No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Farmers' adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies: A case study in Shandong Province, China
Abstract
A proper sustainable agricultural technology system is an important technical support for the promotion of sustainable agricultural development. Increasing evidence, especially from Asia, Africa and Latin America, proves that adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies can bring both environmental and economic benefits for farmers and nations. China is a large agricultural country and at present is faced with a contradiction between economic rise and a vulnerable ecological environment; as a result, promoting appropriate sustainable agricultural technologies and developing sustainable agriculture are the only ways forward for China's agricultural development. Farmers are the tools for implementing a sustainable agricultural technology system in China, whose willingness, extent and efficiency to adopt sustainable agricultural technologies directly relate to the implementation effect of sustainable agricultural strategies. In this paper, farmers adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies was investigated by using 10 key sustainable agricultural technologies promoted among farmers by the Ministry of Agriculture of China as investigation objects and 308 farmers in Shandong Province as examples. This study discovered that the overall level of farmers adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies was relatively low in the sample areas, and the root causes included small-scale agricultural production, insufficient market demand for eco-agricultural products, inadequate agricultural technology extension efforts, farmers relatively low educational level, and so on. The present study considered that revolutionary reform must be carried out in China's agricultural production system. At the present stage, the most effective way is to organically combine governmental policies with market regulations so as to improve the farmers' net investment income of sustainable agricultural technologies as much as possible, thus enhancing their adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies.
... As such, literature using an agriculture technology adoption framework (Feder et al., 1985;Feder and Umali, 1993) has not been widely used to public standards. However, this model has been widely used for analysing factors for adoption for conservation technologies (Lestrelin et al., 2012), sustainable agriculture (Liu et al., 2011;Abdulai et al., 2011), low-input technologies (Moser and Barrett, 2006) or organic production in other countries (Läpple, 2010). Several approaches were used to explain the phenomenon of technology adoption as summarised by Diederen et al. (Diederen et al., 2003), and more recently by Sneddon et al. (Sneddon et al., 2011). ...
... Additionally, research in the Northeast of Thailand found that higher education experience supported the switch to organic (Chouichom and Yamao, 2010). In a symmetric way, a study in China of sustainable agriculture technologies adoption found that low educational level was one of the factors that explained the low level of adoption (Liu et al., 2011). ...
... Other research reached similar results, such as in the works mentioned in Feder et al. (1985) in which, similar to education, extension service contacts improve farmers' ability to adjust to changes. More recently in China, low rates of the adoption of sustainable agriculture were linked to inadequate agricultural extension efforts (Liu et al. 2011). Similarly, Moser and Barrett (Moser and Barrett, 2006) found that learning from extension agents influenced the decision to adopt a low-input rice production method. ...
... Previous studies on the adoption of agricultural technologies began in the 1980s, which focused on the farmers' decision to adopt new technologies and sustainable production technologies (Feder & O'Mara, 1981;Feder, Just, & Zilberman, 1985;D'souza, Cyphers, & Phipps, 1993;Agbamu, 1995;Okoye, 1998;Neill & Lee, 2001;Isham, 2002;Dimara & Skuras, 2003;Carolan, 2005;Kabwe & Donovan, 2005;Bandiera & Rasul, 2006;Jansen et al., 2006;Marenya & Barrett, 2007;Isgin, Bilgic, Forster, & Batte, 2008;Kassie, Zikhali, Manjur, & Edwards, 2009;Hashemi & Damalas, 2010;Liu, Wu, Gao, & Wang, 2011;Thapa & Rattanasuteerakul, 2011;Kassie et al., 2013;Teklewold, Kassie, & Shiferaw, 2013). These studies used farm management models that provide variables for explaining farmers' adoption decision. ...
... Information becomes especially important as the degree of complexity of agricultural technology and innovations increases (Rogers, 2003;Jansen et al., 2006;Liu, Wu, Gao, & Wang, 2011). ...
... Previous studies on the adoption of agricultural technologies began in the 1980s, which focused on the farmers' decision to adopt new technologies and sustainable production technologies (Feder & O'Mara, 1981;Feder, Just, & Zilberman, 1985;D'souza, Cyphers, & Phipps, 1993;Agbamu, 1995;Okoye, 1998;Neill & Lee, 2001;Isham, 2002;Dimara & Skuras, 2003;Carolan, 2005;Kabwe & Donovan, 2005;Bandiera & Rasul, 2006;Jansen et al., 2006;Marenya & Barrett, 2007;Isgin, Bilgic, Forster, & Batte, 2008;Kassie, Zikhali, Manjur, & Edwards, 2009;Hashemi & Damalas, 2010;Liu, Wu, Gao, & Wang, 2011;Thapa & Rattanasuteerakul, 2011;Kassie et al., 2013;Teklewold, Kassie, & Shiferaw, 2013). These studies used farm management models that provide variables for explaining farmers' adoption decision. ...
... Information becomes especially important as the degree of complexity of agricultural technology and innovations increases (Rogers, 2003;Jansen et al., 2006;Liu, Wu, Gao, & Wang, 2011). Information sources that positively influence adoption of farmers can include other farmers in their village, media, meetings, and extension (Knowler & Bradshaw, 2007). ...
Farmers' adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies guarantees for increasing their income/profit, providing quality agricultural products for the society, and preserving tolerance limits of ecological agriculture. This study analyzes factors affecting the adoption behavior of sustainable agricultural technologies among rice farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam based on the binary logit model. The result shows that factors affecting the adoption behavior are i) human capital; ii) farm size; iii) social capital; iv) extension and v) access to the market. The study also gives policy implications, which make the scientific foundation for policymakers in promoting the adoption of sustainable production.
... Education, measured by the number of schooling years of the household head, has a positive statistically significant relationship. This result extends to standard adoption the findings of literature on agricultural technologies adoption that the longer the farmers' schooling experience, the higher the tendency to adopt new technologies Chouichom and Yamao, 2010;Liu et al., 2011). Farmers who have been through school are probably more equipped to understand the reason behind Q-GAP efforts and can follow the instructions of the program. ...
... Similarly, Moser and Barrett (2006) found that learning from extension agents influenced the decision to adopt low-input rice production methods. More recently and in a reverse relationship, low rate of adoption of sustainable agriculture in China was linked to inadequate agricultural extension efforts (Liu et al., 2011). A dual relationship may be at work: (a) more contacts are improving farmers' skills as extension officers are transmitting knowledge, but on the other hand, the farmers that maintain close contact with extension offices are probably more dedicated to agriculture. ...
A decade and a half of the implementation of forestry decentralization in Indonesia has resulted in impacts beyond the theoretical assumption that it would have implications for better forest governance. In fact, the decentralization still keeps standing deforestation and forest degradation rates going up. Moreover it is unable to increase local community welfare significantly. The main problems considered were less optimal span of control in terms of limited professional foresters within local forestry services compared to very large areas that have to be monitored, an insufficient budget, as well as limited physical resources. The recent concept of Forest Management Units (FMUs) with the understanding of institutions equipped with professional foresters at the site level (Kesatuan Pemangkuan Hutans (KPHs)) is believed will become a solution to governance-related problems, and therefore an analysis of its potential is an objective of this chapter.
An in-depth analysis of forest decentralization under regional autonomy found that conventional characters still existed and hampered good governance, such as political interests of limited local elites at autonomous levels and dominant perspectives that forests are productive resources for revenue generation supporting economic development. Unfortunately, forests are no longer attractive revenue generators and have changed into more favorable land uses (especially coal mining and oil palm plantations). Forest decentralization led to frequent vertical conflicts; for example, government and forest operators’ policies versus local communities’ claims. Shifting some authority to a lower level, particularly the on-site level as conceptualized in FMUs/KPHs, enables cleaner (from political interests) and clearer (for distributing rights and responsibilities) governance and creates possibilities for promoting nine guidelines of collaborative governance. Three potential advantages of FMUs/KPHs include resource conflicts resolution, reduced bureaucracy to achieve lower costs, and socioeconomic facilitation of local institutions. However, some challenges have also been identified in FMUs to optimize the implementation of forest collaborative governance.
... On one side input intensification has accelerated continuously, with applied amount of fertilizer per hectare increased by 79% and total power of agricultural machinery increased by 196% in the 1992 -2011 period (NBSC, 1994(NBSC, , 2012a. On the other side, the education level of farmers, which is considered the key feature for improved crop management (Liu, Wu, Gao, & Wang, 2011;Ma, Feng, Reidsma, Qu, & Heerink, 2014), is progressing at a rather low pace (Willmann & Schucher, 2005), with the educated youth migrating to the cities. ...
... However, those training programmes often require on-site guidance by agricultural extension agents and are thus expensive. Considering that crop production in the NCP is conducted by millions of small-scale farm households, which generally feature a low willingness to adopt new sustainable agricultural technologies (Liu et al., 2011), the cost for training all those farmers is immense. To overcome major shortcomings of the current extension system, like the backward extension pattern, irrational structure and insufficient funding (Hu, Sun, & Dong, 2004), the implementation of neighbourhood mutual help schemes, which have a long tradition in China's communities (Chan, 1993) should be promoted. ...
To assess the attainable greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential from crop production in China's most important grain production region, the North China Plain (NCP), single farm environmental and economic performances of 65 winter wheat–summer maize (WW–SM) producing households were determined. The results revealed a huge heterogeneity among farms, with up to five times higher environmental impact of worst compared to best performing farms. Astonishingly no trade-off between productivity and sustainability could be identified in the region, with high-yield farms emitting no different amounts of GHGs per hectare compared to low-yield farms. Building on cluster analysis, with farms grouped according to their economic and environmental performance into ‘poor’, ‘fair' and ‘good’ producers, the regional GHG mitigation potential was estimated. Under the scenario assumption that all grain in the NCP is produced under ‘good’ production conditions, 21% and 7% of GHG could be mitigated in wheat and maize production, respectively. The study shows that in the NCP, exemplary for China's rapidly developing agricultural sector, the crop management skills of a substantial share of farmers could obviously not keep pace with the massive input intensification. Among others, farmer–farmer trainings are recommended to close the gap in crop production performance among producers.
... Other policy problems that are negatively influencing CSA include the lack of a coherent, overarching strategy, poor coordination of actors and programmes, top-down policymaking, ignoring farmers' preferences and local knowledge, expensive input demand for the adoption of CSA practices, and gender issues (Abegunde, Sibanda, andObi 2019 Kombat, Sarfatti, andFatunbi 2021;;Lima 2014;Liu et al. 2011). Furthermore, CSA projects in sub-Saharan African countries are funded through foreign aid, or linked to transient projects, and programmes are scattered, with no postproject evaluation, lacking a broad, all-encompassing strategy, a CSA investment structure, as well as legislative and financial incentives (Bamanyaki 2020 Pretty andWilliams 2011;). ...
... However, there are difficulties associated with implementing these technologies to ensure the long-term viability of crop production. In China, the low adoption rate of sustainable agricultural technologies has been attributed to small-scale production and insufficient market demand [34]. ...
Digital technologies disrupt agricultural value chains, thereby facilitating enhanced connectivity among various players. This contributes to the development of resilience and sustainability within farms. This study examined behavioural factors that influence farmers’ intentions to adopt value chain digital technologies available in South Africa. A simple random sample of 100 Eastern Cape PLAS farms was chosen. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. The data was analysed in R and STATA statistical packages using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and structural equation modelling (SEM). The results indicated a significant relationship between performance and effort expectancy and the intention to adopt value technologies. Furthermore, male farmers had a higher expectation of performance and effort. Prioritising performance demonstrations and trainings on the utilisation of these technologies is crucial in efforts to enhance their adoption. This contributes to the existing body of literature on the deployment of value chain technologies.
... On the one hand, the implementation of CTT is strictly dependent on the guidance and support of national policies [12]; on the other hand, farmers are not only the direct users of cultivated land and the implementers of farming technology, but also the recipients of policies. The promotion of technology also requires the active participation of farmers [13]. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the No. 1 Document of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has repeatedly proposed and encouraged the implementation of conservation farming; the central government has made several investments to increase subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery; at the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant departments have successively introduced straw burning control and reductions in pesticide and fertilizer usage. ...
Conservation tillage technology (CTT) provides a new solution to the problem of cultivated land protection. Using effective policy tools to ensure that farmers adopt conservation tillage technology is crucial to the sustainable utilization of cultivated land resources and the development of agricultural modernization. This study aims to explore the decision-making and the dynamic influence mechanism involved in using policy tools to influence farmers’ technology adoption behaviors by constructing a theoretical framework. Based on survey data of farmers in Liaoning Province, China, the Agent Belief–Desire–Intention (BDI) model is applied. The results show that the implementation of policy tools promotes farmers’ adoption of CTT, but different types of policy tools have different impacts on the decision-making behavior of farmers; a change in the intensity of the policy tools will also cause differences in farmers’ behavioral responses. In addition, policy tools must be implemented in a timely manner, as the number of farmers adopting CTT reaches the maximum within 2-3 years. Based on the above research results, in order to effectively promote farmers’ adoption of CTT, the government should pay attention to the role of information-inducing policy and set flexible policy subsidies and punishment standards.
... This study also found access to agricultural extension services, which are the official source of information for farmers in agricultural production, to significantly improve the likelihood of CSA adoption by farmers. Official information about markets, advances, or technical solutions may help minimize risks, uncertainties, and asymmetric information, and thereby play a key role in increasing the choice of applications of technological advances in general and CSA measures in particular (Jansen et al. 2006;Knowler and Bradshaw 2007;Liu et al. 2011). In Vietnam, extension services provided to farmers are very comprehensive, which have played crucial roles in fostering the sustainable production of agriculture, ensuring local food, and social security (Sattaka, Pattaratuma, and Attawipakpaisan 2017). ...
... Scientific studies in China regarding the behaviour of farmers living, growing crops, or grazing on contaminated land are rare. Liu, Wu, Gao, and Wang (2011) surveyed farmers' adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies, but the study did not specifically examine degraded land from environmental pollution. Wu et al. (2013) investigated the effects of land use changes by farmers on agricultural soils contaminated with heavy metals and tetracyclines; however, that study focused on geophysical issues and did not examine farmers' crop growing and fertilizer application behaviour in-depth. ...
Land degradation through environmental pollution represents a serious threat to vulnerable populations in rural China. In research to better understand farmers' perceptions of land degradation and their corresponding adaptation behavior, this paper presents a theoretical framework to explain the interactions among awareness, perception, mitigation, and adaptation. A case study was conducted in Qinghai, where historical environmental pollution from a chemical plant had caused the contamination of soil, groundwater, and river water, which had negatively impacted the livelihood of local farmers. A questionnaire survey was conducted (n=277), and the results were used to test a hypothetical framework using structural equation modeling. Results indicated strong structural relationships between awareness and perceptions (r=0.75, p<0.01), a relatively strong relationship between mitigation and adaptation (r=0.63, p=0.02), and a weak relationship between perception and mitigation (r=0.20, p=0.54). The study results suggested that farmers are well aware of land degradation issues, but they lack in‐depth knowledge about the situation and about sophisticated adaptation methods; therefore, they had chosen the easiest adaptation strategy: to avoid the degraded land. The farmers were less willing to bear significant financial costs in adaptation; however, the proportion of respondents adopting “moving” as an adaptation strategy was relatively high, suggesting that farmland degradation in combination with employment opportunities in urban areas may be causing environmental displacement and accelerating urbanization. The authors of this paper recommended that policy makers should consider more than just technical factors in addressing China's environmental pollution and land degradation problems. The socioeconomic status of farmers should be a critical component in the equation and bottom‐up empowerment adaptation behaviour should be used in combination with top‐down mitigation.
... Information becomes especially important as the degree of complexity of agriculture technology innovations increases (Luu Tien Dung, 2016;Rogers, 2003;Jansen et al., 2006;Liu et al., 2011). Information sources that positively influence adoption can include other farmers, media, meetings, and extension. ...
Over the past three decades of renovation, Vietnam has become self-sufficient in food with an annual export of 30 billion USD, providing livelihoods for 10 million rural households and contributing nearly 22 percent of the gross domestic product and 23-35 percent of exports. However, the growth model was mainly extensive manner, natural resources intensive-driven; Growth of this sector tends to grow slowly due to spontaneous and small-scale production, limited technological application in agro-forestry-fisheries, the stagnation of expansion of arable lands, scarcity of water resources, advancing environmental degradation, negative impacts of climate change, competition between food crops and bio-energy crops in the use of limited natural resources, rapid urbanization and a declining agricultural labor force. In order to achieving improved and sustainable agricultural production and productivity growth largely depends on the advancement of agricultural research and its effective applications at farmer's fields through the transfer of technology and innovation. In this context, agriculture 4.0 and hi-tech agriculture will play the new strategic role for agriculture growth; maintain the quality of the environment and other sustainable aspects. This study analyzes the current applications of agriculture 4.0 and hi-tech for sustainable agriculture development in Vietnam; review of factor influencing the adoption of agriculture innovations of the farm operation in Vietnam and set of policy implications.
... It is the third important food crop in the world (Javanmard et al. 2009, Soleymani et al. 2011. Sustainability development is a new concept generated under the background that the world economy is growing (Liu et al. 2011), while at the same time soil and water pollution arise because of lack appropriate agronomical management. Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for the growth of agricultural crops (Kalita and Nair 2005, Ogunlela and Koomen 2005, Limon-Ortega 2009, Seyed sharifi and Taghizadeh 2009, Cabrera-Bosquet et al. 2011, Ahmadi Moghaddam et al. 2010, Kotur et al. 2012. ...
... It is the third important food crop in the world (Javanmard et al. 2009, Soleymani et al. 2011. Sustainability development is a new concept generated under the background that the world economy is growing (Liu et al. 2011), while at the same time soil and water pollution arise because of lack appropriate agronomical management. Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for the growth of agricultural crops (Kalita and Nair 2005, Ogunlela and Koomen 2005, Limon-Ortega 2009, Seyed sharifi and Taghizadeh 2009, Cabrera-Bosquet et al. 2011, Ahmadi Moghaddam et al. 2010, Kotur et al. 2012. ...
Forage maize has become a major constituent of ruminant rations in recent years. Application of appropriate nitrogen fertilizer can improve forage yield and quality and also increase animal performance and has a potential to reduce production costs. This research was done to determine the effects of nitrogen fertilizer on yield and total protein of forage maize at Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch (Esfahan). Randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Nitrogen levels included 0, 40 and 60 kg/ha. The nitrogen fertilizer was provided from urea source (46% pure N). Nitrogen had significant effect on plant height, stem diameter, LAI, leaf fresh yield, stem fresh yield, leaf dry yield, stem dry yield, leaf dry weight/stem dry weight, total fresh yield and total dry yield; however, the number of leaves per plant was not significantly affected by nitrogen. Even though nitrogen had significant effect on total protein, protein yield, nitrate and organic carbon, there was no significant effect of nitrogen on leaf protein, stem protein and ash percentage. The highest LAI, total fresh yield, total dry yield and total protein were obtained with application of 60 kg N/ha, but the difference in total protein between 40 and 60 kg N/ha was not significant. The highest LAI, total fresh yield, total dry yield, leaf protein, stem protein, total protein, ash percentage, nitrate and organic carbon were obtained with application of 60 kg nitrogen/ha, but in this treatment the maximum nitrate content was also achieved which caused adverse effect of nutrition quality. The appropriate nitrogen fertilizer, which is useful to obtain not only high forage quantity, but also maximum nutrition value, was applied with 60 kg N/ha in low input nitrogen farming.
... Similarly, Williams and Woodson (2012) view the role of NGOs as strong innovators and the role of government as innovator through technological appropriation. With an absence of NGOs in China, much research (Wang et al. 2009;Liu et al. 2011) examines the effectiveness of government intervention on agricultural innovation diffusion and indicates a deficiency in effective communication with farmers. Given the importance of effective communication and shared understanding between farmers and external stakeholders, a question arises regarding the role of farmer leadership. ...
Farmer innovation diffusion (FID) in the developing world is not simply the adoption of an innovation made by farmers, but a process of communication and cooperation between farmers, governments, and other stakeholders. While increasing attention has been paid to farmer innovation, little is known about how farmers’ innovations are successfully diffused. To fill this gap, this paper aims to address the following questions: What conditions are necessary for farmers to participate in FID? How is a collaborative network built up between farmers and stakeholders for this purpose? And what roles can government play? The above questions are addressed through analysis of the diffusion of winter greenhouse technology in China. A framework for analyzing a FID system is developed, and the conclusion is drawn that building mutual trust and collaborative networks is crucial for the success of FID. Furthermore, this network building can be broken down into various levels with different scales, speeds and consequences for FID: informal networks among farmers themselves, farmer-led networks, and government-facilitated networks. The success of government intervention depends upon building and enhancing the collaborative networks in which farmer leadership is crucial.
Throughout Southeast Asia, government agencies are promoting good agricultural practices (GAP) standards for improving food safety, avoiding potential nontariff barriers to exports, and ultimately securing farmers' health and revenues. This paper presents an analysis of the adoption of a public standard in Thailand, the Rice Q-GAP where Q stands for “quality.” In the Central Plains of Thailand, a major rice production area, rice is produced by relatively small farms but with very intensive use of chemical inputs, making it challenging to promote production standards. Our study investigates the factors influencing the adoption of standards and the differences in cultivation practices between adopters and nonadopters. Governmental agencies have organized training activities throughout the country about rice production and Q-GAP standards. That training is likely to have an important influence on Q-GAP adoption. We investigate the potential selection bias in training delivery, using a recursive bivariate probit model whereby training is successively an explanatory variable for the Q-GAP adoption and a variable to be explained. Our model suggests that lack of labor availability is an essential factor related to nonadoption. Belonging to farmers associations and groups is also shown to be an important factor of adoption. Unexpectedly, training has a slight negative effect on Q-GAP adoption. A possible explanation is that when concrete information about the program is delivered, some farmers make an informed decision not to participate; this reinforces the idea that the main factors that could hamper further adoption are not related to information but to real farm constraints and farmers' rational behavior. The paper also found some small but significant differences in terms of farmers' practices related to adoption. The most convincing change is the reduction in the number of pesticide applications by adopters.
The purpose of this study was to identify the level of the economic dimension of sustainable agriculture practices among contract farmers in Malaysia and the factors that predict the variance in this economic dimension. Survey research methodology using the multi-stage sampling method was used to collect data from 319 contract farmers across four zones in Malaysia. The dependent variable was the economic dimension of sustainable agriculture practices while the predictor variables were selected socio-demographic factors, attitude, knowledge, support and belief. It was identified through the multiple regression method that the belief and attitude factors were able to explain about 17.6% of the variance of the economic dimension of sustainable agriculture practices. The study recommends that more factors need to be studies to further understand the complexities associated with farmers' acceptance on the economic dimension of the sustainable agriculture practices.
The high-efficiency utilization (HEU) of biotic resources is an advanced utilization of resources. The high-efficiency agricultural park (HEAP) is a type of technology-intensive agriculture park that integrates technological development of biotic resources, high-efficiency production, technology demonstration and promotion with recreation. The goal of HEAP is to promote the structural adjustment of agricultural industry and productivity enhancement by HEU of agricultural biotic resources (ABRs). As the high-efficient planning of biotic resources touches on the sustainable development of the HEAP, it is necessary to study the key issues such as the planning target, spatial layout, functional partitioning and transport system. A case study is performed over the 100-hectare HEAP in Kaifeng city of China by combining the methods of comprehensive coordination and planning, double industry chain planning, cyclic planning and natural & cultural landscape planning regarding the high-efficient planning of biotic resources utilization. The target of high-efficiency planning of biotic resources utilization consists of four aspects: hi-tech demonstration, high-quality and efficient production, cyclic utilization, and recreational utilization. The spatial layout of ABRs consists of high-efficiency biotic resources production cluster and recreational utilization cluster. There are 13 functional blocks which are connected by 4-level transport systems. The innovative planning can make full use of ABRs in this park and protect the ecological environment, which will further promote the sustainable development of the park.
All over the world, one of the main purposes of extension is to increase the level of living standards of the rural family through non-formal education. Extension has a very crucial role to play in sustainable development and organic agriculture. For that reason, extension activity is implemented by different institutions. Extension systems worldwide are operated by governmental (86%) and non-governmental (14%) organizations. In this paper, allelopathy is accepted as a technology to implement for weed control and biological control of other useful traits. Allelopathy can be defined as a component of biological control in which plants are used to reduce the vigor and development of other plants. Allelopathy also covers the direct or indirect chemical effects of one plant on the germination, growth, or development of neighboring plants. Many crops have been reported as showing allelopathic properties at one time or another. For that reason, in this study, we investigate important allelopathic traits for agricultural extension, the possibilities of improving allelopathy extension, and the adoption and diffusion of allelopathy.
The objective of this study was to examine the determinants of technical efficiency (TE) of soybean production in the Guinea savannas. A stochastic frontier production function, using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) technique was applied in the analysis of data collected in 2006 from a sample of 182 soybean farmers in the guinea savannas of Borno State, Nigeria. The MLE results revealed that farm size, seeds, family labour, hired labour and fertilizer were the major factors that were associated with change in the output of soybeans and were significant (p = 0.05). About 78% variations in the farmers output can be attributed to differences in their technical efficiency. The mean farmers TE index was found to be 0.79. The implication is that soybean production could be increased by approximately 21% through the improved use of available resources, given the current state of technology. Farmer-specific efficiency factors, which comprise age, gender and use of animal traction and market accessibility, were the significant factors that account for the observed variation in efficiency among the farmers. The policy implication of this finding is that providing farmers with effective market linkage, access to education, especially extension education and credit facilities to purchase animal traction will strengthen their present level of TE and the productivity potential of the soybean farmers in the study area.
It has been argued that the land-use restrictions prescribed by the Endangered Species Act have failed to protect endangered species on private land. Hence, there has been a call for using incentives to complement this regulatory approach. This paper ...
Emerging evidence for the success on farms of resource-conserving technologies and practices must not tempt agricultural professionals into making prescriptions about what constitutes sustainable agriculture. Sustainability is a complex and contested concept, and so precise definitions are impossible. The dominant scientific paradigm of positivism has served us well over three to four centuries, but it is not well suited to contexts where uncertainties are high, and problems are open to interpretation. Many methodological and philosophical alternatives to positivism have arisen from both the “hard” and “soft” sciences. These indicate that new understanding and solutions can only arise with wide public and scientific participation. But the term “participation” has become fashionable with many different interpretations, some hindering rather than supporting sustainability. New systems of learning are needed, using participatory methods and criteria for trustworthiness. These have profound implications for agricultural professionals, who must now actively create a whole new professionalism.
This paper presents a dynamic model of diffusion of a new technology involving a variable input. The model highlights the
role of active information accumulation, which entails costs. It generates several hypotheses regarding the likely pattern
of adoption and use of the variable input over time by farmers of differing holding sizes and different access to information.
It provides a possible explanation to the often observed lag in adoption of innovations by smaller farmers. Analysis of data
from India on knowledge and adoption of several practices yields results which are generally consistent with the hypotheses
suggested by the theoretical framework.
An analysis of personal communication network properties and kinship ownership arrangements of the farm provides further evidence of factors influencing the decision to adopt conservation tillage practices. Data from a mail survey of south-western Ontario, Canada, farmers demonstrate a positive connection between adoption of conservation forms of tillage and farming with a family member (other than spouse). Hypotheses relating to the structural properties of personal communications networks—connectedness, integration and diversity — are offered as potential explanations for the relation between kinship ownership and conservation adoption. Logistic regression reveals the positive influence of network connectedness on adoption and the negative influence of network integration, partially confirming that social network variables influence innovation adoption, but failing to account wholly for the influence of kin ownership arrangements in this decision. Kin members in the personal network lead to larger networks, as well as members who are more specialized and informed on innovative farming technologies. Alternatively, networks mainly comprised of kin are smaller and more integrated, both factors associated to lesser receptivity for innovative conservation forms of farming. The results are discussed in the context of the inconclusive findings to date of the influence of kin in the diffusion of innovations model for rural sociology.
This study presents an integrated assessment approach for the sustainable development of agricultural landscapes. The approach evaluates single agricultural production practices by means of environmental, economic and social indicators. To implement the approach, a mixed method was employed that combines modelling techniques and survey methods. The economic and environmental indicators were implemented within the bio-economic modelling system MODAM (Multi-Objective Decision support system for Agro-ecosystem Management) in order to assess economic performance and the effects on the abiotic and biotic environments. The modelling approach was applied to a case study in a region of north-eastern Germany, within the state of Brandenburg. In addition, the acceptance by farmers of different production alternatives that are known to have environmental benefits was examined in the case study. To allow for a direct comparison between different indicators, the results of the assessment are dimensionless index values that indicate the suitability of certain agricultural production practices with respect to an indicator. The indicator-related indices are then aggregated into an overall index of sustainability differentiating between ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ sustainability. Results are presented for exemplarily chosen production practices for sugar beet, potato and winter rape production and set aside. Depending on the underlying concept of sustainability (‘weak’ vs. ‘strong’), different production practices were identified as the most suitable ones in a given situation. This integrated assessment enables determination of positive and negative correlations between indicators. The approach allows for the identification of production alternatives that are assessed to be economically and environmentally beneficial as well as socially accepted, although at different levels.
In developing countries, there is a general dearth of empirical information on the socio-economic and agronomic variables needed for planning environmental management programmes. Much of the existing evidence on the adoption of soil erosion control practices come from the advanced countries and concentrate on the recommended ones which are not usually easily adopted by farmers. Using cross-sectional data from a sample of 125 small farmers in highly erosion-prone Anambra State of Nigeria, this paper attempts the isolation of the major factors influencing farmers' adoption of traditional and recommended soil erosion control practices. Multiple regression results show that income, farm size and risk attitude were the most important factors in the adoption of recommended practices while employment, farm output prices and interest rate influenced the adoption of traditional practices most. Also a chi-square test rejects the hypothesis of significant difference between factors determining the adoption of both clusters of practices. It is recommended, among other things, that it is these implicated variables that should be focused on in erosion control practice adoption programmes.
There have been a number of criticisms of adoption theory and research in recent years. Particularly, the applicability of adoptive research to environmentally beneficial innovations has been called into question. Through the use of a general model of adoption, the present study evaluates the variables which affect the adoption, the present study evaluates the variables which affect the adoption of pollution control innovations introduced by a government project in northern Indiana. The findings offer support for the use of this model to predict the adoption of environmentally related innovations. -from Authors pollution control innovations Indiana
Sustainable agriculture requires the balancing of a variety of goals. This means that often no single goal can be maximized, since such optimization might totally preclude the achievement of one of the other goals of sustainability. For this reason, transdisciplinary teams containing advocates of the various goals, with ability to negotiate priorities, provide an important input into research and extension toward a sustainable agriculture. Further, farmer membership on these teams is particularly crucial, because a sustainable agriculture means that the farmer shifts from a user of technology to a producer of technology and a monitor of its impacts. A major impediment to the development of transdisciplinary approaches is the lack of good indicators of sustainability. In part this is due to the ease of use of traditional measures of production and profit. Not only do these yield single, summary measures; they have relatively short term manifestations. Indicators of the impact of agricultural practices on sustainabiliiy are more diffuse and more long term. Systematic efforts are needed to develop such measures. Farming systems research and extension (FSR/E) has traditionally involved multidisciplinary teams, which have included farmer participation. However, both the composition and process of FSR/E must be altered to include the multidimensions of sustainable agriculture. Such adaptations are possible in all phascs of FSR/E: from diagnosis, to design, to on-farm trials, to monitoring and evaluation, and finally extension.
A set of sustainability indicators for intensive cropping production is proposed, based on international experience. The set includes 12 indicators, categorized into production, security, protection, viability and acceptability-considered to be the five pillars of sustainability. A survey of farmers showed that their perceptions of protection were the weakest. Analysis of survey data with regression models showed that education level of household head, farm size and off-farm income are the significant factors influencing the farmers' perceptions. Promoting of education and extension services, also improving farmers' non-farm income and economic measures such as removal of subsidies, realistic water pricing and selective input taxes are recommended as the tools of policy intervention.
‘Sustainability” has been defined in so many different ways that it no longer has an accepted (or acceptable) meaning. Nevertheless, it is being used as a label to confer respectability on corporate plans and research proposals, practical projects, attitudes and intellectual positions. The weaknesses of current definitions are examined with a view to clarifying the physical, biological and socio-economic objectives, covered by the term ‘sustainable’.
Since it is no longer feasible to abandon the term or to restrict its scope, it is worth considering what useful meaning can be attached to the concept. An attempt is made to spell out the tvays in which it could sensibly be used in relation to animal production systems. It is suggested that this would have to take the form of a package of expressions covering the essential attributes offuture animal production systems.
Soil degradation threatens environmental quality and sustainable food production. As a result of efforts to promote soil conservation, farmers in Canada are thought to be reasonably aware of both the importance of conservation and the existence of remedial and preventive practices. Despite this, the adoption of conservation practices has been less than overwhelming. Forces other than awareness and positive attitude seem to be constraining many land managers from employing available conservation methods. This paper presents the findings from an empirical investigation of the use of soil conservation practices and barriers to their adoption in the southwestern region of Ontario, Canada. The analysis is set in the context of literature on technology adoption. A scheme for measuring farm-level conservation effort is developed, and barriers to adoption are derived from an analysis of a range of independent physical, personal, and economic factors, and from the obstacles or constraints identified by producers themselves. Key barriers relate to economic pressures, the complexity and compatibility of practices, and perceptions regarding the actual need for practices. The findings have relevance for the design of public policies and programs, notably the importance of supplying information on farm-level implications of conservation methods and the need for a stable economic environment for agriculture to allow longer-term planning.
Rice and wheat are the staple food crops occupying nearly 13.5 million hectares of the Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of South Asia covering Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. These crops contribute more than 80% of the total cereal production and are critically important to employment and food security for hundreds of millions of rural families. The demand for these two cereals is expected to grow between 2% and 2.5% per annum until 2020, requiring continued efforts to increase productivity while ensuring sustainability. Starting from the 1960s, expansion of area and intensification of rice–wheat productions system based on the adoption of Green Revolution (GR) technologies, incorporating the use of high-yielding varieties, fertilizers and irrigation, led to increased production and productivity of both these crops. However, continued intensive use of GR technologies in recent years has resulted in lower marginal returns and, in some locations to salinization, overexploitation of groundwater, physical and chemical deterioration of the soil, and pest problems. This paper presents findings from recent research on resource conservation technologies involving tillage and crop establishment options that are enabling farmers to sustain productivity of intensive rice–wheat systems. Field results show that the resource conserving technologies, an exponent of conservation agriculture, improve yields, reduce water consumption, and reduce negative impacts on the environmental quality. The paper considers contributions of innovative inter-institutional collaboration in international agricultural research and socio-economic changes in the IGP countries that led to rapid development and adoption of these technologies by farmers.
The best management practices of soil conservation, water management (rainwater and groundwater), and soil fertility enhancement were tested and demonstrated in farmers’ fields, in red soils (Alfisols), black soils (Vertisols), and alluvial soils (Entisols and Inceptisols) of India, under a range of crops and cropping systems. The project involved a community-based interactive participatory operational research model, with an intrinsic value of large-scale social and extension domain for adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.
The primary purpose of this study was to assess in quantitative terms farmers’ perceptions of sustainable agriculture and
to determine how those are influenced by different socio-economic characteristics and information-seeking behavior of the
farmers. The study was conducted in Kahramanmaras province of Turkey and comprised a stratified sample of 208 farmers from
four districts of the province. The farmers rated each of the 21 selected sustainable agricultural practices for importance
on a 5-point scale, and the total of these ratings formed the sustainable agriculture perception index. The index score was
calculated for each farmer and was treated as the dependent variable in the stepwise regression analysis procedure. The independent
variables were such socio-economic characteristics as the farming system, the total and irrigated area of the farm, membership
of a cooperative society and participation in village administration, and age, education, and income of the farmer; components
of information-seeking behavior included use of the mass media (newspapers, radio, and television), use of the Internet, travel,
and participation in farming events. The results of the study showed that the higher the socio-economic status (more frequent
contact with extension services, higher education, ownership of land, etc.) and the greater the access to information, the
greater the perceived importance of sustainable agricultural practices. It is concluded that if policy-makers and extension
organizations concentrate on these factors, they are more likely to succeed in making farmers more favorably disposed toward
sustainable agriculture.
The vagueness of the concept of sustainable development, coupled with its increasing importance in national, international and corporate policies, has led to a large political battle for influence over our future by linking interpretation to the concept. This has resulted in a wide variety of definitions and interpretations that are skewed towards institutional and group prerogatives rather than compounding the essence of the concept, which has been inherent in traditional beliefs and practices. A systematic analysis of representative definitions and interpretations presented in this article reveals that most of the contemporary definitions focus on specific elements while failing to capture the whole spectrum. Such a historical and conceptual analysis focusing on the analysis of the metaphorical and epistemological basis of the different definitions is believed to be the first step towards developing a concrete body of theory on sustainability and sustainable development.
Farmer Field Schools (FFS) are an intensive training approach introduced in the last decade in many developing countries to promote knowledge and uptake of ecologically sensible production approaches, and in particular, integrated pest management which minimises pesticide use. Because of the high training cost, the viability of the program depends crucially on the effectiveness of knowledge diffusion from trained farmers to other farmers. This paper uses panel data from Indonesia to assess the extent of diffusion of knowledge regarding integrated pest management from trained farmers to other farmers. The results confirm that better knowledge leads indeed to reduced pesticide use, and that trained farmers make a modest gain in knowledge. However, there is no significant diffusion of knowledge to other farmers who reside in the same villages as the trained farmers. These results imply that revision in the training procedures and curriculum need to be considered if the FFS approach is to become viable and effective.
This paper presents a model of adoption behavior and explains differences econometrically in farmers' decisions to adopt reduced-tillage practices and in the efficiency of farmers' adoption decisions. The empirical results, obtained from microdata, show that the probability of adopting reduced tillage in corn enterprises differs widely across farms and depends on soil characteristics, cropping systems, and size of farming operation. The results also show that farmers' schooling enhances the efficiency of the adoption decision.
Assessing progress in the adoption and dissemination of sustainable agricultural systems is a challenge. Nonetheless, the rapidly growing literature and a growing experiential base afford a substantial insights into the development and diffusion of sustainable agriculture (SA) and natural resource management (NRM) technologies and practices, the factors leading to their adoption, and the constraints hindering their further dissemination. Several of these key aspects are as follows: heterogeneity of systems and "niche"-type environments; input substitution and labor intensity; input substitution and management capacity; information; investment behavior, risk, and land rights; economic incentives; and institutions, networks, and collective action.