Journal of Experimental Agriculture International

The impact of the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) on the knowledge levels of chickpea growers in Ajmer district, Rajasthan, focusing on recommended production technologies. A comparison between 200 beneficiary and 200 non-beneficiary farmers revealed significant differences in knowledge across key practices, such as field preparation, use of high-yielding varieties, seed sowing, irrigation management, and post-harvest techniques. Beneficiary farmers exhibited significantly higher knowledge in seven key practices, with Mean Percent Scores (MPS) of 83.43 for field preparation and 82.08 for the use of high-yielding varieties, compared to non-beneficiaries who had lower knowledge, particularly in critical areas like plant protection (49.77 MPS) and weed management (45.25 MPS). The 'Z' test confirmed that the knowledge differences were statistically significant at the 1% and 5% levels. However, no significant difference was found in common practices such as seed sowing, seed rate and spacing, and harvesting, suggesting widespread understanding of these practices. The findings highlight the effectiveness of NFSM in improving the knowledge of beneficiary farmers regarding modern chickpea production technologies, although further efforts are needed to address knowledge gaps in crop protection and management practices among non-beneficiaries.