Socio-economic, farm, and information variables influencing farmer’s decision to adopt a sustainable way of cotton production

Abstract

Conventional cotton production in Pakistan is viewed as no more productive due to the increasing costs of production and environmental degradation. The better cotton initiative (BCI) is one of the eminent sustainable ways of producing cotton in Pakistan. Although, the majority of cotton growers are still associated with conventional farming. This study examined the socio-economic factors affecting the participation of farmers in a better cotton initiative program. A survey of cotton growers, using multistage random sampling technique, was conducted in three cotton-growing districts of Punjab from three different agro-ecological zones. Primary as well as secondary (where necessary) data were taken from a sample of a total of 399 farmers (BCI as well as non-BCI) and WWF-P respectively for analysis. IBM SPSS statistics 20 was used for statistical and econometric estimations. Results indicate that farmers’ education, farming experience, the area under cotton, contact with BCI staff, contact with BCI registered farmers, perceptions about the higher cost of production, more price than conventional cotton production have a significant positive effect on the adoption of ‘Better cotton’ (BC) production. Land ownership and age of respondents were statistically non-significant with adoption. Poor health status also has a significant positive relationship with the adoption of BC farming. The study findings imply that adoption of BC can be accelerated by increasing farmers' education, training, and communication with the BCI team, and, most significantly, by pricing BC produce fairly.