T N Nataraju’s scientific contributions

A field study was conducted to analyze the impact of Rural Bio-resource Complex (RBRC) project on the standard of living of its beneficiaries. Two hundred RBRC stakeholders from five gram panchayaths were selected from Tubagere Hobli of Doddaballapura taluk, Bangalore Rural district of Karnataka. The results revealed a significant improvement in the standard of living of RBRC stakeholders i.e. 36.5 and 32.5 per cent of RBRC stakeholders' standard of living enhanced to medium and high level due to the project, respectively. The highly significant difference in standard of living of big, small and marginal farmers was observed due to implementation of the project, while the significant difference was observed in standard of living of agricultural labourers. Of the 13 personal, socio-psychological, economic and communication factors of RBRC stakeholders studied, ten independent variables had significant association with their standard of living. All the 13 independent variables put together explained 78.30 per cent of the variation in the standard of living of RBRC stakehold-ers. Mysore J. Agric. Sci., 49 (3) : 536-541, 2015

A study was conducted during 2008 to develop an index to measure the standard of living and to analyze the standard of living of Rural Bio-resource Complex (RBRC) stakeholders using the index developed for the study. Two hundred RBRC stakeholders were interviewed using a pre-tested schedule for the purpose. It was found that the standard of living of stakeholders is a composite of five components viz., empowerment of stakeholders, annual income, employment generation, social status and reinvestment pattern. The standard of living index developed was found to be reliable and valid. The index has successfully analyzed the impact of RBRC project on the standard of living of its stakeholders. Mysore J. Agric, Sci., 46 (4) : 857-862, 2012