The Effectiveness of Farmer Field School Extension Approach for Technology Transfer to Tea Smallholders in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Although tea smallholders play a dominant role in the tea industry in Sri Lanka, they have faced many constraints such as poor adoption of technology, scarcity of skilled labor and inputs, low productivity, high cost of production, etc. In searching for a viable mechanism to address the technology adoption issues, this study designs to assess the effectiveness of the Farmer Field School (FFS) extension approach implemented in Kandy district in Sri Lanka to improve the adoption rate of cultural practices toward increasing productivity and profitability in tea smallholdings. The stratified purposive sampling technique was performed to select 50 tea smallholders who participated in FFS programs and another 50 tea smallholders who have not attended the same programs (NFFS Group) in eight Grama Niladhari Divisions in the Kandy district. A cross-sectional field survey using a pretested and validated survey instrument was administrated to collect primary data. Using the 5-point Likert scale, indices were developed to measure variables, and descriptive analysis and ordered logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze the data. The results show that there was a significant difference in the adoption of agricultural practices between FFS and NFFS tea smallholders (t =3.362, p < 0.001), the productivity of land (t = 1.991, p < 0.05), and cost of production (t = -3.976, p < 0.001). The results of the ordered logistic regression model revealed that the model was fitted significantly (p < 0.05) and confirmed that the degree of adoption of recommended cultural practices by tea smallholders was positively and significantly correlated with their educational level (p < 0.05), attitude on field practices (p < 0.1), knowledge of tea field technologies (p < 0.01), experience in tea cultivation (p < 0.1), tea land productivity (P < 0.05), and group dynamic interaction in the learning process of tea farm field school-extension related learning activities (p < 0.05). Hence, this study proved that the FFS approach is a useful agricultural innovation and dissemination platform for improving tea smallholders’ knowledge and changing their attitude toward the adoption of cultivation practices for improving tea smallholdings’ land productivity and profitability in Sri Lanka.