Characterization of Potato Growers – A Case Study in West Bengal State of India

This study oversees wide variation in productivity of Potato in West Bengal, India and identifies the distinct characteristics between high yielding and low yielding Potato growers. Set objectives were studied using Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA).Our empirical study revealed that high yielding group is relatively aggressive in adopting improved technologies and practices compared to low yielding groups. They are ahead of low yielding farmers in terms of land preparation and irrigation. Observed significant correlation between adoption index and realization index in case of high yielding group also indicates that high yielding farmers are good adopters of technology. The significant factors discriminating the groups have been identified. This study concludes that though Potato is a capital intensive crop, the level of adoption depends not only on the quantum of inputs but also on the appropriate know-how practices at the farm level. At the end the authors made suggestions to improve the status of low yielding farmers.