Role performance of village agricultural workers (VAWs) in Odisha: An analytical study
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Date
2022-01
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G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand)
Abstract
Village Agricultural Workers (VAWs) are the grass root level extension functionaries in the public sector extension system of Odisha who govern the basic yet most important dynamics of rural development in state which still thrive on agriculture. The state of Odisha facing the number of challenges like variable climatic conditions as well as frequent natural calamities, poor irrigation facilities, low productivity, lower farmer’s income, that demands the efficiency of VAWs in fulfilling their assigned roles. The state’s latest agricultural policy SAMRADHI-2020 has been dedicated to harness the potential of Odisha’s agricultural sector in a sustainable manner with an in-built objective of Human Resource Development. So, the analysis and evaluation of the role performance of VAWs of Odisha, who are the bridge between farmers and change agencies, becomes a timely demand for the smooth functioning of the extension machinery in the state. This study entitled “Role Performance of Village Agricultural Workers (VAWs) in Odisha: An Analytical Study” was undertaken to find out the profile characteristics of the VAWs, their role performance, the constraints faced by them in performing their roles, assessing their training needs, finding the relationship between the profile characteristics and role performance & training needs of VAWs and finally tailoring a training module on the basis of identified training needs. Following an analytical research design, the study was conducted in a total of nine districts of Odisha state, three districts selected randomly from each of its three administrative divisions. The study sample comprised a total of 292 VAWs chosen randomly from the selected nine districts following proportional allocation. The study concluded that around three fourths of the respondent VAWs were middle-aged between 31-40 years (73.63%) and educated up to intermediate level (72.94%). A majority of VAWs had 6-14 years of service experience (79.80%), medium level of training exposure (74.32%), 9-36 villages under jurisdiction (57.19%) and neutral perceived organizational climate (74.32%). Majority of respondents also possessed high level orientation towards extension profession (74.32%), used to have 3-4 visits per week (87.67%), had medium levels of organizational commitment (64.38%), selfconfidence (66.78%), leadership ability (79.11%), job satisfaction (64.38%) and communication competence (64.38%). The finding shows that majority (70.55%) of VAWs has medium level of role performance and majority (70.21%) of them has medium level of training needs. The findings of the study also revealed that the VAWs rated their performance highly on input supply & quality control roles, followed by management roles, extension & training roles and lastly, technical roles. The calculated Training Need Index showed that most prominent training needs were in the order as communication & human relation needs, programme planning & evaluation needs, subject matter needs and managerial needs. The multifarious roles and lack of technical information were identified to be the topmost constraints faced by VAWs in performing their roles. Inferential/relational statistical analyses like correlation is carried out to find out the relationship between the profile characteristic variables of VAWs and their role performance & training needs. The findings revealed that variables like education, service experience, training exposure, organizational climate, orientation towards extension profession, frequency of visits, organizational commitment, self-confidence, leadership ability and communication competence showed positive correlation with the role performance. On the other hand, in case of training needs, age, education, service experience, training exposure, organizational climate, organizational commitment, self-confidence, leadership ability, job satisfaction and communication competence of VAWs showed positive and significant correlation. The training module was made on the basis of identified training needs, constraints faced and factors affecting the role performance of VAWs. Thus, the findings of the study will help the think tank to utilize them in planning and organizing training programmes in future for VAWs of the state.