FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ADOPTION OF FARM MACHINERY: A CASE FROM BANGLADESH

M.A. Sarker, S. Afrin, M. Z. Rahman, M.M. Hasan and K.A. Vines

ABSTRACT

Abstract — Mechanization is vital for sustainable agriculture development of agrarian countries, not only to feed the growing population, but also to save power and resources. The main purpose of the study is to determine the innovation capacity of farmers. Innovation capacity refers to the farmers’ adoption of new farm machinery. The study was conducted in Rajshahi District of Bangladesh. Sixty (60) farmers were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data was collected through structured personal. The dependent variable of this study was the innovation capacity of the farmer. The independent variables were farmer education, farm size, annual family income, organizational participation, farming experience, knowledge about farm machinery, farm machinery training, and condition of farm equipment. Appropriate scales were developed and used in order to measure the independent variables. The findings revealed that two-thirds (75 percent) of the farmers had medium innovation capacity, while 18.3 percent had low innovation capacity, and only 6.7 percent of them had high innovation capacity. Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that knowledge about farm machinery, farm machinery training, and condition of farm machinery are the influential factors for determining innovation capacity of farmers.

Keywords - Adoption, Bangladesh, farmers, farm machinery, innovation capacity

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