Beneficiary Farmers Research Articles

Study Report on Optimum Utilisation Plan of Ngoma 22 Irrigation Scheme

The study was conducted in Ngoma 22 irrigation scheme located in Remera and Rurenge sectors of Ngoma District in Eastern Province of Rwanda between November 2018 and January 2019. It was recommended by RAB Board of Directors. The methodology used encompasses the study area, sampling procedures, data collection and analysis tools. The main data collection tool used was FGD which targeted site agronomists and household head farmers producing rice, fruits and vegetables as high value crops in the scheme area. Through pair wise ranking technique most profitable cash crops in the scheme were ranked as follows: (1) tree tomato, (2) maracuja, (3) egg plants, (4) water melon, (5) tomato, (6) irish potatoes, (7) french beans, (8) onions, (9) carrots, (10) cabbages, (11) beetroots. From this point of views, findings from the study show only two most profitable crops: maracuja with 696 Frw/kg followed by tree tomato with Frw 249 Frw/kg. The third ranked cash crop being Irish potato (with a loss of -40 Frw/kg), the fourth is egg plant with a loss of- 177 Frw. The existing paddy rice production has shown a loss of – 270 Frw inspite the water availability all the year-round. Maize and bush bean show respectively losses of -543 Frw/kg and -1743 Frw. Hence it is understandable why farmers in the scheme area have already abandoned maize and beans cultivation. Findings show also water fees (20,000 Frw/season) determined based on maintenance costs and farmers income. For capacity building model, more than one thousand beneficiary farmers in Ngoma 22 Irrigation Scheme need strong farmer organisation for ownership of the scheme and increased profitability. To that effect, they need continued capacity building as stated in the tripartite IMTA: administrative and financial management, record keeping, and conflicts resolution management, integrated water management, operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructures, best agricultural practices for sustainable farmers’ organisations and commercial farming. Key recommendations include fixing minimum prices for agricultural products in relation to costs of production- or setting subsidy prices, increase yield for each crop by meeting all requirements: lime, fertilisers and improvement of irrigation technologies in order to reach automatically increased yield. Farmers should continue to leave out traditional crops and adopt profitable cash crops identified in this study (e.g maracuja and tree tomato). They should also increase the ownership spirit through IWUA and cooperatives performance. They should adopt collective marketing of their products and pay water fees per season.

Socio-psychological Paradigms and Economic Metrics of the Beneficiary Farmers of Centrally Sponsored Agricultural Schemes: A Comprehensive Evaluation of PKVY, PMKSY and SHC in Maharashtra

The present study focused on assessing the socio-psychological constructs and economic variables of beneficiaries of centrally sponsored agricultural schemes namely Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), and the Soil Health Card Scheme (SHC). An ex post facto research design was employed in the present study. Amravati and Buldhana districts in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra was selected for the study. For the proposed study 60 beneficiary farmers were selected from Amravati districts and 60 beneficiary farmers were selected from Buldhana districts for each scheme. Thus, for the three schemes, a total of 360 beneficiary farmers were selected from seven selected talukas of two districts of Vidarbha for three schemes. Majority of the middle aged respondents (61.11%) having secondary school level of education (39.44%) received low level of training (59.00%), but PKVY beneficiaries received high level of training (73.33%). Majority of the overall respondents had small land holdings (40.28%) with 1.01 to 1.50 ha. of irrigation potential (41.39%) having biseasonal cropping system (96.94%). Beneficiary farmers had sound financial background with 35.83 per cent of PKVY respondents with annual income in the range of Rs. 2,07,901 to 3,35,301/-, 56.67 per cent of PMKSY respondents in an annual income range of Rs. 2,86,962 to Rs. 4,77,753/-, and 40.83 per cent of SHC respondents in the range of Rs. 2,10,101 to 3,29,701/- annual income respectively. In overall beneficiaries of centrally sponsored agricultural schemes, 63.89 per cent of the respondents had medium level of social participation, source of information (65.00%), innovativeness (58.33%), economic motivation (47.50 %) and benefits accrued (43.06%). The study revealed lower participation of older farmers, indicating a need for targeted outreach and simplified training. Educated farmers benefited more, suggesting their role in promoting new technologies. Local information sources, like friends and relatives, were crucial, emphasizing the need for Gram Sabhas and exhibitions to improve awareness and participation.

Assessment of Constraints and Suggestion Insights from Beneficiaries of Centrally Sponsored Agricultural Schemes: A study of PKVY, PMKSY and SHC in Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra, India

The present study focused on assessing the constraints faced by the beneficiaries of centrally sponsored agricultural schemes namely Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), and the Soil Health Card Scheme (SHC) and invited suggestions from them to overcome the constraints. For the proposed study, 60 beneficiary farmers were selected from Amravati districts and 60 beneficiary farmers were selected from Buldhana districts in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra for each scheme. Thus, for the three schemes, a total of 360 beneficiary farmers were selected. In the case of PKVY beneficiaries, the major constraints faced were lack of proper marketing channel for organic produce, lack of sustainability in the reduction of cost of organic cultivation and reduced productivity of organic farm produce even after conversion period. Whereas, in the case of constraint faced by PMKSY beneficiaries, the first constraint faced by the beneficiary was longer time for getting the subsidy credited, followed by lack of increase in the sources of irrigation and load shedding of electricity. In the case SHC beneficiaries, the major constraint faced were long time gap between soil sample collection and issuing SHC, difficulty to comprehend the information and follow the recommendations provided in SHC and lack of effective training and demonstrations provided to farmers about soil health. In the case of PKVY beneficiaries, majority of them (74.17%) gave the suggestion for establishment of proper marketing channel for organic produce, followed by 34.17 per cent of them suggested the strengthening of farmer groups and developing them into Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). Whereas in the case of PMKSY beneficiaries, 84.17 per cent of them suggested to ensure timely crediting of subsidies, followed by expansion of irrigation infrastructure through the construction of water harvesting structures such as check dams, farm ponds, tanks and bore wells (59.16%). In the case of SHC beneficiaries, majority of them (85.83%) gave the suggestion to speed up the process of issuing Soil Health Cards and 71.66 per cent suggested for training programs and field level demonstrations focused on soil health and the practical application of SHC recommendations to improve farmers' knowledge and skills.

Harnessing stakeholder engagement for sustainable agricultural intensification: contemporary evidence from northern Ghana

This article analyses the indispensable role of sustainable agricultural intensification practices (SAIP) in meeting the needs of a burgeoning human population with limited planetary resources and examines the role of various stakeholders in the adoption of these practices by local farmers. The study setting is the Upper West, a semi-arid region of Ghana. The study employs a stakeholder salience theory and a mixed-method design. Firstly, qualitative data were collected and analysed as a basis for formulating a structured questionnaire administered to beneficiary farmers, which were then analysed using marginal effects from logistic regression. Notably, the study found four sustainable crop cultivation practices and three eco-friendly crop storage methods promoted in the area. Furthermore, the engagement of stakeholders like selected farmers, Traditional authorities, and implementing NGOs had statistically significant effects on the adoption of SAIP. However, these effects were smaller when compared to the direct involvement of all beneficiary farmers in the planning and implementation of the intervention. This suggests that while technocrats and authorities are important, they alone cannot achieve the desired impact of development interventions. Beneficiary farmers are the most critical stakeholders in adopting and promoting SAIP. The article further proposes a conceptual framework for implementing SAIP in agro-based rural communities. This research therefore underscores the importance of sustainable agricultural intensification practices in a resource-constrained world and emphasizes the central role of beneficiary farmers in driving the success of such initiatives.

Impact of technical service centres as perceived by the sericulture beneficiary farmers in Karnataka state of India

Impact of technical service centres as perceived by the sericulture beneficiary farmers in Karnataka state of India

Perceived constraints and suggestions for improvement: Insights from PM-KISAN beneficiary farmers

Perceived constraints and suggestions for improvement: Insights from PM-KISAN beneficiary farmers

Social impact and challenges of the Krishi Bhagya scheme: Insights from Beneficiary Farmers in Karnataka

Social impact and challenges of the Krishi Bhagya scheme: Insights from Beneficiary Farmers in Karnataka

Profile characteristics of beneficiary farmers of Rythu Vedikas

Profile characteristics of beneficiary farmers of Rythu Vedikas

Impact of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana on Agriculture and Agricultural allied enterprises of Beneficiary Farmers in Ranchi District of Jharkhand

Impact of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana on Agriculture and Agricultural allied enterprises of Beneficiary Farmers in Ranchi District of Jharkhand

Challenges encountered by beneficiary farmers in adopting bhoochetana practices in Udupi district, Karnataka

Challenges encountered by beneficiary farmers in adopting bhoochetana practices in Udupi district, Karnataka

Awareness levels among beneficiary farmers of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi: An evaluation

Awareness levels among beneficiary farmers of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi: An evaluation

IMPACT OF KRUSHI VIGYAN KENDRA ON KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF POTATO GROWERS ABOUT POTATO PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

Agriculture is the most pivotal sector of Indian economy in the current phase of development. There is need for transfer of improved agricultural technology from research station to the farmer’s field. The ICAR mooted the idea of establishing KVK for imparting vocational training to the farmers and field level extension functionaries. The present study was conceived with measuring the impact of KVK in terms of knowledge of farmers about potato production technology in Deesa KVK of Banaskantha district of Gujarat State. For research study, from seven talukas of KVK, Banaskantha-I (Deesa) four taluka and total twelve villages from each selected talukas was purposively selected on the basis of maximum numbers of activities carried out by KVK, Deesa. From each selected villages 10 beneficiary and 10 non beneficiary potato growers were selected randomly. Thus, 120 beneficiary and 120 non beneficiary potato growers were selected for the study. Ex-post facto research design was used for this study. Results of the investigating showed that nearly three-fifths (57.50%) of the beneficiary farmers had medium level of knowledge followed by 25.00 per cent with high and 17.50 per cent with low level of knowledge about potato production technology. Whereas, half (50.00%) of the non beneficiary farmers had medium level of knowledge, whereas remaining 31.67 per cent and 18.33 per cent of non beneficiary farmers had low and high level of knowledge about potato production technology, respectively.

IMPACT OF FARMER FIRST PROGRAMME ON LIVELIHOOD SECURITY OF SMALL AND MARGINAL FARMERS

Directorate of Extension education, Navsari has implemented FFP in the year 2017. The total number of modules implemented were six. The objectives of the study wereto measure the impact of ensuring livelihood security on small and marginal farmers. Total three villages and two talukas of Navsari District were purposively selected for the study. From each module beneficiary farmers were proportionally randomly selected. Total 120 beneficiary and 120 non beneficiary farmers were selected comprising total of 240 respondents. Ex-post facto research design was used. Twelve independent and three dependent variables were chosen. The impact was measured by comparing the change in livelihood security of 120 beneficiary with 120 non-beneficiaries of FFP by using structured schedule of impact. Majority of the beneficiary farmers had medium level of impact on livelihood security, followed by high and low, respectively. Whereas, more than half of the non-beneficiary farmers had medium level of impact on livelihood security, followed by low and high, respectively. The Two sample Z test for livelihood security was found significant at 1 per cent level of probability. Further, education, social participation,extension contact,innovativeness and scientific orientation were found positive and highly significant with livelihood security of beneficiary farmers.

IMPACT OF CLIMATE RESILIENT TECHNOLOGIES ON SOCIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF TRIBAL FARMERS

The National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project was launched by ICAR in 2011. The Technology Demonstration Component of the project which is aimed at enhancing the resilience and adaptive capacity of the farmers to cope with the increasing climatic variability in different agro- ecosystems is implemented by Krishi Vigyan Kendra's spread across the country. Since the project has completed ten years, the investigation was undertaken with the objective to analyze the impact of climate resilient technologies on socio economic development of the tribal farmers. Khuntli and Amdha villages of Kaparada block of Gujarat state was selected purposively. From the list of the beneficiaries of both villages, forty farmers from each village were selected by simple random sampling technique. Thus, the sample comprised of 80 beneficiary farmers. Ex-post facto research design was used for the study. Statistical tools viz. mean, SD, and Z test were used to analyze the data. The data related to changes occurred after implementation of NICRA project revealed that as a result of adoption of climate smart technologies, significant improvements in the livelihood of the beneficiary farmers were observed due to increase in the overall income of the farmers per annum.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELECTED PROFILE OF THE POTATO GROWERS AND THE KNOWLEDGE LEVEL OF BENEFICIARY FARMERS ABOUT POTATO PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

The present study was undertaken in KVK at Deesa of Banaskantha district. Out of 14 talukas Banaskantha District seven talukas falls under the jurisdiction of KVK, Banaskantha-I (Deesa). Among the seven talukas four taluka was purposively selected on the basis of maximum numbers of activities carried out by KVK. From each selected talukas three villages were selected purposively on the basis of maximum numbers of beneficiary farmers. A comprehensive list of the beneficiary potato growers of each adopted village was obtained from KVK. From this list, ten beneficiary potato growers from each village were selected randomly for the study. Thus, 120 beneficiary potato growers were selected for the study. To know the impact of KVK, the same numbers of non beneficiary potato growers were selected randomly from same villages. Thus, altogether 120 beneficiary and 120 non beneficiary potato growers were selected for the study. Thus, total 240 potato growers were selected. Among the selected variables, the variable viz., education, extension participation, source of information, scientific orientation, risk orientation, economic motivation and attitude had exerted positive and highly significant relationship while farming experience, size of land holding, occupation, yield and social participation had positive and significant relationship. Whereas, age exerted negative and non-significant relationship and annual income had positive and non-significant relationship with knowledge level about potato production technology.

Loan repayment behavior of beneficiary farmers in primary agricultural cooperative societies in Haryana (India)

Abstract Subject and purpose of work The study examined the loan repayment behavior of beneficiary farmers in Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies in the State of Haryana, India. Material and methods The findings were based on primary as well as secondary data. The secondary data was collected for the period of 2006-2007 to 2018-2019. The primary data was collected in the second quarter of 2022. Results The study concluded that year-wise the maximum percentage of defaulter farmers was 34.97% in 2008-2009 due to the debt relief scheme announced by the Government of India in 2008. Furthermore, it revealed that about 75% of beneficiary farmers repaid their loans regularly after receiving the benefit of interest subvention at 7% by the government of India and the state government. The findings on primary data concluded that most farmers have been repaying their loans regularly, and less than 10% of beneficiary farmers defaulted. The main reason for the default was a loan without security and the anticipation of a loan waive-off scheme. About 19% of beneficiary farmers have been repaying their loans irregularly due to the short time within which loan repayments needed to be made. Conclusions The short time of loan repayment is the main cause of irregular loan repayment behavior. The period of repayment of loans should be extended for one year and it should be considered from the loan issuance date.

Chickpea production restored through upscaling crowdsourcing winner varieties and planting date adjustments in the Ada'a district, East Shoa zone, Ethiopia

Chickpea is an important cash crop for Ada'a farmers as it does for farmers in Ethiopia and elsewhere in the world. Its production, however, has been dwindling due to biotic and abiotic stresses. According to participant farmers from Ada'a district, the production of chickpea in some Kebeles of Ada'a such as Gubasaye has been abandoned because of root rot and foliar diseases such as fusarium wilt. This paper presents the evaluation of upscaled varieties' performance assessed by metric data as well as through beneficiary farmers' self-assessment data. Recognizant to the problem, five varieties of chickpea tested in the Goro district of the Southwest Shoa zone, were introduced as part of the upscaling of crowdsourcing winner crop varieties in Ethiopia. Crowdsourcing is an approach of outsourcing variety evaluation, selection, and dissemination to volunteer crowds of farmers. The introduction of the winner varieties and adjustment of the planting time was found effective in the Ada'a district. Higher grain yield was obtained from the upscaled winner varieties in the range of 2.4–2.53 t/ha, with slight variations over varieties. Habru variety showed slightly higher performance than the others. Survey participant farmers have reported an increase in GY due to growing the winner varieties compared with varieties they used to grow before and gained higher annual income due to higher productivity, market demand of the upscaled varieties, and premium market price with 6–25 Ethiopian birr (ETB) per kilogram of sold grain of these varieties. High productivity is attributed to the genetic potential of the varieties, their response to farm management, and better adaptation to the local growing conditions. Participant farmers perceived that their livelihood has been improving because of the adoption of the upscaled varieties' productivity and market demand. The annual income of participant farmers is estimated to be 2500 to 181,000 ETB for growing the winner varieties. The results indicate that upscaling pre-tested chickpea varieties and delaying their planting time to early September are effective mechanisms for reducing yield loss to fusarium wilt and root rot diseases. It can be inferred that using the crowdsourcing approach for variety evaluation and selection for upscaling is a robust approach to improve the adoption and dissemination of improved agricultural technologies.

Exploring the Socioeconomic Dynamics and Technological Adaptation among Farmers: Implications for Sustainable Agricultural Development and Rural Livelihoods in Jaipur, India

The research was conducted in Jaipur district of Rajasthan. There are 23 AAO departments under the jurisdiction of Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture, Jothwara (Jaipur). Among these, 4 AAO departments viz. Hingonia, Jobner, Boraj and Bichun were deliberately chosen for this study because the AAO circle is next to SKNAU, Jobner is within a radius of 20 km, researchers from the school respectively many people are making technological improvements in nearby villages and farmers are also active. A total of 120 participants were selected from these four AAO circles. Judging from the entire health history of farmers benefiting from Nongtang, the majority of farmers benefiting from Nongtang are middle-aged (35 to 51 years old) (58.33%). Primary school graduates (20.00%), farmers are union members (37.50%), their share of average annual income (77.50%) is Rs. 1,26,781 to Rs. 4,72,303 and farmers share small land. category (38.33%). Moreover, most of the beneficiary farmers (44.17%) have moderate farming experience ranging from 15 to 31 years, (23.19%) farmers use PM Kisan application, (70.00%) farmers use information technology, (68%) 34) consider agriculture as the main business. job. The relationship between income and technological change shows that there is a positive relationship between education level, social participation, annual income, insured land, agriculture, agricultural practice and knowledge. The beneficiary's social profile indicates education, community involvement, annual income, land ownership, farm practice use, and data-effective and relevant job creation and annual income. The correlation between the profile of the beneficiaries and their social variables shows a positive relationship between the level of education, social participation, and annual income. There is a significant relationship between the use of agricultural practices and the change in personal property and the education level of family members. Agricultural knowledge and information are important and positively related to changes in household members' education levels and ownership of agricultural equipment.

World Bank-Assisted Community-Based Development Project for High-Value Crop Production: Failures and Successes

The government of Punjab has recently implemented a World-Bank-assisted community-based development project for the enhancement of farm productivity in water deficit areas of the Punjab province for 11 years. This paper describes a case study from the Faisalabad division, wherein drip irrigation in conjunction with tunnel technology has improved crop and water productivity of fruits, vegetables and cash crops, optimizing farm incomes. Not only crop yields were optimized, but also there were savings on water (30-45%) and other inputs, reduced incidence of pests and diseases (15-20%), early spring production by 35 days and higher quality of produce, which substantially increased farm incomes (19-41%) along with some environmental benefits. A conservative estimate showed a reduction in unemployment by 5% in project areas. Despite these impressive achievements, a post-project survey showed that 93% of beneficiary farmers abandoned drip irrigation systems, soon after project closure. It emphasized that in the Thal area, only a 4% system rolled back, suggesting the better suitability of the high-efficiency irrigation system for water conservation and productivity enhancement in sandy areas. Post-project farmer-participatory rural appraisal (PRA) shows that drip irrigation was rolled back due to multiple constraints. For example, unsuitable/inefficient design, clogging of drippers/drip lines, non-availability of spare parts, poor response of troubleshooters and top-down approach of the project, prompting better planning and implementation, in the future, for similar projects.

Benefits Availed and Constraints Faced by Beneficiaries of Jalasamrudhi, Project, Thiruvananthapuram

The study analysed the benefits availed and constraints faced by beneficiaries of Jalasamrudhi Project, Thiruvananthapuram. A systematic sampling technique was adopted for the data collection and information was collected from 80 beneficiaries of the project, thus making the total sample size 80. The farmers responded to the benefits availed and the constraints were ranked using Garrett ranking technique. The respondents benefitted from increase in ground water table level, market and non- market benefits. The major constraints faced by the beneficiaries were crop loss due to high speed wind, pests and climate change, followed by non-availability of inputs and non- availability of subsidy on time, lack of technical guidance. The primary suggestion from beneficiary farmers was to ensure continuity and follow-up, increase the project period from 5 to 10 years and ensure better infrastructure facilities to improve the effectiveness of the project.