An Application of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to Examining Farmers’ Behavioral Attitude and Intention towards Conservation Agriculture in Bangladesh

Riffat Ara Zannat Tama, Md Mahmudul Hoque, Ying Liu (), Mohammad Jahangir Alam and Mark Yu ()
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Riffat Ara Zannat Tama: Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensing 2202, Bangladesh
Md Mahmudul Hoque: Ministry of Public Administration, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Ying Liu: College of Economics and Management, North China University of Technology, Beijing 100144, China
Mohammad Jahangir Alam: Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensing 2202, Bangladesh
Mark Yu: Division of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Science, Tarleton State University, P.O. Box T-0040, Stephenville, TX 76402, USA

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-22

Abstract: Despite being widely advocated as a climate-smart farming system, the adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) among Bangladeshi farmers has remained surprisingly low. Evidence indicates that farmers’ behavior regarding the adoption and continuation of CA is affected by their socioeconomic and psychological factors. This study combined the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theories to examine the socio-psychological determinants of Bangladeshi farmers’ behavior regarding the adoption of CA. The proposed model included both reflective and formative measurements. Based on data collected from 201 CA farmers, this research used a variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to test the model. The analysis showed that the components of this integrated model explained more variance (Intention: 48.9%; Attitude: 59.2%) than the original TAM framework (Intention: 45.8%; Attitude: 54.5%). Farmers’ attitudes toward the continuation of CA were most influenced by the Relative Advantage (RA) of CA ( β = 0.337). The low level of Complexity ( β = 0.225) and Compatibility ( β = 0.273) of CA had a significant positive effect on attitude. In a campaign to encourage farmers to act more sustainably, interventions should emphasize CA’s long-term benefits, such as its effects on soil, yield, and the environment.

Keywords: conservation agriculture; attitude; intention; behavioral sustainability; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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