Study on Knowledge Level of Paddy Farmers on Climate Change in Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

This study examined the Knowledge level of Paddy farmers on Climate Change the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is situated in the coastal area and is very often subjected to natural calamities which were mainly reflected in the Paddy cultivation to the worst status. The ex-post facto research design was used in this research study. A sample size of 200 was fixed for the study. The data were collected with the use of a well-structured and pre tested interview schedule for farmers covering all the aspects of knowledge on Climate change. The respondents’ knowledge level of climate change was measured by designing exclusively the knowledge test. The study revealed that more than half of the respondents (55.00%) had a medium level of knowledge of climate change. Nearly one-third (32.50%) of the respondents had a high level of knowledge and a lesser number of respondents (12.50%) were found to be under the category of low- level knowledge. Educational status, farming experience, contact with extension agencies, information seeking behaviour, social participation, innovativeness, risk orientation and awareness had shown positive and significant associations with paddy farmers knowledge and these variables contributed to improving the knowledge level of the Paddy farmers on climate change. They had knowledge of changes in the rainfall patterns, extreme climatic events, changes in the crop growths stages, ground water table and pest and disease outbreaks but the famers don’t have enough knowledge on climate change adaptation strategies in Paddy cultivation with respect to tackle the problem of salinity, sodicity and effects of humidity in grain filling to cope up with climate change. Hence, it is recommended that special training programmes may be frequently offered in the study area to improve the knowledge and skill of the farmers on climate change.