Personal and Socio-economic Profile of Villagers towards Drought Management Schemes in Satara District, India

Abstract

The current study was carried out in two tehsils of Satara district, Man and Khatav. Seven villages were selected from each tehsil. Approximately ten respondents were selected from each village. Using a carefully prepared interview schedule, 140 respondents were personally interviewed to collect data. The data were grouped and analysed using statistical methods, including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Karl Pearson's correlation coefficient. Ten variables were considered to assess the profile of farmers with respect to drought management schemes. The findings revealed that a majority of respondents (60.72%) belonged to the middle-age group of 36–55 years. Regarding education, the largest proportion (35.72%) had completed secondary education (VIII–X standard). Nearly half of respondents (45.72%) belonged to the medium family-size category, comprising 5–7 members. In terms of landholding, 43.59% of farmers possessed marginal landholdings of up to 1 ha. With respect to cropping pattern, bajra was the major kharif crop, cultivated by 88.57% of respondents, while 77.85% cultivated gram during the rabi season. During summer, onion was grown by 46.42% of farmers, whereas 29.28% cultivated sugarcane as an annual crop. Agriculture was reported as the main occupation by the largest proportion of respondents (39.28%). Regarding socio-economic and communication characteristics, a substantial majority (76.43%) had a medium level of annual income, ranging from Rs. 85,352 to Rs. 3,25,858. Similarly, 67.15% of respondents had a medium level of information-source use, with scores ranging from 30.54 to 37.38, while 70.72% had a medium level of extension contact (10.58–15.18). A large majority of farmers (82.87%) also exhibited a medium level of risk orientation, with scores ranging from 6.90 to 11.20. In terms of knowledge and attitude towards drought management schemes, an overwhelming majority of respondents (91.63%) possessed a high level of knowledge, with a score of 34.92 and above. Furthermore, 85.72% of farmers expressed a favourable attitude towards drought management schemes.