Farmers Attitude Towards Private Agricultural Extension Services (PAES): A Guttman Scalogram Analysis

Abstract

Farmers need accurate and timely information to increase crop production and productivity. However, market price fluctuations and extension approach changes inspired the farmers to opt for private agricultural extension systems. The decision to adopt or reject an innovation depends on the farmer's attitude toward the innovation. Thus, the present study was undertaken to assess the unidimensional nature of scale through the scalogram technique (Good enough technique) and to administer the scale in analyzing the farmer's attitude towards PAES. Based on the review of literature and discussion with experts, 7 favorable statements were selected to assess the farmer's attitude towards PAES. To check the coefficient of reproducibility of the developed scale, it was administered with 15 subjects and found to be 0.83, indicating the scale's reliability. Simultaneously, the developed scale was employed to assess the attitude of farmers towards PAES and found that more than half of the farmers (53.33%) had a favorable attitude. Most of the farmers suggested that continuous monitoring and regulation of PAES should be done to ensure proper functioning.