Farmers' perceived constraints to Extension & Advisory Services (EAS): A garret ranking analysis

Abstract

Extension & Advisory Service (EAS) is crucial for upliftment of farming community. But farmers face several constraints while availing the Extension service. Constraints are mainly economic, technological and socio psychological. The farmers’ perception about these constraints are analyzed in this study. 240 respondents from three districts namely, Birbhum, Jalpaiguri and Nadia are considered for the study. Five statements under Economic Constraints, eleven statements under Technological Constraints and seven statements under Socio-psychological Constraints have been ranked by all the farmers based on their perceptions. Then the rankings are converted into garret score to rank them on an overall basis. Result shows that Lack of Market Information, High cost of input and Non-availability of crop insurance are top three economic constraints. Whereas Complexity of govt. schemes, No timely information and Complex advisory services are the top three technological constraints. Finally, the top three socio-psychological constraints were Political hindrance, Favoritism in service delivery and Lack of understanding about seeking help from Agri-service providers. This study also suggests how to deal with these constraints.