Extent of adoption and its limiting factors affecting improved vegetable cultivation practices by small farmers in the eastern Himalayan region

Abstract

The study was conducted in 13 purposively selected Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) districts in the Northeastern region. A total of 130 farmer respondents from both adopted and non-adopted villages were selected using proportionate random sampling. Data were collected from these respondents through personal interviews using a pre-tested structured schedule. The findings indicate that more than half of the respondents from both KVK-adopted and non-adopted villages demonstrated a medium level of adoption of improved vegetable cultivation practices. However, practices such as the recommended seed rate, soil and seed treatment, plant protection measures, and water management were more widely adopted by farmers in adopted villages compared to those in non-adopted villages. Additionally, the study also found that out of 13 independent variables examined, education, caste, family type, training received, mass media exposure, and extension contact had a positively significant relationship with the extent of adoption of these practices. Notably, caste and extension contact emerged as the most influential factors affecting the extent of adoption in both groups of farmers.