Socio-Economic Factors Influencing the Adoption of Conservation Tillage Technology

In Iran, conventional tillage practice has resulted in soil erosion and loss of soil organic matter which has been further aggravated by the practice of crop residue removal and burning. Conservation Agriculture (CA) can be regarded as a means to enhancing productivity, reducing poverty, and mitigating the consequences of climate change in rural households. In this study, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) used to understand the factors affecting conservation agriculture acceptance, data collected through a questionnaire, consisting of 260 farmers from Zarghan area, in period 2014-2015. The results of TPB model showed that about 78% variation in farmers' intention is explained by attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, and farmers' attitude is found to be the stronger predictor of intention. Moreover, high education level and off- farm income had the most significant and positive effects on the farmers' attitude towards adopting the conservation agriculture methods. The findings of this study could help to improve the understanding of farmers' adoption dynamics related to CA, and of how farmers may approach this and other new technologies.