Farmer attitudes towards the conservation of biodiversity in rice agro-ecosystem.

Abstract

In Sri Lanka, rice is the predominant crop both in terms of land use and dietary importance. Rice farmers tend to apply high dosages of inorganic fertilizes and agro chemicals to increase the production without considering the actual requirement. This adversely effects to the sustainability of agro ecosystem of the rice field. Even though the various institution viz., government and NGOs have attempted to reduce blanket application of agro chemicals to rice ecosystem by introducing the IPM via Farmers Field Schools (FFS), farmers are still practicing the blanket spraying due to their ignorance about the agricultural value of bio diversity. Therefore, this study was carried out to ascertain the farmer awareness and attitudes toward the conservation of bio diversity in rice agro­ecosystem. Data were collected at the village of Mapalana in the Matara District of Sri Lanka during the first quarter of 2007. The sample surveyed consisted of 40 respondents. The respondents were selected by adapting a random sample method. The variables of the farmer awareness and attitudes on bio diversity in rice agro ecosystem were measured by employing a knowledge and attitude scale developed for this study. Further, age, gender, education, productivity, family size, farming experience, nature of farming, extension participation and adoption level were selected as other variables. The data were collected with the help of an interviâ€¢ð€€¡w schedule. The descriptive statistics and correlation test were employed to analyze the data. The majority of the farmers (62.5%) fell into the high awareness group about biodiversity whereas the medium awareness group about biodiversity consisted of 37.5%. On the contrary, the majority of the farmers (75.0%) belonged to the medium attitudinal group towards the conservation of biodiversity in rice agro ecosystem whereas the high attitudinal group consisted of 25%. Awareness and attitudes are correlated as (r = 0.496, p = 0.00 I). Fmther, the farmers' attitudes towards the conservation of biodiversity and their education show a positive relationship (r = 0.341, p = 0.031 ). Therefore, it is necessary to make appropriate steps to increase the farmers' awareness of biodiversity and the value of conserving it in rice agro-ecosystem. It can be accomplished by introducing a subcomponent to the FFS approach aimed at changing the farmers' attitude by increasing their awareness of the biodiversity in the rice agro ecosystem and its advantages. More over, it is recommended here that the low-educated farmers should be selected for FFS to educate them on favourable attitudes towards the conservation of biodiversity in rice agro-ecosystem.