Perceptions of Paddy Farmers towards Sustainable Agricultural Technologies: Case of Haraz Catchments Area in Mazandaran province of Iran

Abstract

Sustainable agriculture has defined and described in many ways. Despite the diversity in conceptualizing sustainable agriculture, there is a consensus on three basic dimensions of the concept, namely, ecological soundness economically viable and socially acceptable. The dimensions of ecological soundness refers to the preservation and improvement of the natural environment. Environmental issues emerge from the human use of natural resources. Farmers' decisions to adopt a new agricultural technology depend on complex factors. One of the factors is farmers' perception. The objective of this study was to investigate perceptions of paddy farmers towards applying sustainable agricultural technologies and to identify factors influencing their perceptions. The results of the study show that farmers had good perception about sustainable technologies such as diversification and rotation, application of manure but in general, they preferred modern technologies to local ones. They perceived agrochemicals as the best means to combat against pests and to increase rice production. Their perception of intangible impacts of modern technologies was weak. It was found that there should be a relationship between a numbers of socio-economic factors, such as human capital factors, information sources use, extension participation and landholding size and the perception towards selected sustainable agricultural technologies. Also, educational level, contact with agricultural experts and extension participation were best predictors of their perceptions.

A Study on Sustainability Rate of Cropping Systems Commonly Used in Jahrom Region, Fars Province, Iran

“…On the other hand, the positive variable of area of the cropping land indicates that the larger the land, the higher instability would be. This result is also similar to the findings of Bagheri [25], Cristoiu, Lucena and Caceres [20], but in terms of social participation 56% of the individuals turned out to be poor. Obstacles to sustainable agriculture have negative effect on farms sustainability, and obstacles decrease agricultural sustainability.…”

“…In this study, the results indicate that 85% of the lands are private ownership. This result is similar to the findings of Bagheri [25], Souza, Cyphers and Phipp [26], Damghani [27]. On the other hand, the positive variable of area of the cropping land indicates that the larger the land, the higher instability would be.…”

Consumers' Perceived Quality, Perceived Value and Perceived Risk Towards Purchase Decision on Automobile

“…Many studies attempted to measure risk perception in a broader marketing context (Tzeng et al, 2005;Cox, 1967;Bagheri et al, 2008;Roselius, 1971;Taylor, 1974;Greatorex and Mitchell, 1993;Yavas, 2003;Agrawal and Teas, 2002;Tse, 1999) where the risky or uncertain outcome in a purchase decision is that a product does not perform according to perception. Such research focuses on outcomes that are more disappointing than they are threatening to consumer welfare; more to do with a product underperforming than being unsafe.…”

Farmer Group as Social Determinant of Farmer’s Perceptions on Organic Farming Concepts and Practice

“…According Kallas, et al (2009), relevant factors that can influence the decision to convert from conventional to organic farming include: farmer characteristics, farm structure, farm management, exogenous factors, attitudes and opinions. Bagheri et al (2008) found that easy access to chemical fertilizer made negative perception about the application of manures, while educational level had a strong power in predicting of farmers'perception followed by extension participation and Table 5 outlines the relationship between perception and conditions of farmers using multiple regression analysis. Note: ** are statistically significant Table 5 depicts that there was significant associatiom between dependent variable, perception, and independent variables, farming experience and membership in farming group.…”

“…Sagay et al (2014) argued that internal factors was the main focus in improving farmers' perception in developing irrigation areas, which the main factor of perception formation was internal factors, followed by external factors. As Bagheri et al (2008) argued that there was significant relationship between perception towards sustainable agricultural technologies and variables consisting of age, educational level, educational discipline, years of experience in agriculture, farmer's cultivated area, sharecropping, diversity of farmer's rice varieties, out of farm income, contact with information sources/channels and extension participation. On the other side, Kallas et al (2009) identify the policy changes that have been more relevant in motivating adoption of organic practices.…”