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Comparative analysis of coffee farming practices introduced by government and the private sector in Paksong District, Champasak Province, Lao PDR
Thesis Abstract:
This study examined the differences between the government-supported farmers (GSF) and the private-led farmers (PLF) in Paksong District, Champasak Province,
Lao PDR.
Among the socioeconomic factors, it was only in the length of farming experiences that the GSF and PLF were significantly different. Differences were found in the use
of consultation, participation in group discussion, and exposure to or use of pamphlet. Moreover, the GSF and PLF only exhibited significant difference in their knowledge of credit facilities among farming support factors.
Results showed that three practices were partially-adopted by GSF and PLF, namely: seed preparation, transplanting, and drying. However, a large number of GSF and PLF farmers did not adopt recommended practices in fertilization application and harvesting.
While there was no significant association between socioeconomic factors and overall adoption of recommended practices, educational attainment, household size,
and family income were significantly associated with adoption of specific farming
practices. There was also no significant association between extension methods and
overall adoption of recommended practices, although individual, group, and mass media extension methods reflected significant association with adoption of specific
farming practices, with visitation reflecting more association than other extension
methods. There was also no significant association between farming support factors and overall adoption of farming practices although credit, infrastructure, and membership in organization reflect significant association between adoption of selected farming practices.
Taking into consideration the low educational attainment of the farmers, it was recommended that there should be increase in extension contact individually, with strengthening of group extension as the ultimate goal. Group extension show promises of strengthening farmer power in facilitating the provision of needed support in information, credit, and marketing. Moreover, given the fact that a large number of farmers do not adopt certain recommended farming practices, training of extension workers, and farmer extension workers should be prioritized.
