Assessment of Profile Characters and a Study on the Extent of Adoption of Farmers in Organic Vegetable Cultivation in the Western Zone of Tamil Nadu, India
K. S. Anuprialashmi *
Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
P. P. Murugan
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
R. Jansirani
Nammazhvar Organic Farming Research Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
M. Nirmala Devi
Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
Patil Santhosh Ganapati
Department of Physical Sciences and Information Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The human community all over the world are growing consciousness over poisonous residues of agrochemicals in the food they consume and also on the health and environmental hazards associated with it. This therefore lead to a re-invention of an alternate form of agriculture devoid of contaminants. Organic agriculture is one among the broad spectrums of production systems which avoids the use of synthetic agrochemicals and ensures safety and sustainability. An Ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The study was conducted in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts to study the extent of adoption of farmers towards organic vegetable cultivation. The analysis of the data inferred that two-fifths of the respondents (40.83%) belonged to old aged category. Regarding the belief of farmers in organic farming it was found that nearly half of the respondents (49.17%) had belief only in organic farming and avoided conventional farming methods. It was interesting to note that almost all the respondents (100%) had full adoption towards timely irrigation and mulching practices.
Keywords: Adoption, farming methods, organic vegetable, cultivation, organic farming