Factors Affecting the Adoption of Agricultural Technology in Bijnor District of Western Uttar Pradesh

Agriculture plays a significant role in addressing poverty, hunger and malnutrition and livelihood security of millions of people in India. Since independence, the country has made significant strides in agriculture, to meet the growing demands of our growing population. The Indian farming is mostly characterized with diversified agro-ecologies, water scarcity, unpredicted rains due to vagaries of monsoon and high cost of technological inputs. Based on the changing scenario of agriculture year by year, it requires promotion of proper management of natural resources like soil, water and micro environment, besides wellbeing of all stakeholders involved in the food production and consumption chain. This is primarily possible by technological empowerment of farmers. Technology is the base for increasing agricultural productivity and production. In spite of declining resources, technologies continue to play a major role in achieving sustainable production in agriculture and allied sectors. Agriculture in Bijnor district is still technology deficit as far as Indian agriculture is concerned. Yield per hectare of food grain, fruits and vegetables are far below national averages. Keeping this view in mind an attempt has been made in this paper to examine how farmers are facing problems in adopting agricultural technology. The study is based on 227 respondents selected randomly from five villages in district Bijnor.