Adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) by Vegetable Farmers for Safe Food: An Empirical Study on Dinajpur District

Abstract

In order to produce safe and healthy food and agricultural products, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) are a set of guidelines that should be followed during the production process on farms as well as during post-production, all the while considering the sustainability of the economy, society, and environment. Therefore, the research focus was to determine the extent of awareness and adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). A mixed method was followed during conducting the study. A sample of 120 vegetable farmers were selected by following simple random sampling technique and by following proper sampling formula. Data were collected by a pre-tested interview schedule during 01 January to 31 May 2024 by face-to-face interview method. Descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics like Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient analysis were followed. Findings reveals that more than half of the respondents (56.7%) had medium awareness level on GAP while majority (65.0%) of the vegetable farmers had low level of adoption of Good Agricultural Practices in vegetable cultivation. Factors such as area under cultivation, experience, training received, market perception, environmental orientation, and extension contact demonstrated a positive and significant relationship, underscoring the importance of these elements in enhancing GAP adoption among farmers. The most important constraint is increased difficulty in management of pest and disease incidence having mean score of 2.7. More intensive training, motivational activities and capacity building programs are required for the farmers to enhancing awareness, skill on GAP ultimately increase the adoption.