A study on association between socio-psychological profile of the oil palm growers and impact of oil palm technologies in Andhra Pradesh

Oil Palm has emerged as an important commercial crop both globally and nationally. India is promoting oil palm cultivation to decrease the reliance on imports as well as uplift farmers’ livelihood. Oil palm technologies are supposed to impact growers in multifaceted ways. So current study was conducted to determine the relationship and impact of socio-economic and psychological characteristics of the farmers on impact of oil palm technologies. Study was conducted in three agr-climatic zones of Andhra Pradesh. 168 oil palm adopters were selected using multi-stage sampling across three major oil palm-growing districts: Vizianagaram, Eluru, and Nellore. Data were collected through personal interviews using a structured schedule, and analyzed using Karl Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression techniques in SAS 9.4. The findings revealed that psychological variables such as innovativeness, self-confidence, scientific orientation, and economic motivation had a significant and positive correlation with the impact of oil palm technologies, while risk orientation showed a negative relationship. Among socio-economic variables, education, occupation, farm size, area under oil palm, and extension contact also emerged as significant contributors. Further multiple linear regression revealed that education, farm size, occupation, extension contact, economic motivation, innovativeness, scientific orientation and self-confidence had a significant positive effect on impact (p < 0.05). The regression model explained 68.6 per cent of the variation in impact, revealing the combined influence of behavioural and structural factors. The study highlights the need for behaviourally informed extension strategies to enhance psychological capacity and institutional support to enhance the adoption and effectiveness of oil palm technologies.