Perception of organic farmers towards organic agriculture and role of extension

Abstract

The sustainability of organic agriculture is associated with the farmers’ experience, quality of information provided, management of risks, and compliance with legislation. The objectives of this study were to identify the sources used by the organic farmers to gain information related to organic production, and to assess organic farmers’ perceived attitudes towards extension services. To address the research objectives, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 organic farmers in central Pennsylvania. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim, categorized and coded, then thematically analyzed using an interpretive description methodology. The results showed that the extension services were not identified as a primary source of information that was frequently used by the organic farmers. Other organic farmers and organizationa for organic agriculture were the two primary sources of informaiton. The organic farmers were very adept at building social capital in seeking informaiton to address their issues and problems. The primary challenges faced by the organic farmers were the control of insects and weeds, and weather-related issues. The results highlighted that in addition to identifying viable information sources, factors such as adaptive capacities to climate change and certification were key to successful production in organic systems. The present study provides rich and deep information on how farmers perceive organic agriculture and extension services. The outcome of the research undertaken will enable planners, policy makers and the related Cooperative Extension personnel to better understand perceptions of the farmers to devise viable and workable policies and plans that address the concerns and challenges of the farmers.

Prospects and threats for developing organic agriculture: The example of Azerbaijan

“…The number of respondents was 1011 people. Respondents were asked to evaluate the prospects and threats for developing organic agriculture in Azerbaijan on a 5-point Likert scale (range from "1" to "5") using the questions in Table 1 (Canwat & Onakuse, 2022;Megits, Neskorodieva & Schuster, 2020;Sun & Li, 2022;Alotaibi et al, 2021;Aksoy et al, 2018;Sahiti et al, 2022). The higher the score, the higher the manifestation of a particular prospect or threat, and vice versa.…”

“…The main threats to developing organic agriculture are the imperfection of legislative regulation, lack of effective control, lack of experience in producing organic products, and state support. These destructive factors are natural for emerging markets, according to such studies as Canwat and Onakuse (2022), Sun andLi (2022), andAlotaibi et al (2021), and are inherent in an industry that is in its infancy. But it should be noted that according to the interviews, an almost absolute disinterest and misunderstanding of the prospects for developing the organic industry is determined.…”

Farmer to Farmer Extension Approach to increase Coffee Farmers' Food Security

“…Thus, it can be concluded that the model of increasing food security for coffee farming families through the role of Independent Extension Workers is declared feasible. To increase the role of extension workers, they need to focus more on their personal relationships with farmers and include a networking approach as a priority for increasing their knowledge (Alotaibi et al, 2021).…”

Innovation Management Model in Supporting Healthy Food Availability Through The Development of Zoning-Based Organic Farming

“…Organic agricultural production and organic food sales have grown rapidly (Alotaibi et al, 2021). A fairly high price appreciation compensates organic agricultural products.…”