Socio-Economic Factors Driving the Adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) by Sugarcane Farmers: A Case Study of the Sevanagala District Secretariat Division
Ekanayake W.E.M.H.P., Seekkubadu M.S. and Udayanga N.W.B.A.L.
ABSTRACT
The sugarcane industry is one of the vital components of the Sri Lankan agriculture sector. Application of Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) is a successful solution for almost all the challenges and difficulties faced by the sugarcane farming industry. However, the degree of GAP adoption among sugarcane farmers has been limitedly studied in Sri Lanka. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the adoption level of GAP and the driving factors behind GAP adoption among sugarcane farmers in the Sevanagala Divisional Secretariat Division (DSD). A total of 100 sugarcane farmers residing in the Sevanagala DSD were recruited as the study sample using the stratified random sampling approach. The socio-demographic information, crop production activities, farmer characteristics, and information about the adoption of GAP were collected using a pre-tested interviewer-administrated questionnaire. The Chi-square test of association was used to identify the significant driving factors behind the adoption of GAP. The majority of farmers were males (83%) and had completed GCE O/L (53%) as their highest educational qualification. Around 44% of the farmers were belonging to the 51 to 60 years age group and had a farming experience of more than 25 years (81%). The sugarcane farmers reported a moderate GAP adoption level (48.5%), followed by another 30.3% of farmers with a high GAP adoption level. The results of the Ch-square test revealed that the farmer’s gender, field extent, total yield, farmer’s income, and attitudes toward GAP significantly influence (P<0.05) the adoption level of GAP. Most of the individuals that had a higher GAP adoption level were male (35.4%). Results further suggested that farmers with higher farming land extents, total yield and income had a significantly higher tendency to adopt GAP. In addition, sugarcane farmers with a moderate and higher attitude level on GAP also reported a higher GAP adoption level. According to the findings, lack of capital, technical knowledge, and skilled labour were identified as the major barriers against GAP adoption. Therefore, policymakers should focus on facilitating soft financial loans, while conducting awareness and training programs to promote GAP among the sugarcane farmers.
KEYWORDS: Sugarcane farmers, Good Agriculture Practices (GAP), Driving factors, Sri Lanka, Sugarcane farming industry