Comparison on Farmers ’Profile, Knowledge and Problems Association of Straw Management in Punjab and West Bengal

Management of paddy straw in conservation agriculture is vital for long-term sustainability of agriculture. Keeping in view the significance of paddy straw management, it is important to know why farmers choose to burn their paddy straw in Punjab and what alternative methods are used in West Bengal and the factors behind their use. The study has put forth the knowledge level of farmers regarding various aspects of paddy straw and its management. The study was conducted in the states of Punjab and West Bengal. Arandom selection of 60 farmers from the major paddy growing districts in the both the state was done. The results of the study revealed that in Punjab, all the farmers burnt paddy straw to clear the fields for sowing the next season crop i.e. wheat, while there was no burning in West Bengal. On the contrary majority of the farmers in West Bengal used paddy straw as a basal diet of animal feed, for thatching, as a fuel, and raw material for mushroom production. Problems related to the management of straw ranked first in Punjab whereas in West Bengal, the problems related to the domestic usage of straw ranked first. Regarding the knowledge level of the farmers about paddy straw and its management, it was found that, majority of the farmers had a medium overall knowledge in Punjab while maximum farmers in West Bengal had a high overall knowledge regarding paddy straw and its management. In Punjab, a negative and significant relationship was found between the age and knowledge level of the farmers while a positive and significant relationship was found between knowledge level of the farmers and variables viz. education, extension contacts, and risk orientation. Conversely no significant relationship was found between the independent variables and the knowledge level of farmers in West Bengal.