Knowledge and Awareness Gaps Among Vegetable Growers Regarding Improved Production Technologies: A Review

Abstract

Improved production technologies — integrated pest management, seed treatment, soil testing, drip irrigation, protected cultivation, and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) — are well established in agricultural research, yet farm-level surveys consistently find that vegetable growers' knowledge of these technologies lags well behind what is recommended. This review synthesizes knowledge-and-awareness surveys of vegetable growers across India, Bangladesh, and comparator studies from Switzerland and the United States, to characterize the size and pattern of these gaps. Across the reviewed studies, “medium” knowledge is consistently the most common category, true “high” knowledge is rare, and even where knowledge is adequate, adoption trails knowledge by a wide margin. The specific technologies with the largest documented knowledge gaps — integrated pest management, seed treatment, and soil testing — are precisely those requiring the most technical judgment, while simpler practices such as recommended varieties and fertilizer timing are comparatively well known. The review closes by discussing the determinants of knowledge level and the implications for extension design.