A participatory approach to identify and address key constraints in Odisha agriculture sector

Participatory identification of agricultural constraints in Odisha

Abstract

India is predominantly an agrarian country where the agriculture sector contributes around 18.3% of the total GDP. However, India’s agricultural productivity is lagging the developed countries. This is mainly attributed to the occurrence of several biotic and abiotic stresses and policy-related problems. Prioritisation of these problems helps to minimise these problems through research and government intervention. The present study was conducted in Khordha district of Odisha to understand the factual and current needs of the farmers. A total of nine major problems were identified in the village based on a transect walk, focused group discussions and key informants’ interviews. All the identified constraints were categorised using Rank-Based Quotient (RBQ) and Value-Based Index (VBI). The RBQ and VBI results showed the prevalence of brown plant hopper and low profitability from betel vines as the top two challenges faced by the respondents. Pest infestation caused a loss of 60 per cent in the paddy crop with a monetary loss of about ₹5000 per respondent per season. Similarly, there was a monetary loss of about ₹4000 because of low returns to the betel vine crop. Therefore, this study necessitates a comprehensive and collective action plan involving the farmers, Government institutions and agricultural research and extension wings for the overall development of the region.