Predicting Sprinkler Irrigation Adoption: Comparison of Models

Increasing the water use efficiency through promotion of sprinkler irrigation system, in order to increase production, has been the aim of the Ministry of Agricultural-Jihad in the past decade. Considerable amount of investment and efforts have been devoted to this end. Therefore, investigation of these efforts and development of models to predict the adoption behavior of farmers are of considerable importance. A survey research was conducted in four provinces (Fars, Bushehr, Kohkiloye-va-Boyerahmad, and Chaharmahal-va-Bakhteyari). A stratified random sample of 422 farmers was interviewed including 124 and 298 adopters and non-adopters, respectively. The findings indicated that the discriminant model developed based on the multiplicity model is a better predictor of farmers’ adoption behavior than diffusion and farm structure model. Application of multiplicity model in extension of sprinkler irrigation can increase the adoption rate and as result the efficiency of extension efforts.