Impact of Technological Interventions of CFLD on Niger productivity and profitability in Jharkhand

Introduction

India holds a significant share in world oilseed production. The area under important oilseeds viz., rapeseed and mustard, groundnut, sesamum, linseed, castor, soyabean, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower and niger seed occupied 20% of net sown area. However, the production of oilseeds has always fallen short of our demand and there always been a need to import oilseeds and its products. The total oilseeds production was estimated at 41.35 million tons (MT) during 2022-23. There is limited scope of bringing additional area under oilseeds cultivation, hence to increase oilseed production in order to meet our demand improved cultivation practices have to be promoted and adopted by the cultivators. Niger (Guizotia abyssinica L.) is a minor oilseed crop primarily grown under rainfed conditions. The crop is believed to have originated in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Malawi, where it has long served as an important oilseed in traditional farming systems. Globally, the two major niger seed producing countries are Ethiopia and India, contributing approximately 50% and 3%, respectively, to their total oilseed production (Bhatnagar and Krishna, 2013) [1] . In India, niger is cultivated mainly during the kharif season, covering an area of about 2.61 lakh hectares, with an average productivity of 3.21 quintals per hectare. The principal niger-growing states include, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal. Despite its status as a minor oilseed, niger plays a crucial role in tribal and rainfed agricultural systems, offering both nutritional value and livelihood support in marginal farming regions. Niger (Guizotia abyssinica L.), a member of the Asteraceae family, is an herbaceous green plant characterized by bright yellow flowers. The seeds of niger contain 37-47% oil, which is pale yellow in color, with a nutty taste and pleasant aroma. Niger seed oil serves multiple purposes like, culinary use (as cooking oil), body anointment in traditional practices, paint and soft soap manufacturing, lighting and lubrication purposes. The oil is rich in linoleic acid, which is the principal fatty acid. Linoleic acid has been scientifically linked to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and high blood pressure (Bhavsar et al., 2017) [2] . The cold pressed niger seed oil is increasingly used as a natural substitute for sunflower or olive oil, particularly in regions where these oils are scarce or expensive. Niger cake, a protein rich by product of oil extraction, is widely used as, cattle feed, organic manure and fuel source in rural areas. Traditional knowledge also recognizes niger oil as a nutritionally valuable and health-promoting oil, especially suited for hot and dry climatic conditions (Bhoge and Bobade, 2019) [3] . Niger has been an integral part of the tribal lifestyle for generations, particularly valued for its multipurpose utility. Tribal communities commonly use Niger seed oil for cooking, oil cake as nutritious animal feed and seeds as condiments in traditional dishes. Niger is well suited to tribal and rain fed farming systems due to its low water and fertilizer requirements, which makes it a low risk crop under www.extensionjournal.com unpredictable climatic conditions. Jharkhand, a tribal dominated state, cultivates niger on approximately 2.449 thousand hectares, with an average productivity of 3.98 quintals per hectare. However, the potential yield of recommended varieties for the region are Pooja-1, Birsa Niger-3 and JNS-29, ranges between 5.5 to 7.0 q ha⁻¹, indicating a significant yield gap. The observed gap between potential and actual yields is largely attributed to limited availability and adoption of improved varieties and lack of awareness and implementation of scientific cultivation practices. To address these constraints, demonstrations were conducted in several niger growing districts of Jharkhand, involving recommended high yielding varieties and Improved package of practices (PoP) including seed treatment, line sowing, balanced fertilization, pest and weed management. These interventions aimed to enhance the productivity and profitability of niger cultivation and bridge the technology adoption gap among tribal farmers. 1. Field visit during entire period of crop growth, monitoring and need based advisories were provided by the scientists of concerned KVKs. All 3261 demonstrations in 1247 ha area were conducted by the active participation of the farmers with an objective to demonstrate the improved technologies of niger production potential in different villages. In case of local check, the traditional practices were followed by using existing variety. In demonstration plots, three improved varieties viz. Birsa Niger-1, Birsa Niger-3 and Pooja-1 with line sowing, timely application of weedicide and need based pesticide as well as balanced fertilizer were emphasized. The farmers under the programme were facilitated by KVK scientists in performing field operations like sowing, nutrient management, plant protection measures, harvesting etc. Finally, field days were organized involving demonstration holding as well as other farmers in the village, scientist from KVK, officials from Department of Agriculture, local extension functionaries to demonstrate the superiority of technology. The basic information was recorded from the demonstration and control plots and analyzed for comparative performance of the cluster frontline demonstrations (CFLDs) and farmer's practice. The yield data were collected both from the demonstration and farmers practice by random crop cutting method and analyzed by using simple statistical tools. The technology gap and technological index (Yadav et al., 2004) [15] along with the benefit cost ratio (Samui et al., 2000) [14] were calculated by using following formula as given below.

Methodology

Results and Discussion Technology adoption gap

The details of technological interventions under Cluster Frontline Demonstrations (CFLDs), Farmers' Practices (FP), and the gaps between them are presented in Table 1. The data clearly indicate a full gap in key aspects such as, use of improved varieties, seed treatment, plant protection measures and weed management. A partial gap was observed in, seed rate, sowing method and nutrient management. In general, farmers continue to grow undescript local varieties rather than recommended improved cultivars, and often apply higher seed rates than suggested. They typically broadcast untreated seeds, which leads to uneven plant population and increased incidence of soil and seed borne diseases. The use of un-descript seed may stem from the unavailability of improved varieties at the appropriate time, while the persistence of unscientific cultivation practices is largely due to lack of awareness and access to technical guidance. These findings are in alignment with observations made by Jha et al. (2020) [4] and Kumar et al. (2023) [12] , which also highlighted similar constraints in the adoption of recommended niger production technologies. The average grain yield under CFLDs was recorded as 5.28 q ha⁻¹, significantly higher than 3.74 q ha⁻¹ under Farmers' Practices (FP). This indicates a mean yield increase of 43.64% due to the adoption of improved technologies.

Among the three improved varieties demonstrated Birsa Niger-1 recorded the highest yield at 5.55 q ha⁻¹, with a 51.16% increase over FP, Birsa Niger-3 yielded 5.44 q ha⁻¹, marking a 35.93% increase and Pooja-1 produced 4.86 q ha⁻¹, reflecting a 43.83% increase over FP. The observed yield enhancement can be attributed to several factors such as adoption of improved, high yielding varieties, scientific seed rate and sowing techniques, balanced nutrient application and timely weed and pest management. These findings align with previous studies reporting yield improvements from CFLDs in various crops like Kalita et al. (2019) [9] in mustard, Jha et al. (2020) [5] in black gram and chickpea, Jha et al. (2021) [6] and Kumar et al. (2022) [11] in mustard, Jha et al. (2022) [8] in green gram, Kumar et al.

(2023) [12] in pigeon pea. Despite the notable increase in yield under CFLDs, the observed yields remained below the potential yield range (5.5-7.0 q ha⁻¹). This yield gap may be attributed to variability in climatic conditions across demonstration sites during the crop growth period. Similar constraints were also highlighted by Jha et al. (2022) [8] and Kumar et al. (2023) [12] in their studies on pulse crops. 3. The findings indicate significant improvements and highlight key areas for further extension efforts. The extension gap, the difference between yields under CFLDs and farmers' practices ranged from 1.32 to 1.68 q ha⁻¹ across the demonstration years. This consistent gap emphasizes the urgent need to educate and train farmers on improved agricultural practices to bridge this divide. The wide extension gap underscores the role of effective extension strategies in technology transfer and adoption. The technology gap, defined as the difference between potential yield and demonstrated yield, ranged from 0.37 to 1.64 q ha⁻¹ across the different niger varieties and years. This gap reflects both, the cooperation of farmers in implementing improved practices and the effectiveness of demonstrations, especially as yields improved in subsequent years. These findings are in agreement with earlier reports by Katare et al. (2011) [10] in oilseeds, and Jha et al. (2021) [7] and Kumar et al. (2022) [11] in rice and mustard. The variability in technology gap among different varieties and locations may be attributed to differences in soil fertility, rainfall distribution, pest and weed pressure, geographic and climatic conditions across the demonstration sites. Despite these variables, the consistent yield advantage over farmers' practices suggests robust performance of the improved technologies under diverse field conditions. The technology index, which reflects the feasibility of the demonstrated technology under farmers' field conditions, ranged from 6.37% to 25.23%. The variation in index among varieties can be attributed to their differing potential yields, soil fertility variability and year to year climatic differences. Among the demonstrated varieties, Birsa Niger-3 recorded the lowest technology index (6.37%), indicating its high adaptability and feasibility for adoption under field conditions. The average technology index over the four years was 15.40%, which indicates the strong potential of the demonstrated interventions and their suitability for scaling up to improves niger productivity in tribal and rainfed regions. [4] , Sangwan et al. (2021) [13] , and Kumar et al. (2023) [12] , which also reported enhanced returns and higher B:C ratios through the implementation of CFLDs in other crops. www.extensionjournal.com

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