National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Protected cultivation of mushroom has emerged as a high-value, climate-resilient agri-enterprise well suited to the small and marginal landholding structure of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Despite a comprehensive ecosystem of central and state support — MIDH, NHM, RKVY, PM-FME, AIF and ODOP — adoption of protected mushroom cultivation in Ayodhya district remains uneven. The present study, restricted to the first two research objectives, assesses (i) the impact of government schemes and subsidies on adoption and (ii) farmers’ awareness and utilization of these subsidy programmes. Primary data were collected during 2025–26 from 75 mushroom growers selected across eight blocks of Ayodhya district through a multistage stratified random sampling design and a pre-tested interview schedule. Data were analysed using percentage analysis, mean, standard deviation, the chi-square test, the t-test and a Technology Adoption Index (TAI). Results show that 62.7% of farmers were aware of at least one scheme but only 38.7% had availed subsidy benefits, leaving an awareness–utilization gap of 24 percentage points. The overall TAI was 58.4% (moderate); beneficiaries recorded a significantly higher mean TAI (71.2%) than non-beneficiaries (49.8%) (t = 5.84, p<0.001), and 48.3% of beneficiaries were full adopters against only 8.7% of non-beneficiaries. Education level (χ² = 14.82, p<0.05) and landholding size (χ² = 12.34, p<0.05) were significantly associated with adoption. KVKs (44.7%) and the District Horticulture Office (38.3%) were the principal information channels, while digital channels remained underused (14.9%). The study concludes that subsidies exert a strong positive effect on adoption but that awareness generation alone is insufficient; procedural simplification and sustained extension support are essential to convert awareness into utilization.
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