Do non-economic Factors Can Overcome the Mindset Barriers in Adoption of Conservation Agriculture?
Nitu Kumari
*
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
M.K. Wadhwani
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
S.M. Rahaman
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
Meera Kumari
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
R.S. Bhawar
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
Avinash Kumar
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
Shoji Lal Bairwa
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
Sandeep Kumar
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Conservation agriculture (CA) is a set of practices widely promoted to increase the productivity along with conserving soil through crop rotation, reduced tillage and mulching. The research explored the constraints to CA adoption through pre-tested schedule from 180 respondents from Purnea district of Bihar. Though the farmers described many benefits in adopting but the adoption level among the farmers varies significantly due to the constraint factors responsible for the adoption of CA. It has been difficult to scale up conservation technology because these social variables have not been taken into account in upscaling methods. The ramifications of these findings are examined and solutions to combat farmers' decision inertia are suggested. A multifaceted strategy is needed to encourage rational decision-making in the use of CASI technology by the farmers.
Keywords: Barriers, factors, non-economic, sustainable agriculture