International Journal of Agriculture Sciences ISSN: 0975-3710 & E-ISSN: 0975-9107, Volume 12, Issue 7, 2020, pp.-9676-9677. Available online at https://www.bioinfopublication.org/jouarchive.php?opt=&jouid=BPJ0000217

Research Article PERCEPTION OF FARMERS ON THE ROLES OF FARMER FRIENDS IN TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY

G. SELVARANI* ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, , 625 104, Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641003, India *Corresponding Author: Email - [email protected]

Received: March 02, 2020; Revised: April 12, 2020; Accepted: April 13, 2020; Published: April 15, 2020 Abstract: A study was conducted on the perception of farmers and SWOC analysis on Farmer to Farmer Extension approach under ATMA in . Hundred farmers were selected from Madurai West and blocks of Madurai District. Five villages viz., Kulamanagalam, Chathirapatti, Vittankulam, Veerapandi, Vairavanathamfrom and five villages viz.,Kattakulam,Neerathan, Poochampatti,, Saanampatti were selected from . From each village ten farmers were selected randomly. Data was collected using well-structured Interview schedule and analyzed using simple percentage analysis. Majority of the farmers perceived that Farmers Friends serve as a vital Link between the Extension officials and farmers (91.00 percent), involved in mobilization of the farmers (89.00 percent), diffuse the technology very quickly among the farmers (87.00 percent) and adopts the technology first in their farm (85.00 percent). Keywords: Perception, Farmer Friend Citation: G. Selvarani (2020) Perception of Farmers on the roles of Farmer Friends in Transfer of Technology. International Journal of Agriculture Sciences, ISSN: 0975- 3710 & E-ISSN: 0975-9107, Volume 12, Issue 7, pp.- 9676-9677. Copyright: Copyright©2020 G. Selvarani, This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Academic Editor / Reviewer: Dr B K Choudhary, Dmello Basil Rudolph, Dr Meenakshi Singh, Dr H. V. Pandya, Pankaj Nagar

Introduction Table-1 Perception of the farmers on the roles of Farmer Friends in TOT Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) is a registered society SN Roles of Farmer Friends in TOT No. Percent responsible for technology dissemination at district level having linkages with all 1 Serving as a link between extension workers and farmers 91 91 line departments, research organizations, non-governmental organizations and 2 Mobilizing the farmers 89 89 3 Diffuse the new technology among farmers quickly 87 87 agencies associated with agricultural development in the district [1]. ATMA work is 4 Adopts the new technology in their farm 85 85 based on “Bottom up Approach” in which farmers are the focal point. In ATMA 5 Motivates the fellow farmers in adopting new technology 83 83 farmer Friends are considered as grass root level workers and they serve at the 6 Regular updation of Agricultural Knowledge 83 83 village level [2]. One Farmer Friend will be looking after two revenue villages and 7 Teaching specific skills in Agricultural practices 78 78 available in the village to advise the farmers on agriculture and allied activities. From [Table-1] it could be observed that majority of the farmers perceived that The present study was undertaken to know the perception of farmers on the roles Farmers Friends serve as a vital link between the Extension officials and farmers of Farmer Friends. (91.00 percent), involved in mobilization of the farmers (89.00 percent), diffuse the technology very quickly among the farmers (87.00 percent) and adopts the Objectives of study technology first in their farm (85.00 percent). Other roles of farmer friends as To explore the perception of the farmers on the roles of Farmer Friends in TOT perceived by the farmers were motivation of fellow farmers in adopting the To conduct SWOC analysis on Farmer Friend approach under ATMA technology (83.00 percent), regular updation of agricultural knowledge (83.00 To suggest suitable strategies to increase the effectiveness of Farmer Friend percent) and teaching specific skills in agricultural practices (78.00 percent). approach under ATMA. SWOC analysis Material and Methods SWOC analysis on Farmer Friend Approach was carried out and the findings are Ex post facto Research design was used in this study. Madurai West and Vadipatti given below. blocks were selected randomly from Madurai District for conducting the present Strengths study. Five villages viz., Kulamanagalam, Chathirapatti, Vittankulam, Veerapandi, • Direct contact with the farmers Vairavanatham from Madurai West block and five villages viz., Kattakulam, • Serves as a motivational force for other farmers Neerathan, Poochampatti, Mannadimangalam, Saanampatti were selected from • Increased Trustworthiness Vadipatti block. From each village ten farmers were selected randomly and hence • Social Proximity of Extension service providers in total hundred farmers were selected randomly Data was collected using well- • More information flow structured Interview schedule. SWOC analysis was also carried out. Weakness • Retain the information with themselves Findings and Discussion • Shares information only to their relatives and known farmers Perception of the farmers on the roles of Farmer Friends was studied and results • Some farmer friends are inactive are presented below. • No interim evaluation on the performance

International Journal of Agriculture Sciences ISSN: 0975-3710&E-ISSN: 0975-9107, Volume 12, Issue 7, 2020 || Bioinfo Publications || 9676 Perception of Farmers on the roles of Farmer Friends in Transfer of Technology

Opportunities • Scope for appointing one farmer friend per village • Developing evaluation criteria for assessing performance of Farmer Friends

Challenges • Appointing unemployed youth as Farmer Friend.

Strategies to increase the effectiveness of Farmer Friend approach under ATMA Based on the findings of the study, the following strategies were identified to increase the effectiveness of the Farmer Friend under ATMA. • Appointing a greater number of Farmer Friends • Special skill-based trainings may be provided for Farmer Friends • Training on ICT to Farmer Friends • Periodical evaluation of the performance of Farmer Friends

Conclusion The present study revealed that Farmer Friends serve as role models for the fellow farmers and vital link between the extension officials and other farmers. Hence, from the results of present study, it is suggested that one farmer friend per village need to be allotted and unemployed youth has to be appointed as Farmer Friend. Evaluation on the performance of Farmer Friend is to be carried out and based on the evaluation, new Farmer Friend has to be positioned.

Application of research: This research is focused mainly on transfer of technology through farmer friend.

Research Category: Extension education

Abbreviations: ATMA: Agricultural Technology Management Agency, SWOC: Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Challenge

Acknowledgement / Funding: Author is thankful to ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Madurai, 625 104, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641003, India

**Principal Investigator or Chairperson of research: Dr G. Selvarani University: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India Research project name or number: Impact of Farmer to Farmer Extension Approach under ATMA-An Analysis

Author Contributions: Sole author

Author statement: Author read, reviewed, agreed and approved the final manuscript. Note-Author agreed that- Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to publish / enrolment

Study area / Sample Collection: Madurai West and Vadipatti blocks of Madurai

Cultivar / Variety / Breed name: Nil

Conflict of Interest: None declared

Ethical approval: This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Ethical Committee Approval Number: Nil

References [1] Mohanraj S. (2017) M.Sc.(Ag.) Thesis, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai. [2] Pauline A. and Karthikeyan C. (2015) Indian Research Journal of Extension Education, 15 (2), 95-99. .

International Journal of Agriculture Sciences ISSN: 0975-3710&E-ISSN: 0975-9107, Volume 12, Issue 7, 2020 || Bioinfo Publications || 9677