Impact of Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav (MGMG) Programme in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate impact of Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav (MGMG) programme by developing a quantitative framework. Five clusters of villages were randomly selected from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Haryana and 15 respondents from each cluster were selected, making a total sample size of 150. One control village was selected against each experimental village using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique. Four components namely, farmer-scientist interface, farm output, institutional awareness and linkage were extracted in the index by applying Principal Component Method. The analyses revealed significant increase in frequency of farmer-scientist interaction, farmers’ meet and increase in yield of rice, wheat and mustard. An increase of 59.73% and 37.28% in gross return was noticed in UP and Haryana, respectively. Though significant difference in awareness level and institutional linkage was found in UP between experimental and control groups, no significant difference was noticed in Haryana. Respondents reported high and medium level (48% and 41.33%) of timeliness of services in UP and Haryana, respectively. Total 44% and 42.67% respondents in UP and Haryana respectively, reported high level of relevancy. Similarly, 54.67 % and 46.67 % respondents in UP and Haryana, respectively reported high level of satisfaction with the services. Total 41.33% respondents in UP and 42.67% in Haryana stated medium level of usefulness of the services. The mean index scores in case of UP and Haryana were 0.692 and 0.528, respectively. Strategies were proposed to enhance the performance of MGMG programme.