4342 in Biosciences 11(46), Print : ISSN 0974-8431,
Trends Trends4342-4343,
in Biosciences
201811 (46), 2018
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Source of Information Utilized by Farmers About Rice-Maize Production
Technology in Durg District of Chhattisgarh State
LOKESH AHIRWAR AND M. A. KHAN
Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture,
Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidhayalya, Krishak Nagar, Chhattisgarh
email. arunahirwar1@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Source of information are supposed to directly associate
with the adoption of rice-maize production technology.
These information sources provided various information’s
to the respondents regarding various improved technology.
For assessing this variable, different 13 sources of
information were identified. To determine the extent of
utilization of each information source, the respondents of
the farmers were recorded and presented in frequency
and percentage. The present study was investigating the
source of information regarding rice and maize production
technology utilized by rice-maize grower families of Durg
district of Chhattisgarh state. Data was collected from
rice-maize grower families that were selected randomly
from each selected 12 villages to make a sample size of
120 rice-maize farm families, with the help of pre-tested
interview schedule. The study reveals that the maximum
respondents (50.84%) were utilizing 3 to 5 information
sources, followed by 40.83 per cent of the respondents
were utilizing up to 3 sources and only 8.33 per cent of the
respondents were utilizing more than 5 number of
information sources.
Keywords Source of information, Rice-Maize
Production technology.
Rice-maize systems are practiced mostly in the south
(Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka) and in the
northeast (Bihar and West Bengal) parts of India with
acreage of more than 0.5 Mha Andhra Pradesh has the
highest acreage under R-M system in South India where
this system is rapidly increasing under resource-conserving
technologies, mostly zero tillage (Jat et al. 2009). Adesope
et al. (2009) mentioned that about 44.00 per cent of the
farmers know about organic farming practices through
friends/relatives/neighbors, 27.80 per cent of them know
about the practices through extension visit, 07.80 per cent
of the farmers got to know about the practices through
radio, 04.40 per cent of them got the information through
television, while 07.80 per cent of the farmers know about
practices through the newspaper.
Johnson and Vijayaragavan (2011) observed that 38.00
percent of farmers in Tamil Nadu initially knew SRI through
farm magazines, newspaper, All India Radio and TV
channels, followed by State Department of Agriculture
(SDA) (30.00%), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)
(16.00%) and friends and neighbours (16.00%). Luni et al.
(2012) reported that only 11.80 per cent of the respondents
replied that they have heard about it. The source of
information was cited as radio by 06.90 per cent, staffs of
NGOs by 02.50 per cent and teachers at school by 01.50 per
cent of the respondents. Meena et al. (2012) revealed that
46.50 per cent of the total farmers were using information
sources up to medium level.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The present study was undertaken in Durg district of
Chhattisgarh state during 2016-17 in all three blocks namely
Patan, Dhamdha and Durg. From each selected block four
villages on the basis of area under rice-maize cropping
system were considered for this study. The rice-maize
cropping system adopted 10 farmers from each selected
block were selected as respondents from all 12 villages,
thus a total of 120 farmers (10 X 12 = 120) were selected for
data collection. The data were collected by personal
interview with the help of well prepared, structured and
pretested interview schedule. Data were analyzed using
frequency distribution, percentages, and correlation
coefficient.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The findings regarding utilization of information
sources for seeking the information about rice-maize
production technology are presented in the Table 1 and
Table 2. The finding reveals that in the study area, majority
of the respondents (68.33%) were obtained information
regarding recommended practices of rice and maize
production technology from neighbour / friends / relatives
followed by 64.16 per cent of the respondents obtained the
information from progressive farmer, 54.16 per cent of
respondents obtained the information from Rural
Agriculture Extension Officers, 49.16 per cent respondents
obtained the information from Govt. institutions like
cooperative society. About 37 per cent respondents
obtained the information from Television, 19.16 per cent of
respondents obtained the information from newspaper, 15
per cent of the respondents obtained the information from
other source, like internet etc. About 6 per cent of
respondents obtained the information from private
institutions, followed by 6.66 per cent of the respondents
obtained the information from Subject Matter Specialist, 5
per cent respondents obtained the information from radio
and agriculture magazines, 3.33 per cent of respondents
obtained the information from Agriculture Development
Officer and only 0.83 per cent respondents obtained the
information from Agril. Scientists.
Regarding number of information sources being
AHIRWAR and KHAN, Source of Information Utilized by Farmers About Rice-Maize Production Technology in Durg 4343

Table 1. Distribution of respondents according to source of information regarding rice and maize production technology
(n=120)

Sl. No. Source of information Frequency* Percentage Rank

1. Rural Agriculture Extension Officer 65 54.16 III
2. Agriculture Development Officer 04 3.33 XI
3. Agril. Scientists 01 0.83 XII
4. Subject Matter Specialist 08 6.66 VIII
5. Progressive farmers 77 64.16 II
6. Neighbour / Friends / Relatives 82 68.33 I
7. Govt. institution 59 49.16 IV
8. Private institution 07 5.83 IX
9. Television 44 36.66 V
10. Radio 06 5.00 X
11. Newspaper 23 19.16 VI
12. Agriculture magazines 06 5.00 X
13. Other (Internet etc.) 18 15.00 VII
*Data are based on multiple responses

Table 2. Distribution of respondents according to number of information sources utilized by them

(n=120)
Sl. No Particulars Frequency Percentage
1. Up to 3 sources 49 40.83
2. 3 to 5 sources 61 50.84
3. More than 5 sources 10 8.33
Mean= 3.83, S.D. = 1.09

utilized by the individual respondents were recorded and

the results are presented in Table 2.
It result reveals that the maximum respondents
(50.84%) were utilizing 3 to 5 information sources, followed
by 40.83 per cent of the respondents were utilizing up to 3
sources and only 8.33 per cent of the respondents were
utilizing more than 5 number of information sources.
CONCLUSION
This study reveals, that in the study area, majority of
the respondents (68.33%) were obtained information
regarding recommended practices of rice and maize
production technology from neighbour / friends / relatives
followed by 64.16 per cent of the respondents obtained the
information from progressive farmer, 54.16 per cent of
respondents obtained the information from Rural
Agriculture Extension Officers, 49.16 per cent respondents
obtained the information from Govt. institutions like
cooperative society.
LITERATURE CITED
Adesope, O.M., Matthews, E.C., Oguzor, N.S and Ugwuja. V.C. 2009.
Crop Production Technologies, 1 st Edition, In Tech China,
Shanghai, China. P. 178.
Johnson, B. and Vijayaragavan, K. 2011. Diffusion of System of
Rice Intensification (SRI) across Tamil Nadhu and Andhra
Pradesh in India. Indian Research Journal of Extension Education
11 (3): 72-79.
Meena, S.L., Lakhera, J.P., Sharma, K.C. and Johri, S.K. 2012.
Knowledge level and adoption pattern of rice production
technology among farmers. Rajasthan Journal of Extension
Education, 20(3): 133-137.
Luni, P., Maharj, K.L. and Joshi, N.P. 2012. Perception and reality
of climate change among the Chepong communities in Rural
Mid-Hills of Nepal. Journal of Contemporary India Studies: Space
and Society, 2: 35-50.
Timsina, J., Jat, M.L. and Majumdar, K. 2010. Rice-maize systems
of South Asia: current status, future prospects and research
priorities for nutrient management. Plant and Soil 335 (1-2):
65-82.

Received on 15-11-2018 Accepted on 07-12-2018