Generation of farmers’ contemporary innovations and re-inventions in Saurashtra region

Introduction

In the realm of agriculture, innovation is a key driver of development at all levels. It is the creativity of individual farmers and farming communities that can make a significant difference in the sector. However, until recently, the emerging technologies, management practices, and institutions built over time by farmers and their communities have received little attention. These innovations are often developed in a local context that combines learning from previous generations' experiences and knowledge. The Innovation Development Process consists of all the decisions and activities and their impacts that occurs from recognition of need or a problem through research, development and commercialization of an innovation (or) re-invention, through diffusion and adoption of the innovation (or) re-invention by users, to its consequences (Rogers, 1983) [8] . As such there are six main stages in the innovation development process: 1. needs/problem identification, 2. research, 3. development, 4. commercialization, 5. diffusion and adoption and 6. consequences.

Innovation in farming is also a way of life for poor farmers who are threatened by the country's ever-changing environmental, political and market circumstances. For them, innovation is not academic work or an extracurricular activity. Rather, it is an inherent characteristic of those who are striving to make a living out of the difficult situation they are in. Almost every single farmer who is living in such challenging circumstances has to innovate in order to survive (Chambers et al., 1989) [1] .

Objectives  To study the generation of farmers' contemporary innovations and re-inventions  To unearth the relationship between the profile characteristics of farmers and their generation of contemporary innovations and re-inventions

Methodology

In the present study ex-post facto research design was used.

According to Kerlinger (1973) [6] ex-post facto research is a systematic empirical enquiry in which the scientists do not have direct control of influencing independent variables, because manifestations have already occurred. The research took place in the Saurashtra region, which is comprised of 11 districts in the state of Gujarat. The list of total 163 innovative farmers was created in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, ATMA, KVK officials, and internet searches to identify and farmer innovations and rewww.extensionjournal.com inventions. Telephonic interviews were conducted with all the listed farmers. To understand the different stages involved in the generation of farmers' contemporary innovations and re-inventions, a set of open-ended questions was formulated. The data collection process involved conducting personal interviews using a well-structured, pretested interview schedule. Once the data was collected, it was organized, tabulated, analyzed and interpreted to extract meaningful findings. The statistical measures of frequency, percentages, mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression were utilized in the study.

Results and Discussion 1) Generation of farmers' innovations and re-inventions

For the purpose of presenting the findings of research, the process of generation of innovations and re-inventions consisting of six stages was combined in the following groups as shown in Table 1. 1, all of the innovations and reinventions were created in response to identified needs or problems. This suggests that the farmers have a strong ability to develop solutions for the challenges they face. Based on this information, it can be concluded that the farmer innovators in the selected sample area possess excellent knowledge and skills in identifying needs and problems related to their farming practices and methods.

Research and development

Table 1 revealed that all of the farmers' documented innovations and re-inventions underwent a research and development phase. However, the study found that the R&D phase was not conducted as formal research, but rather through informal experimentation based on the farmers' wisdom and experience. The final product was deemed suitable for addressing their problems. In terms of development, the innovations and re-inventions were developed to a level that allowed for their use or adoption in the farmers' fields, but not for commercialization purposes.

Here, under the Table 2, all 86 (52.76 per cent) farmers' innovations and re-inventions which remained or stuck up at R&D stage without passing other stages are presented. It was found that the majority of these innovations were organic ways of controlling pests and diseases in crops, but due to the availability of chemical pesticides and fungicides, most farmers prefer chemical control over organic methods. Additionally, some innovative practices, such as those related to controlling weeds and increasing crop yield, are not popular among farmers due to their reliance on chemical methods. The study also found that innovations related to storing and preserving seeds did not pass the diffusion and adoption stage, as farmers prefer to experiment and find their own effective ways of seed storage. Similar results were obtained by Chidananda (2008) [2] .

Need/problem identification + Research and development + Commercialization + Diffusion and adoption + Consequences

According to Table 1, only 7.36 percent of the innovations/re-inventions passed through the commercialization stage. It is not accurate to say that this stage was neglected by the farmer innovators, as it appears that they may have been unaware of its potential benefits. In such cases, scientific organizations, extension agencies, and private firms could play a role in identifying suitable farmer innovations and re-inventions for commercial and agripreneurship purposes. The innovations and re-inventions which passed through the commercialization stage are presented in the Table 3. These innovations and reinventions shown in Table 3 were focused on farm mechanization to minimize the effort, time, cost, and labor required for various farming operations. The majority of these innovations and reinventions were commercialized with the support of NGOs or other assisting agencies. These farmer innovations and reinventions have had a clear and positive impact on crop production, and as a result, they have been adopted and implemented by many farmers in the community.

Diffusion and adoption and consequences

Table 1 indicates that 51 farmer innovations and re-inventions passed through the fourth stage, which is diffusion and adoption. Based on this information, it can be concluded that farmers tend to adopt new ideas or practices after learning about them from their peers and relatives. Once they have successfully adopted a new practice, they also tend to share it with other farmers. Many of these innovations and re-inventions are also diffused by progressive farmers and extension agents. The innovations and re-inventions which passed through diffusion and adoption stage are presented in the Innovative method of groundnut sowing Table 4 included the innovations and re-inventions related to multiple farming tools, crop production practices, varietal selection techniques, plant protection aspects, organic manure making practices, and soil erosion control methods that were successfully diffused and adopted by the farming community. These innovations and practices were found to have positive consequences on the farming community in terms of increased productivity, ease of operation, time and labor saving and protection from various agricultural challenges. It was revealed that the success stories of innovative farmers influenced many other farmers to adopt the same practices, leading to widespread adoption and positive impact on the farming community.

Consequences only

Table 1 reveals that 14 innovations and re-inventions passed through the stages of need identification, research, and development, and reached directly to stage V, which is consequences. In this stage, the identification of a problem and the development of a solution through research and development can lead to consequences in the society, even if the diffusion and adoption of the innovation or reinvention has not taken place and these innovations and reinventions were mentioned in the Table 5. From Table 5, it can be concluded that modifications of farm tools have been found to be effective for farming practices but have not been widely adopted due to the technical work required while, Organic farming practices were developed to address soil fertility depletion caused by chemical usage but have not been widely adopted due to their laborious and time-consuming nature. However, these practices have positive impacts on human and animal health by leaving no chemical residue on the crop. Crop production practices were also developed by farmer innovators and increased crop yields but were not widely adopted due to low observability.

2) Relationship between profile characteristics of farmers and their generation of contemporary innovations and re-inventions

To investigate the link between farmers' profile characteristics (independent variable) and the generation of contemporary innovations and re-inventions (dependent variables), the correlation coefficient ('r') was computed. (Garrett, 1967) [4] The study formulated empirical hypotheses to test the significance of the relationship, and www.extensionjournal.com the results of the zero-order correlation analysis can be found in Table 6. The characteristics of the respondents like researchextension contact, mass media exposure, creativity, scientific orientation, research orientation, achievement motivation, self confidence and progressivism had positive and highly significant relationship with their generation of contemporary innovations and re-inventions. The characteristics of the respondents viz., education and risk bearing ability had positive and significant relationship with the participation in agricultural activities. Fatalism of the respondents had negative and highly significant relationship with the generation of contemporary innovations and re-inventions. The characteristics of respondents like age and farming experience had negative and significant relationship with their generation of contemporary innovations and re-inventions. The characteristics size of land holding, annual income and equipment possession had non-significant relationship with the generation of contemporary innovations and reinventions. The findings were in line with the findings of Neelaveni (2005) [7] , Chinnam Naidu (2012) [3] , Sreenivasa and Sireesha (2013) [9] and Justice and Tobias (2014) [5] .

3) Functional relationship between generation of contemporary innovations and re-inventions and profile of farmers

in order to assess the amount of contribution (influence or predictive abilities) of all independent variable to the generation of farmers' contemporary innovations and reinventions, the multiple regression analysis was carried out. It can be referred from the Table 7 that out of 16 independent variables, 6 variables viz., education, farming experience, creativity, research orientation, achievement motivation and progressivism were acquainting significant influence on the generation of contemporary innovations and re-inventions. All the variables together were contributing 63.81 per cent variations indicated by R 2 value for the generation of contemporary innovations and reinventions. Majority of the independent variables considered in the study together exerted significant influence on the generation of farmers' contemporary innovations and reinventions. The analysis of coefficient of total variation explained by independent variables (R 2 = 63.81) in generation of farmers' contemporary innovation and reinventions. The results presented in the Table 7 also pointed out that variables like creativity, research orientation and progressivism are crucial factors (highly significant) in deciding the generation of farmers' contemporary innovations and re-inventions. Other independent variables like education, farming experience and achievement motivation (significant) contributed largely with the generation of farmers' contemporary innovations and reinventions. Remaining variables have failed to contribute significantly in generation of farmers' contemporary innovations and re-inventions.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that farmers tend to innovate and reinvent so many things they need in their day to day farming situation. This innovation generation do not always pass through all six stages, but they definitely become advantageous as they solve farmers' problems and difficulties which they often face in many agricultural practices. All of these start from felt or unfelt needs and results as consequences. Most farmers do not go for the commercialization of their final product after research and development but they get spread informally and show their consequences.

References

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2. Chidananda M. A study on entrepreneurial behaviour of dryland farmers in Karnataka state. Hyderabad: Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University; 2008.
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