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The paper reviews a range of global aquaculture health and safety literature to inform and contribute to the development of a socio-economic profile of Indian shrimp farm workers including the occupational hazards and injuries they face. In addition, 60 shrimp farm workers were interviewed from each of the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The study revealed that all shrimp farm workers were male, 58% were migrants, and ages ranged from 23 to 53 years with work experience of 5 to 24 years. Few workers (14%) had no formal schooling and many had secondary-level education. Reported physical hazards were high (93%) followed by biological (82%), chemical (77%), ergonomic (71%) and psycho-social (71%) hazards. The majority of physical injuries reported related to slips, falls and cuts (51%), electric shocks (44%), sunburn (41%), dehydration/ headaches (40%) and fractures (27%). Approximately 30%-39% had some chemical injury with skin infections/breathing problems. Indian shrimp farm workers face similar occupational hazards and injuries to shrimp farm workers in other countries. The occupational health and safety of shrimp farm workers should be integrated into the concept of 'One Health' to ensure aquaculture sustainability and safe, meaningful and good quality employment to workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All India Coordinated Research Project on Agrometeorology (AICRPAM) of ICAR has started the micro-level Agromet Advisory Service (AAS) through its 25 cooperative centers across the country. Micro-level advisory based on weather forecast is the newer dimension of the AAS in the country. Studies on economic impact of these micro-level advisories are uncommon. Therefore, the present study was conducted using the field survey to assess the farmer's perception and economic impact of micro-level AAS in Vijayapura and Anantapur centers on pilot basis. Two groups i.e. AAS and non-AAS farmers, consisting of 40 farmers in each group were selected through multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. The probit regression model was employed to assess the factors influencing willingness to pay (WTP) for AAS. Majority of farmers (65%) rated micro-level AAS as 'very good' on scale of 'very poor' to 'very good'. Majority of non-AAS farmers were aware about micro-level AAS but lagged in adopting the service. It needs further detailed investigation of underlying causes of not adopting the service. Farming experience, education, land holding size and income were found to be most important factors influencing the farmer's willingness for pay-based services. Results of economic impact revealed that there was 12 to 33 per cent increase in profit for AAS farmers as compared to non-AAS farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global changes are already having an impact on South Indian farmers. Climate change is affecting the agricultural sector since it is dependent on climatic conditions and water resource availability. The impacts tend to be greater in semi-arid hard rock areas with few water resources. Furthermore, South India area is experiencing a profound agrarian crisis, which is linked, among others, to debt and credit problems. The study reported in this paper aims to develop a methodology to compare and rank farmers according to their ability to adapt to global change. The definition of adaptive capacity is based on a livelihood assets approach. Indicators are evaluated through individual surveys among farmers, then, weighted using the analytic hierarchy process and aggregated via compromise programming. The result is a standardized score measuring the distance of each farmer from an ideal adaptive capacity. Farmers are ranked according to this distance, which allows a comparison of their relative ability to adapt. At the basin scale, it shows that the geographic position of farmers is a significant factor in adaptation performance. The proximity of an administrative center contributes to an increase of their adaptive capacity. Small farming areas limit the adaptive capacities of marginal and small farmers while the largest farmers are constrained by economic factors such as large loans. These study findings offer interesting indications on the variability of farmers' weaknesses and are bringing a better understanding of the causes of poor performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study was to determine constraints and suggestions of farmers towards adopting seasonal climate forecasts. It addresses the question: Which forms of providing forecasts will be helpful to farmers in agricultural decision making? For the study, farmers were selected from Andhra Pradesh state of South India. One hundred and eighty farmers were interviewed to obtain information on problems and suggestions in adopting climate forecasts. Statistical data analyses (frequencies, percentages) were made to draw results. Absence of location specific climate forecasts followed by poor reliability and failure of the majority of climate forecasts, with poor extension service in climate prediction, forecasts in the media not answering operational needs and low conviction of climate prediction were the major problems reported through farmers. Provide location specific climate forecasts by improving infrastructure at village level, improve credibility of forecasts with proper accountability, improve accuracy of climate forecasts by frequent updating, making climate forecasts in the media relevant to operational needs and improve extension service in climate prediction with frequent visits by extension personnel along with use of different teaching materials and methods, were the different suggestions offered by farmers. This paper determines constraints faced by farmers in adopting climate forecasts, along with suggestions to overcome them. It is clear that participatory engagement to understand farmers' needs and adoption constraints is crucial to realizing the value of climate prediction. To achieve adoption of forecasts, forecasts need to be more accurate, reliable, relevant to agricultural decisions and better communicated. With agricultural systems becoming more susceptible to climate variability, this study helps and guides policymakers in considering the spatial reliability of climate prediction in relation to the spatial scale at which the information may be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil health assessment of farmers’ fields in watershed villages in Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, India showed widespread deficiencies of sulfur (S), boron (B), and zinc (Zn) in addition to organic carbon and phosphorus (P). Participatory on-farm trials on soil test-based application of deficient Zn, B, and S along with nitrogen (N) and P during 2009 to 2012 significantly increased crop yields over farmers’ practice (FP)—by 31% to 45% in chickpea, 15% to 16% in cotton, 12% to 15% in paddy, and 8% to 9% in sugarcane. Total soluble sugars in sugarcane under balanced nutrition (BN) increased by 13%. Residual benefits of S, B, and Zn were observed in succeeding chilly crop (12% higher yield). Benefit to cost (B:C) ratios of BN ranged between 2.8 to 8.5 in chickpea, 2.6 to 4.4 in cotton, 2.3 to 2.9 in paddy, and 7.1 to 11.4 in sugarcane, indicating economic feasibility for scaling-up. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, the authors present their comments on the article "Status Knowledge and Innovation," by researchers John W. Gartrell and C.D. Gartrell, published in the journal "Rural Sociology." Gartrell and Gartrell discussed the adoption of "green revolution" technology in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. They indicate that the problem of central interest to their research is "the rate at which knowledge is translated into behavior under different conditions." The main condition that is considered is variation in "social status or resources." The criticisms lie with the fundamental assumptions that the Gartrells appear to have made regarding the agricultural innovations available to cultivators in Andhra Pradesh and the research design and procedures that follow from these assumptions. To adequately examine these relationships, the researchers require situations in which cultivators receive innovative knowledge potentially suitable for behavior in their particular setting. Two aspects of the research design used by the Gartrells suggest that the condition of technology suitable for the entire spectrum of farming environments surveyed was not achieved.