Md. Masud Rana
Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Debashis Roy
Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Most. Shamsia Kowsari
Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Attitude, Chemical pesticides, Insect pests, Vegetable
Mymensingh sadar upazila of Mymensingh district, Bangladesh
Crop-Soil-Water Management
Vegetables, Pesticide
The study was conducted in Mymensingh sadar upazila of Mymensingh district. The study area is particularly suitable for vegetable cultivation (Jahan and Khatun, 2016). Various vegetables such as brinjal, lady’s finger, bottle gourd, potato, cucumber, chili and pointed gourd are grown well in the study area (Abdullah et al., 2007). Hence, diversification in vegetable cultivation, good communication facilities and researchers’ perception about better cooperation from the farmers were some of the reasons to select the study area for investigation. The farm households, which were involved in vegetable cultivation for both family consumption as well as marketing, were the target population of the study. The respondents were selected by using a simple random sampling technique from two unions (Baira and Char Nilakshmia) of Mymensingh Sadar Upazila. The unions were selected purposively through the consultation with Upazila Agriculture Officer (UAO) of the respective Upazila. A list of farmers growing vegetables for family consumption and to some extent, for marketing, was collected from the agriculture office of Mymensingh Sadar Upazila, and around 600 farmers were found in the list. A total of 100 farmers (50 from each union) were selected for investigation by using Taro’s formula (1967) (Equation 1). n = n/{1+n(e)2}. Where, n = sample size, N = population size, and e = level of precision, which was set at 9%. The study employed a mixed-methods approach including both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Qualitative methods included Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informant Interview (KII), whereas quantitative method included a one-on-one interview, Two FGDs involving a total of 20 vegetable growers (10 from each union) were conducted using a checklist. Two KIIs were conducted with Upazila Agriculture Officer and Agriculture Extension officer of the respective upazila using open-ended questions. Outputs from FGDs and KIIs were used to design and modify the survey questionnaire as well as to interpret the findings of the study. The final data were collected from the respondents through one-on-one interviews using a structured questionnaire during May and June, 2019. Before the final survey, the questionnaire was pre-tested with 15 farmers who did not participate in the final survey.
A Likert scale (Likert, 1932) was used to measure the attitude of the farmers towards chemical pesticides used in vegetable cultivation. A total of 15 relevant statements (both positive and negative), identified in FGDs and KIIs, were adapted to the questionnaire. The statements were asked to the farmers against five possible responses, i.e. strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree and strongly disagree with a corresponding score of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, respectively, or positive statements, with a reverse scoring for negative statements. Ranaet al. (2017) and Ghosh and Hasan (2013) also used similar scales for measuring attitude in their respective study. The scale score ranged from 15 to 75, where 15 indicates a highly unfavorable attitude and 75 indicates a highly favorable attitude. Based on the scale score, the respondents were categorized into five groups. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) ver. 22 and Microsoft Excel ver. 13 were used for data management. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and inferential statistic such as Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient was employed to find out the findings of the study.
J Bangladesh Agril Univ 18(4): 1035–1041, 2020 ISSN 1810-3030 (Print) 2408-8684 (Online)
Journal