Localite information ecosystem and farm enterprise: Process and impact on agri-entrepreneurial growth

Modern-day farming has been confronting the dynamics of change of farm ecosystem and evolving needs of the farmers. It is vital to drive the farmers to varied sources of income and make them adapt to the trajectory of entrepreneurships. To elicit the hard evidences, farmers must indulge an active communication process and receive valid information suitable to their niches. The present study was carried out in Radhikapur, a cross-border village between India and Bangladesh, located in the Kaliyaganj block of the district of Uttar Dinajpur in the state of West Bengal. A score of 75 respondents from the Radhikapur village were chosen for the study using systematic and purposeful random sampling techniques. The data were collected through a pilot survey and structured interview schedule. The statistical tools used for data analysis are Correlation coefficient, Multiple regression analysis, Stepwise regression analysis, and Path analysis. The results of correlation coefficients suggest that the educated respondents are accessing more from localite information sources. Regression results elicited that 19 causal variables jointly contributed 61 per cent of the variance in the consequent variable, localite farm enterprise information (y). The variables family size, average family education, annual income, family expenditure, and marketed surplus have been retained at the last step of the step-down regression. This indicates that these are the most important causal variables which affect the consequent variable. The results of path analysis evince that the variable family size has got the highest indirect effect on localite farm information ecosystem.