Sources of Information and their Role in Influencing the Decision-Making Process among the Brackish Water Cage Farming Community in Kerala

In recent years, the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) along with the State Fisheries Department has been promoting brackish water cage farming by providing extensive online and field-level technical support to the farmers. There are various sources from which farmers gather information for adopting cage culture. A study was carried out among the brackish water cage farmers located in different regions of Kerala to identify the significance of various sources of information in adopting sustainable cage culture practices. The information platforms having various sorts of tools and methodologies are generally categorized into four: print media, visual media, social media, and the traditional type of training programme. All the sources selected for the study are a rich repository of information and insights on the subject under discussion. From the study, it was possible to identify the sources of information according to the magnitude of popularity among various farmers and corelating the same with the rate of adoption of a technology. The maximum number of farmers gathered information through training programme. Least number of farmers with mean score of 208 utilized print media as a medium to gather information on cage culture.