Good agricultural practices in mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco); Perception and factors affecting awareness among farmers in Gulmi, Nepal

Abstract

Citrus, in general, and mandarin, in particular, has long been one of Nepal's most important fruit crops. However, in recent years, a lack of good cultivation procedures and negligence has resulted in a significant reduction in its productivity. The declining situation cannot be controlled without the transfer of science-based knowledge and skills where Good Agricultural Practices have been linked to higher output. A study was carried out in 2020 to assess the perception of farmers towards Good Agricultural Practices and factors affecting awareness of GAP among mandarin growers. Altogether 100 households from Dhurkot and Chhatrakot Rural Municipalities, and Resunga Municipality from Gulmi district, were purposively chosen for the study in the command area of the PMAMP PIU Citrus Zone, and sampling was carried out using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected with the use of a semi-structured questionnaire, entered, and analyzed using SPSS and STATA software. The farmers were categorized into GAP aware and unaware based on the criteria made by the focus group discussion carried out with the leading farmers, mandarin experts, and government agriculture officers. The findings revealed that 39% of the total respondents knew about GAP for mandarin. The entire respondents agreed that GAP-produced fruit has a nicer appearance and better quality and fruits meet national and international standards and enhance exportability of fruits, however, 61.5% of respondents didn’t agree that GAP helps in providing subsidies from governmental organizations. The output of the binary logit model suggested that an increase in participation in training and contact with extension agents has a significant effect on awareness of GAP. Participatory GAP training, regular extension services to smallholding farmers could be beneficial for mandarin farmers leading to commercialization.

Factors affecting awareness on good agriculture practices among citrus growers in Palpa, Nepal: Through binary logistic regression approach

“…Among the respondents, 85% of GAP aware took guidance or supervision from PMAMP, PIU, Palpa while only 15% of GAP aware took no such initiative. Access to trainings will certainly have a positive impact on adoption of improved orchard management practices which in turn helps increasing yield; which supports the findings ofJoshi et al (2019); Liu et al (2022);Sedhai et al (2022). Another factor affecting farmers awareness in incorporating good…”