FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE ON IMPROVED MAIZE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY IN THAKURGAON DISTRICT

Abstract

The purposes of the study were to find out the extent of farmers’ knowledge on improved maize production technologies, to explore the relationships between some of the selected characteristics of the farmers with their knowledge on improved maize production technology and to determine the extent of problems faced by the farmers in cultivating maize. The study was carried in sadar upazila of Thakurgoan district. One hundred and six (106) maize farmers were selected as sample for this study. Data were collected by a pre-tested interview schedule during 01 Januaary to 26 January 2017. The selected nine characteristics of the maize growers were considered as causal factors and knowledge on improved maize production technologies was considered as focus issue. Almost two-thirds (63.21 percent) of the farmers had fair knowledge compared to 22.64 percent had poor and 14.15 percent had good knowledge on improve maize production. On the other hand, the knowledge of farmers with regard to improved maize production technology was measured in terms of Obtained Percent Score (OPS). As many as ten important areas of maize production were included to assess the knowledge of maize the growers. Knowledge about time of sowing was 98.58 percent among the maize growers and this aspect was accorded 1st by the respondents. However, intercropping assigned 10th rank possessed poor possessed of knowledge (51.41 percent). Among the nine selected characteristics of the maize growers’ seven characteristics namely educational qualification, farm size, annual income, cosmopoliteness, extension media contact, innovativeness, and attitude towards maize cultivation of the farmers with their knowledge on improved maize production technology. However, age and maize cultivation area fail to show any relationship with knowledge on improved maize production technology. The result indicated that the problem which rank 1st on the basis of PCI was ‘lack of knowledge about diversified use of maize as human food’. On the other hands ‘low rate of seed germination’ was last ranked on the basis of PCI.