Unraveling Farmers' Purchasing Behavior of Solar Water Pumps Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

India is an agricultural country with hottest temperature and moderate humidity, where it is believed that some states receive the maximum solar energy, one of them is the state of Rajasthan. The need for power has expanded over the past few decades’ which is leading to significant increase in environmental degradation as even today, more than 70% of energy needs is fulfilled from fossil fuels. Higher dependence is resulting in higher cost and environmental degradation. Implementing solar pumps cannot only help us to overcome energy deficits but also increase agricultural productivity which help us to reduce pollution produced by thermal and diesel sources. The present study is based on first-hand information gathered from 498 farmers from five blocks of rural region of Rajasthan (India). To understand the factors influencing the behavior of farmers towards green technologies, theory of planned behavior model has been applied. Data were collected using questionnaire/schedules, the sample size was chosen using convenience sampling, and were then examined further using SPSS and AMOS. In order to understand the elements of the TPB model and predict farmers’ behavioral intention towards adoption of solar water pumps, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were applied in the study. The proposed research fills in the gap in the literature by performing an empirical study on farmer’s adoption behavior and offering insight about variables influencing farmers purchase intention and behavior of farmers towards solar water pump. Results from the study will be more useful to the policy makers to design effective strategies in order to achieve energy sufficiency without adversely affecting the environment.
 Keywords: carbon emission, agriculture, irrigation, solar water pump, TPB model, sustainable development.