Determinants of Soil Conservation: An Insight of Tea Smallholders

Abstract

Soil erosion is one of the most devastating problems in Sri Lanka, which threatens the sustainability of Agriculture. To design future policy and effective outreach, this study examines the factors behind farmers’ decision making attitude of soil conservation. The study was conducted in Ratnapura District. Hundred tea smallholder farmers were selected by following multistage random sampling, and primary data were collected through administrating a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficient was employed between soil conservation attitude which was measured on a scale that consisted of 15 soil conservation measures, and farmers’ socio-economic and other factors considered in the study. Results obtained that age, level of education, income, property size, and, awareness on soil erosion, and associated problems with it were influencing on decision-making attitude of soil conservation while gender was not a significant factor. The study suggested obtaining farmers’ decision-making in soil conservation practices will require the use of various implementation tools such as subsidy, technical assistance, teaching, and extension efforts as well as it should facilitate regional social capital formulation to enable and thrive in the collective decision of soil conservation.