Determinants of Adoption of Mini-Tuber Seed Potato: A Case in Ardabil Province of Iran

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine factors affecting adoption of mini-tuber seed potato. Survey research design was used in this study. A sample of 100 potato growers who were informed about mini-tuber was selected and divided into adopter and non-adopter groups. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and was validated by a panel of experts. A pilot study was conducted for reliability and Cronbach's alphas obtained 0.77- 0.87. Results revealed that other farmers were the main source of information for respondents. Higher yield, healthy seeds, marketability and high quality of potato produced from mini-tuber seeds were the main important reasons of adoption. Non-adopters mentioned high cost of mini-tuber seed as the main factor for rejection. The result of t-test showed that adopters had used more farm machineries and equipments. Result further showed that among farming unit characteristics, the number of pieces of owned farmland had negative effect on the adoption. However, the adoption was positively affected by the extent of owned farmlands and extent of owned potato acreage. Among personal characteristics, education level, number of literate household members had positive effect while farmers' age and farming experience had negative effect on the adoption, respectively.