Farmer Knowledge, Awareness and Attitudes towards Organic Paddy Farming in the Kurunegala District

Abstract

The increasing demand for organically grown food products and the increase of awareness of the need of protecting land resources against the long-term impacts of non-organic farming have led many farmer groups in the paddy producing areas to convert into organic paddy farming. This study was carried out with the aim of examining the level of knowledge and awareness and the attitudes towards organic paddy farming in the Kurunegala District. The data were collected primarily from a questionnaire based survey by means of face-to-face interviews from a sample of sixty paddy farmers of six Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the district. Farmer were well aware about the conventional organic farming practices even though they have less knowledge about the concepts of organic farming and the technical aspects of the practices. Mean scores were calculated from the responses given by the farmers to the attitudinal statements which was ranging from one to five. The results revealed that the farmer attitudes are positive towards organic paddy farming with the view of extended benefits and health impacts. However, farmers were not satisfied about the performances of organic product output with compared to non-organic product performances. The study suggests that mainstreaming of available agricultural policies that enhance the organic paddy farming in order to meet both local and international demand for green products is a timely need.