Evaluation of Constraints Faced by Women Trainees of Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s in Adopting Value Addition Technologies

Abstract

Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) have been actively collaborating with public, private, and voluntary sectors to enhance the agricultural economy of their respective districts and to disseminate knowledge and innovations to farmers. Among various interventions, income-generating activities serve as a crucial tool for the empowerment of rural women. Training programmes not only facilitate empowerment but also equip women with the necessary technical knowledge and skills to initiate entrepreneurial ventures, thereby creating opportunities for income generation and livelihood security. Despite active participation in skill development and vocational training programmes, women often encounter various constraints that impede their empowerment process. To address this, the present study aimed to analyse the challenges faced by women who had completed fruit and vegetable preservation training provided by KVKs. The study was purposively conducted at two KVKs—KVK Wayanad and KVK Kollam—operating under Kerala Agricultural University, which have been delivering regular vocational training to farmers, youth, and women in key agricultural domains over the past five years. A total of 300 women who had undergone fruit and vegetable preservation training were selected for the study through random sampling. Constraints were categorized under various components viz. personal, financial, infrastructural, and organisational constraints. Among the personal constraints lack of awareness about different aspects were expressed by the majority of the respondents. The major constraint expressed by most of the respondents under financial constraint was lack of funds and in organizational category lack of organised marketing network. With regard to constraints related to infrastructural aspects respondents felt inadequate practical training as major constraint. Financial constraints emerged as a dominating variable in deciding the success of interventions. It was followed by infrastructure constraints, organisational constraints and personal constraints in descending order.  Training programmes should orient the trainees to deal with banks and other credit providing agencies, literary sessions on various incentive schemes available for entrepreneurs, purchase of raw materials, marketing of products, accounts keeping, grading the quality of products etc. The dissemination of knowledge, technologies, and extension services at the grassroots level is vital for fostering entrepreneurship and sustainable development in rural communities. Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) serve a central role in this endeavour by promoting the transfer and adoption of modern agricultural practices. It is therefore imperative to identify the constraints that hinder the adoption of scientific methods. By recognising these barriers, KVKs and other agricultural service providers can strengthen their extension efforts, improve follow-up support, and ultimately facilitate the wider uptake of innovative and sustainable agricultural technologies.