Identification of Farmers’ Perceptions Towards Organic Paddy Cultivation: A Case Study From Ganewaththa District Secretariat Division, Kurunegala

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a country has been based on paddy cultivation since ancient times. In the past, paddy cultivation was done using organic fertilizers. Later, organic fertilizers were abandoned and chemical fertilizers were introduced for economic gain. But, today increasing demand for organically grown food products and the growing awareness of the need to protect land resources against the long – term environmental impacts of non-organic farming have led many farming groups in the paddy- producing areas to switch to organic paddy farming. However, in order to achieve sustainable development, it is important to apply organic fertilizer in the current agricultural system. This study based on Ganewaththa District Secretariat using cross - sectional mixed methods study combining both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The main objective of this study is to identify paddy farmers’ perceptions of organic paddy cultivation. Simultaneously, to identify factors affecting the perceptions of farmers and to grow positive attitudes, awareness about organic paddy cultivation is discussed. There are several key features that can be seen in identifying farmers’ perceptions of organic paddy farming. They have no knowledge of the concepts of organic paddy farming or the technical aspects of those methods. But it has emerged that farmers have a positive attitude towards organic paddy farming, taking into account the environmental benefits and health impacts. The results of this study reveal that farmers’ age, education, land area, income, and experience have a significant impact on the factors behind their perception and farmers’ views on organic paddy farming are favorable level. If organic paddy cultivation is to be further developed, the public sector should formulate a set of location policies that need to be updated so that organic paddy cultivation can be successfully expanded in a very short period of time.