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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Open Access
Participatory action research for renumerative rice production
(Department of Agricultural extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2004) Parvathy, S; KAU; Ahamed, P
As with the Complex, Diverse and Risk- prone (CDR) rice systems of many Asian countries, the Kerala state of peninsular India suffers from the fast depleting paddies and the ' high cost- low remuneration syndrome'. Crucial rice technologies have been blamed by stakeholders for the insensitivity to micro farming situations A multidisciplinary stakeholder Participatory Action Research (PAR) of emancipatory type and collaborative mode was done for three years (2001-2004) on identification and prioritization of constraints to profitable rice production to explore the available cost-reducing and productivity increasing technological options. The project focussed on screening of technological modules through farmer participatory field assessment and arrived at locally adaptable and remunerative technology packages. The project also developed and standardised an extrapolatable stakeholder participatory assessment model and protocol. The programme had a blend of extension approaches, research designs and tools like "ex-post facto", benchmark appraisal through Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), exploratory, diagnostic, evaluative, field experiments and analytical studies. The PAR was done in two rice ecosystems (irrigated and rainfe:l) of the midland, laterite belt of Kerala state, India. Fourteen technology modules were fitted into the PAR, under .. , each of the three treatments, viz., farmers' practice, recommended packages of the formal research system and location specific I technology components" jointly decided by the research team extensionists and farmers. Each technology component was subjected to five types of analysis viz., agronomic, statistical, economic, farmers perceptions and reactions, post-trial follow up analysis of adoption in the succeeding cropping seasons. The participatory interventions significantly influenced the level of technical knowledge and extent of adoption of adaptable technology modules, typifying the cognitive impact of an emancipating action research. The short duration red rice varieties "Kanchana" (Ptb 50) and "Kairali" (Ptb 49) proved to be the best first crop and second crop varieties respectively, to replace the ruling cultivars. The technology modules recommended by the formal research system viz., seed treatment with fungicides for the first crop season and Pseudomonas fluorescence for the second crop season were adaptable technologies. The PAR came out with an efficient planting density and crop geometry package (line transplanting; 15 x 10 cm; 67 . , hills/m'; 2-3 seedlings/hill) to replace the conventional planting system. The existing formal recommendations including IPM and INM practices could enhance and combat weeds, pest and diseases thereby enhancing crop yield. Harvesting with self- propelled reaper and threshing with mechanised thresher were cost effective, drudgery alleviating and time saving. The net result of the action research was a set of adaptable technological package for remunerative rice production in the CDR rice production systems. Cognitive and behavioural impact on the participants; and the standard methodology and protocol for participatory technology validation for rice in particular, and for any farm enterprise in general, with extrapolative effect.
Open Access
Women empowerment through group action in the kudumbashree programme of kerala: a multidimensional analysis
(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2007) Priya Devi, R; KAU; Mothilal Nehru, S
The study was aimed to assess the extent of eradication of poverty and the dimensions of empowerment in the Kudumbashree programme of Kerala government for poverty alleviation. The determinants of performance of Self Help Groups organized in neighborhood basis and their functional and structural analysis including the tangible and intangible benefits and constraints were also studied. Suggestions to enhance the efficiency of the Self Help Groups(SHGs) in agriculture and other sectors organized under the Kudumbashree programme were made. A sample of 300 respondents was selected at random from three districts of three regions of the state namely Thiruvananthapuram from south Kerala, Ernakulam from central Kerala and Malappuram from north Kerala which were selected randomly. In each district, 25 SHGs comprising 20 non-agriculture and 5 agriculture oriented SHGs were selected. The structural and functional analysis of Kudumbashree was carried out by Mc Kinsey procedure of SWOT analysis. The implementing category of personnel namely top management, middle management and grass-root functionaries and the selected SHG members were the respondents for the study. The nature, extent and style of functioning of Kudumbashree were studied with the above respondents.Besides, all implementing personnel working in the above three districts were also selected. Interactions with state level management personnel were done to elicit information regarding the study and also for triangulating findings. A sub sample consisting of five poorly performing SHGs from agriculture and non-agriculture sectors making total of ten SHGs on the basis of perception of the implementing officials and the result of the study were selected for in depth sub sample analysis and their limitations were stated. In the study it was assumed that the dependent variables poverty eradication and women empowerment were interrelated with the performance level of the groups having an intervening effect .A measurement scale for PEI was developed to measure extent of poverty eradication which was one of the dependent variable as a specific objective of the study. Poverty eradication index was the yardstick or standard to measure how far the Kudumbashree has alleviated the incidence of poverty among the members .The index consisted of eight constitutive factors and the cumulative expression of the scores in relation to the factors is the poverty eradication index of the respondent. The data was gathered by using the pre tested interview schedule / questionnaire developed for the study. Statistical tools used in the study were quartile deviation, mean, ANOVA and correlation analysis. Poverty eradication index score and empowerment score were given in quartile range to show the extent of poverty eradication and empowerment attained by the Kudumbashree programme. Categorisation was done in low, medium, high and over. As recorded in the study, regarding health care majority of the respondents were dependent on primary health care centre and the constraints felt were lack of supply of medicines, doctors not being available for ensuring timely medical care and the primary health centre located far away from the home. Nature of savings of respondents were with majority having group savings while post office savings, insurance and chitties were also reported.Borrowing pattern regarding the source of borrowing by the respondents showed only reliable institutional sources were used to avail loans by the majority.For purpose of borrowing repayment of debt was recorded as the highest felt need requiring borrowings followed by shelter renovation activities and health care need. Regarding the confidence of repayment majority reported they were confident of repayment while borrowing the amount. But 270 of them had experienced instances of inability to repay on time. 276 respondents of them had felt mental stress due to non repayment of borrowed amount on time. Access to safe drinking water and the source for drinking water as recorded in the study had half of the respondents having access to safe drinking water in their house premises itself. Regarding the vulnerability status of the respondents it was seen that majority of them had faced a situation were they have been unemployed for a month or more. They took loan or lent out assets in the situation. Regarding alcoholism 120 of respondents agreed that the earning male member of the family was alcoholic. Control over earnings had majority satisfied with the expenditure pattern of the family. Regarding entrepreneurial culture 60 of respondents had a temporary job while 99 had permanent job. 75 had reported to go to job daily while 60 had job availability sometimes only. All respondents had reported that they think the work undertaken by them was respectable in society. According to perception of respondents, repayment of loan and not possessing own home were the major factors of poverty while risk factors were damaged house or having no own house. The next constraint was recorded for having no or only one regular employed person in the family. Poverty eradication index ranged from a minimum of 19.51 in all three districts to a maximum of 60.53 in Thiruvananthapuram and 65.76 in both Ernakulam and Malappuram .The mean index was 41.26 in Thiruvananthapuram, 43.92 in Ernakulam and 41.07 in Malappuram. Thus a wide variation in the extent of poverty eradication was shown .The activities will have to be strengthened further to ensure appreciable alleviation of poverty. Empowerment index recorded a minimum of 29.70 in all three districts to a maximum of 86.07 in Thiruvananthapuram and 77.68 in both Ernakulam and Malappuram .The mean index was 55.10 in Thiruvananthapuram, 53.03 in Ernakulam and 51.36 in Malappuram. Regarding relationship between poverty eradication index and empowerment index, all three districts showed significant relationship in this study.Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test showed significant results for empowerment index. Inferences from categorization of groups in the districts based on group performance index were that medium level of group performance was shown by majority of groups. In depth sub sample analysis had the following limitations identified. For the group doing rice farming, the owners are reluctant to lease out every season and processing units and storage facilities were absent. The members of the computer units had to meet extra expenses of electricity bill and the rent for the building from the income. Delay in payment of works undertaken for public purposes was reported. Marketing is a difficult task for coconut oil and for pappad making units.Drudgery, improper risk management, improper auditing and absence of diversification of crops were also reported. Design of the action program was done with formulation of plan for vegetable cultivation with College of Agriculture,Vellayani as source to get timely information, inputs and technical support.Execution of action program was done and impact assessed by proper monitoring of the process, identifying technological constraints with its solutions. SWOT analysis of Kudumbasree program showed that the localised social upliftment measures by community based organization, enhanced participation through meetings at home and the facilitation of women to enter public life was the major strengths. Productive usage of loan amount through canalised allotment of resources and holistic identification of poor not based on income/consumption but based on risk factors of poverty were the major strengths of the programme. The weaknesses of the programme recorded were leadership being influenced by political interference leading to corruption in work culture and intra group conflicts have been reported to limit the success of certain enterprises especially incase of consumptive usage of credit in absence of proper supervision. Lacks of enthusiasm among young members, cases of late approval of projects or absence of skill development for increasing the market competency were noticed. The opportunities of Kudumbasree program were establishment of social, security network for destitute rehabilitation and to increase the level of participation of members. The preparation of micro plan using the risk indices and problem identification mechanism were also opportunity. Small enterprises can be used for diversification and modernisation of rural economy and skill up gradation of general poor population. The threats include absence of quality control for ensuring market competency, dissipating enthusiasm and lack of proper tie up with line departments .Lack of autonomy in policy formulation lead to micro plan being not given due consideration. Charge officers are not provided technical up gradation for supporting the enterprises and the products lacked local market demand. Tangible and intangible benefits identified in the study were extension of decentralization process to further grass root levels, enhanced female control over earnings, diversification and modernisation of rural economy, sustainable maintenance of Kerala model of development, dependable and trust worthy social network generated, and the reduction in social discrimination and social evils. At the level of implementation of Kudumbasree program benefits were enhanced production lending in the groups than consumption lending, non economic risk indices in identification of the beneficiaries, the multifaceted frame work to alleviate root causes of poverty , reduction in under employment and educated unemployment followed by the provision of separate administration over centrally sponsored programs . The benefits at beneficiary level included constituting a working group for poverty reduction and the habit of savings first and credit later aiding to self dependence. The existence of a group fund gave members experience in money management and trust in people ensure repayment. Also enhanced food security by undertaking rice farming, participatory need based decision making and the ability of NHGs to act as a forum to share concern were other benefits. The major constraints in planning level were panchayaths not creatively participating in project design and micro enterprise planning followed by lack of symbolic policy formulation from part of State Government. Regarding the implementation level the major constraint was recorded as no remuneration paid for the activities undertaken by ADS and CDS Secretaries is followed by the enterprises not being matched with market demands or incompatible to daily routine of members. Mixing up the poor and non- poor in groups was a sure path to failure. Also some beneficiaries sell the productive assets for immediate financial benefit which limits timely repayment. Suggestions on the basis of the study were that rejuvenation and intensification of the Kudumbashree need appraisals and campaigns to limit exploitation in a target oriented manner. Policy formulations from State Government for investment in social capital have to be given more priority; sales promotion must be undertaken widely assisted with innovative enterprise planning and implementation. Technical support for finance management and common supply of raw materials like Bamboos at reasonable cost should be ensured. The stationery supply for canteens can also be organised in common basis by using the wide network generated. The link agents between NHGs and CDS should be ensured proper payment. Sustainability measures including marketing outlets and reduction in drudgery, the schedule for loan recovery specific to enterprise according to the pattern of returns and prevention of sale of assets purchased must be ensured. Proper representation of general problems by consolidation and prioritisation of such ideas to micro plans should be undertaken. More profitable enterprises involving more members by sharing of experiences must be done. Incentives for timely repayment, proper guidance and conflict management cell should be ensured. Suggestions to improve functioning of agriculture oriented groups is to develop a regulated system to pass on specification of the orders to units, timely supply of quality inputs like raw materials through proper channels should be undertaken. Documentation of activities can organize the activities in a scientific manner. Interested members should be motivated by trainings. Small scale units of diverse products with market demand like medicinal plants, vermicomposting and mushroom culture should be organized widely. Proper grading, hygiene and attractive packing to ensure market competency should be done within the local infrastructure available.
Open Access
Effective agricultural information delivery system-an action research among farmers
(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2008) Nazreen Hassan, S; KAU; Kishore Kumar, N
Extension providers and client expectations include superior information accessing and dissemination, ongoing farmer-extension-research communications and marketing. AgIDS offer tremendous potential for accelerating development. They are transforming our lives, creating wealth and impacting every facet of human endeavor. Agricultural marketing requires connectivity between the market and exporters, growers, traders, industry consumers, through wide area network of national and international linkages in order to provide day-to-day information with regard to commodity arrivals and prevailing rates etc. this study was carried out with the objective of bringing out the underlying facts in the Information Communication technology available to the benefit of the farmers. Thiruvananthapuram district has been purposively selected for the study because this is the only district in Kerala having information kiosks being operated in the Krishibhavans. From the ten Krishibhavans three Krishibhavans were selected based on the maximum numbers of users of this ICT facility based on the records available in the Krishibhavans. The respondents were selected by random sampling method. 60 user farmers and 30 non-user farmers from each panchayat were selected and they formed the respondents of this study. A total of 270 farmers were contacted for the study. From a review of related literature and discussion with experts a comprehensive list of variables were selected. The dependent variables included attributes of ICT, Communication behaviour, information need and skill requirement. Majority of the farmers came under middle age group. Majority of the farmer in both the categories were found to be marginal farmers. Mostly the users were in a better socio economic group. The Extension Service must be able to provide information that makes a difference. ICTs are tools that help build human network, increase public awareness and provide access to information and knowledge for the use of people. They include Telephone, Fax, GIS, Radio, Television, Print, Internet, Video, Audio, Computer and technologies on the drawing boards. Possession of ICT tools by users was found to be higher than the nonusers except for farm magazines where the nonusers out-numbered the users. The mean of the socio technical variables was found to be the maximum for physical compatibility and desirability in the case of users. This was followed by social acceptability and simplicity. This was followed by physical compatibility and social acceptability. In both the cases user education had the minimum score. So this area needs more attention. Majority of farmers in both the categories perceived efficiency of ICT as ‘saving time and money in interacting’ and has ‘all information the farmer wants’ in the nonuser category. This was followed by one stop shop information by the users and supports marketing in the case of non users. There existed significant relation ship between the dependent variables. Also significant relationship was observed in the relationship that existed between some independent variables and dependent variables. A majority of the users claim that they slightly agree to the fact that their productivity has increased compared to the previous year. Analysis of variance showed a comparison between the user group and the non user group. It was found that the user group was higher in the case of all dependent variables. But in the case of information need it was found to be almost similar. A need assessment can help Extension educators to decide whether an extension program should be improved and how the services should be better delivered. The farmers needed information on agriculture such as market rates, bio pesticides, bio fertilizers. These areas ranked top in their information needs. This was followed by organic farming, plant protection and cropping practices. The skill requirement of the non-users farmers was more than the user farmers. The action research was conducted in the form of training on the skills of using computers. The participants for the research were selected by random sampling from the list of non user farmers’ interviewed. The farmers were exposed to the skills for five hours for two days i.e., for ten hours each to a group of thirty members. The influence of Training on the non-users observance on their knowledge gain, and skill acquisition at different intervals of time on the existing ICT facility was studied by documenting the knowledge gain, and skill acquisition at one week, one month and three months interval by the trainees. The results of paired‘t’ test on knowledge gain and skill acquisition showed high significance between different intervals of time. As perceived by the farmers it was found that lack in skill was the major problem that prevented most farmers in accessing through the ICT facility. The farmers also gave out some suggestions to bring this facility in a more effective manner. The study indicated anew strategy for solving the problems in technology dissemination by finding out the actual needs of the farmers in harnessing the benefits of ICT.
Open Access
Environmental concerns in the development projects on rice farming under decentralized planning
(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2011) Smitha, K P; KAU; Anilkumar, A
The study entitled ‘Environmental concerns in the development projects on rice farming under decentralized planning’ was undertaken with the major objective of studying the nature and extent of environmental concerns in planning and implementation of development projects on rice farming under decentralized planning in Palakkad District. Environmental awareness and constraints perceived by stakeholders in planning and implementation of the projects were also studied. The research project was undertaken in Palakkad district, as the district accounts for about 1/3rd of the total area under rice cultivation of Kerala state. Four blocks, viz. Kollengode, Kuzhalmannam, Chittur and Alathur were selected purposively based on the highest area under rice. Thekkinchira, Nelliancaud, Manchira and Kolapadam padashekarams were randomly selected from the above four respective blocks. Ten each of beneficiary farmers, agricultural labourers, people’s representatives/social activists in the same padashekaram were selected randomly for the study. Thus a total of 40 beneficiary farmers, 40 agricultural labourers and 40 people’s representatives/social activists were selected from the study area. In addition to those included in the selected projects / padashekarams, extension functionaries from other regions of the district were also randomly selected, so as to make a sample size of 40. Thus a total of 160 respondents belonging to the four categories constituted the sample of this study. The data collected were statistically analyzed using arithmetic mean, percentage, canonical correlation analysis and principal component analysis. The study on environmental concerns and awareness of stakeholders revealed that the farmer respondents had high to medium level of environmental concerns and awareness. Most of the agricultural labourers possessed medium level of environmental concerns while all of them were in the medium awareness category. All the extension personnel and majority of people’s representatives/social activists had high awareness and concern for environment. In the nature of environmental concerns it was found that in the land and soil management dimension, most of the padashekarasamithi considered three technologies while planning viz. (1) practicing crop rotation with pulses/leguminous green manures /fringe cropping with cowpea (2) application of nitrogen and potassium in two to three split doses and (3) application of lime while all the farmer respondents adopted two technologies viz. (1) applying nitrogen and potassium in 2-3 split doses according to the duration of the variety and (2) incorporation of crop residue in the field. While majority of the samithis considered only a single water management technology in the planning stage (selection of suitable varieties based on water availability) all the respondents adopted three major water management practices viz.(1) summer ploughing, (2) land/leveling/ puddling and (3) maintaining standing water as per crop requirement. All the samithis included augmentation of parasite / predator population in the field / use of natural enemies like Pseudomonas in the planning stage. Majority of the farmers avoided poaching and killing of birds and animals in rice fields. Selection of right season was considered in the planning stage by all the samithis and all the respondent farmers ploughed the field and exposed it to sun as a part of the plant protection practices. With respect to the extent of environmental concerns in the planning stage, majority of the farmers were found to be in the lower class of adoption with regard to land and soil management, water management, biodiversity conservation and plant protection practices while most of them were in the medium category in the implementation stage of all the four dimensions. Percentage adoption of land and soil management practices, water management, biodiversity conservation and plant protection practices was very high over planning and it was the highest in case of water management dimension. The above results show the inefficient planning at padashekarasamithi level and a better adoption and environmental concerns at the farmer level. Analysis of the relationship between the dependent variables (environmental concerns, awareness and extent of environmental concerns reflected in adoption of eco-friendly technologies) and profile characteristics of farmers revealed that environmental concern is the most important dependant variable and the profile characteristics viz. perception on the importance of mitigating environmental degradation, indigenous wisdom orientation, knowledge on eco-friendly rice cultivation, experience in eco-friendly farming, sense of empowerment, risk orientation, export orientation, educational status and participation in environment related activities contributes the most in developing environmental concerns and awareness. In the case of all other respondents out of the two dependent variables viz. environmental concerns and awareness, environmental concern is the most important dependent variable than environmental awareness. The variables sense of empowerment, experience in eco-friendly farming, knowledge on eco-friendly rice cultivation, perception on the importance of mitigating environmental degradation, age and indigenous wisdom orientation play crucial role in developing concern and awareness on environment in agricultural labourers while communication effectiveness, decision making ability and participation in environmental activities have the highest influence on the dependent variables in the case of extension personnel. Perception on the importance of mitigating environmental degradation, educational status, indigenous wisdom orientation, leadership, attitude towards group management and participation in environmental activities play very important role in defining environmental concern and awareness of people’s representatives / social activists. The B-C ratio of eco-friendly rice cultivation, conventional rice cultivation and cow based minimum budget rice farming (Gō-adharitha krishi) was 1.39, 1.79 and 2.2 respectively. The major reason for this is the higher cost of cultivation incurred in the case of eco-friendly rice cultivation which is due to the high cost of organic inputs and its application. But the price in the market is the same irrespective of the methods of production, which reduce the profit for eco-friendly farmers. Cow based minimum budget rice farming (Gō-adharitha krishi) portrays the success of eco-friendly farming by way of value addition and better marketing. The mean social benefit-cost ratio for all the respondents was high, which substantiates the general perception that social benefits derived from eco-friendly rice farming was higher than the social costs. The dimensions such as non- remunerative price, higher cost of cultivation and inconvenience in handling eco-friendly inputs contributed higher magnitude of variation towards social cost and the dimensions, superior quality of rice, enrichment of biodiversity, improvement in water quality and self-development contributed to higher magnitude of variations towards social benefit. Most of the farmers considered padashekarasamithi as a supplier of inputs from krishi bhavans, which was a major constraint in the planning stage while in the implementation stage the major constraint perceived by them was the labour unavailability. The labourers professed labour unavailability, lack of knowledge on eco-friendly techniques, lack of good quality, certified organic inputs in the market and higher cost of these inputs as the major constraints in the implementation stage. The major constraints according to the extension personnel were lack of co-ordination among the members of padashekarasamithi in the planning stage and labour unavailability, lack of good quality, certified organic inputs in the market in the implementation stage. While in the case of people’s representatives/social activists the major constraint perceived in the planning stage was the farmers outlook of padashekarasamithi as a mere input supplier of krishi bhavan. This group of stakeholders felt labour unavailability and problems in marketing organic rice due to its difficulty in getting it certified as the major constraints in the implementation stage. Some of the important policy prescriptions in the light of the study which the government should undertake are (i) offer incentive price for rice produced in an eco-friendly way (ii) provide assured market and farmer-customer networking (iii) simplify procedures of organic certification (iv) develop certification procedures for eco-friendly rice (v) value addition and (vi) offer incentives for farmers practicing clean agriculture (vii) encourage and conscientize farmers for cultivation of traditional varieties and use of indigenous wisdom (viii) redefining and updating organic farming policy (ix) encourge group approach in organic rice farming (x) encourage mixed farming (xi) maintain biodiversity register for grama panchayats and (xii) ensure availability of eco-friendly inputs .
Open Access
Agricultural expert system - a participatory assessment
(Department of Agricultural extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2008) Helen, S; KAU; Kaleel, F M H
Cyber Extension includes effective use of Information and Communication Technology, national and international information networks, Internet, Expert Systems, Multimedia Learning Systems and Computer based training systems to improve information access to the farmers, extension personnel and scientists. The dissemination of the technologies could be enhanced by using expert systems and other artificial intelligence technologies (Hadi et al., 2006). An expert system is a computer-based program that uses knowledge, facts and different reasoning techniques to solve problems that normally require the abilities of human experts. The expert systems are based on the concept of artificial intelligence in which the experience and knowledge of human experts are captured in the form of IF-THEN rules and facts, to solve the field problems (Rao, 2003). ‘Diagnos-4’, was a computer-assisted software developed by Kerala Agricultural University during 2004. This package would support the agricultural extension workers and literate farmers for decision-making and help them in suggesting suitable control measures of the major pests and diseases of important nine crops of Kerala (Ganesan, 2002). It will be modified and released shortly for the benefit of all the stakeholders involved in agricultural development. Before introducing the system among users, it is appropriate to explore the possibilities of functioning of AES under the existing extension system so that suitable modifications can be made to make it more user friendly. Development of AES, ‘Diagnos-4’ was the pioneering and ambitious programme of Kerala Agricultural University. The personnel involved in technology dissemination and technology users need much information on plant protection measures. Hence ‘Diagnos-4’ was selected purposively. The research was conducted among the prospective users in two phases viz; exploratory design among researchers who were in the research institutes engaged in AES development and in TOT, all over India and experimental design among extension personnel and farmers from Palakkad District of Kerala. Mean scores, percentage analysis, Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance, t-test for two samples assuming equal variances and Binary Logistic Regression were the statistical tools used in this study. Twenty AES were identified during this study, developed by various agricultural research institutions in India. Many of the systems were restricted only to limited groups of users and they were yet to be popularized among the ultimate users. It was found that extension personnel and farmers possessed low level of knowledge especially in the areas of plant protection aspects of crops and they were in need of information on the same. Hence there is a lot of scope for the application of AES among extension personnel and farmers on plant protection aspects of crops that help the users to clarify their doubts, confirm their knowledge and provide real time information to the technology users. Prospective users in the transfer of technology stream were very much satisfied about the future prospects of AES based on its better performance, settings in the AES, mode of presentation, practicability and serviceability of the system. The areas that needed modifications were: retrievability of information, relevancy of information and information content. Release of Malayalam Version with more emphasis on easy retrievability of information, needs the immediate attention of the researchers. All the categories of respondents perceived that AES had got ‘more potential’ in the transfer of technology in terms of disseminating information to the users. The combination of AES and human expertise showed better performance and higher Information Efficiency Index (IEI) among the extension personnel and farmers. Majority of the extension personnel rated AES with high IEI. Whereas majority of the farmers rated AES with low IEI. Extension personnel and farmers assessed that the overall percentage of solution offered by AES in the plant protection of rice, coconut and banana was almost on par with the solutions given by human experts and in combination, it served better. It is better to introduce the AES designed separately for extension personnel and farmers. It is also necessary to release the software among the prospective users after a comprehensive orientation in using the AES. Maximum potential of AES can be explored by making the users as the partners in the AES development process to ensure user friendliness of Agricultural Expert System.
Open Access
Socio-technical system analysis of tribal and settler farmers in the western ghat regions of wayanad district in Kerala
(Department Of Agricultural Extension, College Of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2007) Geetha Nath, G; KAU; Kumari Sushama, N P
Agriculture cannot be sustainable unless it is integrated into the existing social systems. Furthermore, it must enhance social justice. Social integration means that the farmers must accept the technology. Optimum adoption of agricultural production innovations is achieved only when a farmer is persuaded to accept a technical innovation, which for him is technically sound, economically feasible, physically possible and politically and socially compatible. Research studies exploring the socio-technical system aspects of agricultural technology generation and diffusion among the diverse tribal and settler farmers in ecologically sensitive locations like Wayanad district will help in envisioning sustainable developmental interventions. It is in this background, the present investigation has been designed to analyse and compare the socio-technical system determinants, to study the cropping pattern and farming systems of the tribal and settler areas, to study the differential diffusion of agricultural innovations among the tribal and settler farmers and to construct a socio-technical feasibility index to evaluate the agricultural innovations among tribal and settler farmers. The study was carried out in Wayanad district, as this district has the maximum population of tribals and settlers. Six panchayats having the maximum tribal populations from the three blocks of Wayanad were taken. From each panchayat, 30 tribal and 30 settler farmers were selected randomly, making the total sample size of 360 respondents. An index for measuring the socio-technical feasibility of agricultural innovations was developed for the study taking into consideration the socio- technical determinants and adoption variables. In addition to the index, the differential diffusion of agricultural innovations among tribal and settler farmers, the personal, socio-psychological, economic variables and constraints experienced by the tribal and settlers farmers were also studied. Regarding the distribution of the tribal and settler farmers, with respect to some variables like education, family education status, annual income, exposure to mass media, risk preference, achievement motivation, self confidence, rational orientation, information source utilization, progressiveness and cosmopoliteness the settlers belonged to the high category, whereas in the case of family size, dependency, value orientation and fatalism the tribals belonged to the high category. Still in the case of some variables like farming experience, economic motivation, credit orientation and attitude towards development programmes, there was not any significant difference between the tribals and settlers. The predominant crops in Wayanad are paddy, coffee, banana, ginger, pepper and arecanut. There was also cultivation of newly introduced crops like vanilla, banana, cardamom, coconut etc. present in small numbers. Majority of the tribals in Wayanad are agricultural labourers having no cultivable land and no control over land resources. The crops they cultivated were also the traditional ones. So the favoured combinations seen among the tribals were limited to the traditional crops namely paddy, coffee, pepper and banana. A shift in favour of the newly introduced crops like vanilla, cardamom, arecanut, banana etc. were seen among the settlers. Settlers had more land compared to the tribals and they were also in favour of new crops or cash crops along with the traditional ones. The comparison of the tribals and settlers, in the three blocks with respect to the selected variables showed that significant difference in almost all the variables except age, type of family, family size, self confidence, cosmopoliteness and attitude towards development. A comparative analysis of the three blocks revealed that the differential diffusion was higher in settlers as compared to the tribals of Wayanad. Tribals did not have access to the new technologies and in some cases where there was access, the technology did not suit their existing conditions. The settlers, on the other hand, if they practised new technologies, there were problems with the social and technical determinants, which affected the diffusion. Evaluation of agricultural innovations using the socio-technical feasibility index showed significant difference between the two major categories, i.e, tribals and settlers. Among tribals also, there was significant difference among the three blocks selected for the study. Kalpetta and Mananthavady showed significant difference among the tribals with regard to the index values. Similar was the case of Mananthavady and Sulthan Bathery. But with respect to CD values of Kalpetta and Sulthan Bathery, there was not much difference. Whereas in the case of settlers, there was not much difference among the settlers from among the three blocks of the district. Significant difference was observed between tribal and settler farmers, in which the tribals were much backward in the case of development. The study indicated the need for evolving a new strategy for solving the problems in technology generation and its transfer at the field level. Only 30 per cent of the technology generated can be used by the farmers. This shows the non-feasibility of the technologies with respect to the social and technical determinants such as profitability, acceptability, complexity, sustainability etc. These social and technical factors, which are particular for each system, should be taken into consideration while generating and transferring technologies further.
Open Access
Indicators of sustainable agricultural development: a multi-variable analysis among self help groups of "kudumbashree mission" in Thiruvananthapuram district.
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, vellayani, 2016) Chinchu, V S; KAU; Padmanabhan, V B
The study entitled “Indicators of sustainable agricultural development: A multi-variate analysis among self-help groups of “Kudumbashree Mission” in Thiruvananthapuram district” was undertaken with the specific objective of critically analyzing the extent of attainment of the three pillars of sustainable development, namely, economic development, social develop¬ment and environmental protection by the agricultural activities of the self-help groups under Kudumbashree Mission in the study area and to identify the constraints and formulate a strategy for increasing the effectiveness of the programme. Exploratory or Formulative Research Design was employed for the study. The sustainability was studied among 40 agriculturally active SHGs. Profile characteristics of 200 women farmers were also studied. The study was undertaken in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state. Out of the 12 development blocks in the district, five blocks were randomly selected, namely, Parassala, Perumkadavila, Nemom, Nedumangad and Vellanad. From each of the blocks, one agriculturally active Community Development Society (CDS) was purposively selected, namely, Kunnathukal, Karode, Malayinkeezhu, Karakulam and Kattakkada. There were two categories of respondents for the study. Two hundred number of SHG-based farm women formed the first category of respondents and 40 number of agriculturally active SHGs formed the second category of respondents. From each of the Community Development Society, 40 number of agriculturally active and SHG-based farm women were randomly selected. These added upto 200 individual respondents. Eight agriculturally active SHGs were also randomly selected from each of the five Community Development Societies and these added upto 40 SHGs. Fourteen variables were used to study the individual SHG members. ANOVA was done where ever possible to find out if there existed any difference between each of the five sample CDSs for any particular variable. Seventeen independent variables related to SHGs were also studied. An index namely, Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI) was developed as part of the study for exclusively measuring the sustainability of group farming by the women groups. The index covered eighteen variables related to the economic, social and environmental aspects of group farming. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was also done using the software SAS 9.3 to find out the relative importance of each of the indicators and sub-indicators towards the sustainability of group farming. The strengths, weaknesses, potentials and challenges of SHG-based farming were also found out using SWPC analysis. The constraints faced by both individual SHG members as well as the groups as such were found out and ranked. Finally the suggestions for improvement of SHG-based farming and suggested lines of future research were also spelt out based on the results of the study and the on-field experiences of the researcher. The study could find out that majority of the sample SHG-based women were of middle aged and were having nuclear families and secondary education. They were engaged in some income generating activities other than agriculture. They had good experience in both SHG based activities and in agricultural activities. Krishibhavan was found to be the most prominent information source for those women. The SHG-based women were found to possess a good level of self confidence, innovativeness, scientific orientation, achievement motivation, economic motivation and risk orientation. It was observed that as they grew older, both SHG experience and farming experience increased but their level of innovativeness went on decreasing. Regarding the SHGs, the study revealed that their mean size was 4.33 and had a mixed population of BPL members, APL members, general category members, OBC members and SC/ST members. Invariably all the sample SHGs were cultivating banana and 70 per cent of the groups were cultivating two or more crops. Also 70 per cent of the groups had availed loans with a mean amount of Rs. 1,40,714. As high as 95 per cent of the groups used to hire external labour especially for initial land preparation. The mean area cultivated by a sample SHG was found to be 190.53 cents. On economic front, all the groups were found to have a high degree of economic motivation. The BC ratio of majority of the groups was found to be medium. Eighty per cent of the groups showed an increase in their income over the previous year and also could generate a good number of day’s employment in agricultural sector. As the area cultivated had increased, addition in the income and employment generation were also found to increase. The study elucidated area cultivated (AC) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) as the most important sub-indicators of economic development. On social front, the study revealed that majority of the groups were possessing a high transparency, equity, leadership, cohesiveness, accountability, team spirit and co-operation with ‘team spirit’ followed by ‘equity’ as the most important sub-indicators of social sustainability of Kudumbashree SHGs. Regarding environmental protection, ‘adoption of soil conservation measures’ and ‘avoidance of chemical fertilizers’ were found to be the most important sub-indicators affecting environmental sustainability. A quarter of the Kudumbashree groups were found to follow organic farming, around 20 per cent followed strict chemical-based modern agriculture and the rest followed a middle path between organic farming and modern agriculture. The Sustainable Agricultural Development Index (SADI) for the studied sample was found to be 0.69. It could be concluded that though the agriculturally active Kudumbashree SHGs in the study area had reasonable economic sustainability and social sustainability, their performance in environmental protection was a bit lower and only if they strengthen this weak link, they can become truly sustainable. Crop loss due to pests, diseases, wild animals and other climatic factors was the foremost constraint expressed by the respondents of the study. The study recommends establishment of ‘Woman Farmer Producer Companies’ (WFPC) at taluk level under the direct control of the respective District Missions or adoption of ‘Anand Pattern Co-operative Method’ as two viable strategies for improving the sustainability of agricultural activities performed under Kudumbashree mission.
Open Access
Organic farming as a strategy for climate change adaptation - an exploratory study
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculturture, Vellayani, 2018) Sangeetha, K G; KAU; Sheiref, A K
The study entitled “Organic farming as a strategy for climate change adaptation – An exploratory study” was carried out with the objectives to analyze the integrated adaptive capacity of organic farmers in comparison with conventional farmers through the development of a measurement tool, namely, Integrated Adaptive Capacity Index; to create a database of the certified organic farmers of Kerala and to explore the personal, socio-economic and psychological characteristics of the farmers and the agro-ecological characteristics of their farms for formulating a workable climate change adaptation strategy. The database of certified organic farmers in Kerala was prepared by collecting the information from the list of accredited certifying agencies in Kerala and PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) of India. The respondents were selected from the agro-ecological units having maximum number of certified organic farmers, namely, AEU9 - South central laterites and AEU11- Northern laterites and minimum number of certified organic farmers namely, AEU 1- Southern coastal plain and AEU13- Northern foot hills. Developing an index for measuring the Integrated Adaptive Capacity (IAC) of the farmers was one of the major achievements of the study. For that, the factors contributing to the Integrative Adaptive Capacity were identified as: socio- economic, technological, agricultural, managerial, bio-physical and ecological. Each factor of the adaptive capacity index was measured by summing up the scores of indicators delineated through pilot study, expert opinion and judges’ relevancy rating. The Integrated Adaptive Capacity (IAC) index was calculated as the composite measure of these six factors. The comparison of the mean scores of IAC index of organic (81.05) and conventional farmers (46.35) clearly indicated that there exists a significant difference between the two groups and the organic farmers were found to be more adaptive. The IAC index-based analysis revealed that majority (62%) of the organic farmers are of high adaptive capacity where as majority of the conventional farmers (56.1%) belonged to moderate adaptive capacity. The AE Unit wise comparison revealed that the farmers of South central laterites exhibited the highest IAC index, followed by the farmers of Southern coastal plain, Northern foothills and Northern laterites. Among the six IAC factors, socio- economic factor was found to be the most contributing followed by technological, agricultural, managerial, bio-physical and ecological. All these factors were found to be positively and significantly correlated with the IAC Index. The analysis of personal, socio-economic and psychological characteristics indicated that majority of the farmers of the survey area belonged to middle aged category, medium level of annual income and possessed an area of 1 to 5 acres of land. Majority of the farmers were studied up to high school level with high farming experience and farming commitment. Most of the respondents were having medium level of mass media exposure, closeness with agricultural support system and self confidence. Majority of the farmers were found to have a low level of socio-political participation. The results indicated a positive and significant correlation between the integrated adaptive capacity index and the profile characteristics of the farmers except age. The major constraints as perceived by the farmers were: marketing problems (72.17%), lack of timely weather forecasts and its access to farmers (71.5%), risk due to uncertain weather parameters (69.77), inadequate storage and transportation facilities (64.54%), high cost of inputs (57.85%), inadequate labour availability (55.18%), inadequate input supply (48.93%), non- availability of organic inputs (48.55), inadequate institutional support (43.7%), lack of timely dissemination of appropriate technology (40.77%), lack of need based training programmes (40.53%), inadequate infrastructural facilities (40.13%) and lack of farmer participatory research (34.24%). Based on the study a workable climate change adaptation strategy is proposed at different levels such as: Farmer, Extension delivery system, Research and Government. The major strategies at farmer level included: adopting locally- relevant climate-smart agricultural practices, changing cropping pattern according to seasonal/ climatic variability/changes, application of organic inputs, insitu- resource utilization etc. The major strategies at extension delivery system level included: encourage rain water harvesting and recharging measures, making the farmer aware about the bio-physical resources of the farm, support livelihood diversification, promoting crop insurance, etc. The major strategies at research level included: Identify technologies with mitigation and adaptation synergies, developing climate resilient varieties, development of technologies to improve water productivity and water use efficiency, innovative technologies for value addition of agricultural products, undertaking researches related to climate change and adaptation/mitigation, etc. The major strategies at government level included: providing additional access to credit and saving mechanisms, establishing efficient transporting and marketing facilities avoiding middle men for getting reasonable income to the farmers, encourage education on how to reduce their emissions, awareness programmes for reducing GHG emission, carbon sequestration etc., disaster risk reduction and climate change in schools and farmer/worker organisations, provide funding for climate adaptation activities and research, etc. A comparison of the agro ecological profile of the farmers with highest IAC index indicated that organic farmers had better adaptation capacity for coping up with climate change. Thus, from the study it is concluded that, organic farming can be considered as one of the climate change adaptation strategies, as it optimally combines different practices in a systematic manner using limited resources, along with additional benefits of biodiversity and environmental services, leading to safe food production and sustainable livelihood support.
Open Access
Agricultural information support service vis-a-vis kisan call centre: a performance auditing
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2016) Shely Mary, Koshy; KAU; Kishore Kumar, N
The present study “Agricultural information support service vis-à-vis Kisan Call Centre: A Performance auditing” was undertaken with the objective to conduct a performance audit of Kisan Call Centre (KCC) aimed at suggesting performance improvement of agricultural advisory services, to delineate, categorize and document the constraints and solutions in imparting agricultural advisory service through KCC and to develop an efficiency index that can be used for the further analysis of KCC. Besides the study also aimed to find out the awareness of farmers on KCC and its service, and the utilization and satisfaction derived out of the KCC, which would throw light on the performance/ lacunae in the KCC service with the reasons thereof to stream line the KCC for improved effectiveness. There were two categories of respondents. One hundred and fifty farmers were selected from south, central and north zones of Kerala using random sampling for studying the awareness of farmers on KCC and 150 farmers were selected purposefully from the data base of KCC for studying the utilization of KCC. Total there were 300 respondents. The strength of KCC was found to be its free sixteen hour seven days a week service provided by the dedicated staff. The weakness in the functioning of KCC included its lack of agricultural graduates at the time of study, lack of field experience by the staff and lack of knowledge on other areas apart from agriculture. The opportunities that KCC could make use were the new social media platforms like Whats App and video conferencing facility. The challenges faced by KCC were the low call rates, providing solutions without actually seeing the problem and sending the crop messages to those farmers who do not need them. The benchmarking study to evaluate the performance of KCC revealed that KCC matched to the standards set by the International Finance Corporation (2010) except for the service level standard (where 80 per cent of calls needs to be answered within 20 seconds) which was 30 seconds for KCC and agent attrition standard (measure of staff turnover annually should only be 15 per cent) which was 80 per cent. The out-come oriented study that measured the satisfaction of the respondents showed that the respondents had fairly high level of satisfaction towards the KCC service. Sixty nine percent of the respondents opined that KCC had medium level of efficiency. The Efficiency index was calculated with nine indices such as understandability, completeness, knowledge gain, accuracy, reliability, timeliness, practicality, flexibility and connectivity. Understandability was rated as the most efficient quality (78 per cent) with regard to the working of KCC and connectivity was the least efficient quality (62.17 per cent) of KCC. The major constraint faced by the respondents was lack of connectivity of the calls and the least faced constraint by the respondents was the lack of mobile phone/ telephones. The call centre agent‟s constraints were the difficulty in understanding the local dialect, the names of the crops in different region and the difficulty to understand the queries when there was a connectivity problem. The constraints faced by the farmers as perceived by the agricultural officers were the illiteracy, the long wait to get connected to the call centre when the lines were busy and the lack of availability of suggested inputs in the nearby shops. The suggestions to improve the working of KCC by the farmers includes to initiate a call back facility (83 per cent), to transfer the calls to the second tier through call conferencing (77 per cent), to suggest organic way of fighting pest and diseases (75 per cent), to provide information on the shops where the suggested inputs were available in their respective area (70 per cent), to open their service branches in each district (70 per cent), to provide quickest, easiest and practical solutions to solve the farm problems (65 per cent) and to continue the messages through mobile phones (63 per cent). The agricultural officer‟s opinion to improve KCC services was to appoint Post graduates in agriculture who are having more knowledge in their respective field, to provide field level training to the call centre agents, to send Malayalam messages in a format that would be compatible in any type of mobile phones. A facility for sending the photos of pest and diseases by the farmers were also suggested by both agricultural officers and call centre agents for better agro advisory service. Among the three states Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Karnataka received the maximum number of average calls (13854 calls) followed by Tamil Nadu (9632 calls) and Kerala (1219 calls). The average calls received were maximum during the month of November for Karnataka and Kerala and least during the month of May. Tamil Nadu received the maximum number of calls during the month of January and least during the month of September. In the study the independent variables temporal awareness on KCC, satisfaction towards KCC, utilization of KCC, adoption of advices and peer group contact were found to have positive correlation and extension agency contact, experience in internet use, information source utilization and constraints were found to have negative correlation with the dependent variable efficiency of KCC. The variables digital divide, temporal awareness on KCC, satisfaction and utilization of KCC were found to have positive correlation and constraint in using KCC was found to have negative correlation on the attitude of respondents towards KCC. Satisfaction was the variable that contributed maximum direct effect towards the efficiency as well as attitude towards KCC. The study revealed that in order to increase the utilization of KCC by the farming community there requires a parallel mode of communication along with the increased advertisements through various mass medias, that is the extension personnel should encourage and pursue the farmers to utilize the service by convincing them the benefits of using the service.

Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

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