Factors Affecting The Utilization Of Inter-personal Localite Sources By The Rice Farmers

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S. SATYANARAYANA, V. SAILAJA* AND S.V. PRASAD

Department of Agricultural Extension, S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati 517502, A P.

ABSTRACT

With a view to know the utilization and credibility of various inter-personal localite sources as perceived by the rice growers, the study was conducted with Ex-post facto research design in SPSR Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh over a ran-domly drawn sample of 120 rice growing farmers as respondents. The results of the study revealed that educational status, social participation, mass media exposure, innovativeness, and scientific orientation were positively correlated with frequency of use of information sources and association was found significant at 1 per cent level. The r-values of farm size, annual income, extension contact showed positive correlation with frequency of use and association was found significant at 5% level of probability. Multiple Linear Regression (Step wise) of selected profile characteristics with the extent of use of information sources revealed that the the last model revealed only educational status i.e., intermediate; degree/post-graduation, secondary education and risk orientation had contributed significantly towards the extent of use of information sources. Further the Multiple Linear Regres-sion (Step wise) of selected profile characteristics with the extent of use of information sources revealed that the last model revealed only educational status i.e., intermediate; degree/post-graduation, secondary education and risk orientation had contrib-uted significantly towards the extent of use of information sources.

KEYWORDS:

Inter-Personal Localite Sources, Correlation, MLR, Rice Farmers

INTRODUCTION

Information is considered as a vital resource, along with land, labour, capital and skills. People need information for their day-to-day activities and for the development of their environment and their selves. Information serves as the cornerstone of successful socio-economic development because it plays a key role in decision making. Access to reliable, timely and relevant information can help significantly and in many ways to reduce farmers’ risk and uncertainty, empowering them to make good decisions. Information is vital for increasing production and improving marketing and distribution strategies. Hence timely, relevant, and accurate information collection is crucial to farmers. Information also opens windows of sharing experiences, best practices, sources of financial aids and new markets. Present Extension system is already under pressure due to wide ratio between the extension worker and farmers. In this situation, it is very difficult to provide latest information and farm technologies to the farmers in short time. To solve such problems, cost effective and efficient information support systems like Inter-personal localite, Inter-personal cosmopolite and Mass media sources/

Impersonal cosmopolite sources are very much required. Keeping in view the factual position, it was felt necessary to investigate the information source utilization pattern by the rice farmers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study was conducted with expost-facto research design to study the information source utilization pattern of rice farmers. The SPSR Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh was purposively selected for the study because maximum number of rice farmers were involved in rice farming and having agriculture as main occupation. SPSR Nellore district comprises of 46 mandals out of which four mandals namely Nellore, Venkatachalam, Allur and Vidavalur mandals were purposively selected for the study. From each of the selected mandals, two villages were selected based on random sampling procedure. Thus, totally eight villages were selected for the study. A total sample of 120 rice farmers were selected by selecting 15 farmers from each village through simple random sampling procedure. Keeping in view the objectives of the study, a well structured interview schedule was developed and pretested. This was administered to sample respondents through personal investigation.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Correlation between the selected profile characteristics and frequency of use of information sources

In order to study the nature of relationship between the selected profile characteristics and the frequency of use of information sources by the rice farmers, correlation coefficients (‘r’ values) were computed and the values were presented in Table 2.

The r-values in Table 1 indicated that educational status (0.9429**), social participation (0.9042**), mass media exposure (0.4109**), innovativeness (0.3664**), and scientific orientation (0.3083**) were positively correlated with frequency of use of information sources and association was found significant at 1 per cent level. The r-values of farm size (0.1816*), annual income (0.2043*), extension contact (0.1864*) showed positive correlation with frequency of use and association was found significant at 5% level of probability. These results are in line with the findings of Arathy (2011) and Sriharinarayana (2013)

The r-values of age (-0.3623**) and farming experience (-0.3473**) were negatively correlated with frequency of use and association was found significant at 1% level of probability. These findings are in consonance with the findings of Meena and Sharma (2012) and Kumar et al. (2012)

The r- values of occupational status (-0.2283*) was negatively correlated with frequency of use and association was found significant at 5% level of probability.

The r-values of cosmopoliteness (0.1517) and risk orientation (0.0896) showed non-significant relation with frequency of use of information sources. These findings are in line with the findings of Meena and Aishwarya (2011), Ashok(2012) and Sahu et al.(2012).

From the above findings it could be inferred that, higher the educational status, social participation, mass media exposure, innovativeness and scientific orientation, higher would be the frequency of use information sources by the rice farmers. The variables age, farming experience and occupational status were negatively correlated with frequency of use of information sources. This could be explained as, younger the respondents, higher would be the frequency of use of information sources and vice versa. Similarly, lower the farming experience of the respondents, higher would be the frequency of use of

information sources. The same trend was revealed in case of occupational status which could be explained as, the respondents with agriculture alone as main occupation lower would be their frequency of use of information sources.

As the cosmopoliteness increased, the frequency of use is increased but the relationship was non-significant. As the risk orientation increased, the frequency of use increased but the relationship was non-significant. It could be concluded that the frequency of use was independent of cosmopoliteness and risk orientation.

Correlation between the selected profile characteristics and extent of use of information sources

The r-values in Table 1 indicated that educational status (0.9729**), social participation (0.9325**), mass media exposure (0.3605**), innovativeness (0.3416**) and scientific orientation (0.2726**) were positively correlated with extent of use of information sources and association was found significant at 1 per cent level of probability. These findings are in consonance with the findings of Arathy (2011) Sahu et al. (2012).

The r-value of age (-0.3574**), farming experience (-0.3492**) and occupational status (-0.2558**) were negatively correlated with extent of use of information sources and association was found significant at 1 per cent level of probability.

The r-values of farm size (0.1165), annual income (0.1509), extension contact (0.1217), cosmopoliteness (0.1594) and risk orientation (0.0689) showed non-significant relation with extent of use of information sources. These findings are in line with the findings of Meena and Aishwarya (2011) and Sahu et al. (2012)

The above findings could be explained as, the higher the educational status, social participation, mass media exposure, innovativeness and scientific orientation, higher would be the extent of use information sources by the rice farmers.

The variables age, farming experience and occupational status were negatively correlated with the extent of use of information sources. This could be explained as, younger the respondents higher would be the extent of use of information sources and vice versa. Similarly, lower the farming experience of the respondents higher would be the extent of use of information sources. The same trend was revealed in case of occupational status

which could be explained as, the respondents with agriculture alone as main occupation lower would be their extent of use of information sources.

As the farm size increased, the extent of use is increased but the relationship was non-significant. As the annual income increased, the extent of use increased but the relationship was non- significant. As the extension contact increased the extent of use is increased but the relationship was non-significant. As cosmopoliteness increased, the extent of use is increased but the relationship was non-significant. As the risk orientation increased, the extent of use increased but the relationship was non-significant.

Multiple Linear Regression (Step wise) of selected profile characteristics with the information source utilization pattern

Step wise multiple linear regression has been carried out on ‘frequency of use’ and ‘extent of use’ separately by means of independent variables viz. age, educational status, farming experience, farm size, occupational status, annual income, social participation, extension contact, mass media exposure, cosmopoliteness, innovativeness, risk orientation and scientific orientation and results are summarized.

Multiple Linear Regression (Step wise) of selected profile characteristics with the frequency of use of information sources

A close view of the Table 3 revealed that the last model revealed only three variables viz., extension contact, educational status i.e. degree/Post-graduation; intermediate; secondary education and farm size had contributed significantly towards frequency of use of information sources.

Extension contact, educational status i.e. degree/ Post-graduation; intermediate; secondary education levels

and farm size were the major variables to explain the frequency of use of information sources by the rice farmers. The combined effect of these three variables might had contributed to the behavior pattern of the rice farmers towards achieving the high frequency of use information sources.

Multiple Linear Regression (Step wise) of selected profile characteristics with the extent of use of information sources

The table 3 revealed that the the last model revealed only educational status i.e., intermediate; degree/post-

graduation, secondary education and risk orientation had contributed significantly towards the extent of use of information sources.

Educational status i.e. intermediate; degree/Post-graduation, secondary education levels and risk orientation were the major variables to explain the extent of use of information sources by the rice farmers. The combined effect of these two variables might had contributed to the behavior pattern of the rice farmers towards achieving the high extent of use of information sources.

LITERATURE CITED

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  2. Ashok, G. 2012. Knowledge and Adoption of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Technology among Farmers in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. M.Sc. (Ag.) Thesis. Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad.
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