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International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Vol. 4, Issue, 6, pp.1011 1014, July, 2013 ISSN: 0976-3031

International Journal of Recent Scientific Research

RESEARCH ARTICLE GROWTH TRENDS (1999-2010) IN SALE OF SELECT SEEDS AND PLANTING MATERIALS AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION THROUGH ATIC
*Sreevalsan J Menon and **Indira Devi P
* Agricultural Extension, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Pilicode, (KAU) Kasaragod, Kerala ** Agricultural Economics, College of Horticulture, KAU, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, Kerala ARTICLE INFO
Article History:
Received 14th, June, 2013 Received in revised form 26th, June, 2013 Accepted 16th, July, 2013 Published online 30th July, 2013

ABSTRACT
A study was conducted to examine the trend in farmers buying behavior for a period of ten years (1999-2010) that could provide Agricultural Technology Information Centre (ATIC), Kerala Agricultural University, with information for meeting customer preferences for ATIC seeds and planting materials, to have a deeper understanding about the needs of various segments of the market and design their products to meet the requirements of consumers, to retain the existing customers and to attract new customers. The selected planting material categories were vegetable seeds, fruit plants, plantation crops, spices and publications sold through ATIC. The Compound Growth Rates for the sale of vegetable seeds, fruit plants, plantation crops and spices from ATIC and all the publications of ATIC were computed. Farmers association with ATIC and the dissemination of information within the farming community were also assessed. Copy Right, IJRSR, 2013, Academic Journals. All rights reserved.

Key words: Agricultural Technology Information Centre, Planting Materials, Compound Growth Rate

INTRODUCTION
In India, the task of providing agricultural information to farmers is primarily vested with a network of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institutes, State Agricultural Universities (SAU) and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) spread across the country, which is responsible for developing, refining and disseminating the latest technologies to farmers. In addition, extension activities are also carried out by state agriculture departments, private agri-business companies and NGOs (Kameshwari, Kishore and Gupta, 2011). There are 44 Agricultural Technology Information Centres (ATIC) established under ICAR institutes and SAU (ICAR, 2010). ATIC of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is a single window system to make available agricultural information, technology, valueadded products and planting material that began operation from 1999-2000 onwards. A large number of farmers from all over the state visit the ATIC to avail products and services offered to them by the University. More than any other centre within the KAU, ATIC has become the one-stop-shop of farmers for the availability of quality planting materials and services, so much so that materials from ATIC are now known throughout the state as Mannuthy seeds (Aravindakshan et al, 2003). Considering that customer buying behaviour changes over time, it is a necessary marketing practice to periodically assess customer preference in order to track any changes in buying behaviour. Assessing trends in customer preference will help ATIC understand the farmers preferred planting material and seeds, the driver of farmers preference over time. This study examines the trend in farmers buying behavior for the last ten years and provides ATIC with information for meeting customer preferences for ATIC seeds and planting materials. It will enable

the centre to have a deeper understanding about the needs of various segments of the market and design their products to meet the requirements of consumers. The information will also help to retain the existing customers and attract new customers.

Objectives
To study the trends in the sale of technologies and dissemination of information relating to selected seeds and planting materials of ATIC, KAU. To analyze the extent of farmers association with ATIC.

Methodology
Location of the study The study was conducted at ATIC, Mannuthy. The study area comprised of the state of Kerala and more specifically, places from where farmers visited/consulted ATIC for information or technology requirements. Main items of observation ATIC Services Transaction of ATIC with respect to seeds, planting materials and publications sold through ATIC from 1999 -2010. Frequency of visit to ATIC (First time and repeat visitors of ATIC). Number of years of association with ATIC.

* Corresponding author: Sreevalsan J Menon Agricultural Extension, Regional Agricultural Research Station, Pilicode, (KAU) Kasaragod, Kerala

International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 4, Issue, 7, pp. 1011 - 1014, July, 2013 Tools employed for data collection Interview schedule was used to elicit response from farmers visiting ATIC. The schedule was prepared in English and pretested in field conditions before finalization. Data were collected during December 2012 and March 2013. Sampling Only those farmers visiting ATIC were selected as respondents as it was impossible to restrict the study to one geographical area or class of farmers. The sample size is 300 famers and incidental sampling technique was adopted for the selection of farmers directly visiting ATIC. Primary data were collected from farmers pertaining to their association with ATIC and questions were posed to corroborate this trend. Secondary Data Data with respect to transactions available in the records maintained at ATIC for the period of 1999-2010 was used to analyze the trend. The selected planting material categories were vegetable seeds, fruit plants, plantation crops, spices and publications sold through ATIC Statistical Analysis The growth in performance indicators was measured by the compound growth rate (CGR). The estimation of compound growth rate was carried out by fitting trend lines on the individual series using an exponential function of the type: Yt = t ---------------------------------------- (i) where = (1 + r)t and = vertical intercept The estimation was carried out in the log-linear form as: In Y = In + In ----------------------------- (ii) The CGR was estimated from the above expression as shown below (Acharya and Madnani, 1988): CGR (%) = [Anti In (In b) - 1] * 100 ------------- (iii) which is why their grafts are very much in demand. Mango is consumed in a variety of forms like pickles, cooked dishes etc. Table 2 Sale of Planting Materials with respect to Spices
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total CGR Spices( Amount in Rs ) 30765 176657 80899 89952 1409715 6286 84369 99401 66893 77462 160635 161681 2444717 14.83% Spices(Quantity in kg) 7632 23831 42873 46664 56133 2947 34450 38761 27793 22012 47630 27476 378202 11.27%

Similarly, jack is consumed as vegetable, jam and used for table purposes. In Kerala, fruits like mango and jack are exchanged between neighborhood households as tokens of friendship. These fruits more than their economic importance thus has a social role to perform (Aravindakshan et al, 2003). Table 3 Sale of Planting Materials withrespect to Mango and Jack
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total CGR MANGO(no) 5821 12754 20024 21440 18479 30800 26701 24428 16968 20390 15201 14332 227338 7.80% MANGO(Rs) 112220 266190 499610 500440 376300 636220 575115 558250 418333 781200 467115 434030 5625023 11.93% JACK (No) 1690 3841 4589 3807 5987 5251 2791 4613 2431 3670 3349 3367 42265 6.41% Jack(Rs) 14703 33704 96920 117990 107360 113740 105020 57820 87710 64725 168340 131590 1089839 13.18%

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The growth trends in sale of spices from ATIC are positive. This is a clear indication of the prevalence of spices in the home gardens in Kerala State. Fish curry cooked with garcinia is a traditional preparation of the people of Kerala. Garcinia is also used for medicinal purposes. Owing to the high value of nutmeg in recent years, a higher off take of nutmeg seedlings and buds are noticed. The general diet of Keralites is high in spices and pepper is widely used in curries and traditional dishes. Table 1 Selected Category and Items
Sl. No. 1 2. 3. 4 5 Categories Spices Fruit plants Plantation crops Vegetables seeds Publications of KAU Items Selected Pepper, Nutmeg, Garcinia, Cardamom, Clove, ( only aggregate data of spices analysed) Only data with respect to Mango and Jack analysed Only data with respect to Coconut and Arecanut analysed (Only aggregate data of seeds analysed) ( Only aggregate data of publications analysed)

In the case of coconut seedlings WCT, Kuttiadi, Komadam, Kerasree are the varieties being sold through the Centre and the growth trends are high and positive. Coconut is a regular in the daily diet among Keralites. Coconut is also consumed in a variety of ways ranging from fibre to oil to handicrafts. Different arecanut varieties such as Mangala, Sumangala, Sreemangala, Mohitnagar, South Canara and Sigon etc are being sold through ATIC. However during the period under study the sale in growth trends for arecanut seedlings are found to be negative. Table 4 Sale of Planting Materials with respect to Coconut and Arecanut
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total CGR COCONUT(No) 2800 47152 9388 11569 18082 26740 30548 30327 30678 18073 8508 233866 10.63% COCONUT (Am) 58785 176851 245870 290065 442880 814190 1024040 1081185 795520 633040 351790 5914236 17.66% ARECANUT (No) 22320 74019 49605 27812 11214 25854 32755 16780 30945 30576 17904 7542 347326 -8.64% ARECANUT (Am) 132227 607636 477572 205788 64848 202276 259362 129146 224182 209636 188406 87066 2788145 -3.42%

The growth rates for mango grafts show higher values in number (7.8) sold as well as in the amount receipted (11.93). The growth rates for jack grafts show higher values in number (6.41) sold as well as in the amount receipted (13.18). Mango and jack fruits are included in food among the local people and

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International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 4, Issue, 7, pp. 1011 - 1014, July, 2013 Table 5 Sale of vegetable seeds
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total CGR VEGETABLES(Rs) 467412 1023033 810428 732203 1297308 1229569 1218829 1036306 1243934 2183248 2214223 2299790 15756283 14.20% VEGETABLES Pkts 88283 180635 225563 384082 203406 214369 175682 152152 157789 189387 240574 246959 2458883 8.95%

Table 7 Degree of Association with ATIC

Association with ATIC <1 year 1 to 3 years 3 to 5 years >5years Total
Source primary data, n=300

Frequency 45 80 50 125 300

Percentage 15 26.7 16.7 41.7 100

The growth rates for vegetable seeds show higher values in number of packets ( 8.95%). sold as well as in the amount receipted(14.2%).There is always a high demand for vegetable seeds as the KAU is the most sought after institution with respect to requirement of seeds by farmers. In other states, respective seed authorities perform the above function. Table 6 Sale of Publications
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total CGR Publications (Rs) 118508 198398 188390 197131 376024. 283934 246055 146405 228566 285719. 408400 339358 3016888 9.16% Publications (No) 4738 9964 9818 11137 14034 10424 9905 6581 9577 12822 19279 12987 131267 8.77%

This is the reflection of the goodwill generated by it among farmers. Over the past ten years, the ATIC has been improving upon its sales and extending more services to the farming community. Many of the products like meat products, milk products or specific crop varieties that are now supplied through ATIC have been developed on public demand.Since ATIC has been able to meet the requirements of the farmers to a good extent, it has its own segment of customers. The number of repeat visitors is by itself an index of its penetration into the farming community. Table 8 Dissemination of information regarding ATIC to other farmers
Give information to other fellow farmers Yes No
Source primary data n=300

Frequency 235 65

Percentage 78.3% 21.7%

A number of different publications related to the various technologies needed for the farmers and other stake holders, in Malayalam and English are sold though ATIC and their sale reflects the popularity of the publications. Keralites are literates and generally prefer reading technical pamphlets and booklets in the field of agriculture. Apart from this a library exclusively for farmers has been established where information on agriculture and alliled sectors, internet files, leaflets, folders and news paper clippings are catalogued and properly filed. All KAU publications are also made available for reference in the library. Facilities for subscription of the trimonthly publication of KAU- Kalpadhenu is possible at ATIC. All the University publications including books, booklets, monographs, technical bulletins, leaflets etc. in English and Malayalam are being sold through the ATIC. The nature of association of famers with the Centre was further analysed. Degree of Association with ATIC The farmers association with the Centre was quantified in terms of the frequency of their visit in years. The strength of the relationship of farmers with this Centre is reflected in the years of their association with the Centre. Nearly two-third of the farmers sampled have built a close relationship with ATIC for three years and above. Around 41.7% of the farmers have an even longer period of association ranging from more than five years. Farmers who have been visiting ATIC for three to five years constitute 16.7%.And those visiting for one to three years constitute 26.7%.

More than three fourth of farmers disseminated the information about ATIC to other farmers. This is a clear indication that most of the farmers pass information to others thereby contributing to the overall good will of the farmers towards ATIC in particular and Kerala Agricultural University in general. Farmers were asked as to how many fellow farmers had they passed information about ATIC and mean was computed as 20 farmers. This means one farmer communicates information about ATIC to 20 other fellow farmers. Aravindakshan et al (2003) conceptualized the term primary spread effect to denote the effective reach of ATIC to the immediate member of the client system. This concept being applied in the present study puts the primary spread effect ratio to be 1: 20.

CONCLUSION
The growth trends (1999-2010) in sale of spices from ATIC were found positive. The growth rates for mango and jack grafts showed higher values in number. In the case of coconut seedlings, the growth trends were high and positive. However during the period under study, the sales in growth trends for arecanut seedlings were found to be negative. The growth rates for vegetable seeds showed higher values. A number of different publications related to the various technologies needed for the farmers and other stake holders, in Malayalam and English are sold though ATIC and their sale reflected the popularity of the publications. The strength of the relationship of farmers with the Centre was reflected in the years of their association with the Centre. Nearly two-third of the farmers sampled (n=300) had built a close relationship with ATIC for three years and above. Around 41.7% of the farmers had an even longer period of association ranging from more than five years. The primary spread effect (to denote the effective reach of ATIC to the immediate member of the client system) ratio was found to be 1: 20 and it meant that each individual farmer on an average passed information about ATIC to 20 other fellow farmers.

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International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, Vol. 4, Issue, 7, pp. 1011 - 1014, July, 2013

References
Acharya, S.S. and Madnani, G.N.K. (1988). AppliedEconometrics for Agricultural Economists. Himanshu Publications, Udaipur. Aravindakshan, K., Menon, J.S., Prasad, R.M. and Jose, A. I. (2003).Impact assessment of ATIC. Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur. 106.

ICAR(2010).Retrieved27/6/2013fromhttp://www.icar.org.in/agric ultural-extension.htm Kameshwari, V.L.V., Kishore, D. and Gupta, V. (2011). ICT for Agricultural Extension: A Study in the Indian Himalayan Region. Electronic Journal on Information

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