Knowledge of farming families regarding environmental pollution in Punjab.
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Date
2020
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
The study entitled „Knowledge of farming families regarding environmental pollution in Punjab‟
was conducted to assess the knowledge level of respondents regarding causes, effects and
mitigating practices for environmental pollution and to ascertain the relationship of socio-personal
characteristics with knowledge level of farming families. Data was collected from five agroclimatic
zones i.e. central plain zone, sub-mountain undulating zone, undulating plain zone,
western plain zone and western zone of Punjab state. From each of the selected agro climatic zone,
fifteen farm families were selected randomly, the male and female heads of the family were
chosen for responses, thus, in total 150 respondents were randomly selected. Data was collected
using pre-tested structured interview schedule. A knowledge test was developed and pre tested for
its reliability and validity. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) software. The findings of the study revealed that a large percentage of the respondents
belonged to the 40-50 years age, were matriculate, nearly two fifth respondents had nuclear family
having 5-7 family members. Majority of the respondents had occasional use of newspaper, regular
use of television, occasional use of smart phone and rare use of social media and applications.
Majority of the respondents, most of the times contacted Veterinary officer under cosmopolite
extension agents and progressive farmers under localite extension agents. Male respondents‟
social participation was higher than female respondents. Majority of the respondents had high
level of knowledge about causes of air and soil pollution while most of the respondents had
medium level of knowledge about causes of water pollution. Majority of the respondents had
medium level of knowledge regarding effects of air, water and soil pollution. Majority of the
respondents across all agro-climatic zones had high level of knowledge for mitigation of air
pollution, medium for water and low for mitigation of soil pollution. Overall, a large percentage of
respondents had good amount of knowledge about causes and effects of environmental pollution
but they had less knowledge about mitigation strategies for environmental pollution and very few
households practised mitigation strategies to combat environmental pollution. It was ascertained
that socio-personal characteristics such as education, family size, annual income, mass media
exposure positively and significantly affect the knowledge of the respondents. It is suggested that
to increase the knowledge level of the respondents, extension trainings should be organized with
more emphasis on mitigation strategies to combat environmental pollution. Farm families of
Punjab need to be updated more about causes of water pollution. Innovative behaviour change
communication strategies need to be applied to improve the practical application of knowledge
gained. Media mix to be used for disseminating knowledge about environmental pollution.
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Citation
Pratiksha (2020). Knowledge of farming families regarding environmental pollution in Punjab (Unpublished M.Sc. thesis). Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.