Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders of Odisha Farmers in Selected Agricultural Tasks

Abstract

In the chapter, there are dual main contributions. In the first phase, based on the extensive review of literature on the application of cuckoo search (CS) methodology, its application for the optimization of agricultural pesticide sprayers for maximum efficiency was suggested. In the second phase of study, 75 farmers of Odisha in India were considered to assess their musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) during seeding, fertilizing, and weeding of crops using a Standardized Nordic Questionnaire with a five point rating scale (i.e., 1 = Very less, 2 =Less, 3 = Nil, 4 = Strong, 5 = Very Strong). Factor analysis was performed for “seeding, fertilizing, and weeding characteristics,” “economical characteristics,” and “tools and equipment characteristics of farmers.” Then Pearson correlation coefficient matrix was generated for the seeding, fertilizing, and weeding characteristics of farmers, followed by regression analysis for the economic characteristics of farmers.