Impact of NICRA Project on Knowledge, Skill and Attitude (KSA)of Farmers on Climate-Resilient Agrotechnology’s in the NICRA Operated District of Odisha

Abstract

A study was undertaken in March to June 2020 in the three NICRA districts i.e., Kendrapara, Jharsuguda and Kalahandi, Odisha, India to address the major climatic hazards through climate-resilient practices. A mixed-method research design that combines both qualitative and quantitative research techniques was deployed in this study. This was a test-control study, where the comparison was made between the NICRA- farmers (Test) and non-NICRA farmers (Control). The districts, blocks and villages selected a purposive sampling approach to ensure proper representation. The respondents were selected following the random sampling method. A total of 120 NICRA farmers, 60 Non-NICRA farmers and 30 Officials were selected in the sample. Now climate change adversely exaggerated the economic growth of farmers due to the climate change effects. The mean knowledge score of NICRA farmers was 69.96±5.88 whereas non-NICRA farmers were 37.71±2.67. The mean difference between the NICRA and non-NICRA farmers was -32.25 and the significant p=0.000. The knowledge score of NICRA farmers on CRA was found to be highly significant. The mean score of skill practice was 73.76±7.46 for NICRA farmers and that for non-NICRA farmers was 41.65±7.08. This implied that NICRA farmers had a significantly very high skill score than non-NICRA farmers (p=0.001). The mean attitude score of the NICRA farmer was 92.44±5.47 and that of the non-NICRA farmer was 71.65±6.63. The difference was highly significant (p=0.000). The mean attitude score of NICRA farmers was found to be significantly higher than non-NICRA farmers(p<0.001).