Vol. 11, Special Issue 2 (2022)

Author(s):
T Yaswanth Vamsi Krishna, Dr. SK Acharya, Dr. Amitava Biswas and Monirul Haque

Abstract:
The Covid-19 impacted the world in many ways, firstly it shattered the human health and then it shown ill some effect on economy and agriculture. In India the farmers faced many constraints in utilizing technology in agriculture during pandemic. This study has been done in Guntur district of Andhra pradesh with a sample size of 60 respondents of rice and Chilli Cultivators i.e., 15 respondents from four villages of two mandals by simple random sampling method. The study has been done by using participatory exercises like Focus group discussion and Opportunity matrix for assessing the constraints and opportunities respectively. The focus group discussion has been done in the mandals of Prathipadu and pedakakani of guntur district. It elicited the major constraints faced by the farmers in adopting technology during pandemic. The major constraints identified by this study are Reverse migration of labour from cities to rural areas, Farmer financial crisis, small farmers quitting agriculture and turning into labour, and Reduced extension contact. The opportunity matrix exercise reveals the opportunities for the identified constraints. The major opportunities found are Rythu bharosa kendras, Community hiring centres, RBI moratorium on agricultural loans, providing employment opportunities for the reverse migrants.