A Study of Farmers' Information towards the Importance of Using Organic Fertilizers in the Lubertsky-Poland District
Ahmed Awad Talb Altalb *
Department of Agricultural Extension and Technology Transfer, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq.
Tadeusz Filipek
Faculty of Agro-Bioengineering, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 15, 20-950 Lublin, Poland.
Piotr Skowron
Faculty of Agro-Bioengineering, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 15, 20-950 Lublin, Poland.
Mehmood Ali Noor
Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Present study was aimed to assessing the level of farmers' information towards the importance of using organic fertilizers in Lubartowski County, to assessing the level of farmers' information in each statement towards importance of using organıc fertilizers and identifying correlation between the farmers' information and independent variables (age, education level, size of farm, contact degree with information sources, average production) in the research.
Questionnaire was designed to obtain data from farmers (respondents). It included personal variables related to farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics: (age, education level, size of farm, contact degree with information sources, average production) and also included of 20 statement about using of organic fertilizers. The total number of farmers in the sample were 70 farmer. The dependent variables were measured through the scale for farmers' information in the use of organıc fertilizers, it was consisted of 20 statements with 4 alternatives/options against each statement: ‘I use it significantly, I use it moderate, I use it slightly and I do not use at all’.
The data was collected during the period of 2016. Data was analyzed through Pearson correlation coefficient and Equation of Spearman-Brown.
Results explained that level of farmers' information towards the importance of using organic fertilizers is medium. The results also showed that the statements which took first three ranks according to the centennial weight of statements and respectively are (use the organic fertilizers for increase the humus content in the soil, Use the organic fertilizers for comprehensively supply plants with slowly mobilized, use the organic fertilizers in the surface and rapidly covered with soil for reduce odor and ammonia’. Also, the results found there were a positive correlation between the level of farmers' information towards the importance of using organic fertilizers and the independent variables (Education level, contact degree with sources information. The results didn’t showed significant correlation between the level of farmers' information towards the importance of using organic fertilizers and the independent variables (age, size of farm, average production).
Keywords: Agricultural extension, towards, organic fertilizers, information