Adoption of conservation farming practices for sustainable rice production among small-scale paddy farmers in northern Iran

Abstract

The availability of natural resources often becomes a limiting factor for increasing per capita food production, particularly among small-scale farmers in developing countries. The adoption of conservation farming practices, as a way to tackle this challenge, has become a major issue in the development policy agenda, but data on the sustainable production of lowland rice are limited. A survey of small-scale paddy farmers was conducted to analyze factors determining adoption of conservation farming practices in Fumanat plain in northern Iran. The majority of the farmers showed high levels of adoption, corresponding to 8–10 conservation practices. Removing weeds from irrigation canals, dredging irrigation canals (i.e., cleaning bottom sediments), using a plastic cover on field borders, draining land, using organic fertilization, leveling land, and practicing conservation tillage were popular farming practices. Well-educated farmers, who were using canals as the main source of irrigation, and farmers with a large land area under cultivation, high income, access to machinery and farming inputs, and high social participation were more likely to adopt conservation practices. On the contrary, farmers’ age (farmers of advanced age), household distance from the main road (remote areas), and number of family members available for farming (large families) limited the possibility of adoption. Up to 42.6 % of the variance regarding the adoption of conservation practices could be predicted by a stepwise multiple regression model. Access to machinery, access to farming inputs, the use of canals as the main source of irrigation, and farm income had the greatest share in predicting adoption. Tailored extension programs can be highly effective instruments, not only for increasing conservation of natural resources but also for reducing poverty, especially in small farms in remote and isolated areas.