Attitudes, perceived constraints, and readiness of agricultural graduates toward adoption of natural farming in Kachchh district, Gujarat

Introduction

Agriculture in India is at a critical juncture, as the sector grapples with the dual challenge of ensuring food security while maintaining environmental sustainability. According to the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry, approximately 60,000 tons of chemical pesticides were used annually between 2017-18 and 2021-22 (Patel et al., 2024) [1] . The continued use of chemical-intensive practices has contributed to concerns related to soil degradation, water pollution, and climate vulnerability, raising questions regarding the long-term sustainability of conventional agriculture (Palekar, 2006) [2] . In response, Natural Farmingalso referred to as zero-input or low-input ecological farming-has emerged as a sustainable alternative. Rooted in ecological principles, Natural Farming emphasizes soil health, biodiversity conservation, on-farm resources, and ecologically balanced cropping systems, aiming to enhance productivity while minimising reliance on external chemical inputs (Laisram et al., 2022; Duddigan et al., 2022) [3,4] . The popularity of NF has drawn the attention of various sections of society. It is estimated that more than 7.5 lakh hectares of land in India, across various states, are currently cultivated under natural farming (Anonymous, 2022) [5] . The Government of India has formally endorsed this approach through initiatives such as the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF), promoting adoption across diverse agro-ecological zones. Natural Farming offers multiple benefits, including improved soil health, enhanced water-use efficiency, reduced environmental pollution, safer food production, and sustainable livelihood opportunities for small and marginal farmers (Wagh et al., 2019) [6] . These benefits are particularly relevant to Kachchh district of Gujarat, characterised by arid climatic conditions, low and erratic rainfall, high evapotranspiration, water scarcity, and considerable pressure on natural resources. Initially, Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka proposed natural farming based on the philosophy of working with natural cycles and processes of the natural world (Fukuoka, 1987) [7] . In India, the movement promoting Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) has been strongly associated with Shri Subhash Palekar and has resulted in varying levels of adoption across several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh (Khadse et al., 2017; Mishra, 2018; Niyogi, 2018) [8, 9, 10] . By lowering dependence on external inputs and encouraging community-based resource management, Natural Farming addresses both economic and ecological challenges associated with contemporary agriculture. For agricultural graduates, Natural Farming presents a unique combination of opportunities and challenges. As a knowledge-intensive and site-specific approach, it requires a sound understanding of soil ecology, integrated cropping systems, bio-input preparation, resource conservation, and climate-resilient farm management (Patel et al., 2025) [11] . Graduates are strategically positioned to facilitate adoption through extension services, farmer training, research, entrepreneurship, and policy implementation. However, practical uncertainties such as yield variability during the transition period, market constraints, availability of quality inputs, scientific validation, certification, and limited institutional support may pose barriers to wider adoption. These challenges assume particular significance in Kachchh, where farmers operate under highly variable rainfall, water scarcity, saline and degraded soils in certain areas, and other resource constraints. Therefore, understanding the knowledge, attitudes, preparedness, and perceived constraints of agricultural graduates is important for developing locally relevant extension and capacity-building strategies for Natural Farming. Despite the increasing relevance of Natural Farming, limited research has examined the attitudes, preparedness, perceived constraints, and professional engagement of agricultural graduates in Kachchh, Gujarat. Agricultural graduates constitute an important human-resource base for translating scientific knowledge into practical farm-level interventions through extension, advisory services, entrepreneurship, research, and capacity building. Understanding their perceptions and readiness is therefore critical for strengthening the dissemination and adoption of Natural Farming in the region. The present study, therefore, aims to assess the attitudes, perceptions, readiness, and perceived constraints of agricultural graduates toward Natural Farming in Kachchh, Gujarat. By identifying their level of preparedness, opportunities, and perceived challenges, the study seeks to generate evidence for curriculum development, experiential learning, capacity-building programmes, extension interventions, and policy support aimed at strengthening the role of agricultural graduates as catalysts for sustainable and ecologically balanced agriculture in Kachchh and similar arid regions of Gujarat.

Materials & methods

A descriptive research design was employed to gather detailed information regarding agricultural graduates' attitudes toward natural farming in Uttar Pradesh. The study was conducted across the four State Agriculture Universities (SAUs) in the state, which were selected purposively based on their accessibility to the researcher and the predominance of students native to Uttar Pradesh. The study population consisted of agricultural graduates pursuing masters and doctoral degrees in agriculture and related disciplines at the selected SAUs. A total of 140 respondents were included in the study, with 35 respondents from each SAU, selected through simple random sampling. Data collection was carried out using structured interview schedules and personal interviews with the selected respondents. Collected data were analyzed using MS-Excel and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) to calculate mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage. Additionally, the chi-square test was employed to examine the association between respondents' profiles and their attitudes toward natural farming. The profile of respondents was assessed using several independent variables: age, sex, education, academic performance, medium of schooling, family type, family size, family occupation, father's education, mother's education, habitation pattern, annual income, number of trainings attended, social participation, sources of information, library exposure, achievement motivation, and scientific orientation. Scores were assigned to all independent variables to facilitate their association with the dependent variable, attitude toward natural farming, to measure respondents' attitudes, a structured schedule was developed in consultation with subject-matter experts. The schedule comprised 21 statements, representing various aspects of natural farming. The internal consistency reliability of the instrument was tested using the split-half method. The 21 statements were divided into 10 even-numbered and 11 odd-numbered statements, and administered to a non-sample population (students of BUAT, Banda) simultaneously. Garrett's formula was used to calculate the reliability coefficient, which was found to be 0.73, indicating acceptable reliability.

Responses were recorded on a five-point Likert-type scale (Likert, 1932, Edward 1957 & Thurstone, 1928) [12]: Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Undecided (UD), Disagree (DA), and Strongly Disagree (SDA), with scores of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, respectively, for positive statements and reversed for negative statements. The total scores across all statements were summed for each respondent, and respondents were categorised into three attitude levels-more favorable, favorable, and less favorable-based on the mean and standard deviation. To assess the constraints and challenges faced by respondents in adopting natural farming, a list of 10 closed-ended statements was developed with expert input. Respondents were asked to rank these statements from 1 to 10 according to their perceived effectiveness. The rankings were analyzed using Garrett's ranking formula to determine the relative importance of each constraint.

Results

Attitude levels toward natural farming

The attitude scores of respondents were classified into three categories using the mean and standard deviation (Table 1). As illustrated in Fig. 3, a majority of the respondents (65.00%) exhibited a favourable attitude toward natural farming, while 16.40% showed a highly favourable attitude. Only 18.60% of respondents fell under the less favourable attitude category. The overall mean attitude score (75.32) lies within the favourable range, indicating a generally positive perception of natural farming among agricultural graduates, consistent with earlier findings (Kanwat et al., 2012) [13] . The relatively low standard deviation (6.15) suggests limited dispersion in attitude scores, reflecting a homogeneous attitudinal pattern among respondents. This homogeneity may be attributed to their common academic background and exposure to concepts of sustainability, soil health, and eco-friendly farming systems. The predominance of favourable attitudes further indicates an increasing acceptance of natural farming as a potential alternative to chemical-intensive agriculture, particularly among scientifically trained youth.

Statement-wise attitude of agricultural graduates towards natural farming

The statement-wise attitude analysis (Table 2) indicates that agricultural graduates generally hold a favourable attitude toward natural farming, particularly with respect to its environmental and soil-related benefits. A substantial majority strongly agreed that natural farming helps reduce environmental pollution (67.9%) and improves soil fertility and long-term nutrient balance (over 90% agreed/strongly agreed), reflecting strong ecological awareness and sustainability orientation. Perceived health benefits further reinforced positive attitudes, with nearly half of the respondents strongly agreeing that chemical-free farming improves family health, and a large proportion endorsing preventive management practices over curative approaches. These responses suggest a holistic understanding of natural farming that integrates environmental integrity, soil health, and human wellbeing. Despite this favourable orientation, respondents expressed notable apprehensions regarding productivity and operational feasibility. A considerable proportion agreed that natural farming may lead to lower yields and income during the initial phase of adoption, and many believed that farming without chemical inputs may be impractical under certain conditions. Similar yield-related concerns during the transition phase have been reported in earlier studies (Kumar et [14,15,16,17,18] . Perceptions related to labour intensity, weed management, and market affordability further indicate that productivity and economic risks remain central to respondents' reservations. Overall, the findings reveal a dual attitude structure, wherein agricultural graduates strongly acknowledge the ecological and health advantages of natural farming while simultaneously expressing concerns about yield stability, income security, and scalability. This attitudinal pattern explains the cautious adoption behaviour observed elsewhere in the study and underscores the need for scientific validation, institutional support, and transitional policy mechanisms. Government initiatives such as PKVY, RKVY, and OVCD address these concerns through training, financial support, certification, and market facilitation. In this context, agricultural graduates serve as critical intermediaries by translating scientific knowledge into field-level practice, supporting value-chain development, and enhancing farmer and consumer confidence in natural farming systems. Training exposure emerged as the most influential factor (χ 2 = 18.291, p < 0.01), highlighting the critical role of experiential learning in shaping positive attitudes toward natural farming. Access to information sources and higher library exposure were also significantly associated with favourable attitudes, indicating that knowledge availability and academic support systems enhance conceptual clarity and reduce scepticism. Achievement motivation showed a positive and significant association, suggesting that highly motivated graduates perceive natural farming as an opportunity for innovation, entrepreneurship, and professional growth. In contrast, variables such as sex, education level, academic performance, family background, income, and parental education showed no significant association, indicating that attitudes are shaped more by academic exposure and personal motivation than by socio-economic background, consistent with earlier findings (Kanwat et al., 2011) [19] . The role of agricultural graduates in promoting natural farming through extension support, adoption of government initiatives, and value addition has also been emphasized earlier (Kanwat et al., 2012b) [20] . Similar associations between training, information access, and attitude formation have been reported by Meena et al. (2012) [21] , reinforcing the importance of strengthening institutional learning environments to promote sustainable agriculture.

Constraints identified through Garrett's ranking

Garrett's Ranking analysis (Table 4) indicates a moderate-to-high level of constraints in Natural Farming (NF) adoption (Barrier Index = 45.11), which helps explain the gap between favourable attitudes and actual adoption. The most severe constraint was the difficulty in maintaining fields under natural conditions due to chemical seepage from neighbouring farms (Rank I; mean score 67.28), particularly in irrigated areas, limiting the sustainability of NF practices. The lack of scientific validation (Rank II; mean score 63.24) directly influenced both attitude and adoption, as uncertainty regarding the performance of NF inputs and the absence of standardized, location-specific recommendations reduced farmers' confidence. The perception that NF standards are too restrictive (Rank III; mean score 58.52) and the non-availability of ready-made solutions (Rank IV; mean score 55. 22) further constrained adoption despite generally favourable attitudes. Similar constraints have been reported earlier (Mishra et al., 2020) [22] . Lower-ranked constraints, including limited government support and micronutrient deficiency risk, played a secondary role, while socio-psychological statements ranked lowest, indicating that farmers' responses were driven more by scientific assurance and practical feasibility than by ideological considerations. Overall, the findings indicate that scientific uncertainty, ecological externalities, and institutional limitations, rather than negative attitudes, are the principal barriers to wider NF adoption, consistent with Mishra et al. (2020) [22] . Natural farming can reduce the suicide death of farmers by lowering the cost of production.

9 10

Natural farming again brings back the farmers to past-time farming conditions.

10

Discussion

Agricultural graduates generally exhibited a favourable attitude toward natural farming, with a mean score of 75.32 (SD = 6.15); 65% were in the favourable category, 16.4% highly favourable, and 18.6% less favourable. Most respondents strongly agreed that natural farming reduces pollution (67.9%) and improves soil fertility and nutrient balance (over 90%), while nearly half (49.3%) recognized health benefits. However, 42.9% felt that initial adoption may reduce yields, and 33.6% believed farming is impractical without chemical inputs, reflecting cautious perceptions during the transition phase. Attitudes were significantly associated with age, training exposure, access to information, library use, and achievement motivation (p < 0.05), whereas socio-economic factors showed no significant effect, highlighting the role of experiential learning, knowledge availability, and personal motivation in shaping perceptions. Despite positive attitudes, adoption was constrained by ecological and operational challenges, including chemical seepage from neighbouring farms (mean constraint score 67.28), lack of scientific validation (63.24), and restrictive standards (58.52), which limited confidence in productivity and practicality. Natural farming is viewed positively for its contributions to soil health, biodiversity conservation, and reduced input dependency, particularly among small and marginal farmers with livestock integration. To enhance adoption, ICAR-and Ministry-aligned strategies should focus on location-specific scientific validation, certification and market differentiation under PKVY/RKVY, capacity building through KVKs and ATMA, and priority promotion in rainfed and livestock-based systems. Integrating scientific evidence, institutional support, and market linkages is essential to convert favourable attitudes into sustained adoption.

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25. How to cite this article: Kanwat M, Ramniwas, Bochalaya A, Maurya A. Attitudes, perceived constraints, and readiness of agricultural graduates toward adoption of natural farming in Kachchh district, Gujarat. International Journal of Horticulture and Food Science. 2026;SP-8(9):22-27. doi: https://www.doi.org/ 10.33545/26631067.2026.v8.i9Sa.865 International Journal of Horticulture and Food Science https://www.hortijournal.com 26631075, 2026, 8(9), Downloaded from https://www.doi.org/10.33545/26631067.2026.v8.i9Sa.865 by International Journal of Horticulture and Food Science on [29/09/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://www.hortijournal.com) for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License