Study of Farmer's Attitude towards Sustainable Agriculture and Its Relation with Their Chemical Input Use in Asadabad Township

Use of chemical inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers have increased agricultural production and productivity. However, negative externalities from such use e.g. damage to agricultural land, safety and quality of food, human health and environmental health etc. have increased too. Encouraging farmers to reduce the use of these inputs as a sustainability index requires investigating the current situation of farmers and related factors with their behavior. The purpose of this descriptive- correlation study was to investigate farmer's attitude towards sustainable agriculture and its relation with their using rate of chemical inputs use in Asadabad Township. Statistical population consisted of all farmers in Asadabad Township in 2011 of which a sample of 294 were randomly selected and it was randomized stratified sampling method based on Cochran's formula. The research is done by a researcher-constructed questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was verified by a panel of experts in related field. To check its reliability, a Chronbach's Alpha coefficient was computed which was 0.85. Results indicated that 78.2 % of respondents had positive attitude toward sustainable agriculture. In addition, there was negative and significant correlation between farmer's using rate of chemical inputs with their attitude toward sustainable agriculture. Correlation between their use of available related knowledge and sustainable agriculture was positively meaningful.