Scale Construction to Measure the Attitude of Farmers towards IARI-Post Office Linkage Extension Model

Abstract

Addressing a lot of marginal and small farmers in developing country like India, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute introduced an alternate approach to public extension as IARI-Post office Linkage Extension Model in 2009 to reach out the grass root farmers with improved frontline technologies in remote villages through Branch post masters. In the initial expansion phase, there is a need to analyze the impact and future perspective of the model in relation to farmers' behaviours. Interpreting farmers' orientation towards the model could be measured through attitude scale construction with the new concept. Likert-type scale was considered with statements preparation and validation through juries' method and relevancy score method. The scale was pretested in a non-sample area. Item analysis of thirty-six (36) filtered statements could reduce to eighteen (18) reliable attitude statements in the final scale with accepted "t" values. The reliability test showed the scale was quite reliable through Cronbach alpha value as 0.75 and split half reliability full test value as 0.72 after Spearman-Brown correction. The scale was found to be valid through content validity and known group method test. The scale was administered to the sample farmers with five point continuum response in the Likert scale would categorize farmers into five classes like least favourable, less favourable, favourable, highly favourable, very highly favourable attitudes. Measuring attitude through a standardized scale of stakeholders facilitates future strategy and decision making by policy makers. It can be further validated in meeting several future innovative extension methods.