Information deficiency among farmers regarding vegetable production practices in peri-urban areas of the Punjab-Pakistan

Abstract

This study aimed at exploring the information deficiency among vegetables growers regarding production practices of vegetables. Total 208 vegetable growers, who were selected randomly participated in the study as respondents. The data were collected on structured questionnaire through face-to-face interview technique. The analysis of the data indicated that the farmers had diverse demographic conditions, but primarily with ordinary level of education (52.4% were illiterate), small land holdings and over reliance on farming sources to generate income (77.9%). Cultivation of vegetables was observed on small land holdings whereas 87% aimed at not only commercializing the produce abut also meet the domestic needs. In order to meet information needs, important for the vegetable’s cultivation, neighbour farmers were the most preferred information source (59.61%) while agriculture department (10.57%) and agriculture helpline (8.48%) were the least. Farmers had high level of information deficiency regarding Fertilizer application (x̅=4.38), Seed rate (x̅=4.25), Insect’s pests/diseases identification (4.01) and medium level deficiency regarding selection of Varieties (x̅=3.87), Insects pets management (x̅=3.53) and Harvesting (x̅=3.51). This is affirmed that farmers had information deficiency about the major aspects of the production and it could have impacted the production inversely. Farmers had more inclination towards traditional information sources and this could be the reason of information deficiency among farmers. This study urges more proactive role of agricultural extension department to mainstream the information delivery mechanism for the timely access and uniform delivery of required information among vegetable growers.