Awareness on Weather Based Agro-advisory Services among Farmers of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The production and productivity of different crops are impacted by the weather. Farmers will be better able to prevent crop failure and obtain high yields with greater financial returns if they are aware of real-time weather factors such temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and rainfall. Farmers may better plan agricultural activities, from crop selection to post-harvest handling, by having the proper weather information at the right time. This helps them reduce crop losses. To study the awareness of weather based agro-advisory services, a random sample survey was conducted from 60 farmers from blocks of Andanallur and Musiri block of Tiruchirappalli district and for this study descriptive research design is used. The findings showed that targeting illiterate farmers is far more crucial, and that it is preferable to disseminate weather forecasts in audio or video format to encourage them to adapt their agricultural methods to the weather. The survey revealed that 72.00 per cent of farmers had medium level of awareness, about 95.00 per cent of the farmers check the weather forecast before going for irrigation and pesticide spray, 60.00 per cent farmers are receiving SMS through District Agro-Met Units. Apart from crops, weather forecasts also help with taking care of livestock, which includes animals reared on farms. Just like plants, animals also need the right weather to stay healthy and give good results. This is why accurateweather forecasts matter a lot for both farming and looking after livestocks. Wise use of weather and climate information can help to make better-informed policy, institutional and community decisions that reduce related risks and enhance opportunities, improve the efficient use of limited resources and increase crop, livestock and fisheries production [1]. Our study revealed that the farmers had medium level of awareness. Additionally, awareness needs to be raised so that people understand that in order to increase production and income, weather forecasts must be followed from the time a crop is chosen until harvest.