Impact of scientist-farmer interface in rainfed agro-ecosystem of North West Himalayan region: A case of Farmer FIRST Project in Doon Valley

BANKEY BIHARI; MADAN SINGH; RAJESH BISHNOI; TRISHA ROY; LAKHAN SINGH; SURESH KUMAR; LEKH CHAND; D M KADAM; S S SHRIMALI; U K MAURYA; M MURUGANANDAM; S K SHARMA; RAKESH KUMAR; ANIL MALIK

doi:10.56093/ijas.v90i3.101510

Authors

BANKEY BIHARI Principal Scientist (Agricultural Extension) & Head, Human Resource Development & Social Science Division, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
MADAN SINGH Scientist (Agricultural Extension), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
RAJESH BISHNOI Scientist (Agricultural Extension), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
TRISHA ROY Scientist (Soil Science), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
LAKHAN SINGH Director and Principal Scientist (Agricultural Extension), ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI), Pune, Maharashtra
SURESH KUMAR ACTO (Agricultural Extension), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
LEKH CHAND Senior Scientist (Agronomy), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
D M KADAM Scientist (Fruit Science), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
S S SHRIMALI Senior Scientist (Computer Application in Agriculture), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
U K MAURYA Senior Scientist (Soil Science), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
M MURUGANANDAM Principal Scientist (Fisheries and Aquaculture), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
S K SHARMA ACTO (Engineering), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
RAKESH KUMAR ACTO (Fisheries), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248 195, India
ANIL MALIK Senior Research Fellow (SRF), ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun, Uttarakhand-248195

https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v90i3.101510

Keywords:

Farmer FIRST Project, Impact, Income, Livelihood, North West Himalayan region, Upscaling

Abstract

In North West Himalayan region, farmers tend to face problems related to production and natural resource management due to steep slopes; fragile geology and frequent landslides which leads to high soil erosion. The present study was conducted with the objective to assess the impact of Farmer FIRST Project on the livelihood of beneficiary farmers of study area. A sample of 300 farmers comprising of 180 beneficiary and 120 non-beneficiary farmers were selected through multi stage random sampling. To delineate the impact, with-without and before-after comparison on different aspects of Farmer FIRST Project were carried out. Study revealed that there exists a significant difference between beneficiary farmers and non-beneficiary farmers on various aspects, viz. awareness level, change in decision making behaviour, change in marketing behaviour, change in yield, change in income, change in cropping intensity and change in average annual employment days. Before-after comparison of beneficiary farmers showed that there is a significant increase in crop yield, cultivable area and average annual employment days. Hence, there is a need of upscaling the project for inclusion of more numbers of farmers and securing their livelihood.

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