Constraints Perceived by Tribal Farmers in Adoption of Improved Production Technologies of Rapeseed-Mustard in Ranchi District

Oilseeds constitute a major portion of human diet. In developing countries, most of the farmers have small landholdings, limited resources and excess family labour. This makes technological up-gradation in agriculture more imperative. The present study was undertaken to get insight into the constraints faced by tribal farmers in adoption of improved production technologies of rapeseed-mustard, which strictly control their adoption behaviour. Study was conducted in purposively selected Nagri and Ormanjhi blocks of Ranchi District. Four villages were randomly selected from each of these two blocks. Twenty five tribal farmers from each village were selected randomly consisting of the total sample of 100 respondents. The data were collected from each respondent through pre-tested structured interview schedule and appropriate statistical procedures were employed to analyze the data. Constraints were grouped into six categories, namely, ecological, technological, infrastructural, extension-related, economic and socio-cultural. The study concluded that undulated topography and gravelly soil equipped with poor fertility, dearth of short duration varieties of rice suitable for up and mid land and dearth of less water requiring varieties, lack of soil testing facility, inadequate technical know-how among farmers about improved practices, high cost of inputs and free grazing of cattle were experienced to be important constraints which hampered the adoption of improved rapeseed-mustard production technologies.