Development of knowledge test to assess agricultural practices and nutritional knowledge among FIG (Farmer Interest Group) members of the Farming System for Nutrition (FSN)

Abstract

The knowledge test was developed to assess the understanding of farming system for nutrition among members of Farmer Interest Group (FIG) which is crucial for enhancing agricultural practices and promoting better health outcomes. In total, 50 items were primarily constructed with the objective of endorsing rational understanding as opposed to root memorization in order to differentiate the well-informed members of the FIG regarding Farming System for Nutrition from those exhibiting inadequate knowledge. The data retrieved from the sample respondents underwent rigorous item analysis, which encompassed evaluations of both the item difficulty index and the item discrimination index. The final set-up of the knowledge test in the current study includes items with difficulty indexes ranging from 20 to 96.66 and discrimination indexes ranging from 0 to 0.65. Split-Half method was employed to check the reliability of knowledge test being developed and it was found to be 0.629. 3 FIG on farming system for nutrition from 3 villages were purposefully selected for the study. Results indicated that 61.70% of FIG members had low-level knowledge, while 38.30% exhibited high-level knowledge, highlighting the need for targeted educational interventions within farming communities.