Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Deriving an index of adoption rate and assessing factors affecting adoption of an agroforestry-based farming system in Dhanusha District, Nepal

  • Published:
Agroforestry Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper attempts to fulfil the gap in measuring adoption in agroforestry studies. It explains the derivation of an index of adoption rate in a Nepalese context and examines the factors affecting adoption of agroforestry-based land management practice (AFLMP) in the Dhanusha District of Nepal. Data about the different farm practices and the factors (bio-physical, socio-economic) influencing adoption were collected during focus group discussion and from the randomly selected households using a household survey questionnaire, respectively. A multivariate regression model was used to determine the factors. The factors (variables) found to significantly affect adoption of AFLMP were: farm size, availability of irrigation water, education of household heads, agricultural labour force, frequency of visits by extension workers, expenditure on farm inputs purchase, household’s experience in agroforestry, and distance from home to government forest. The regression model explained about 75 % of variation in adoption decision. The model rejected ‘erosion hazard’, ‘flood hazard’ and ‘gender’ as determinants of adoption, which in case of single agroforestry practice were major variables and played positive role. Out of eight variables, farm size played the most powerful role in explaining the variation in adoption, followed by availability of irrigation water and education of household heads. The results of this study suggest that policies to promote the provision of irrigation water, extension services and motivation to obtaining higher education would probably provide the incentive to adopt agroforestry elsewhere in the terai of Nepal.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adesina AA, Baidu-Forson J (1995) Farmers’ perceptions and adoption of new agricultural technology: evidence from analysis in Burkina Faso and Guinea, West Africa. Agric Syst 13(1):1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Adesina A, Chianu J (2002) Determinants of farmers’ adoption and adaptation of alley farming technology in Nigeria. Agrofor Syst 55(2):99–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adesina AA, Mbila D, Nkamleu GB, Endamana D (2000) Econometric analysis of the determinants of adoption of alley farming by farmers in the forest zone of southwest Cameroon. Agric Ecosyst Environ 80(3):255–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alavalapati J, Luckert M, Gill D (1995) Adoption of agroforestry practices: a case study from Andhra Pradesh, India. Agrofor Syst 32(1):1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amatya SM, Newman SM (1993) Agroforestry in Nepal: research and practice. Agrofor Syst 21:215–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amsalu A, de Graaff J (2007) Determinants of adoption and continued use of stone terraces for soil and water conservation in an Ethiopian highland watershed. Ecol Econ 61(2–3):294–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anley Y, Bogale A, Haile-Gabriel A (2007) Adoption decision and use intensity of soil and water conservation measures by smallholder subsistence farmers in Dedo District, Western Ethiopia. Land Degrad Develop 18(3):289–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atta-Krah AN, Francis PA (1987) The role of on-farm trails in the evaluation of composite technologies: the case of alley farming in Southern Nigeria. Agric Syst 23(2):133–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayuk ET (1997) Adoption of agroforestry technology: the case of live hedges in the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso. Agric Syst 54(2):189–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barker SCP (1997) The impact of farming systems extension on Caribbean small-farm agriculture: the case of St Kitts and St Vincent. Trop Agric 74(1):58–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodt S, Klonsky K, Jackson L, Brush S, Smukler S (2009) Factors affecting adoption of hedgerows and other biodiversity-enhancing features on farms in California, USA. Agrofor Syst 76(1):195–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron LA (1999) The importance of learning in the adoption of high-yielding variety seeds. Am J Agric Econ 81(1):83–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlson JE, Schnabel B, Beus CE, Dillman DA (1994) Changes in the soil conservation attitudes and behaviors of farmers in the Palouse and Camas prairies: 1976–1990. J Soil Water Conserv 49(5):493–500

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter J (1996) Alley farming: have resource-poor farmers benefited? Agrofor Tod 8:5–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Cutter B, Rahmadi A, Kurtz W, Hodge S (1999) State policies for agroforestry in the United States. Agrofor Syst 46(3):217–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DDC (2013) District profile of Dhanusha District. District Administration Office, Dhanusha

    Google Scholar 

  • Dhakal A, Cockfield G, Maraseni TN (2012) Evolution of agroforestry based farming systems: a case of Dhanusha District Nepal. Agrofor Syst 86(1):17–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dvorak K (1996) Adoption potential of alley cropping. Final Project Report. Resource and Crop Management Research Monograph

  • Fabiyi YL, Idowu EO, Oguntade AE (1991) Land tenure and management constraints to the adoption of alley farming by women in Oyo State of Nigeria. Niger J Agric Ext 6(1/2):40–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Fonzen P, Oberholzer E (1984) Use of multipurpose trees in hill farming systems in western Nepal. Agrofor Syst 2:187–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster AD, Rosenzweig MR (1995) Learning by doing and learning from others: human capital and technical change in agriculture. J Polit Econ 103(6):1176–1209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garforth C, Malla Y, Neopane R, Pandit B (1999) Socioeconomic factors and agro-forestry improvements in the hills of Nepal. Mt Res Dev 19(3):273–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould BW, Saupe WE, Klemme RM (1989) Conservation tillage: the role of farm and operator characteristics and the perception of soil erosion. Land Econ 65(2):167–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ison RL, Russell DB (2000) Agricultural extension and rural development: breaking out of traditions: a second-order systems perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan ZR, Amudavi DM, Midega CA, Wanyama JM, Pickett JA (2008) Farmers’ perceptions of a ‘push–pull’technology for control of cereal stemborers and Striga weed in western Kenya. Crop Prot 27(6):976–987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiptot E, Hebinck P, Franzel S, Richards P (2007) Adopters, testers or pseudo-adopters? Dynamics of the use of improved tree fallows by farmers in western Kenya. Agric Syst 94:509–519

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knowler D, Bradshaw B (2007) Farmers’ adoption of conservation agriculture: a review and synthesis of recent research. Food Policy 32(1):25–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lapar MLA, Ehui SK (2004) Factors affecting adoption of dual-purpose forages in the Philippine uplands. Agric Syst 81(2):95–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lohr L, Park T (1994) Discrete/continuous choices in contingent valuation surveys: soil conservation decisions in Michigan. Rev Agric Econ 16(1):1–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahat TB, Griffin DM, Shepherd KR (1987) Human impact on some forests of the middle hills of Nepal: forest in subsistence economy of Sindhupalchok and Kabhrepalanchok. Mt Res Dev 7(1):53–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matata P, Ajay O, Oduol P, Agumya A (2010) Socio-economic factors influencing adoption of improved fallow practices among smallholder farmers in western Tanzania. Afr J Agric Res 5(8):818–823

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercer D, Haggar J, Snook A, Sosa M (2005) Agroforestry adoption in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Campeche, Mexico. Small-Scale For 4(2):163–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair PKR (1985) Classification of agroforestry systems. Agrofor Syst 3(2):97–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neupane RP, Sharma KR, Thapa GB (2002) Adoption of agroforestry in the hills of Nepal: a logistic regression analysis. Agric Syst 72(3):177–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nkamleu GB, Manyong VM (2005) Factors affecting the adoption of agroforestry practices by farmers in Cameroon. Small-scale For Econ Manag Policy 4(2):135–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Ojiako IA, Manyong VM, Ikpi AE (2007) Determinants of rural farmers’ improved soybean adoption decisions in northern Nigeria. J Food Agric Environ 5(2):215–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Okoye C (1998) Comparative analysis of factors in the adoption of traditional and recommended soil erosion control practices in Nigeria. Soil Tillage Res 45(3):251–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oladele O (2012) Socio economic determinants of use of indigenous fallow system for enhancing soil fertility among farmers in Oyo State Nigeria. Life Sci J 9(3):2424–2428

    Google Scholar 

  • Pattanayak S, Mercer DE, Sills E, Yang JC (2003) Taking stock of agroforestry adoption studies. Agrofor Syst 57(3):173–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paudel GS, Thapa GB (2004) Impact of social, institutional and ecological factors on land management practices in mountain watersheds of Nepal. Appl Geogr 24(1):35–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pisanelli A, Poole J, Franzel S (2008) The adoption of improved tree fallows in western Kenya: farmer practices, knowledge and perception. For Trees Liveli 18(3):233–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raut N, Sitaula BK, Aune JB, Bajracharya RM (2011) ‘Evolution and future direction of intensified agriculture in the central mid-hills of Nepal. Int J Agric Sustain 9(4):537–550

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts JS, Laughlin JE, Wedell DH (1999) Validity issues in the Likert and Thurstone approaches to attitude measurement. Educ Psychol Meas 59(2):211–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salam M, Noguchi T, Koike M (2000) Understanding why farmers plant trees in the homestead agroforestry in Bangladesh. Agrofor Syst 50(1):77–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sapkota I, Oden P (2008) Household characteristics and dependency on community forests in Terai of Nepal. Int J Soc For 2:123–144

    Google Scholar 

  • SBS (2012) National population and housing census. Central Bureau of Statistics, Kathamndu

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheikh AD, Rehman T, Yates CM (2003) Logit models for identifying the factors that influence the uptake of new ‘no-tillage’ technologies by farmers in the rice-wheat and the cotton-wheat farming systems of Pakistan’s Punjab. Agric Syst 75(1):79–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sidibé A (2005) Farm-level adoption of soil and water conservation techniques in northern Burkina Faso. Agric Water Manag 71(3):211–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sood K, Mitchell C (2009) Identifying important biophysical and social determinants of on-farm tree growing in subsistence-based traditional agroforestry systems. Agrofor Syst 75(2):175–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thacher T, Lee D, Schelhas J (1996) Farmer participation in reforestation incentive programs in Costa Rica. Agrofor Syst 35(3):269–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thangata PH, Alavalapati J (2003) Agroforestry adoption in southern Malawi: the case of mixed intercropping of Gliricidia sepium and maize. Agric Syst 78(1):57–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari K, Sitaula B, Nyborg I, Paudel G (2008) Determinants of farmers’ adoption of improved soil conservation technology in a middle mountain watershed of central Nepal. Environ Manag 42(2):210–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari T, Virk D, Sinclair F (2009) Rapid gains in yield and adoption of new maize varieties for complex hillside environments through farmer participation: I. Improving options through participatory varietal selection (PVS). Field Crops Res 111(1):137–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valdivia C, Poulos C (2009) Factors affecting farm operators’ interest in incorporating riparian buffers and forest farming practices in northeast and southeast Missouri. Agrofor Syst 75(1):61–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research work was financially supported by the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts (BELA). The authors acknowledge the contribution of the Terai Private Forest Development Association (TPFDA) and Nepal Agroforestry Foundation (NAF) and their staffs for their support during data collection. We truly appreciate the comments of anonymous reviewers. All remaining mistakes are the responsibility of the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nepal Agroforestry Foundation (NAF), Kathmandu, Nepal

    Arun Dhakal

  2. School of Commerce, University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Toowoomba, Australia

    Geoff Cockfield

  3. Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Toowoomba, Australia

    Geoff Cockfield & Tek Narayan Maraseni

Authors
  1. Arun Dhakal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Geoff Cockfield
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tek Narayan Maraseni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arun Dhakal.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dhakal, A., Cockfield, G. & Maraseni, T.N. Deriving an index of adoption rate and assessing factors affecting adoption of an agroforestry-based farming system in Dhanusha District, Nepal. Agroforest Syst 89, 645–661 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-015-9802-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-015-9802-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation