CONSTRAINTS PERCEIVED BY THE AGRICULTURAL GRADUATES IN TAKING UP AGRICULTURE AS A PROFESSION

Abstract

The issue of 'farm readiness', i.e., the interest among agricultural graduates in taking up farming as an occupation after their graduation, is very prominent because most people still regard agriculture as a non-professional and less profitable career option for a young graduate and returning to farming after university would be regarded as a failure. Therefore, to know the constraints perceived by them in taking up agriculture as a profession and to corrective measures accordingly, a study was conducted by collecting data from 120 freshly graduated students belonging to all the four State Agricultural Universities of Gujarat using multistage random sampling technique. The quantification of data was done using Rank Based Quotient (RBQ) technique. The study revealed that high cost of cultivation and low returns, high cost of agricultural inputs and farm machinery fluctuations in market price, unpredictable climate changes, risk of crop failure, high cost of labour, inadequate supply of electricity, lack of proper irrigation facilities, lack of proper storage facilities, lack of proper agricultural infrastructure, lack of financial support, discouragement from the family and friends, lack of proper transportation facilities, inadequate practical knowledge and lack of incentives from the government were the major constraints faced by them.