Understanding Farm Diversity through Typology for Technological Interventions in Western Plain Zone of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The farming systems having diverse characteristics need to be understand for tailoredtechnological interventions. Farm typology designates the heterogeneous farmers’characteristics in to homogenous groups to understand the factual situation in the region.The multivariate analysis viz. PCA and Cluster analysis performed to minimize data andgroup them into homogenous characteristics by various farm variables. A cross sectionsurvey of 120 farmers in WPZ of Uttar Pradesh was carried out and identified 9 significantvariables and generated 4 PCs from PCA. Hierarchical clustering of PCs leads to groupingfarms into homogenous class. The predominant farm types based are type-1 (22.5%)livestock based intensive farms, type-2 (23.3%) are resource endowed large farms, type-3(10.8%) are crop based marginal farms and type-4 (43.3%) are small farmers with highprofit margin. Large farms are integrated with crop and animal components earning higherincome. The results show that the diversified farms with both livestock and crop sectorsare reaping better income and technology adoption capacities.