observed that there was no significant relationship between independents variables and production under rice cultivation. In case of income, there was significant relationship between age of respondents and operational land holding with income from rice cultivation at 5% probability level. Again it was found that at 0.01 probability level there was significant relationship between farming experience and income from rice cultivation. Similarly, age, extension contact, training exposure and mass media exposure had significant relationship with extent of adoption of STRV’s at 5% probability level. Farming experience had significant relationship with extent of adoption at 1% probability level. The major problems faced by farmers were high cost of machines (71.66%), lack of technical knowledge (59.16), high cost of fertilizers (55.83%), Lack of necessary equipment (46.66%), lack of enthusiasm (34.16%), lack of conviction in the new technology (32.5%), unavailability of seeds (28.33%), disease and pest infestation (21.66%), weak extension programme (20.00%), unavailability of local labour (14.16%), lack of awareness about the benefits (10.83%) and damage due to flood (3.33%).
