The Concept of Sustainable Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects

Abubakar, Musa; Attanda, M. L.

doi:10.1088/1757-899x/53/1/012001

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Parallel to this, in areas that are susceptible to soil erosion and land degradation that have resource-poor smallholder farmers, and that have small and fragmented farmlands, a possible way to improve productivity and ensure food self-sufficiency is to focus on sustainable agricultural practices [23][24][25]. Because more sustainable agricultural practices can be adopted using on-farm and locally available inputs, as well as using the knowledge and skills of the farmers to raise fertility, increase water retention, improve productivity, and ensure ecosystem services [21,26,27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Socio-Psychological Factors on Actual Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Dryland and Water Stressed Areas

et al. 2018

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Despite the presence of several studies on technology adoption, there are limited empirical studies on how socio-psychological factors affect the adoption of sustainable agriculture. Therefore, this paper investigates how socio-psychological factors-such as social capital, information, attitudes, efficacy, and aversion-affect smallholder farmers’ decisions to adopt sustainable land management practices, such as agroforestry systems, organic compost, and crop rotation with legumes. Cross-sectional data are collected from 350 randomly selected farm households using a pre-tested and structured questionnaire. A multivariate probit model is used to investigate factors that influence the probability of adopting these practices. The ordered probit model is also applied to identify and analyze the determinants of the number (intensity) of land management practices adopted. The findings indicate that nearly half of the farmers have adopted these land management practices to improve soil fertility, enhance water retention capacity, and increase productivity. It is also found that attitudes, information, education, group membership, relational capital, risk attitudes, and labor supply significantly affect the probability of adopting these agricultural practices. The estimates of the ordered probit model also indicate that extension services, risk attitudes, group membership, relational capital, education and labor supply are major determinants of the number of land management practices used. However, financial resources, biophysical factors and some demographic factors are found to have an insignificant effect on sustainable agriculture adoption. This implies that when it is necessary to promote sustainable land management practices and to stimulate smallholder farmers to adopt such practices in isolation or combination, specific strategies should be designed to improve awareness, build positive attitudes, reduce risk aversion, strengthen formal organizations, and empower endogenous groups (or informal institutions).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Socio-Psychological Factors on Actual Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Dryland and Water Stressed Areas

et al. 2018

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“…To characterize farmers’ experiences with and perceptions of UNGD, we analyzed survey data descriptively, highlighting differences between conventional and sustainable farmers. The process of identifying farmers as “conventional” or “sustainable” was inherently imperfect, as sustainable agriculture, with its combined focus on the impact of environmental changes on society, the environment, and economic value, is viewed more as a management philosophy than a universally defined set of farming practices (Abubakar and Attanda ). Based on expert recommendation, we identified farmers as sustainable according to their responses on the questionnaire: if they had certification with respect to farm products (e.g., organic, animal welfare approved) or if they met all of the following three criteria: (1) restricted use of synthetic inputs such as pesticides; (2) marketed farm products directly to the public; and (3) used crop rotation/cover crops/reduced till or raised livestock in a pasture‐based system.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural Implications of Unconventional Natural Gas Development: Divergent Perceptions of Sustainable and Conventional Farmers

Poulsen

Bailey‐Davis

DeWalle

et al. 2018

Culture Agric Food & Envi

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This study explored sustainable and conventional farmers’ perceptions of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) as it relates to agricultural production and distribution. Farmers (n = 200) in Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale region with gas drilling infrastructure on or near their farmland completed questionnaires; a subset (n = 16) of survey respondents participated in semi‐structured interviews. Findings revealed sustainable farmers faced unique negative impacts from UNGD, including greater sensitivity to environmental impacts, risks to organic certification and market participation, declining consumer confidence, and depreciating value of sustainable operations. UNGD‐related income and increased wealth within communities appeared to benefit agricultural production and sales, yet the most cited impact of UNGD on agricultural productivity was a decrease in crop production as farmland was used for UNGD. Findings also highlighted potential impacts on nascent local food markets in areas with UNGD, farmers’ expectations for outside oversight of UNGD, and limited transparency of environmental safety violations.

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“…Diverse definitions and dimensions on the two subject matters are well documented. According to Abubakar and Attanda (2013) Sustainable agriculture is defined as a system that, over the long term, enhances environmental quality and the resource base on which agriculture depends, provides for basic human food and fibre needs, is economically viable and enhances the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole. It is clear from the definition that sustainable agriculture seek to attain environmental, economic and social sustainability.…”

Section: Definitions Of Sustainability and Frugalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction of Sustainable Frugal Innovations Index for the Agriculture Sector

Nhokovedzo¹

2021

International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research

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The proliferation of agriculture innovations require stakeholders to have an accurate measurement scale to screen and select the best inventions for returns maximisation. Agriculture has evolved to become a scientific business hence the need for scientific measurements of agro-innovations and their consequences.The concepts of sustainability and frugality, hence sustainable frugal innovations are trending themes in agriculture. High quality scientific measures of these innovations remain scarce. The purpose of this study has been to develop a Sustainable Frugal Innovations index for use in the agriculture sector. A data collection instrument derived from sustainability and frugality constructs was developed and administered to 450 Agriculture experts across Zimbabwe. Twenty-five (25) constructs were extracted through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), validated and analysed, culminating in a composite Sustainable Frugal Innovation Index. Contribution/Originality:This study originates a new index to measure the sustainability and frugality of agriculture-oriented innovations. The index guides innovations design thinkers to be sensitive to sustainability and frugality issues while helping users in making adoption choices.

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The Concept of Sustainable Agriculture: Challenges and Prospects

Cited by 24 publications

References 11 publications

Impacts of Socio-Psychological Factors on Actual Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Dryland and Water Stressed Areas

Impacts of Socio-Psychological Factors on Actual Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Dryland and Water Stressed Areas

Agricultural Implications of Unconventional Natural Gas Development: Divergent Perceptions of Sustainable and Conventional Farmers

Construction of Sustainable Frugal Innovations Index for the Agriculture Sector

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