Dissemination of Agricultural Technology and Constraints Analysis in Paddy-Wheat Residue Management in Punjab, India

As extension personnel are in direct contact with the farmers, methods used and constraints faced by them play an important role in the transfer of technologies. Also, farmer’s constraints are significant to bring about the adoption of straw management techniques. The study was conducted in the state of Punjab consisting of 210 respondents (i.e. 150 extension personnel and 60 farmers). During the study, it was found that all the extension personnel made use of visit to farmers’ field and meetings/discussions to disseminate information on straw management in the state. The findings revealed that the major constraints faced by the extension personnel in disseminating straw management alternatives were inadequate and irregular supply of funds (98.67%), perceived ineffectiveness of technologies (89.33%) and lack of training facilities (86%). While all the farmer respondents agreed that high transportation of the straw, high labor charges and crop residue interference with tillage and seeding operations were the major constraints in adoption of straw management techniques. From the findings, it is important to direct the attention from the government and policy makers to design an effective strategy which can overcome these constraints faced by the extension personnel and farmers to ensure adoption of straw management techniques.