Scenario Analysis of Rice Cultivation in Kerala

Rice is the staple food crop of Kerala. At present only 12% of the gross cropped area in the state is under paddy. The paddy fields in Kerala are constantly getting converted for other purposes. A steady decline in the area under rice cultivation occurred from 1980s onwards. This paper studies the changing trend in rice cultivation and provides the factors leading to shifting of rice cultivation

Climate change world and your role

Earth’s climate is always changing. In the past, it has gone through warmer and cooler periods which last for thousands of years. This long term pattern of weather conditions (temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds) prevailing in an area is the Climate change which is the most furious issue of the present world. Climate change is change in the earth’s overall climate or a long term change in the weather pattern of a region for a considerable period of time eg: change in the earth’s global temperature, or its typical precipitation pattern. It can also be any significant long-term change in the expected patterns of average weather of a region across a considerable period of time

Price index number and its application in fish price assessment

Price index number and its application in fish price assessmen

Transportation models: a tool for investigating market performance and efficiency decisions

Transportation models: a tool for investigating market performance and efficiency decision

Personal Time Management Skills

The personal time management skills are to build a stronger foundation for your success. One skill at a time. With good time management skills you are in control of your time and your life, of your stress and energy levels. You make progress at work. You are able to maintain balance between your work, personal, and family lives. You have enough flexibility to respond to surprises or new opportunities

Morphological characterization of Ampelomyces spp., a hyperparasite of Bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) powdery mildew

Ampelomyces is a naturally occurring hyperparasite on powdery mildews. Survey was conducted in major bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) growing districts of Tamil Nadu during June 2014 to assess the incidence of powdery mildew and to collect different isolates of Ampelomyces spp. The results of the survey revealed that the disease incidence ranged from 15.54 to 63.45 %. Ten isolates of Ampelomyces spp. were collect-ed from surveyed areas of powdery mildew. Isolation of Ampelomyces spp. was done from powdery mildew infected bhendi leaf parasitized by Ampelomyces spp. using tissue segment method. All the isolates were identified by their morphological characters. The colour of the colonies in various medium was brownish black to greenish white. Most of the isolates showed radial and fluffy growth pattern with raised growth. The pycnidia of different isolates of Ampelomyces varied in their shape and were mostly ovoid, ellipsoid, cylindrical, pyriform to globose in shape. The size of pycnidia varied from 29.2-72.5×22.4-43.1 ?m. The number of pycnidia was found to be more in isolates viz., TNAU-AQ101 and TNAU-AQ103. Pycnidiospores are hyaline, unicellular and guttulate in shape. The pycnidial production was higher in TNAU-AQ101 and TNAU-AQ103. Application of agrochemicals is one of the oldest and most effective methods to manage powdery mildew disease. However, incessant use of these agrochemicals has many demerits such as development of resistance to pathogens, residual toxicity and environmental pollution. Hence, search for an alternative means for disease management is envisaged. The genus Ampelomyces are the major antagonists as an alternative of Erysiphales fungi being a significant group of phytopathogens

Assessing the consumer preferences using Conjoint Analysis: An Application in Fisheries Sector

Assessing the consumer preferences using Conjoint Analysis: An Application in Fisheries Secto

A performance appraisal of Theeramythri Activity Groups in Kerala

Women empowerment is a process in which women challenge the existing norms and culture, to effectively promote their well-being. The Theeramythri programme of Society for assistance to Fisherwomen (SAF) facilitates and handholds fisherwomen to engage in gainful self-employment for their economic and social emancipation. The participation of fisher women in SAF activity groups has made a significant impact on their both in social and economic aspects. The SAF visions to initiate encourage and strengthen locally organized activity groups among fisherwomen, thereby providing assistance for expertising their business development skill, resource utilization and management, performance improvement, networking and marketing. This study addresses performance appraisal of SAF Theeramythri, activity groups of the Coastal districts of Kerala. The study identified that more than 300 million rupees has been provided as grant to these groups and these groups had been instrumental in empowering the fisherwomen in Kerala. The study focused on identifying the different aspects of the performance appraisal of the activity groups with an aim on analysing the present status SAF activity groups and its impact on the empowerment of the poor fisherwomen, Identifying the critical attributes determining the performance/non-performance of innovators and laggards, analyzing the performance/positive changes of the different categories of the activity groups after involving in the Theeramythri project. Average and percentage analysis was carried out to draw meaningful interpretation of the results. Garrette ranking technique, weighted average analysis, factor analysis and step wise regression methods have been implied to analyse various aspects of the performance level of the different activity groups of SAF. The study also established the pivotal role SAF plays in achieving the goals of empowering fisherwomen and developing sustainable and commercially viable business models. The results of the study revealed that the SAF have got huge impact on both economic and social aspects of the beneficiaries

Attrition in fisherwomen activity groups-A case study on Theeramythri, Kerala

Women engage in a wide range of activities in the fisheries and in fishing communities which is vital to a community’s well-being. They play a very crucial role in though their contribution is invisible and unacknowledged. In Kerala almost 50 percent of the posts harvesting activities of the marine fisheries are undertaken by them. The 26th December 2004 Tsunami significantly affected the coastal villages of Kerala. A vast majority of the coast dwelling people were affected by the huge and wide spread destruction of the tragedy. In order to provide relief and rehabilitation to the affected, Department of Fisheries ,Kerala implemented multiple programs, which were christened under a common livelihood program named “Theeramythri” under the Society for Assistance to Fisherwomen (SAF).The SAF visions to initiate, encourage and strengthen locally organized activity groups among fisherwomen, thereby providing assistance for expertising their business development skill, resource utilization and management, performance improvement, networking and marketing. The Theeramythri programme facilitates and handholds fisherwomen to engage in gainful self-employment for their economic and social emancipation. Among the total 2500 microenterprise groups formed initially as part of various Tsunami rehabilitation programs, only 1000 are operationalat present. Around 500 groups reduced their operations and became dormant due to various reasons. The present study gauges to provide a comprehensive picture about the reasons for the non-performance of SAF groups in Kerala with special focus on its technical, economic, institutional and social impacts. The study identifies the attributes determining the non-performance and the role of different stake holders in the non-functioning of the micro enterprise units. The study also aims at developing valid measures for revamping/strengthening/reconstituting the group and also facilitating innovative ideas for overcoming the vulnerability of an activity group. Statistical and economic tools such as percentage analysis, Garrette ranking technique, weighted average analysis and cluster analysis have been employed to analyze the data

Indian Fish Exports and Dependence on P. vannamei: share and externalities

Indian Fish Exports and Dependence on P. vannamei: share and externalitie