Training Needs – An Analysis in Dryland Farming System With Gender Perspectives

Abstract

Dryland agriculture is an area where a rainfall of minimum 750 mm is obtained. Present condition of dryland is getting worse in south Tamil Nadu because of the recurrent drought prevails in past three years. It is a part of agriculture which plays important role in drought prone areas. As per the recent condition many suicides and migration happens in dryland agriculture. Area under dryland get depleting and getting worse too. If it unnoticed will turn to global food security issues. Having an insight in a present problem a study was conducted in Tiruppur districts of Tamil Nadu and the main objective of the study is aim to analyse the training needs of the dryland farmers with gender perspective. For identifying training need of the respondent an attempt was made in this study to find out the need by surveying respondent with covering specific topic such as subject area, duration, month, place, mode and instructor preferred for the training. Before organizing any training programme these factors have to be taken in to consideration to ensure active involvement of participants. The study revealed that training was preferred by 75.44 per cent of respondents, about 88.80 per cent of respondent preferred less than a day of training. Village extension agent was sought by the majority of respondents (70.89%) and preferred training in any of the season (88.80%) in the subject of dryland management technology.

Significance of Farmers’ Distress Index in Reducing Agrarian Crisis: An Approach to Study Vulnerability in the Context of Dryland Farmers in India

“…Despite low or erratic rainfall (less than 75 cm annually) and no assured irrigation facilities, the dryland regions play a vital role not only in the progress of agriculture but also in the entire Indian economy, as most of the coarse grain crops, pulses, oilseeds and raw cotton are grown on these lands (Krishi Jagran, 2017). The contribution of drylands to Indian agriculture is of great importance, as 68 per cent of the total net sown area, covering 177 districts (Sindhuja and Asokhan, 2018), and 44 per cent of the nation's total food production come from the drylands (Vijayan R, 2016).…”

Farmers’ Distress Index: An Approach for an Action Plan to Reduce Vulnerability in the Drylands of India

“…India has the highest share of total cropped area (66%) [1] among the rainfed agricultural countries in the world and contributes to half of the country's total food production [2]. The government of India identified 177 districts out of 718 districts as predominantly rainfed based on the extent of the rainfed area [3,4]. Drylands are referred to as low rainfall (less than 75 cm annually) areas where mixed farming is practiced with a mix of drought-tolerant crops, with the rearing of small ruminants representing the primary income source [5].…”

“…As the land challenge underlying the nation's agricultural crisis, land resources play a crucial role in farmers' distress. Thus, once farmers' distress is alleviated, farmers tend to enhance their soil and water conservation investments, leading to sustainable livelihoods [1, 3,4]. Climate change projections remark that frequent droughts, prolonged dry spells, and high temperatures coupled with fluctuations in prices expose farmers to high risks, in severe cases resulting in the suicides of farmers [12].…”