In this article, we investigate the determinants of farmers' decisions to adopt water harvesting technologies (WHT) in the arid agricultural area of Jordan. In particular, we investigate the effect of different socio-demographic, economic, and institutional factors on the adoption of WHT. For doing so, we empirically apply a binary logistic regression model on a micro-dataset (59 farmers) in Jordanian Badia. Empirical findings indicate that there is no significant relationship between age and the probability of adoption of WHT. However, our findings show significantly positive relationships at 10% level for farmer education and experience which implies that farmers with higher education and experience level are more likely to adopt WHT. In contrast, it was found that labor and institutional variables such as credit services do not significantly influence adoption of WHT. Results also reveal a significant relationship between land tenure and adoption implying higher adoption rates on communal land as opposed to privately owned land. Based on our empirical results, this research will assist decision makers to prioritize the factors influencing adoption of WHT and provide insights for targeted dissemination, adoption, and diffusion of WHT in the Jordanian arid areas.

Limited availability and access to seeds of improved varieties are often blamed for the low adoption of legume-based rotations. In this paper, we use a case study of chickpea and lentil production in Ethiopia and a gendered lens to identify other determinants of farmers’ decisions for the adoption of improved legume varieties. Mixed methods were used to collect sex and age disaggregated data through 360 household surveys, 11 focus group discussions, and 8 key informant interviews. The analysis focused on key adoption parameters, including access to land, labor, improved seed varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, agriculture information, and credit. The main challenges identified include: differential access to timely and adequate seeds of improved varieties, quality fertilizers, and pesticides; availability of credit at an affordable interest rate; and equitable access to information. As compared to men, we found women’s access to these resources to be low and women’s cost production to be relatively high. Farmland remains a main constraint for the youth. Farmers responded to the challenges by recycling seeds and mono-cropping lentils, despite declining soil and crop productivity, and increased occurrence of pests and diseases. In the case of chickpea, we found that cultural norms also discouraged the adoption of the improved variety.

Introduction: The lower Syr Darya River Basin is an integral part of the Aral Sea Basin that is shared by four riparian countries. In Kazakhstan, the water is mainly used for agricultural purposes. However, the poor quality and insufficient quantity of water and the overall degradation of natural resources due to unsustainable management practices threaten the profitability of the sector. The situation is even worse for downstream users. Three alternative scenarios for sustainable water and land management were developed using the RIOS and SWAT models as decision support tools. The scenario that offered the highest water and land productivity was presented to farmers to assess their willingness to forgo their current practices and adopt proposed management practices. We introduce willingness to forego (WTF)-a qualitative approach and a variant of the concept of opportunity costs to look beyond hypothetical markets to trading current benefits for future returns. We also tap into literature on agricultural risk management to provide additional insight into farmers' rationale behind their choices.

Jordan is one of the world's water-poorest countries. The demand for potable and productive water is ever increasing due to population growth, climate change, increasing numbers of refugees hosted by the country, as well as heightened demand from a growing economy and its different sectors. Household greywater filtration systems (HGWFS) are ideal for repurposing greywater, from wastewater into productive use for small-scale agricultural production. Given that 50 to 80% of residential wastewater is in the form of greywater, there is significant potential for saving fresh potable water and improving household livelihood systems through effective utilization of treated greywater for productive purposes. However, broad uptake of the technology is not forthcoming. This comparative study examines two technology dissemination pathways and their role in influencing household decisions to adopt, not to adopt, and dis-adopt the HGWFSs. Quasi-experimental (cross-sectional) design was utilized with a one-shot survey of 252 households (adopters and non-adopters) selected through a combination of purposive and stratified sampling approaches. Qualitative data was also collected through key informant interviews and focus group discussions separately held with male and female members of the community. It was found that lack of technology tracking was a determinant factor in fostering negative perceptions on the technology uptake and its eventual dis-adoption in two of the governorates considered.

Shrinking water resources as a potential result of climate change (CC) creates a challenging tradeoff situation in the north of Tunisia. This study provides valuable insights into the conditions that can promote farmers' acceptance of regulated deficit irrigation and a new water pricing policy to address CC impacts on the semi-arid irrigated region which will allow for a sustainable irrigation regime and the conservation of water resources at regional scale. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze data collected from 100 farmers in the citrus regions of Beni Khalled and Menzel Bouzelfa, to identify determining factors for farmers' willingness to accept the proposed water management strategies. Empirical findings reveal that the significant explanatory variables are essentially linked to farmer satisfaction about the current irrigation management in relation to water supply reliability, rather than the social criteria and farmers' awareness of water scarcity. More efforts are needed to improve the transparency of water allocation systems to motivate the willingness of water users to adopt new technologies or policies. The different stakeholders should agree to take action now about strategic extension and communication plans to enhance awareness on ensuing environmental problems, to take advantage of long-term profitability of the water restriction.