Conversion to organic farming: a dynamic opportunity for Pakistani smallholders of fresh fruit

Abstract

Exporting the organic fresh fruit (FF) to Europe and America could be regarded as great opportunity for smallholders and suppliers of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. Yet, the global organic farmland and the number of organic producers are continued to grow. To date, little is known about the behavior of Pakistani farmers towards organic fresh fruit production. This study examined the factors that influence the decision-making of fresh fruit smallholders concerning the conversion to organic farming (COF). This study uses Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict the behavior of Pakistani smallholders of fresh fruit. Path analysis examined the utility of the extended version of the TPB model to anticipate 277 small-scale farmers’ behavioral intentions towards the adoption of organic farming (AOF) and their prospect of converting their farm to organic produce within the next three years. The present study reported that the smallholders’ attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SN), perceived behavior control (PBC), and farmer’s group participation (FGP) were positively correlated with farmer’s intention to adopt organic farming, while group participation of farmers has significant correlation with their behavior regarding production of organic fruits. The present study justifies using the model of farmers’ group participation in policies that deliberately cheer up smallholders of fresh fruit to adopt organic farming, to raise farm incomes and to alleviate poverty.

Ecological Awareness, Policy Perception, and Green Production Behaviors of Farmers Living in or near Protected Areas

“…Second, farmers' ecological awareness modifies their desire to pursue maximum economic benefits [15,23]; that is, farmers with high awareness and a better understanding of the negative impact of ecological damage are more likely to take environmentally friendly measures [24]. Finally, subjective normative pressure from society and other people may have a latent impact on farmers' awareness and behaviors [25]. However, few studies have explored the mechanism and influencing pathways of and between these factors.…”

“…Farmers typically own a small amount of arable and a large amount of forest land; therefore, their agroforestry activities have an important impact on protected areas. As an external incentive, ecological policies affect farmers' GPBs both directly and indirectly by changing their awareness and social norms [14,25]. Farmers may exhibit adaptive or resistant behavior based on internal and external conditions caused by various ecological policies.…”