INTERPAKS, Examines the nature and extent of different extension services available to farmers in Punjab state (1974-5) as well as the impact of extension inputs on productivity in agriculture. The design of the study was multi-stage stratified random sampling with weights assigned to different items of extension input (mass media, visits by extension officers, visits to extension agencies, training). On the average, each farmer visited the extension agencies 5.8 times a year, was visited 9.42 times, only 22% of farmers received training, 28% purchased daily newspapers, 86% listened to radio programs for the rural population, and 68% visited the university. Production function analysis was conducted both with and without extension inputs. The regression coefficient of the extension input was found to be 0.18 which was significant at the 5% level.
Agricultural Economics (Amsterdam, Netherlands), The study aims to track adoption of improved chickpea varieties, and assess their on-farm benefits in some remote and backward tribal villages in Gujarat, India, where few newly developed varieties were introduced by a non-government organization. It also determines key factors which were influencing their adoption. The study found that adoption of improved chickpea varieties was gradually increasing by replacing a prominent local variety. Duration of crop maturity, farm size, yield risk, and farmers' experience of growing chickpea crop were significantly influencing their adoption. The on-farm benefits as a result of improved varieties were realized in terms of increased yield levels, higher income and labor productivity, more marketable surplus, price premium and stabilized yields in fluctuating weather. Breeding short duration varieties with stable yield levels under varying weather, and organizing seed multiplication and dissemination in regions, where moisture stress is a problem during maturity of chickpea, are the major suggestions.
Quraishi, M.A. (author / Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, India) and Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, India
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1975-04
Published:
India
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 43 Document Number: B05047
Fliegel, Frederick C. (author), Kivlin, Joseph E. (author), and Shingi, Prakash M. (author)
Format:
Report
Publication Date:
1979
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 43 Document Number: B05226
Notes:
INTERPAKS, Urbana, IL: Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Illinois, 1979. (Staff paper, series S, rural sociology no. 79 S-12). 29 p., Examines the long-run effects on the diffusion of agricultural innovations, especially a key question in adoption and development research: Does a higher level of adoption of improved technology contribute to greater or lesser equality in distribution of social and economic "rewards" over time? Examination of this question is based on data drawn from interviews with 228 farm operators in Maharashtra, India. The first interview took place in 1967 and the follow-up interview in 1973. Analysis is focused on changes in equality of reward distribution among them over the six years. Results of the data indicate increased inequality in volume of production over the six years, not necessarily attributable to differences in utilization of agricultural technology. Inequalities in material well-being have decreased. Concludes that for this sample, and in the absence of radically improved production technology, the impact of induced change in production inputs and practices is such as to decrease the inequality in rewards over time. Analysis also covers access to information through extension contact and the mass media.
INTERPAKS, Examines the level of significance of extension services and the marginal contribution of extension services to increased agricultural production in Gujarat State (1976-77). In addition, the marginal contributions of extension services are compared for the high and low productivity areas of the state. Results of the regression analysis indicate that extension investment has played a significant role in increasing agricultural production only in the high productivity areas while in the low productivity areas it has played an insignificant and even negative role.