Farmer’s Awareness Level on Organic Agriculture in Varanasi District of Uttar Pradesh, India
Rakesh Kumar Mishra *
Department of Agricultural Economics, SHUATS, Prayagraj-211007, India.
Ameesh John Stephen
Department of Agricultural Economics, SHUATS, Prayagraj-211007, India.
Nitin Barker
Department of Agricultural Economics, SHUATS, Prayagraj-211007, India.
Akash Rai
Department of Agricultural Economics, SHUATS, Prayagraj-211007, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study was conducted in four blocks of Varanasi district (Uttar Pradesh). A total 332 respondents from 63 villages were selected by the researcher. The objective of the study was to know the awareness level of respondents towards the organic fertilizers, organic farming, sources of information regarding awareness, and duration of practicing organic agriculture. It was found that around 43.97 percent of the respondents were aware of the organic farming in the study area. However only four types of organic fertilizers Organic Manure, Vermicompost, City compost, and PROM, known to the respondent out of 10 fertilizers recommended under FCO 1985, amended in July 2021. Most of the respondents practiced organic farming within the last 6 to 8 years, concurrent with the government policies emphasizing organic farming. The most important source of information regarding awareness towards organic farming was Krishi Vigyan Kendra and NGOs in the study area.
Keywords: Organic farming, awareness level, organic fertilizers, promotional activity