Abstract:
The objectives of the study were (i) to determine and describe some selected
characteristics of the tobacco farmers. The selected characteristics were - age, education,
farm size, annual income, agricultural knowledge, organizational participation,
cosmopoliteness, innovativeness, extension contact and tobacco cultivation experience,
(ii) To assess opinion of the tobacco farmers towards alternative agricultural enterprises
to replace tobacco cultivation and (iii) to explore relationship between the selected
characteristics of the tobacco farmers and their opinion to the alternative agricultural
enterprises to replace tobacco cultivation. The study was conducted at four villages of
Gangni upazila under Meherpur district. About ten percent of the farm families were
randomly selected from a population of 996 tobacco farmers. Out of the total population
101 tobacco farmers were selected as the sample of the study. Data were collected from
the farmers through using a pre-tested structured interview schedule from 14 September
to 30 September, 2014. Pearson's product moment correlation co-efficient were used to
test relationship between the dependent and independent variables. It was revealed that
majority (50.5 percent) of the tobacco farmers opined for alternative enterprises as
moderately suitable, 30.7 percent highly suitable and 18.8 percent less suitable in respect
of timeliness and scope of application. Correlation analysis indicated that characteristics
of the tobacco farmers such as age, education, agricultural knowledge, organization
participation cosmopoliteness, extension contact, tobacco cultivation experience had
significant relationship with their opinion towards the alternative agricultural enterprises
to replace tobacco cultivation. However, farm size, annual income and innovativeness of
the tobacco farmers had no relationship with their opinion towards the alternative
agricultural enterprises to replace tobacco cultivation.
Description:
A thesis
Submitted to the Faculty of Agriculture
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE (MS)
IN
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM
SEMESTER: JULY-DECEMBER, 2014
