Does information network affect spread of new crops? A study on the spread of bitter gourd and sunflower cultivation among the farmers of a Sunderbans island in West Bengal, India

Adoption research for many years has considered individual farmer as the basis of analysis, whereas the effect of networks governing a farmer’s decision-making has received limited attention. Moreover, the spread of technology over different generation of adopters has not been addressed adequately. Hence, farmers’ position within the agricultural information networks and their adoption decision, may be studied to formulate some lower order propositions regarding the diffusion of agricultural innovations within information networks. The present study was conducted at Konkondighi Island in Sunderbans region, West Bengal, India, to study the spread of bitter gourd (Momordica Charantia L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) cultivation among the farmers of selected villages. Case study method and focused group discussion were used to track this spread of new crop over different generation of cultivators. Data collected through survey method was analysed by sociometric technique and network score of the farmers in the agricultural information network was computed. The fractional ranking of network scores of farmers was compared with their relative earliness in starting bitter gourd and sunflower cultivation. It was observed that in the process of the spread of bitter gourd and sunflower cultivation, most of the farmers who had higher network scores were earlier adopters of bitter gourd and sunflower cultivation practices; but the opposite was not the same. This indicated relations between farmers’ positions in information networks and their adoption-decision regarding the adoption of new crops.technology transfer, agricultural information network, social network analysis, adoption-decision, India

Validation of Participatory Farming Situation Identification: Case of Rainfed Rice Cultivation in Selected Area of West Bengal, India

Paper Presented at the 4th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture, 2009 at New Delhi, Indiamicro-farming situation, farmers’ classification, validation of indigenous classification, rainfed rice, appropriate technology, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

N-(6-Bromo­meth­yl-2-pyrid­yl)acetamide

The title acetamide compound, C8H9BrN2O, crystallizes with three crystallographically independent mol­ecules (A, B and C) in the asymmetric unit. In mol­ecule A, the mean plane through the acetamide unit is inclined at a dihedral angle of 4.40 (11)° with respect to the pyridine ring [10.31 (12) and 2.27 (11)°, respectively, for mol­ecules B and C]. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are inter­connected into sheets parallel to the ac plane by N—H⋯O, C—H⋯Br, C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds. The structure is further stabilized by weak inter­molecular C—H⋯π inter­actions

Application of Social Network Analysis for Livelihood System Study

Social Network Analysis (SNA) has received growing attention among diverse academic fields for studying ‘social relations’ among individuals and institutions. Unfortunately, its application has remained limited in the study of livelihood systems of rural poor. Complexity in rural livelihoods has increased sharply in the face of increased pressure on natural resources and rapid shift in farm-based to non-farm based employments. This poses great challenge to successful livelihood intervention in rural areas. On one hand, rural development/extension needs to cater to diverse information and service need of the rural people; on other hand, rural institutions need to deliver livelihood-sustaining services more efficiently, which often need institutional restructuring at multiple levels. To achieve these challenges, a strong innovative analytical tool is required for understanding the complexity of rural livelihoods and the associated role of rural institutions. SNA provides excellent scope to analyse such complex systems and interactions among their components. This article proposes an outline of using SNA in livelihood system analysis. The analysis can provide answer to many questions of practical importance – Who are the influential actors in a livelihood system? Which are the key institutions contributing towards sustainable livelihoods? How do these actors interact among themselves? This will help rural development administrators to deliver livelihood-supporting services more efficiently through informed targeting and capacity building

Does information network affect spread of new crops? A study on the spread of bitter gourd and sunflower cultivation among the farmers of a Sunderbans island in West Bengal, India

Adoption research for many years has considered individual farmer as the basis of analysis, whereas the effect of networks governing a farmer’s decision-making has received limited attention. Moreover, the spread of technology over different generation of adopters has not been addressed adequately. Hence, farmers’ position within the agricultural information networks and their adoption decision, may be studied to formulate some lower order propositions regarding the diffusion of agricultural innovations within information networks. The present study was conducted at Konkondighi Island in Sunderbans region, West Bengal, India, to study the spread of bitter gourd (Momordica Charantia L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) cultivation among the farmers of selected villages. Case study method and focused group discussion were used to track this spread of new crop over different generation of cultivators. Data collected through survey method was analysed by sociometric technique and network score of the farmers in the agricultural information network was computed. The fractional ranking of network scores of farmers was compared with their relative earliness in starting bitter gourd and sunflower cultivation. It was observed that in the process of the spread of bitter gourd and sunflower cultivation, most of the farmers who had higher network scores were earlier adopters of bitter gourd and sunflower cultivation practices; but the opposite was not the same. This indicated relations between farmers’ positions in information networks and their adoption-decision regarding the adoption of new crops