Pallab Goswami
Department of Agricultural Extension, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur-5200, Bangladesh.
Md. Rubayet Al Ferdous Noman
Department of Agricultural Extension, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur-5200, Bangladesh.
Saiful Huda
Department of Agricultural Extension, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur-5200, Bangladesh.
Organic farming, Knowledge, Practices, Women farmers
Nilphamari Sadar upazila namely Lakshmi Chap and Palashbari under Nilphamari district.
Socio-economic and Policy
Livelihood
Selection of the Study Area-The study was conducted in two union of Nilphamari Sadar upazila namely Lakshmi Chap and Palashbari under Nilphamari district. Population and Sample- The women farmers who are getting support from Udayankur Seba Sangstha (USS) of Lakshmi Chap and Palashbari union of Nilphamari Sadar upazila was the population of the study. An updated list of 120 women farmers was collected from Udayankur Seba Sangstha (USS) office record who practice organic farming constitutes the population. From the entire population, 92 women farmers were taken as a sample size through using following standard formula (Dionco- Adetayo, 2011) with 5% marginal error and selected them by random sampling method. Research Instrument and Data Collection- A draft interview schedule was prepared for collecting data from the women farmers. The schedule was pre-tested in actual field situation. Necessary corrections, additions and modification were made in the interview schedule based on the experiences of the pre-test and expert opinion. The interview schedule was then finalized for the collection of data. Data Processing and Analysis- First of all, the collected data were coded, summarized and processed for analysis. All possible errors and inconsistencies were eradicated for verification of the data. Then the collected data were analyzed with a computer- based software - SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 22, and tables and graphs were prepared with MS Excel (Microsoft Excel 2010). Measurement of Variables- The nine socio-economic profiles of the women farmers namely age, educational qualification, farm holding, organic farming experience, annual family income, training received, cosmopoliteness, extension media contact and innovativeness constituted the independent variables of this study. These socio-economic profiles were measured by appropriate measurement techniques. Knowledge of organic farming was investigated through simple dichotomy statements (i.e. True/ False). Practices of women farmers on organic farming were dependent variables of the study. Based on pre-test experience and through consultation with relevant experts 15 practices on organic farming were considered for this study. The respondents were asked to indicate their extent of practice for the last 12 months with three alternative responses on a never, once, and more than once basis. The score was assigned to the alternative responses as 0, 1 and 2 respectively (Assis and Islam, 2011). Practices on organic farming to the respondents were computed by summing up all the scores obtained by them from all the 15 practices. Thus, the possible range of practice on the organic farming score was 0 to 30, while 0 indicated no practice and 30 indicated the highest practice on organic farming. The practice indices of organic farming were measured through frequency-determination statements (Assis and Islam, 2011). To determine the significant difference among the responses against each practice chi-square test was done.
Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.8(1): 41-50, April 2021
Journal