Journal of Krishi Vigyan

Paddy Royalty scheme is a financial incentive mechanism formulated on the basis of payments for ecosystem services (PES) concept, wherein the paddy wetland owners were compensated for the ecosystem services that their resource provided. This study attempted to estimate the farmer participation in paddy royalty scheme. The factors that affected farmers' participation was analyzed in a logistic regression framework, using the primary data collected from randomly selected 118 paddy farmers from Kole wetlands of Kerala. Further, it was also tried to identify and rank the constraints that limited the farmer response towards the scheme. The farmers' participation in the year 2023-24 was 57% but only 40% of the farmers were willing to participate in next year. Education, land holding size, farmer association membership and digital literacy were found to be positively influencing the participation whereas age influenced negatively. The most severe constraint identified was insufficiency in royalty amount followed by high transaction costs. Adopting a comprehensive approach that includes better programme design, increased incentives and supportive policies, the government can encourage greater participation to achieve the primary scheme objectives of sustaining paddy cultivation and preserving wetlands, thereby ensuring the food security and ecological sustainability in the state.