Title: A SCALE TO MEASURE PERCEPTION OF FARMERS TOWARDS WEATHER BASED AGRO-ADVISORY SERVICES

Authors: Atul Kumar, J. S. Manhas and Banarsi Lal

Publisher: The President, Society of Extension Education Gujarat

Keywords: perception, agro-advisory services, validity, reliability, scale construction

Volume: 39

Issue: 2

Year: June 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56572/gjoee.2025.39.2.0025

Abstract: A scale was constructed with Likert's summated rating technique to measure the perception of farmers towards weather based agro-advisory services. Initially, a list of 28 items regarding perception of farmers towards weather based agro-advisory services sent to 45 experts for their relevancy using google forms and personal follow up. Based on 25 experts' rating, the Relevancy Percentage (RP), Relevancy Weightage (RW) and Mean Relevancy Scores (MRS) were estimated. 22 items with RP > 70, RW > 0.70 and overall MRS > 2.12 were considered for item analysis regarding perception of the farmer towards agro-advisory services. These items were then administrated to 20 farmers for item analysis. The reliability of the scale was established through a Spearman-Brown coefficient was found to be 0.86 and Cronbach's alpha value was 0.81 regarding perception of the farmers towards agro-advisory services which show high reliability. The validity was ensured using Lawshe's Content Validity Ratio (CVR), with items below the CVR threshold of 0.49 removed. The final scale helps measure famers' perception towards AAS and can guide stakeholders in refining information dissemination strategies. The validity and reliability measures of the scales indicated the precision and consistency. This scale provides a valid and reliable tool for researchers, extension professionals and policymakers to evaluate and enhance the impact of agro-advisory services on farming communities.