Constraints faced by onion growers and suggestions offered by them to overcome Adoption gap in Akola district of Vidarbha region

Abstract

The present study was carried out in Patur tehsil of Akola district of Maharashtra, employing an exploratory research design. The primary objective was to identify the major constraints encountered and gather suggestions from the growers to minimize this gap. Respondents were selected randomly to constitute sample size of 120 respondents. The results indicated that key challenges reported by the respondents included unavailability of quality inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides) (37.50%), labour scarcity during peak operations (36.66%), limited access to organic manures (35.00%), climate variability (35.00%), inadequate knowledge of pest and disease management (32.50%), and high costs of agrochemicals (30.00%). Recommendations provided by onion farmers to address these issues and reduce the adoption gap included provision of input subsidies through institutional channels (42.50%), timely access to certified inputs (35.83%), and mechanization support to address labour shortages (32.50%). They emphasized the need for capacity-building through training on improved cultivation techniques (39.16%), pest and disease management (32.50%), and the dissemination of timely weather forecasts along with promotion of climate-resilient varieties (35.00%).