Scale to measure attitude of the farmers towards greenhouse technology (GT)

Abstract

SUMMARY :A scale was developed to measure the attitude of the farmers towards greenhouse technology based on "Scale Product Method" which combines the Thurston's technique of Equal Appearing Interval Scale for selection of the items and Likert's techniques of summated rating for ascertaining the response on the scale. A tentative list of 33 statements was drafted keeping in view the applicability of statements suited to the area of study. The statements collected were edited in the light of the criteria suggested by Edward. These statements were framed in such a way that they expressed the positive or negative attitude of the farmers. The score of each individual item on the scale was calculated by summing up the weights of the individual items. Scale and Q value was calculated by using Thurstone and Chave inter-quartile range. Finally the scale consisted of 12 statements whose median (scale) values were greater than Q values. However, when a few statements had the same scale values, statements having lowest Q value were selected by arranging the scale value in an order. Reliability was tested with 20 respondents and its value was 0.77 and validity of the scale was examined.How to cite this article : Smitha, S., Sreeram, V., Onima, V. T. and Gulkari, Krunal (2016). Scale to measure attitude of the farmers towards greenhouse technology (GT). Agric. Update, 11(2): 158-162

Evaluating Challenges and Opportunities in Greenhouse Farming among Smallholder Vegetable Producers in Kericho County, Kenya

“…The costs of farm inputs such as seeds, fertilisers, pesticides have been cited elsewhere as a major hindrance to the adoption of greenhouse technology (Wayua et al, 2020). A similar finding was reported by Smitha et al (2016), who observed that non-availability and the cost of inputs for greenhouse production were major constraints faced by the farmers.…”

“…Such constraints suggest a need for accessible credit facilities. The current observation indicates that the smallholders are unable to access finances for the maintenance of their GH farming activities (Smitha et al, 2016). The authors further observed that the nonavailability of credit in time hampered GH-based farming among smallholders.…”

“…In regard to crop varieties, the extension agents' views suggest that the farmers had insufficient information on greenhouse-suited varieties. Smitha et al (2016) similarly observed that a lack of knowledge about the varieties/crops that were suited to greenhouse cultivation constrained GH productivity. The current finding is consistent with that view.…”

“…Lack of market was ranked the fifth most important challenge in a study conducted in Kisii, Kenya (Wayua et al, 2020). Elsewhere, Smitha et al (2016) reported that there was a lack of reasonable prices for the greenhouse produce. The current finding suggests the contrary that market-related constraints were rare.…”