The Acceptance Level of Fertigation Technology System among Farmers in Kelantan

Abstract

Fertigation technology system has emerged as an assisted technology to ease the farmers' jobs in the field. This technology has been popularly used by chilli, cucumber, and eggplant growers as it can minimise farm labour use. However, due to the high installation and maintenance costs, farmers refuse because they cannot afford it on their farms. Additionally, this system may appear to have technical problems such as blockage, and the skilful person must attend to it. So, this study aims to examine farmers' acceptance level in Kelantan on the fertigation system technology. About 100 respondents from Kota Bharu, Tumpat, Pasir Mas and Bachok were interviewed using a structured questionnaire, and simple random sampling was used as a sampling method for this study. The descriptive analysis has also been used to identify the socio-demographic profile of the respondents and the acceptance level towards the fertigation system. The mean score was categorised into three categories: low (1 to 2.33), moderate (2.34 to 3.66) and high (3.67 to 5). The findings demonstrate a high mean score, with 70% of the farmers accepting the fertigation system to assist them on the farm. In conclusion, most farmers have opened their minds and are ready to get the fertigation system technology to generate more profit. It is hoped that more collaborations between government agencies, non-profit organisations, and investors will notice the need for this technology to boost farmers' livelihoods and Malaysian food security.