Impact of communication channels utilized by farmers of watershed areas in Bundelkhand region

An attempt was made to investigate the important aspects of information receiving behaviour i.e. sources and channels of communication utilized by farmers and constraints faced by them. The findings of this study had provided the necessary guiding insights for developing the need based communication strategy for other parts of the country with similar situation and commitments. The study was conducted in ORP watersheds, namely, Sheetalpur in Hamirpur, Tejpura in Jhansi & Bajni in Datia districts of Bundelkhand region. The data was collected from 75 farmers of watershed and 75 farmers of nonwatershed areas in all three selected watersheds, namely Sheetalpur, Bajni and Tejpura for making a total sample size 150. The results showed that farmers of watershed areas had better communication behaviour towards recommended soil and water conservation practices than non-watershed areas. Therefore, it is recommended that the technologies and facilities available to the farmers of watershed areas should also be provided to the farmers of non-watershed areas for sustainable production and productivity. The major constraints faced by the farmers in adoption of suitable soil and water conservation technology are high cost of technology, low benefit at initial stage of adoption, finance and training etc.