Assessing Perception of the Effectiveness of Public-Private Producer and Society Partnership (4PS) Model among Tea Smallholders in Ratnapura District.

Abstract

The Sri Lankan tea industry greatly depends on the Tea Smallholding sector, where public and private sector organizations operate in Public, Private, Producer, and Society-oriented Partnerships (4PS) models to address social challenges and drive economic growth. This study investigated the effectiveness of the 4PS model in the technology outreaching process, determined key challenges and success factors, and proposed measures to strengthen the partnership model for sustainable land productivity of Tea smallholders. Further, this study was conducted with 100 tea smallholders in the Ratnapura region using a cluster sampling technique. Primary data was collected through pre-tested questionnaires, focus group discussions, and indepth interviews and the reliability analysis showed the survey instrument used in the study was reliable and with good internal consistency (Cronbach‟s Alpha = 0.904). Descriptive analysis and ordinal logistic regression analysis were employed to analyze the data. The descriptive results indicated that 57% of farmers believe the 4PS model is moderately effective, 32% consider it highly effective, and 11% of respondents agree that it is very highly effective. The ordinal logistic regression indicated that the overall model was significant (P<0.05). Further, it exhibited that the effectiveness of the model is 63.5% and showed a positive correlation with smallholder‟s access to resources, participation in training programs, access to extension services, degree of satisfaction with the model, and adoption of sustainable farming practices, increase the probability of positive income. Therefore, these findings suggest that policymakers should focus on improving access to resources, training programs, and extension services to increase the likelihood of positive income outcomes for tea smallholders through the 4PS model.