M. Jayalakshmi, M. Mahadevaiah, G. Prasadbabu and M. Sivaramakrishna
Abstract
The District Agro Met Unit (DAMU) at KVK, Banavasi provides weather-based agro advisories to the farmers of this region. During 2018-2020, forty Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) were organised in Krishi Vignan Kendraââ¬â¢s adopted villages, and the feedback survey of the same was conducted to study the impact of weather-based agro advisory services on yield and economics of cotton as well as farmerââ¬â¢s perception towards its usage. The results revealed that 13.63% average yield increase was recorded in demonstrated fields compared to the farmersââ¬â¢ own practice. The average cost of cultivation reduced to Rs 7,383/- ha-1 in demonstration plots when compared to farmersââ¬â¢ practice. The average benefit cost ratio in demonstration and farmers practice was of 3.22 and 2.38 respectively. The farmers saved their cultivation cost an average of 20.5% in plant protection, 26.8% in seed cost, 25.7% in irrigation, 11.3% in manure and fertilizers, and 17.4 % in harvesting. The majority of the farmers followed advisories sent through WhatsApp (75%) during kharif season, and 86.7 % of farmers used the advisory for sowing operations followed by spraying of plant protection chemicals (63.3 %). Ninety eight percent of farmers expressed overall satisfaction with the timely weather-based agro advisories by the KVK Banavasi.