Waiswa Denis, Muriithi Beatrice Wambui, Murage Alice W, Ireri Dave Mwangi, Maina Fredah, Chidawanyika Frank, Yavuz Fahri
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Atatürk University, Yakutiye, Erzurum, 25240, Türkiye.
Heliyon. 2024 Dec 26;11(1):e41449. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41449. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.
Push-pull technology (PPT) continues to gain relevance among smallholder farmers across the East African region in managing the constraints affecting cereal crop yields including stemborers, fall armyworm, striga weed, and low soil fertility. While previous research has emphasized the significance of socioeconomic factors in explaining farmers' decisions to adopt PPT, the social-psychological factors that influence farmers' adoption intentions have not been extensively studied. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of social-psychological factors on the intention to adopt or increase the land area under PPT based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Moreover, this study extends the applicability of the TPB by incorporating an additional construct that addresses practical limitations within adoption decision-making, and providing evidence of how TPB constructs function differently across distinct agricultural contexts. Nine hundred and seventy-one (971) cereal growers comprising PPT users and non-users were interviewed in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda using a structured questionnaire. Utilizing the Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), this study revealed a significant positive influence of TPB conceptual elements attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on farmers' intentions to adopt or expand the land area under PPT. Additionally, the study found that the added construct "perceived limitations" negatively impacts these intentions. The results indicated significant variations in the impact of TPB constructs on the intentions to adopt and expand land under PPT across the studied countries. These insights underscore the need for tailored, context-sensitive interventions that integrate behavioral, social, and practical considerations. Additionally, understanding the country-specific determinants allows for more targeted policy measures, extension services, and support programs that can enhance the adoption and effectiveness of PPT, ultimately improving agricultural outcomes and livelihoods of farmers in this region.
推拉技术（PPT）在东非地区的小农户中，对于应对影响谷物作物产量的各种制约因素（包括蛀茎害虫、草地贪夜蛾、独脚金杂草和土壤肥力低下）而言，其重要性持续增加。尽管先前的研究强调了社会经济因素在解释农民采用PPT决策方面的重要性，但影响农民采用意愿的社会心理因素尚未得到广泛研究。因此，本研究基于计划行为理论（TPB），调查了社会心理因素对采用或增加PPT种植土地面积意愿的影响。此外，本研究通过纳入一个额外的构念来扩展TPB的适用性，该构念解决了采用决策中的实际限制，并提供了TPB构念在不同农业背景下如何不同发挥作用的证据。在肯尼亚、乌干达、坦桑尼亚和卢旺达，使用结构化问卷对971名谷物种植者（包括PPT使用者和非使用者）进行了访谈。利用偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）和人工神经网络（ANN），本研究揭示了TPB概念要素态度、主观规范和感知行为控制对农民采用或扩大PPT种植土地面积意愿有显著的正向影响。此外，研究发现新增的构念“感知限制”对这些意愿有负面影响。结果表明，TPB构念对在所研究国家采用和扩大PPT种植土地意愿的影响存在显著差异。这些见解强调了需要采取量身定制、因地制宜的干预措施，将行为、社会和实际考虑因素结合起来。此外，了解各国特定的决定因素有助于制定更具针对性的政策措施、推广服务和支持项目，从而提高PPT的采用率和有效性，最终改善该地区农民的农业产出和生计。
