The farmers’ knowledge of the techniques of the sustainable agriculture in Assuit governorate, Egypt

This research aimed to identify the level of knowledge of the respondents farmers concerning with sustainable agriculture techniques in Assiut governorate, the obstacles facing them while using sustainable agriculture techniques, and their proposals to overcome these obstacles and to know the relationship between the level of knowledge farmers concerning with sustainable agriculture techniques and their independent studied variables. This research has been carried out in Assiut governorate; two districts were randomly selected from the governorate. These are Assiut and Aboitig A village was randomly selected from each district, respectively, Mankabad and Masoudi. The sample was randomly selected from the villages of the study with10% of the total number of farmers in each village. The sample was as follows: 124 respondent farmers in the village of Mankabad in Assiut district. The total number of farmers in this village is 1242 farmers and 85 respondents in the village of Masaoudi in Aboitig district. The total number of village farmers is 850 farmers, and the data were collected by personal interview using a questionnaire prepared specifically for this purpose during the month of July and August 2017. Data were analyzed and shown using illustrating tables, frequencies, analysis, that was done through using a percentages, and chi-square test package of statistical programs of social sciences (SPSS).

The results indicated that:
 

Knowledge level of 71.29% respondents farmers were average or low for sustainable farming techniques.
The most important obstacles facing farmers when using sustainable agriculture techniques are: lack of sources of selling biological fertilizers, high costs of importing natural resistants, and some techniques such as modern irrigation methods, and the absence of incentives by the agricultural extension organization.
The most important proposals of farmers to overcome the obstacles facing them when using sustainable agriculture techniques are: providing sources for selling of bio-fertilizers in agricultural societies, finding a specialist to multiply the natural resistants, and providing the necessary loans to farmers to buy modern irrigation supplies.
There is significant relationship between the level of knowledge of the farmers concerning with sustainable agriculture techniques, and each of their following independent variables: age, educational level, agricultural holding capacity, and sources of information.