Major contributing factors in Determining the knowledge level of Beekeepers in Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu (India)
*E. Harshini and **R. Jayasankar
Department of Agricultural Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar – 608002 [India] *Email: agrijayasankar@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Honey is a food rich in medicinal properties used by people all over the world. As its use is increasing in all countries of the world, the demand is also increasing. As naturally available honey is not enough to meet this demand, the technology of “beekeeping” which involves rearing bees and extracting honey from it for marketing is becoming a widespread industry all over the world. India, which is rich in plant resources, plays a major role in the production of such h oney. Various practices have been devised to make this business profitable. The profile characteristics of the beekeepers play a vital role in determining their knowledge level on recommended beekeeping practices. The zero-order correlation co-efficient and linear multiple regression analysis were employed to study the relationship and contribution of characteristics with knowledge level in beekeeping practices. The study was taken up in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu State [India] with a sample size of hundred and twenty beekeepers selected based on the random sampling method. The findings revealed that about half of the respondents [54.17 per cent] possessed medium level of knowledge about the recommended beekeeping practices followed by low level [25.83 per cent] and high level [20.00 per cent] of knowledge. And out of fifteen independent variables, eight variables such as educational status, annual income, extension agency contact, mass media exposure, economic motivation, market perception, decision making behaviour and training undergone were found to be positive and significant relationship with knowledge level of beekeeping practices in both correlation and regression analysis.