A study on adoption about the recommended agricultural practices through ATMA by paddy growers in Budgam region of Kashmir

The study was conducted to know the knowledge level of paddy growers of Budgam district about various agricultural practices. The study was conducted in Budgam region comprising of 200 respondents (150 trained and 50 untrained). The majority of farmers covered under the ATMA programme were of middle age group, having middle standard qualification, medium family size (5-8 members) and medium experience in farming (16-25 years). There was significant relationship between age, education, experience in farming, sources of information with knowledge level of farmers. There has been considerable improvement in knowledge of new technologies and farm practices among the trained farmers. The services rendered by the Department of Agriculture were regular training programmes during cropping season (83.33%), supply of written material during training (82.22%), protection from exploitation of middlemen (65.56%) and conducting demonstrations on farmer’s field (61.82%). The ATMAs are expected to support the state extension system by making it more broad-based and participatory for planning, implementing and monitoring the extension activities of a district. The purpose of this component was to test new approaches to technology transfer, new organizational arrangements, and operational procedures. For evaluation of field level impact of ATMA model, beneficiaries (target farmers) of both trained and un-trained were compared.