Farmers' attitude towards chemical leasing for sustainability and environmental protection

Abstract

Despite recent calls for environmental protection, many countries rely heavily on agrochemicals for agricultural production. To limit the use of chemicals and enhance environmental health, the idea of chemical leasing has been put forth. This pilot project takes into account farmers' preferences for leasing agrochemicals. The goal of the study is to ascertain farmers' interest in chemical leasing and to recommend an appropriate agrochemical leasing strategy for Sri Lankan farmers. In this study, structural equation modeling was used to identify the components of the sustainability and environmental protection approaches, and principal component analysis was utilized to estimate the willingness variables. The paddy farmers in four village divisions in Homagama, in the west of Sri Lanka, were selected by random sampling method. The results obtained from the structural equation modeling revealed that farmers' concerns about the environment influenced their willingness to adopt chemical leasing. The business model's cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness impacted the sustainability approach. According to the environmental protection approach, the farmers' opinions were influenced by variables including groundwater pollution and risks to the general public's health. The study describes a collaborative paradigm that focuses on profitability with a strong foundation in sustainability to implement agrochemical leasing.