Abstract
ABSTRACT: The current study determined the factors influencing the perception of tea farmers towards organic tea production in Rulindo District, Rwanda. This study used both qualitative and quantitative data from face to face interviews and questionnaires completed with 156 tea farmers and other key informants in the tea sector who were randomly selected in 2019. Using function step AIC in R’s MASS package, the final multiple logistic regression model showed that generating income from tea production, participation in Umuganda, conveying messages at Ihangari, participation to agricultural shows, and receiving training from Farmers Field Schools (FFS) influenced farmers’ perceptions towards organic tea production. Thus, the results of this study could be useful to stakeholders in Rwanda’s tea sector, such as policymakers and decision-makers. They can act as a source of information when developing a more sustainable research-based tea extension program. Moreover, the results of this study can be used during the capacity building of farmers about organic tea production.
Highlights
Agriculture has been a back born of any developing country (CINEMRE & KILIÇ, 2015), like Rwanda for provoking economic growth
For Rulindo district authorities to use its tea climate favorable conditions used to further reduce poverty among residents that mainly depend on agriculture, with NAEB’s need to increase national tea export volumes and SORWATHE’s urge to increase its production volumes among others, the three signed MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) in 2017 that would see more organic tea farming hectares increase
If organic tea farming is to be highly adopted in Rulindo, it is; necessary to know the factors that could drive the perception of tea farmers
Summary
Agriculture has been a back born of any developing country (CINEMRE & KILIÇ, 2015), like Rwanda for provoking economic growth. V.51, n.6, Muhamadi & Boz social benefits of Rwanda’s tea sector (NAEB,2019) This shows how strategic is Rwanda’s tea sector for the country that is building on already impressive success stories to achieve sustainable development goals (SDG) and its recently launched vision of 2050. With such social and economic developmental roles the tea sector has continuously played, Rwanda’s Agricultural Ministry in partnership with a private tea processing and exporting company-SORWATHE launched a massive campaign for organic tea farming whose fresh green tea leaves harvests are fetching higher premiums than non-organic tea. It is of great importance to explore the specific factors that influence the perception of tea farmers in Rwanda’s Rulindo district, in the end, would help the concerned institution in designing a kind of customized extension system (TATLIDIL et al, 2009) for increased adoption of organic tea farming practices
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