Assessing the impact of sunflower frontline demonstrations on farmer practices and outcomes in Patiala district, Punjab

AbstractThe present study assessed the impact of frontline demonstrations (FLDs) on farmers’ adoption behaviour in sunflower cultivation and identified the constraints encountered by them in Patiala district, Punjab, during 2023-24. Data were collected from 25 FLD and 25 non-FLD sunflower growers through a simple random sampling procedure and analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Findings indicated that while basic practices such as timely preparatory cultivation, seed rate and inter-cultural hoeings were universally adopted, FLD farmers showed significantly higher adoption of nuanced technologies like proper spacing (54% vs 40%), dibbling method of sowing (68% vs 56%), recommended fertilizer application (80% vs 72%) and need-based plant protection (62% vs 36%). Economically, FLD farmers achieved 41.3 per cent higher yield, 41.3 per cent higher gross return and 61.5 per cent higher net return compared to non-FLD farmers, with a favourable incremental benefit-cost ratio of 2.78. Major constraints faced by farmers included necrosis disease (96-100% prevalence), lack of locally available fertilizers and pesticides (92-96%) and low rainfall (88-92%). Non-FLD farmers perceived seed quality, high seed cost and credit access as more critical constraints. All the farmers suggested remunerative price for their produce and all the non-FLD and 96.00 per cent FLD farmers suggested timely seed supply at the local level. The study concluded that FLDs effectively promoted advanced sunflower cultivation practices leading to improved economic returns, though persistant constraints required targeted interventions.