Adoption Determinants of Modern Rice Cultivars among Smallholders of Northern Iran

Dariush Ashoori, Mohammad Sadegh Allahyari, Asghar Bagheri and Christos A. Damalas
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Dariush Ashoori: Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, 56199-11367 Ardabil, Iran
Mohammad Sadegh Allahyari: Department of Agricultural Management and Development, Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, 41476-54919 Rasht, Iran
Asghar Bagheri: Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, 56199-11367 Ardabil, Iran
Christos A. Damalas: Department of Agricultural Development, Democritus University of Thrace, 68200 Orestiada, Greece

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 9, issue 11, 1-12

Abstract: Several agronomic innovations and precision technologies have been developed and disseminated in rice cultivation, but adoption is often lagged, particularly in developing countries. The objective of this work was to collect information on the use of improved rice cultivars and factors affecting adoption through a farmers’ survey in Guilan Province, northern Iran. About 4 out of 10 farmers (42.8%) used improved rice cultivars. Above half of the farmers (55.2%) recognized the high profitability of this technology and half (49.8%) realized that modern rice cultivars are of great importance. However, there were some farmers who perceived no profitability (14.8%) or no importance (12.5%) regarding this technology. Additionally, 9.8% were not aware of the profitability, and 16.2% were not aware of the importance of the technology. The majority of the farmers (60.5%) collaborated with fellow farmers about common production problems. Nevertheless, low cooperation with extension agents was noted for 58.5% of the farmers and low attendance of local agricultural offices activities was noted for 59.8% of the farmers. A logistic regression analysis showed that perceived profitability and perceived importance of modern varieties, background in rice farming, and size of livestock holdings were positively associated with the adoption of improved cultivars. It can be concluded that the low acceptance of modern rice cultivars in the study area is related to current farming socio-economic conditions. Dissemination of information on improved cultivars from experienced farmers to other farmers should be considered to promote adoption, along with financial incentives to low-income farmers.

Keywords: importance; profitability; seeds; technology adoption (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: 2019
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