Assessing Farmers’ Comprehension of Crop Diversification: A Multidimensional Analysis of Knowledge Levels and Practices

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22304689

Virender, Subhash Chander, Bas Kaur, and Amit Kumar (Department of Sociology, CCS HAU, Hisar, Haryana)

Crop diversification is an essential measure for agricultural sustainability, climate resilience and economic stability. In this article, the authors present their analysis of the multidimensional knowledge of diversification among 320 agricultural respondents in eight key dimensions: Agronomic, Environmental and Soil Health, Climate Resilience, Market and Economic, Risk Management, Institutional Support, Nutritional Benefits and Sustainable Practices. Results show that there was a good understanding of agronomic practices and market awareness, with 48.13% of the respondents having an overall knowledge level of “High”. But there are still big gaps in institutional support, advanced sustainable practices (e.g. soil testing) and the ecological function of particular crop integration. Literature evidence is used to show that the tangible and income-related dimension of diversification is a well-understood concept, while the systemic, policy-mediated, and science-based dimension of diversified farming is not well-known and needs to be explored. To fill these gaps, targeted agricultural extension programmes are recommended to ensure that the full potential of crop diversification is realised.