Journal ID : AMA-19-05-2022-11390
[This article belongs to Volume - 53, Issue - 06]
Total View : 378

Title : Perceived Impediments faced by farmers’ vis-à-vis adoption of Zero tillage machine in Indo-Gangetic plain of India: PCA based Construct Validation

Abstract :

Due to increased global warming, world is witnessing the climate change. It is a major threat for declined agricultural productivity. Zero tillage is a sort of Conservation Agriculture practices, can contribute to sustain production and improve the farmers' economy. Rice and Wheat are the world's highest producing and consuming food grains. A short decline in rice–wheat productivity may unease the food security of the world. Rice–Wheat cropping system is a chief cropping system of Indo-Gangetic plain of India. The present study was conducted in West Champaran district of Bihar under the Climate Resilient Agriculture Programme of RPCAU, Pusa. The programme emphasizes the adoption of zero tillage and other Conservation Agriculture practices/Climate Resilient Agriculture practices. Farmers faced various perceived impediments in the adoption of Zero tillage machines. PCA was used to validate the impediments statements considering KMO Sampling Adequacy along with Bartlett's test of Sphericity. There were 24 impediments which were further grouped into four different broad impediments, i.e., production, technical, 'socio-economic, and psychological impediments, and extension impediments. Among the twenty-four impediments, 'non-availability or limited availability of zero tillage machines' was a ubiquitous constraint and consequently, it was dropped as its extraction value was 0.19. The Friedman test value was found to be significant at a 1% level (p<0.01) and the value of the chi-square test was 304.919 with 3 degrees of freedom. Therefore, it can be concluded that there was significant variation between four different broad groups of impediments perceived by the farmers. In Friedman's comparative mean ranking, lesser the mean score better is its rank. Friedman mean score for 4 broad impediments were extension impediments (1.05), technical impediments (2.47), socio-economic and psychological impediments (2.57) and production impediments (3.92) and thus ranked as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Hence, it can be interpreted that out of four broad impediments, 'extension impediments' were found most pertinent over the others for less adoption Zero tillage machine.

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