Agriculture Update

Rakesh Roy ¹, Basu Deo Kharga ¹, Mendel Wangchuk Moktan ¹

Affiliations
1 Darjeeling Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalimpong (W.B.), IN

Abstract

The study was undertaken with the objective to assess adoption behaviour of improved mandarin production technologies among mandarin orange growers. The study was purposively conducted in the hill region of Darjeeling district in West Bengal where mandarin orange is the pride fruit of the region. In all, 150 respondents were considered for the study and personal interview method was applied for collection of data using semi-structure interview schedule and farm visit. The socio-economic profile of the mandarin orange growers shows that mean age of the respondents was 50 years with mean education upto class 6 and agriculture as primary occupation. Mean land holding was 2.3 hectares with 15 numbers of plants and having 28 years of farm experience. Annual income from mandarin production was about 0.99 lakhs. Majority of the respondents had no social participation and had training exposure among 20 per cent of the respondents. The study shows that adoption of improved mandarin production technologies was low among the mandarin growers. Total Rank Order Score (TROS) shows that proper harvesting time and methods was highly adopted. St aking and supporting was highly adopted by the respondents. The study shows low adoption of soil treatment, seedling preparation, practices of scientific intercropping. The study also shows low adoption of other improved mandarin production technologies like application of manures, application of micronutrient, water treatment, fruit drop control measures and plant protection measures. The study further shows that age (p<0.01) of the mandarin growers was negatively correlated and education (p<0.01) of the respondents, number of plants (p<0.05) and training received (p<0.05) by the respondents was positively correlated with adoption of mandarin production technologies. The study reveals that education of the respondents and the numbers of plants in the orchard were the main contributing factors for adoption of improved mandarin technologies.

Keywords

Adoption, Darjeeling Mandarin, Improved Production Technologies, Socio-Economic.

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Rakesh Roy ¹

Affiliations
1 Darjeeling Krishi Vigyan Kendra (U.B.K.V.), Kalimpong (W.B.), IN

Abstract

Small ruminants contribute a significant source of supplementary income to the poor rural people but this sector is highly affected due to high incidence of different diseases. Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is one of the major diseases of small ruminants which is having high incidence rate, morbidity and mortality rate in India. The literature related to economic losses due to PPR has been carefully reviewed and presented in this paper. Various researchers had estimated the economic loss of PPR due to its mortality and morbidity and found it to be high; still they felt many of the incidence, morbidity and mortality in small ruminants might have not been reported. The reviews of various papers and reports had also clearly pointed out high incidence, morbidity and mortality rate due to PPR in India. High economic loss in small ruminants is a major concern as it is mainly practiced by the small, marginal and landless farmers in India. The losses due to PPR might have reduced a major portion of their farm income among these rural people. To combat this threat comprehensive national programme have to be taken through combined efforts of local and national authorities along with continuous support and strengthening by international agencies.

Keywords

Economic Loss, Morbidity, Mortality, Peste Des Petits Ruminants, Small Ruminants.

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Rakesh Roy ¹, Hriday Kamal Tarafder ²

Affiliations
1 Darjeeling Krishi Vigyan Kendra (U.B.K.V.), Kalimpong (W.B.), IN
2 Regional Research Station (U.B.K.V.), Kalimpong (W.B.), IN

Abstract

The farmers are sensitive to the economical benefits of the improved agricultural practices while adopting the practices for enhancing the income of farm families. Higher is the benefit obtained from the introduced enterprise combinations; the easier it is to motivate the farmers to adopt them in their farms. With the aim of doubling farmers’ income, identification of suitable farming system is the need of the hour. It is a very complex and serious problem, when share of agriculture in gross domestic product is declining, average size of land holding is gradually shrinking and number of operational holdings is increasing. It is imperative to develop strategies that enable adequate income and employment generation, especially for small and marginal farmers who constitute large majority of the farming community. In this circumstances of decreasing land holding size, it is essential to integrate enterprises such as dairy, piggery, goatery, fishery, poultry, duckery, apiary, along with field and horticultural crops so as to make farming more remunerative and reliable options for the farmers. The literature related to integrated farming systems (IFS) has been reviewed carefully in terms of economic contribution, employment generation, vulnerability reduction and constraints in IFS.

Keywords

Integrated Farming System, Economic Contribution, Employment Generation, Vulnerability Reduction.

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