Vol. 12, Special Issue 12 (2023)

Author(s):
Er. Divate Anuja D, Sahane Uttam G, RS Sayyad and Dr. Jadhav Vilas M

Abstract:
One of the most vulnerable agro-ecosystems to climate change is the paddy production system. Extreme weather events like floods, droughts and storms during harvesting stage of paddy can all cause considerable damage to paddy crops, resulting in lower yields and greater post-harvest losses with serious consequences for food security and sustainable agriculture. Therefore, there is need of adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices to overcome the climate change challenges faced by framers. Capacity Building programmes (CBP) to the farmers on advanced agricultural techniques are essential for upgrading the knowledge of the farmers. The present investigation was aimed to assess the effectiveness of the CBP on mechanical paddy harvesting as CSA practice in combination with mobile agro advisory for reducing post-harvest losses caused by uncertain rainfall during harvesting operations. The study comprised of 125 randomly selected farmers. The result showed that the level of awareness and adoption of mechanical harvesting as a climate-smart agriculture practice were 62.4% and 48% respectively among farmers and varies with gender, age, education and land holding capacity of framers. Further, 56% of the farmers expressed their satisfaction with the agro advisory communicated during paddy harvesting season by KVK which helped in planning either taking up timely harvesting or postponing certain operations at times of unfavorable weather conditions. Farmers, who adopted mechanical harvesting noted increased yields, decreased post-harvest losses and a slight change in income level. The study also identified some challenges faced by farmers in adopting mechanical harvesting including high costs, lack of access to finance and limited availability of the technology. Study concludes that there is a positive impact of capacity building programmes with dissemination of agro-advisories on farmers’ technological knowledge and adoption. This would help to improve the livelihood and food security as well as enhance the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change.