Abstract
Upland farmers in Vietnam are associated with the lowest income and face serious issues of natural resources degradation and environmental pollution because of poor agricultural practices. To persuade the upland farmers to adopt sustainable practices, it is vital first to assess their perception of sustainable agriculture. This study aimed to measure banana farmers’ perception towards sustainable agriculture and its determinants in the Vietnam uplands based on a case study in Quang Tri province. Stratified sample technique was used to randomly select 300 respondents from 2 upland districts of Quang Tri. The primary data were gathered by using a structured questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.84. The results showed that the majority (84.7%) of the farmers had low to mode rate perceptions of sustainable agriculture. Farmers had positive perceptions towards sustainable agriculture in issues related to protection of agricultural resources, negative effects of agrochemicals on human health and the environment, input application, crop rotation, product consumption and roles of farmer groups; whereas, they had moderate perceptions about issues related to production profits, plant residue use and modern technology application. In addition, the study revealed that agricultural programs on TV, education, ethnic group, economic status and credit use were the factors that affected farmers’ sustainable agriculture perceptions.
Highlights
Concern about the negative impacts of modern agriculture on human health, the natural environment and resources has prompted development and diffusion of an alternative called sustainable agriculture
To convince farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural technologies promoted by governmental institutions, they first need to believe that these technologies are vital, provide safety for the rural environment and create stable and long-term income (Tatlıdil et al, 2009)
The findings revealed that one standard deviation increase in credit use decreases the sustainable agricultural perception by 0.101 standard deviations (Table 4)
Summary
Concern about the negative impacts of modern agriculture on human health, the natural environment and resources has prompted development and diffusion of an alternative called sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is the approach that makes better use of natural goods and services for human needs without damaging the environment, and minimizes the use of external inputs. Sustainability of the farming production system is achieved if it is economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sounds (Shiri et al, 2012). To convince farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural technologies promoted by governmental institutions, they first need to believe that these technologies are vital, provide safety for the rural environment and create stable and long-term income (Tatlıdil et al, 2009). Measuring farmers’ perceptions about sustainable agriculture and studying the factors influencing those perceptions is crucial to design extension programs for sustainable agriculture development (Tatlıdil et al, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
