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Farmers’ Perception and Adoption of Agroforestry Practices in Faridpur District of Bangladesh

Suman Saha
Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna- 9208, Bangladesh

Arifa Sharmin*
Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna- 9208, Bangladesh

Rahul Biswas
Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna- 9208, Bangladesh

Md. Ashaduzzaman
Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna- 9208, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

This study mainly focused on exploring perception of farmers’ towards agroforestry practices and identifying the demographic factors influencing agroforestry adoption in Faridpur district. Field survey was conducted during November-December, 2016 using semistructured questionnaire. Multi-stage random sampling was used to select upazillas, unions and villages. Snowball purposive sampling was applied to select 84 respondents in total for the questionnaire survey. Chi-square was used to test variables at 5% level of significance. Homestead agroforestry was found to be the most common agroforestry practice (39.28%), followed by fruit-based agroforestry (21.42%), woodlot plantation (13.09%) and so on. Agroforestry was perceived to increase farm productivity by 82.14% of the respondents, 73.8% opined that agroforestry increase household income, while 30.95% perceived it as a means to food security. On the contrary, 34.52% opined that agroforestry practices decrease cash crops production, 17.85% of the respondents stated agroforestry as a difficult practice. Chi-square test showed no significant association between the adoption of agroforestry practices and respondent’s age (P > 0.05) or income range (P > 0.05) of the respondents. On the other hand, there is a positive significant association between the adoption of agroforestry practices and educational level (p< 0.05) as well as the farm size (p< 0.05) of the respondents. The study suggests raising awareness regarding the benefits of agroforestry practices as well as providing technical assistance.

Keywords: Adoption, Agroforestry practices, Faridpur district, Farmers’ perception

Location: Faridpur District of Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-11-2016

End Date: 00-12-2016

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Non-commodity: Adoption of technology

Objectives:

The main objective of this study was to investigate and analyze farmers’ perceptions of different agroforestry practices and to determine the socio-economic factors influencing adoption of agroforestry practices in Faridpur district.

Methodology:

2.1 Site description Faridpur is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Faridpur District has a population of over 1.7 million people and is situated on the banks of the Padma river (Lower Ganges). It is about 2072.72 sq. km, located in between 23°17' and 23°40' north latitudes and in between 89°29' and 90°11' east longitudes. It is bounded by Rajbari and Manikganj districts on the north, Gopalganj district on the south, Dhaka, Munshiganj and Madaripur districts on the east, Narail and Magura districts on the west (Banglapedia, 2016). The rainy season duration is June to October and the winter season duration is November to February. The annual average temperature in this area varies maximum 37.40 ⁰C to minimum 8.60⁰C. The annual average rainfall is 1310 mm (BBS, 2015). 2.2 Sampling design Faridpur district was purposively choosen as first sampling unit. Multistage random sampling was adopted in the selection of villages. In this study five upazilla out of nine were selected randomly as second sampling unit and then two unions from each of the five upazilla were taken randomly as third sampling unit. Again two villages from each union were selected in random manner as fourth sampling unit. Random sampling (Zhen et al., 2006) was used to select villages because the reconnaissance survey identified all villages where agroforestry practices had taken place and those without agroforestry. Finally four to five respondents were selected from each village using snowball purposive sampling and total of 84 respondents were contacted for the survey. Both random and purposive sampling can be combined to produce a good method of sampling (Albertin and Nair, 2004) as well as to add credibility to the result of a larger study (Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2009). 2.3 Data collection methodsTwo main sources were used to collect data, these were primary and secondary. Questionnaire, interviews and field observation methods were applied to collect detailed information on perception and the demographic features of the respondents. Rectified semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on the demographic characteristics of the farmers. Data was gathered on farmers’ household characteristics, occupational characteristics, perceptions of agroforestry and demographic factors that may influence farmers’ decision of adopting agroforestry practices. The secondary sources of data were collected from journals, books, various publications, government department, extension officers, local leaders, published and unpublished reports, internet browsing etc. 2.4 Data analysis Field data collected using semi-structured questionnaires was presented in Microsoft Excel, 2010 while information gathered through observation was presented descriptively. The data gathered was analyzed using descriptive statistics that include the use of percentages tables, column chart charts, pie charts etc. Chi- square test (goodness of fit) was followed (Adedayo and Oluronke, 2014) to test the nature of association between adoption of agroforestry practices and respondent’s age, level of education, annual income and farm size.

Source of Information: International Journal of Environment, Agriculture and Biotechnology (IJEAB) Vol-3, Issue-6, Nov-Dec- 2018 ISSN: 2456-1878

Article Link (Online Journal): http://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijeab/3.6.5

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Significant proportion of respondents (82.14% on the average) perceived agroforestry as a practice that can improve their farm productivity and overall income in comparison to monoculture. Besides, 73.8% of the respondents found agroforestry as household income raising practice while 30.95% mentioned agroforestry as a means of food security. In spite of this, 34.52% perceived it as methods that lessen cash crops production while some of them (17.85%) perceived it as a scientific method that is difficult to practice. Therefore, all the farmers in the study area did not adopted agroforestry practice. Finally, it can be concluded that the successful adoption of agroforestry to raise farm productivity and overall income of the respondents in the study area depends on raising awareness on benefits of agroforestry, providing adequate technical supports as well as ensuring the efficient use available farmlands of all types of landholders.

Knowledge Management: Journal