AN ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE CULTIVATION PRACTICES FOLLOWED BY GROUNDNUT FARMERS IN ANDHRA PRADESH
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Date
2021-09-08
Authors
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Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur
Abstract
Sustainable Agriculture encompasses a range of strategies, for addressing
a large number of problems that are affecting worldwide. Such problems
include loss of soil productivity from excessive erosion and associated plant
nutrient losses, surface and ground water pollution from pesticides and fertilizers,
awaiting shortages of non-renewable resources, low farm income from
dejected commodity prices, high production costs- (Lockeretz et al., 1988)
and also it is minimal dependence on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and more
dependent on use of manures, crop rotation and minimum tillage- (Edwards,
1987). As per the importance of sustainable agriculture in the present system
the study was taken up in groundnut crop to analyze the knowledge and
extent of adoption levels.
The sustainable practices recommended by the scientists in the
groundnut crop were not practiced by most of the farmers. Indiscriminate
usage of the chemicals and fertilizers can be reduced by using the
recommended practices. Hence it is necessary to know the cultivation
practices of the farmers which helps the scientists in transfer of technologies
in a better way and also the lacunae in transfer. These practices were divided
into cultural, mechanical, biological and chemical practices for analysis of the
knowledge and adoption of the groundnut growers. Groundnut is one of the
main oil seed consumable crops in Andhra Pradesh and it has much
importance in many districts of Andhra Pradesh and the main districts which
are growing are Ananthapuramu and Chittoor ranked first and second in area
of cultivation. So, importance of this crop is very high in these areas.
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Hence, the present study in analysis of sustainable cultivation practices
in groundnut crop was taken up. Ex- post- facto research design was chosen
for the study. The present study was conducted in Ananthapuramu and Chittoor
districts of Andhra Pradesh which were purposively selected based on the
highest area of the groundnut cultivation. Maximum number of farmers were
involved in cultivating groundnut crop. Out of 66 mandals of Chittoor district
and 63 mandals of Ananthapuramu district three mandals from each district
were purposively selected based on the highest area of groundnut cultivation,
of which a total of six mandals were selected from the two districts. From
each mandal 2 villages were selected randomly and a total of 12 villages were
selected for analysis. From each village, 15 farmers who were cultivating
groundnut were selected by simple random procedure, thus making a total of
180 respondents. Data were collected, by personal interview method and analyzed
by employing suitable statistical tools. Seventeen independent variables, were
subjected to statistical analysis in order to categorize the respondents and for
studying their relationship with the dependent variables i.e., knowledge level
and extent of adoption on sustainable cultivation practices in groundnut.
Most of the groundnut growers were middle aged with high school and
middle school level of education, medium to high farming experience, extension
contact, achievement motivation, decision making pattern, scientific orientation,
innovativeness, deferred gratification, management orientation and economic
orientation, semi-medium and medium landholding, medium to low level of
annual income, mass media exposure, training undergone and social
participation towards sustainable cultivation practices in groundnut.
Majority of the groundnut growers had medium- high level of knowledge
and medium to high extent of adoption levels regarding sustainable cultivation
practices, in groundnut.
Correlation analysis of the independent variables, with the dependent
variable on the knowledge level signified that the variables such as education,
farm size, annual income, mass media exposure, extension contact, achievement
motivation, risk orientation, deferred gratification, management and economic
orientation had a positive and significant relation with knowledge level of the
groundnut farmers at 1 per cent level. Training undergone, scientific orientation
and innovativeness showed a positive and significant relation at 5 per cent level.
Social participation and decision-making pattern had shown non- significant relation
with knowledge level. Age and farming experience had a negative and significant
relation with the knowledge level of the groundnut growing farmers.
Regression analysis revealed that the seventeen selected independent
variables, put together explained 79.80 per cent variation in the knowledge
level of the groundnut growers on sustainable cultivation practices. Among
them education, training undergone, extension contact, decision making pattern,
innovativeness, management orientation, deferred gratification and economic
orientation were found positively significant which was evident from their
significant ‘t’ values.
xix
The independent variables such as education, annual income, mass
media exposure, extension contact, achievement motivation, decision-making
pattern, scientific orientation, innovativeness, management orientation and
economic orientation had a positive and significant relation with the adoption
level of groundnut growers at one-per cent level of significance. Farm size
and training undergone had showed a positive and significant relation at five
per cent level. Social-participation, risk orientation and deferred gratification
showed non-significant relation with the adoption level. Age and farming
experience had a negative and significant-relation with adoption level of the
groundnut farmers.
Regression analysis proved that, selected 17 independent variables
which were put together explained 55.80 per cent variation with the extent of
adoption on sustainable cultivation practices. Among them education,
decision making pattern and management orientation were found positively
significant as apparent from their significant ‘t’ values.
The major constraints as perceived by the groundnut farmers were high
weed intensity, incidence of pests and diseases and problematic soils under
the category of technical, high wage rates, high cost of seed material and high
cost of fertilizers and pesticides under financial, lack of awareness on
sustainable cultivation practices, unwillingness of the farmers to take risk and
poor economic status of the farmer under personal, inadequate supply of high
yielding quality seed material, inadequate availability of manures and biofertilizers
and lack of insurance provision under support and services,
untimely rains, drought at critical stages of crop growth and poor pod/grain
setting under agro-climatic factors, lack of information about prices and
markets, exploitation by market intermediaries and local dealers and high
transportation costs under processing and marketing constraints.
Organizing training programs on identification of pests and diseases
and its control measures, providing quality inputs at subsidized rates,
provision of remunerative market price to the farmers, provision of cropinsurance
by the government and provision of machinery for the farm
operations to reduce the labour costs were the major suggestions given by the
groundnut growers. Further a suitable strategy has been framed for better
adoption of sustainable cultivation practices in groundnut.
Description
AN ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE
CULTIVATION PRACTICES
FOLLOWED BY GROUNDNUT
FARMERS IN ANDHRA PRADESH