Assessment Of The Adoption Of Sustainable Agriculture Practices: Implications For Agricultural Education

The study sought to determine the perceptions of selected farmers on issues related to sustainable agriculture practices. The study found farmers were positive about sustainable agriculture practices but still had several concerns about some practices within the concept. Farmers were trying several different practices and were open to experiment with new ideas. Most farmers appeared to be at an information gathering stage. The process of education used at this point in decision-making about new practices could be critical for the level of adoption. The results of this study indicated that the process of needs assessment and analysis was required on a continuous basis if information about sustainable agricultural practices were to be completely understood and fully implemented. Farmer's adoption of modern agricultural technologies have played a prominent role in making American agriculture one of the most productive and dynamic systems of food and fiber production in the world. The high productivity of conventional agriculture is attested to be the fact in that at the beginning of the century one farmer's output could feed six other persons, whereas by 1980, this number had increased to over 60 others (Lacy & Busch, 1984). However, during the last decade, there has been a paradigmatic shift occurring within the agricultural community -- a shift from mere emphasis on higher productivity to include a concern for sustainability (Westra, 1990; Beus & Dunlap, 1990). It is felt that the high productivity of conventional agriculture had been achieved at the cost of massive damage to the natural environment and troublesome social disruptions. For instance, Daubom (1986), Lacy and Busch (1984), Berry (1977), and Hightower (1973) are among those who have been critical of conventional agriculture, accusing it of what they termed the "unsettling of American agriculture."