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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur
The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively.
Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively.
On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs.
In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc.
During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU).
Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.
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ThesisItem Open Access Analysis of development propgrammes for paddy promotion under decentralized planning in Thrissur distict(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2017) Salpriya Seby; KAU; Mercykutty, M JAgricultural development programmes are aimed at increasing food supply to feed the rapidly expanding population. The major challenge faced by the Government is to increase the agricultural production with limited natural resources in a sustainable manner for ensuring food security and providing income security to the farmers. With an objective to meet the growing demand for rice through increasing the rice production, the Government has been implementing various programmes. Simultaneously it is important that these programmes should be successful to the fullest in terms of achieving goals since, huge amount of money is spent on the same. Keeping these issues in view, the study entitled “Analysis of development programmes for paddy promotion under decentralized planning in thrissur district” has been framed. The present research work was taken up to study the trend of paddy promotion programmes and to delineate the components. The study has also analysed the perception of beneficiary farmers and extension personnel on the effectiveness of paddy promotion programmes under decentralized planning and the factors influencing the implementation. Apart from this the benefits and constraints of the programme were also analysed. For this, ninety beneficiary farmers of paddy promotion programmes under decentralized planning from three panchayats viz; Chelakkara, Arimpur and Adat were selected as the farmer respondents. Thirty extension personnel from the corresponding three blocks viz; Pazhayannur, Anthikkad and Puzhakkal constituted the other category of respondents. The secondary data were collected from the State Department of Agriculture and various government websites. The trend analysis of the amount allotted for agriculture and allied sectors in the Union budget shows that there was an increase in the per cent of share, from 2011- 12 to 2013- 14. Then the drop is sharp for succeeding two years and a slight increase was noticed in the recent year. The per cent share allotted for paddy promotion schemes in State plans showed a declining trend and a slight fluctuation was observed in the case of Thrissur district. The analysis of the financial allocations given to the three panchayats revealed that more than half of the total financial outlay has been utilized for paddy promotion programmes. The major paddy promotion schemes that had been implemented through Krishibhavans were identified as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, MOU Rice, Food Security Project as the Centrally sponsored schemes; Sustainable Development of Rice, ATMA & ATMA Plus as the State sponsored schemes. Under decentralized planning, Comprehensive Organic based Rice Development Project and paddy cultivation assistance to SC youth in Adat panchayat ; Distribution of HYV paddy seed in Arimpur panchayat and in Chelakkara different schemes were identified and all these were delineated. The schemes under decentralized planning varied among the panchayats, whereas the same Centrally and State sponsored schemes were implemented in all the three panchayats. Resource aspects was perceived as the most influencing factor, followed by scheme features, beneficiary aspects and leadership style and management approach of extension personnel in both cases of central and state schemes as well as schemes under decentralized planning. Profile of the beneficiary farmers were noted down. Majority of the beneficiary farmers belonged to ‘elderly’ age group (56 years and above), had high school education, belonged to large family(5 to 6 members), had an annual family income above 1 lakh rupees, and were small and marginal paddy farmers ( below 5 acres), and practiced paddy cultivation in their own land. The respondents were found to have medium level of economic motivation, risk orientation, mass media exposure, social participation, contact with extension agency, scientific and market orientation. The benefits accrued under decentralized planning were listed out and categorized into- socio economic development, asset generation, inputs availed, skill development. Kruskal Wallis test was employed to compare the perception of the beneficiary farmers on the effectiveness of paddy promotion schemes under decentralized planning. It was found that the farmers of Adat, Chelakkara and Arimpur panchayats had high, medium and low levels of perception respectively. Further, dimension wise perception was analysed and the panchayats were ranked accordingly. Majority of the extension personnel perceived the effectiveness of the programmes as good. Constraint analysis revealed that the beneficiaries of Arimpur panchayat experienced more number of constraints, followed by Chelakkara and Adat panchayats. The severity varied among the panchayats. The extension personnel perceived constraints in manpower as the most important one. The suggestions include increasing the number of components implemented and enhancing the subsidy amount under each comprehensive scheme with capacity building at different levels. For addressing the manpower constraints, at the institutional level appointment of more staff based on the geographical area of the panchayat and at field level, merging with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are proposed. The persistent problem of timely seed availability may be addressed by devising innovative measures at local level as far as possible. In a nutshell, the paddy promotion programmes implemented under decentralized planning augmented sustainable rice farming. However, the effectiveness can be enhanced by rectifying the existing lacunae.ThesisItem Open Access Technology utilisation of organic plant protection practices of KAU(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Aparna, K V; KAU; Allan ThomasThe present study entitled “technology utilization of organic plant protection practices of KAU” was undertaken with the objectives of studying the adoption of standardized practices, factors affecting the rate of adoption and constraints in the process of adoption, if any with suggestions for refinement of organic plant protection practices. From Thiruvananthapuram district three panchayts namely, Nedumangad, Kunnathukal and Chenkal panchayats were selected from three blocks having more number of farmers practicing commercial vegetable cultivation along with organic practices for plant protection. Ninety such farmers were selected through simple random sampling procedure from the list of farmers provided by the respective agricultural officers. Two dependent variables and fourteen independent variables were studied and analyzed with the help of different scales and techniques. On analysis of data it was found that most of the respondents (53.33%) belonged to old age group and majority of respondents (63.33%) were having high school level of education and 5.56% of farmers were identified as illiterate. Majority of farmers (84.44%) had agriculture as their primary occupation. More than half of the respondents (73.33%) were having experience in farming for more than 5 years. More than 50% of farmers (87.78%) had 1-2 acres of farm land. Most of farmers (51.11%) followed scientific practices only. Majority of farmers belonged to medium category with respect to information source utilization (54.44%), extension orientation (55.56%), economic motivation (88.89%), environmental concern (62.22%), market perception (67.78%), risk orientation (74.44%), and attitude (67.78%). The results also points to the fact that the most widely used information source was television (43.33%) followed by magazines (37.78%) and newspapers (33.33%) respectively. When 63.34% of respondents felt that television was the information source that was more useful, and 81.11% of respondents felt that information kiosk was the source that was not that useful for the farmers. Distribution of respondents based on extension contact showed that the majority of respondents (50%) visited Krishi bhavan for getting information and support. In case of distribution of respondents based on extension participation 36.67% reported that they participated in seminars as and when conducted. Majority farmers (77.78% and 64.44%) were having medium level of awareness and knowledge about organic plant protection practices. Seven out of 12 variables were significantly correlating with extent of knowledge on organic plant protection aspects at 1% significance. They were farm size, farming experience, extension orientation, information source utilization, market perception, awareness on organic plant protection practices and attitude towards organic plant protection practices. In case of plant protection preferences family safe food concept ranked one followed by cost effective plant protection practices, and sustainability. Majority (97.78% each) of farmer respondents reported that use of botanicals and cultivating crop mixtures were the two practices that were effective for them. In case of extent of perceived usefulness of the technology 97.78% opined that cultivating crop mixtures followed by use of botanicals (69.8%) was useful. More than half of farmers belonged to medium (83.33%) level of adoption and majority (44.44%) of farmers belonged to early majority group in Rogers standard adopter category curve. The results of ANOVA revealed that there was no significant difference among the three panchayats of study in terms of adoption level. Extent of adoption was positively and significantly correlated with seven out of 12 independent variables at 1% significance, namely, farm size, farming experience, extension orientation, information source utilization, market perception, awareness and attitude. Technology need assessment as perceived by organic farmers revealed that maximum need was observed for soil solarization technologies. One kg of fresh cow dung was mixed with10 litres of water with crushed neem leaves and kept for 6 hours. The clear solution then is filtered and the supernatant liquid was sprayed at regular intervals to manage the leaf spot of amaranthus. Lack of knowledge on organic plant protection products and its preparation cum use was perceived to be the most important reason for non adoption of organic plant protection practices followed by lack of support from extension agents and many organic plant protection practices were not effective especially in commercial growing tracts. The major constraint experienced by farmers was the ongoing drought situation during the time of data collection followed by, Lack of extension service to facilitate transfer of technology scientifically on organic plant protection, same price or even more than that of chemical produce, time consuming while resorting to organic plant protection preparation, storage and its application and organic practices that were labour intensive coupled by non availability cum high cost of labour. The top five suggestions for refinement for tackling the constraints as perceived by farmers and refined through focus group discussions were facilitating regular and frequent farm visit, diagnostic and consultancy by krishibhavan officials on organic plant protection (90.44%) followed by making available low cost organic inputs and feasible technologies (88.33%), inclusion of more number of classes, demonstrations and seminars about organic pp practices (75.22%), Timely access to organic plant protection inputs (70.22%), construction of low cost mini dams or water storage facilities like technologies developed and popularised by RARS, Ambalavayal (65.22%).ThesisItem Open Access Multidimensional analysis of farmers of Integrated farming systems in Kuttanad(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Mamatha, G Nair; KAU; Jayalekshmi, GThe present study entitled as Multidimensional analysis of farmers of integrated farming systems in Kuttanad was conducted in the Kuttanad region which lies in the three districts of Kerala namely Kottayam, Alapuzha and Pathanamthitta. Three panchayats namely Kumarakom, Nedumudi and Niranam were selected from these three districts respectively. The objective of the study was to study the perception of the farmers regarding the feasibility and utility and constraints of the integrated farming systems in Kuttanad. Seasonal employment pattern, employment profile and the involvement of family members were assessed and the components of integrated farming systems were inventorised. In the present study, from each of the three panchayat 20 marginal and 20 small integrated farming system farmers were selected, making a total of 60 marginal and 60 small farmers. Thus the total number of respondents selected was 120. Data collection was carried out with the help of a well structured interview schedule. Two dependent variables and 15 independent variables were studied and analysed with the help of various statistical tools like quartile deviation, frequency, percentage, correlation, ANOVA and spearman’s rank order correlation. Perception of the farmers regarding the feasibility and utility of the integrated farming systems were measured using the scale developed by Argade (2015). Majority of farmers in Kuttanad exhibited medium level perception regarding the feasibility and utility of the integrated farming systems. There was no significant difference between the perception of small and marginal farmers regarding the feasibility and utility of the integrated farming systems. Significant positive correlation was observed between the profile characteristics of marginal farmers such as family size, economic motivation, self confidence and resource recycling to the perception of the farmers regarding feasibility of integrated farming system. Similarly significant positive correlation was observed between economic motivation, level of aspiration, resource recycling and entrepreneurial behaviour of small farmers to their perception regarding feasibility of the integrated farming systems. Profile characters of marginal farmers such as family size, level of aspiration, self confidence, experience in farming, entrepreneurial behaviour and achievement motivation showed a significant positive correlation to their perception regarding utility of integrated farming system. Likewise a significant positive correlation was observed between economic motivation, level of aspiration, self confidence, orientation towards competition and achievement motivation of small farmers and their perception regarding utility of integrated farming system. Lack of irrigation water and ecological problems such as soil salinity, acidity and flooding were the major constraints perceived by the farmers of integrated farming systems of Kuttanad. No significant difference was observed between the constraints perceived by small and marginal farmers. Seasonal employment pattern observed in the three districts differed according to the farming systems prevailing there. However 15% involvement of other state labours were observed in farms of Kumarakom Panchayat. Farming was identified as the main occupation of the respondents. However a small portion of the marginal farmers (28.33) were depending on subsidiary occupations such as petty shops, auto service, electrical works and agents of LIC. Involvement of the family members were mainly found in carrying out of the four activities mainly harvesting of crops, marketing of produce, purchase of animals and care and management of animals. Rice based farming system was identified as the major farming system of Kuttanad followed by coconut, banana and vegetable based farming systems respectively. Poultry was identified as the major animal component followed by dairy, duckery, goatry, fisheries, rabbit and piggery. So, from the study it can be concluded that majority of the farmers studied are having medium level perception regarding the feasibility and utility of integrated farming system and the most important constrain perceived by them is lack of irrigation water. The extent of involvement of family members were found in four activities in harvesting of crops, marketing of produce, purchase and sale of animals and care and management of animals. Wives and sons were the major contributors of family labour. The seasonal employment pattern identified in Kuttanad varied according to different farming systems. Rice based farming system was the major farming system in Kuttanad. Allied enterprises like poultry, dairy, duckery, fisheries, goatry, rabbit rearing and piggery were also identified from the farming systems of Kuttanad.ThesisItem Open Access Entrepreneurial behaviour of agripreneurs of KAU technology(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horiculture, Vellanikkara, 2017) Raju Parashuram, Naik; KAU; Helen, SEntrepreneurial behavior of agripreneurs of KAU technology Kerala Agricultural University has been transferring agricultural technology to the benefit of farming community right from its inception. Several recommended agricultural technologies were utilized by the stakeholders for enhancing their income for their livelihood. Recently, promotion of agripreneurship has been realized as inevitable for the revitalization of agriculture sector. Kerala Agricultural University has also taken earnest and concerted effort to consolidate, showcase and disseminate the various technology generated suitable for entrepreneurship and skill development. Apart from showcasing the technology in various fairs, seminars, trainings and workshops, KAU Technology Meet-2014 was organised to transfer the technology to the ultimate users. It was felt as appropriate to study the entrepreneurial behavior of agripreneurs of KAU technology with the objectives of assessing the status of the agripreneurs in terms of their entrepreneurial behaviour, factors influencing their entrepreneurial skill and constraints faced by them in utilising the technology. A total sample size of 100 respondents were selected using simple random sampling technique from the list of trainees who participated in the trainings conducted by the extension centres of Kerala Agricultural University such as Communication Centre, Central Training Institute and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Thrissur. The results showed that majority of the respondents were under middle age group of 36 - 55 years. It was observed that 36 per cent of the respondents had an education up to high school level. Majority of the respondents had medium level of mass media contact (76%), social participation (73%), attitude towards self- employment and economic motivation. Among the 10 dimensions of the entrepreneurial behavior, decision making ability, coordinating ability, management orientation and market perception were high, whereas self-confidence, information seeking behavior, innovativeness, risk orientation, leadership ability and achievement motivation were medium among the agripreneurs. Further it was also observed that among the listed 10 dimensions the composite index for market perception was ranked the highest (83.12). This indicated that the agripreneurs gave much importance to the current market trend, marketing channel, market information and continuous supply of raw materials for the particular enterprise. The overall entrepreneurial behavior of the respondents was found to be medium. Study on factors affecting entrepreneurial behavior of agripreneurs showed that social participation, mass media contact, attitude towards self-employment and education had significant positive relationship with entrepreneurial behavior of agripreneurs. Securing working capital (62.00%) was the serious constraint faced by agripreneurs under financial constraints. Lack of market information (41.00%) was the serious constraint under marketing category, whereas non-availability of input materials (67.00%) and high labour cost (60.00%) were the serious constraints under production category and dual duties (45.00%) was the serious constraint experienced by the agripreneurs under personal constraints. Apart from imparting technical skills, extension programmes of Kerala Agricultural University may also include the subject areas like linkage with financial institutions, methods of tapping market information through Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools, introduction of mechanization, soft skills on managing dual duties, sharing responsibilities with fellow members etc. The activities of Technology Incubation Centres are to be strengthened as continuous support system to facilitate the agripreneurs for meeting the challenges they face during the process of doing the agribusiness. Periodic review of the performance of agribusiness by the Technology Incubation Centres may create a platform for solving most of the constraints faced by the agripreneurs. Networking of agripreneurs who are involved in similar kind of agribusiness for the exchange of available resources and inputs are to be promoted.ThesisItem Open Access Gender analysis of 'ADIYA' tribal agricultural labourers of Wayanad district(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Dhanusha Balakrishnan; KAU; Anilkumar, AWayanad is the home for majority of the tribal people in Kerala. ‘Adiya’ tribe is one of the major tribal groups in Wayanad. Women formed half of the population and they played an integral role in the tribal society. Even though they formed a major portion, they were also the most oppressed community. Adiya women were hard working and bread winners of the family. Most of them are agricultural labourers working in coffee plantations, rice fields, ginger fields and banana orchards. They strived hard to meet the needs of the family as the male members of their family spend most of their income on alcohol. But still they were excluded and discriminated in and outside the society. The study aims to bring their unheard and unsaid problems into light and reduce the drudgeries faced by them in their day to day life. The present investigation was undertaken with the major objectives of conducting the gender analysis of ‘Adiya’ tribal agricultural labourers of Wayanad district. The livelihood constraints and scale of social exclusion of ‘Adiya’ women agricultural labourers were also identified. The present study was conducted in the Wayanad district of Kerala. This district has been purposively selected for conducting the study because this is one of the districts which has the highest concentration of ‘Adiyan’ tribal settlements in Kerala. Samples of 120 tribal people were selected randomly from three panchayaths of Wayanad namely Thirunelly, Mananthavady and Panamaram. Detailed review of literature, judges rating, and discussion with experts and scientists were used in the selection of variables. The dependent variables selected for the study were social exclusion and social discrimination. Profile characteristics were selected as the independent variables. Moreover gender analysis of ‘Adiya’ tribal agricultural labourers was also conducted. The data was collected using pre-tested and structured interview schedule. The statistical tools used were frequency, simple percentage analysis and correlation analysis. The salient findings of the study are summarised below: 1. In the case of gender analysis, major women dominated decisions were in the cases of child rearing and religious matters. 2. Major men dominated decisions were in the cases of household decisions, jobs to be taken, education, expenditure of Income and decisions regarding elderly people in the house. 3. In the case of benefits and incentive analysis, women were most capable of using the information obtained through extension agency contact and farmer groups. 4. In the case of men, they were capable of using the money obtained from income , utilizing the education received for one’s own empowerment, understanding and using the technological developments, enjoying the benefits of employment opportunities, utilizing the transportation facilities and utilizing the benefits of farmer groups 5. In the agricultural activity analysis, women oriented activities were weeding, post harvest operations, livestock and poultry activities. 6. Major men oriented agricultural activities were land preparation and fertilizer application. 7. In the case of house hold activities, women oriented activities were food preparation, child care, elderly care, cleaning activities and collection of water. 8. In the case of men, they were mostly engaged as construction/daily wage labourers. 9. In the case of influencing factors, the positively influencing factors for women were, they were provided equal medical facilities, they were allowed to participate in social meetings and gatherings and they were allowed to vote in elections. 10. The negatively influencing factors were, they were not allowed to stay outside the home for late hours, they were not allowed to travel distant places alone, they were not provided equal wages for the same amount of work and they were not allowed to take up political powers in the society. 11. In the case of men other than timely availability of incentives, and inability to take up political powers in the society all other factors were positively influencing. 12. Results of analysis of access and control to resources shows that women had access to inputs but did not have control on any and in the case of men, they had access to all resources and maximum control was on land, labour, money and technology. 13. In the case of social exclusion, majority of the females and males of Thirunelly panchayath experienced high level of geographic exclusion, 80% of the females and 50% of the males in Mananthavady panchayath, experienced high level of geographic exclusion, but in Panamaram panchayath, majority of the females and males experienced low level of geographic exclusion. 14. In the case of economic exclusion 90% of the females and males experienced high level of economic exclusion, 90% of the females and males in Mananthavady panchayath experienced high level of economic exclusion and in the case of Panamaram panchayath majority of the females and males experienced low level of economic exclusion. 15. In the case of socio cultural exclusion,73% of the females and 80% of the males experienced high level of socio cultural exclusion, majority of the females and males of Mananthavady panchayath experienced low level of socio cultural exclusion and in the case of Panamaram panchayath also majority of males and females experienced low level of socio cultural exclusion. 16. In the case of political legal exclusion, majority of the females and males of Thirunelly panchayath experienced high level of political legal exclusion, in the Mananthavady panchayath majority belonged to the high level of political legal exclusion and in the Panamaram panchayath also females and males also experienced high political legal exclusion. 17. In the case of social discrimination, majority of the male and female respondents of all the three Panchayaths experienced high level of social discrimination. 18. Regarding age, it was found that 53.36% of the females and 56.67% of the males belonged to middle age category. When 5.56% of the females and 36.67% of the males were of the old age group, 41.11% of the females and 6.67% of the males belonged to young age category. 19. Looking into the data of annual income, it can be found that 72.22% of the females and 60% of the males were in medium category of annual income, 13.33% of the females and 33.33% of the males belonged to high category and 14.44% of the females and 6.67% of the men received a low level of annual income. 20. In the case of marriage 75.56% of the females and 93.33% of the males were married. However, 24.44% of the females were widows and 2.22% of the males were widowers. 21. Considering family size, 54.44% of the females and 43.33% of the males had a family size ranging from 4 to 5. However, 30% of the females and 36.67% of the males had a family size of more than 5 members. In the case of families with 3 to 4 members, 15.56% of females and 20% of males belonged to this category. 22. Regarding educational status, 40% of the females and 50% of the males could read and write, 24.44% of the females and 33.33% of the males were illiterate, 26.67% of the females and 13.33% of the males received primary level of education, 4.44% of the females and 3.33% of the males were graduates, and 3.33% of the females had high school level of education. 23. With respect to their alcoholism habit, 95.55% of the women never consumed alcohol, and only 4.44% of the females consumed alcohol occasionally. In the case of men, 83.33% of the men consumed alcohol on a daily basis, and 16.66% of the men consumed alcohol weekly. 24. In the case of extension agency contact, majority of the males and females had contact with agricultural officers and panchayath officials but did not have any contact with, agricultural assistants and agricultural scientists. 25. Considering mass media exposure, majority of them had daily and weekly exposure to radio and television but did not have any exposure to books, farm magazines and internet. 26. Regarding environmental orientation, Environmental orientation was recorded as 100% in all the three panchayaths among both the genders. 27. In the case of land holding, 20% of the females and 6.67% of the males had land of about 5 cents. When, 42.22% of the females and 43.33% of the males had land ranging from 6 to 10 cents, 34.44% of the females and 30% of the males had a land size ranging from 11 to 25 cents. However, 3.33% of the females and 20% of the males had land more than 25 cents. 28. Regarding wage structure, 80% of the females and 46.67% of the males received a wage between Rupees 250 and 500 and 7.78% of the females and 50% of the males received a wage more than Rupees 500. Whereas 12.22% of the females and 6.67% of the males received a wage less than Rupees 250. 29. In the case of political orientation, it can be concluded that 75.56% of the females and 70% of the males had medium level of political orientation. Moreover, 24.44% of the females and 30% of males had high level of political orientation. 30. Looking into the data of indebtedness, it can be found that 56.67% of the females and 36.67% of the males had no debt, 42.22% of the females and 26.67% of the males had a debt less than Rupees 2500. Finally, 3.33% of the females and 36.67% of the males had a debt between Rupees 2500 and 5000. 31. Regarding the type of houses they lived in, 36.67% of the females and 33.33% of the males lived in small concrete homes. 32. Houses of 51.11% of the females and 33.33% of the males were in average condition and houses of 48.89% of the females and 66.67% of the males were in good condition. 33. The major constraints identified in the case of women were inaccessibility of support from government, unequal wage structure and crop damage due to animal attack, domestic violence and alcoholism. 34. In the case of men, the major constraints identified were inaccessibility of support from government, inaccessibility of incentives, depletion of agricultural lands, poor economic status and crop damage due to animal attacks.ThesisItem Open Access Sustainability of commercial vegetable cultivation in Thiruvananthapuram district: a multidimensional analysis(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Namitha, K; KAU; Seema, BThe present study entitled ‘Sustainability of commercial vegetable cultivation in Thiruvananthapuram district: a multidimensional analysis’ was conducted in the two blocks of Thiruvananthapuram district with objectives : to assess the sustainability of commercial vegetable cultivation in Thiruvananthapuram district, measure the commercial vegetable grower’s scale of knowledge and rate of adoption of KAU practices in selected vegetables, measure the perception about the feasibility of commercial organic vegetable cultivation and to identify the constraints faced by the commercial vegetable cultivators. The selected vegetables were amaranthus, cowpea and bitter gourd. The study was carried out in the four Panchayats of Thiruvananthapuram district (Pallichal, Kalliyoor, Kottukal, Venganoor) from two blocks having maximum area under commercial vegetable cultivation. A sample size of 100 was selected for the study with 25 farmers from each Panchayat. The findings of the study revealed that more than 50 percent of the respondents belonged to medium category in respect to sustainability of commercial vegetable cultivation. Among the five dimension of sustainability, economic dimension of sustainability contributed 72 % of the total sustainability followed by socio – psychological dimension (36%), environmental dimension (7%), technological dimension (5 %) and temporal dimension (4%). In the case of total sustainability 55 % of the respondents belonged to the medium category followed by 23 % in high category and 22 % in low category. With respect to knowledge about the KAU practices in amaranthus, cowpea and bitter gourd 60 % of the respondents were having higher level of knowledge whereas only 40 % of respondents belonged to low knowledge category. In the case of adoption of KAU practices in amaranthus, cowpea and bitter gourd 54 % respondents belonged to medium category whereas only 27 % had high rate of adoption. Only 19% respondents had higher level of perception about the feasibility of commercial organic vegetable cultivation, whereas 58 % of them belonged to medium category. Sustainability of commercial vegetable cultivation was positively and significantly correlated with annual income, knowledge about KAU practices, adoption of KAU practices, farming experience, economic motivation, market orientation, exposure to mass media, entrepreneurial behaviour, training undergone and incentives received for commercial vegetable cultivation and it was negatively and significantly correlated with perception about the feasibility of commercial organic vegetable cultivation. Scarce water resources, extremity in weather conditions, non-assurance of premium price for organic products, incidence of pest and diseases, were the important constraints faced by the commercial vegetable growers. The suggestions put forward by the farmers were inclusion of accessible and low cost technologies, ensuring of premium price for the product especially for organic vegetables, improve the marketing and transport facilities without intermediaries, promotion of value addition technologies, providing training programmes to youth and support from the extension agents for the adoption of improved practices. The study therefore revealed that, economic dimension of sustainability stands first among the various dimensions affecting sustainability of commercial vegetable cultivation. To maintain the sustainability of commercial vegetable cultivation in Thiruvananthapuram district a comprehensive strategy is needed focusing on productivity enhancement, market - led extension approach with less number of intermediaries, which will have an impact on the economic side of sustainability. More investment in research and extension should also be undertaken to meet the upcoming challenges of commercial vegetable cultivation especially for pest and disease incidence.ThesisItem Open Access Stakeholder analysis for enhancing the role primary producers in mango value chains(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2017) Nadhika, K; KAU; Jayasree KrishnankuttyIndia is the largest mango producing and the chief exporting country in the world with an annual mango production of 18 million metric tons, which accounts for about 50 per cent of the global mango supply. In total India has about 8.97 lakh ha dedicated to mango farming, out of which Kerala accounts for about 77.30 thousand ha under mango cultivation during 2014-’15. Muthalamada in Chittur taluk of Palakkad district, is known as the ‘Mango City’ of Kerala. The mango orchards in Muthalamada covers around 4000 hectares, with about 5000 mango cultivators. The annual production of mango in Muthalamada Panchayat is approximately 40,000 tonnes. However, the mango sector in Palakkad district is not devoid of any problems, which hinders its economic advancement. In this background, the present study entitled “Stakeholder analysis for enhancing the role of primary producers in mango value chain” was taken up in the Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, during 2015-17. The study was formulated with the objectives to identify the stakeholders in mango value chains, their functions and value share, to analyze the institutions and its role in mango value chain, to identify the marketing channels utilized by the farmers, to examine the price spread and marketing efficiency of the farmers, to understand the constraints faced by the farmers and to suggest value chain enhancement measures in favor of producer farmers. Survey was carried out among the mango growers and other stakeholders in Muthalamada Panchayat. About 60 farmers and 30 stakeholders were randomly selected for the study. Stakeholder analysis, SWOC matrix analysis and Scenario analysis were carried out through group discussions. The results of the baseline information of the respondents revealed that the farmers with age in between 51 and 70 years depended on agriculture alone (64.70 per cent) and hence they were more cautious about marketing their produce. They marketed more than 75 per cent of their produce to distant markets such as Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, etc. The respondents had good educational status with experience of more than 20 years and medium extension contact. The farmers cultivating in leased land along with their own orchard (78.26 per cent) tend to go for combined cultivation practices. Two third of the respondents (68.62 per cent) possessing different areas relied on collection agent for marketing their produce as they are easily approachable and the farmers had to incur only transportation cost. The mango growers were well organized, with about 51 respondents (49 per cent) having membership in Farmer Producer Organization (FPO). Alphonso, Banganpally, Bennett Alphonso and Tottapuri are mainly preferred for cultivation as these varieties are having huge demand in both international as well as domestic markets. Stakeholder analysis according to importance- influence scoring revealed that intermediaries like mandi walas, trader, collection agent and pre-harvest contractor had more influence in the mango sector. The major institutions involved in mango value chain include Krishi Bhavan, State Horticulture Mission (SHM), APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations), Chittur Agro Park and NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development). The marketing channel utilized by the farmers varies according to the grade of the produce, grade 1 is the export quality, grade 2 is usually the undersized mangoes that does not fulfil the export requirement and grade 3 is malformed mangoes or mangoes having external discoloration, etc. In case of grade 1 mangoes both channel 1 and channel 2 were having marketing efficiency 0.14. Margin was highest for the wholesaler and the exporting agency for channel 1 and channel 2 respectively. For grade 2 mangoes, channel 4 was found to be more efficient (0.24) due to absence of an intermediary. Grade 3 mangoes are mainly sold at the local markets and for processing, wherein marketing of mangoes directly to local market was found to be efficient (0.4) whereas in case of processing involvement of too many intermediaries affects the efficiency of the marketing channel. The important factors affecting marketing efficiency according to binary logistic regression include experience, ownership, income source, type of cultivation, orchard type, credit source and marketing channel. A comparative study was made among two groups of farmers, group I comprising of farmers with less than 5 acres of land and group II encompassing farmers with more than 5 acres. The result highlighted that, cultivation type was significantly different for the respondents of the two groups. Major constraints faced by the farmers during marketing include poor availability of market information, absence of a common collection center, over dominance of middle men and deficit of timely labor. Finally, SWOC analysis and scenario analysis were conducted to arrive at strategic options. The strategic options developed from the study are enhancing value addition and product development, promotion of branding of the produce, to educate the farmers on building competitiveness and to increase export potential by addressing quality parameters.ThesisItem Open Access Women plantation labourers of tea gardens in Idukki district: a multidimensional analysis(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2017) Uthara, R Nath; KAU; Anilkumar, AThe present study entitled “Women plantation labourers of tea gardens in Idukki district: A multidimensional analysis” was conducted in three panchayaths of Idukki district. The objectives of the study were to identify the gender roles of women plantation labourers of tea gardens in Idukki district and study the livelihood constraints and the socio-economic deprivation of women labourers. In this study, three Grama panchayaths namely Munnar, Pallivasal and Devikulam were selected and from each Grama panchayath one ward were selected and again from each ward 30 women and 10 men plantation labourers were selected randomly. Thus, resulting in a total sample size of 120 respondents. A well-structured interview schedule was employed for data collection from the respondents. One dependent variable namely, socio-economic deprivation and 12 independent variables namely, age, educational status, marital status, age at the time of marriage, family size, monthly income, indebtedness, food security, alcoholism, health care seeking behaviour, discrimination and political orientation were studied and analyzed with the help of different statistical tools like mean, median, frequency, percentage, coefficient of variation, correlation, z test, and Kruskal Wallis test. The female dominated gender roles identified under productive roles were tea picking/plucking (81.67%) and food decisions (73.335), and under reproductive roles were cooking (69.17%), childcare (65%) and elderly care (66.67%). While male dominated gender roles identified under productive roles were weeding (94.17%), pesticide application (100%), fertilizer application (100%), post-harvest techniques (89.17%), money management (54.17%), education of children (55.83%), and under reproductive roles were fetching of water (56.67%) and collection of fuel wood (58.33%). Under community roles 100 per cent of women respondents participated in Kudumbasree and a00 per cent men in Seva sangam. The overall socio-economic deprivation index was calculated as 2.165. Among the nine dimension of socio-economic deprivation income, housing, other public services, social recognition, democratic participation and credit were found to be deprived with deprivation score of 2 for income, other public services, social recognition, democratic participation and credit and for housing deprivation score calculated was 1. There was significant difference between women and men in the dimension of education and other public services. In the Devikulam panchayath, education and health (deprivation score 2 for both education and income) were also found to be deprived since this particular ward was not close to the city. Also 55.56 per cent of the women tea plantation labourers and 53.33 per cent of men tea plantation labourers were highly deprived of the dimensions while 44.44 per cent women tea plantation labourers and 46.67 per cent men tea plantation labourers had low level of deprivation of the dimensions. The profile characteristics of the female labourers such as family size and indebtedness showed a positive and significant correlation with the dependent variable socio-economic deprivation while political orientation showed a negative and significant correlation. In the case of male labourers the profile characteristic, age at the time of marriage showed negative and significant correlation while indebtedness showed a positive and significant correlation with the dependent variable socio-economic deprivation. The top five constraints faced by the women tea plantation labourers were low wages, lack of housing facilities, lack of involvement in management, inaccessibility of government financial institutions and lack of rest period. Amongst men these were low wages, inadequate employment opportunities, lack of housing facilities, lack of involvement in management and inaccessibility of government financial institutions. From the findings it can be concluded that housing was the most deprived dimension among the nine dimensions followed by income, other public services, social recognition, democratic participation and credit. Under gender roles tea picking is dominated by women. The female dominated gender roles were tea picking/plucking, food decisions, cooking, childcare, elderly care and Kudumbasree. Male dominated gender roles were weeding, pesticide application, fertilizer application, post-harvest techniques, money management, education of children, fetching of water, collection of fuel wood and Seva sangam.ThesisItem Open Access Impact of training programmes on farm mechanisation - a case study(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2017) Akhil Krishnan, U; KAU; Helen, SAgricultural Research Station, Mannuthy had provided training to 236 groups and about 5203 trainees, including 2910 males and 2293 females, till 2016. They attended the training for learning the operation and repair and maintenance of the farm machineries. Each and every group of the trainees who had undergone the training were enrolled as a society, named as AMOSC (Agro Machinery Operation Service Center) according to the draft byelaw formulated under 1955, 12thAct Travancore Cochin Literary Science and Charitable Trust Registration Act. The list of trainees of the training conducted on farm mechanization in the central zone of Kerala viz., Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulam by Agricultural Research Station, Mannuthy was collected from Central Training Institute, Mannuthy. Among the trainees a sample size of 60 trainees belonged to Central Kerala were selected as respondents using simple random sampling technique. Apart from the selected 60 respondents, 5 successful cases of respondent groups were identified for conducting case study. The five respondent groups selected were Food Security Army, Venoor, Food Security Army, Palliyakkal, Food Security Army, Kodumbu, Food Security Army, Irinjalakuda and Food Security Army, Pampakuda. The data gathered from the respondents were scored classified and examined by utilizing simple non parametric statistical techniques. Based on the feedback of respondents obtained after pilot study and discussion with the experts in Agricultural Extension, the interview schedule was prepared and finalized. The researcher had collected data from the respondents using the pre-tested interview schedule. Focused Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted in both Panchayaths and Key informant interviews were done for qualitative data collection. 111 Data was analyzed using percentage analysis, Spearman Rank Order Correlation, Henry garrett ranking method, Wilcoxon ranking method and index method. Salient findings of the study are presented below: Majority of the respondents belonged to middle age (71.66 %) followed by old age (15 %). Almost equal percentage of males (48 %) and females (52 %) participated in the training on farm mechanization conducted by Agricultural Research Station, Mannuthy during the period of 2013-2015. With regard to educational status of the respondents, more than 50 per cent of the trainees had plus two level of education followed by 23 per cent with a high school education. Occupational status of the respondents revealed that 45 per cent of the farmers had ‘Agricultural and allied activities’ as their major occupation. Almost equal per cent of the respondents possessed their primary occupation as ‘Agricultural labourer’. As far as secondary occupation was concerned majority of the respondents worked as ‘Agricultural labourer’ consisting of 28.33 per cent followed by ‘Non agricultural labourers (10 %). Most of the respondents earned low income (46.67 %) for their livelihood and led a life of hand to mouth existence. Among the different categories of family size, 51.67 per cent of them had 4 members followed by 5 members (28.33 %) in their family. Majority of the respondents owned (58.33%) less than 50 cents of land area. Hence they could not entirely depend on farming, but they involved in group farming activities and agricultural labour. Social participation of respondents showed that all the trainees became members of Food Security Army and 13 per cent functioned as office bearers. 112 Majority of the respondents (30 %) regularly attended meetings of service co- operatives and 28.33 per cent of the members regularly attended meetings in Mahila mandals. Based on the type of mass media and frequency of their usage, 58 per cent of the respondents watched television regularly. Half of the respondents (50 %) listened to radio. And only 25 per cent and 3 per cent of the respondents read regularly news papers and magazines respectively. There were no respondents who used bulletins, books and internet regularly. About 90 per cent of the trainees had attended only one training on farm mechanization. And only 11 per cent of the respondents purchased machinery like brush cutter, garden tiller and coconut climbers on their own after the training. The institutions supported the members of food security army in terms of finance and technical guidance were Block panchayaths, Krishi Bhavans, Service Co Operative Banks and ARS, Mannuthy. Besides, ARS Mannuthy provided training to the FSA, supplied uniforms and supported for the maintenance of the machinery of the FSAs. Some of the groups were engaged in marketing of seedlings and the seeds were provided by ARS, Mannuthy. Considering motivational factors, the level of achievement motivation of the trainees and level of confidence was medium among majority of the respondents. Majority of the respondents (40 %) adopted the innovations after seeing others trying it out successfully. The degree of scientific orientation and extent of risk orientation was medium among the trainees. Regarding the utilization of credit, most of the trainees (above 90%) did not utilize it from institutional or non-institutional credit sources. The increase in indebtedness of the trainees after attending the training might be because of availing loan for meeting their personal and family needs as their income from farm mechanization was meagre and forced them to subsistence level of living. 113 Majority of the trainees (88 %) agreed that they learned repairing farm machineries after training. With regard to back home utility after attending the training on farm mechanization, majority of the respondents were under medium category. The parameters studied for assessing back home utility revealed that the training created a positive impact among the trainees. SWOC analysis explained the major strength of the training on farm mechanization was field level hands on training with an index value of 96.33 and weakness of the training was less duration of training with an index value 71.37. The major opportunity perceived by the trainees of farm mechanization was ‘opening avenue for group farming’, which secured an index of 95.53 and the major challenge was repair and maintenance of machines with an index value of 86.67. Most important constraint faced by the trainees was non feasibility of the farm machinery in all the regions with an average score of 63.60