Importance of Different Subject Matter Items of Training in Soil Management as Perceived by Farmers and KVK Trainers

The first Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) was established in Pondicherry in 1974, based on Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta Committee Report, which is an innovative science-based institution. This was established mainly to impart vocational skill training to the farmers and field-level extension workers, which was a great demand by the farmers. The prime goal of KVK was to impart training as per needs and requirements in agriculture and allied enterprises to the farmers, farm women, and farm youths including school drop-outs in the rural areas. The present study was conducted in Rajasthan state, where nine KVKs were selected for the purpose of this study. There were 10 subject matter items of training for farmers and KVK trainers, for which that responses were collected on three point continuum viz. Most Important, Important and Less Important. The results revealed that 81.48 percent farmers and 64.44 percent KVK trainers considered the “Soil reclamation” as the most important item of training. The 72.59 percent farmers considered the “Techniques of field preparation” as the less important, whereas the 51.11 percent KVK trainers considered “Land leveling methods” as less important. “Soil reclamation” was given top priority by both the farmers (2.76) and the KVK trainers (2.53). There was a significant agreement among the ranks assigned by the farmers and KVK trainers in perceiving the importance of the 10 items of training under “Soil management”.