Factors affecting Yield Gap of Rice in North Kerala

Yield gap is an important indicator for any crop. Rice being the staple food, in order to meet the increased demand of rice juxtaposed with an increasing population growth, it becomes important to study the factors affecting yield gap that will emerge as the most significant solution, which in turn serves to bridge the yield gap. This study was conducted in 7 districts of Kerala during the year 2020-2021 to find out the factors affecting the yield gap of rice. Altogether, 105 rice farmers from the districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur formed the sample. Ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The yield gap index derived from the study ranged from 10 to 30 per cent. The results of the Principal Component Analysis revealed that five components namely climatic factors, biological factors, socio-economic factors, institutional/policy related factors and factors related to technology transfer were critically influencing the yield gap of rice.