Assessing the adoption of eco-friendly management practices and its association with socio-economic factors among vegetable growers in Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

Vegetables have become an essential part of the daily diet due to their nutritional value. This study was conducted in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, covering three blocks and twelve villages. A total of 240 vegetable-growing farmers were selected for the study. Majority of respondents, 58.75%, had a medium level of adoption about vegetable cultivation, followed by 25.42% with a low level of adoption and 15.83% of the respondents had a high level of adoption towards vegetable cultivation. The adoption of various crop management practices was ranked based on their mean scores. Among these, cultural pest management practices received the highest mean score of 5.67, followed by weed management practices with a score of 4.46. Natural farming practices received a mean score of 1.13, indicating that they are either less emphasized or perceived as less effective. The variables such as education, size of land holding, annual family income, extension participation, mass media exposure, social participation, institutional participation, scientific orientation and risk orientation are significantly associated with the adoption level of eco-friendly management practices.