Determinants of Farmers' Intention to Use Eco-Friendly Technologies: Pheromone Trap to Control of the Rice Pests in Simorgh County

Abstract

Sustainable agriculture depends on the use of eco-friendly technologies by farmers.This research was conducted to identify and evaluate farmers' intent to use pheromone traps for controlling rice pests in paddy farms of Simorgh County, Mazandaran Province. Methodologically, this research was carried out using a questionnaire-based survey. The statistical population of this research included 1,500 farmers in 29 villages of Simorgh County, in which 204 farmers were selected using Cochran formula. Samples were selected using proportionate stratified random sampling. The formal and content validity of the questionnaire was based on experts' opinion and its reliability was calculated based on Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated between.70 and.80 for the scales of research variables. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20 software. The results showed that 33.8% and 16.7% of the respondents intended to use pheromone traps relatively strongly and strongly, respectively. The regression path analysis method was used to identify the direct and indirect effects of independent variables on the final dependent variable of intention to use the pheromone traps. The results of the path analysis showed that subjective norms had the most direct effect on the dependent variable (intention to use) (r=0.947). In terms of total direct and indirect effects, the perceived barrier to use with a total impact of 1.373 was in the first place. According to beta coefficients, the variables of attitude, behavioral control, and subjective norms had total effects of 0.391, 0.690, and 1.076, respectively.