The impacts and visions of the green fertilizer technologies (GFT). Adoption behaviour among Malaysian paddy farmers
| Date | 02 October 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-08-2016-0053 |
| Published date | 02 October 2017 |
| Pages | 336-354 |
| Author | Nadia Adnan,Shahrina Md Nordin,Imran Rahman,Amir Noor |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Environmental technology & innovation |
The impacts and visions of
the green fertilizer
technologies (GFT)
Adoption behaviour among Malaysian
paddy farmers
Nadia Adnan and Shahrina Md Nordin
Department of Management and Humanities, University Technology Petronas,
Tronoh, Malaysia
Imran Rahman
Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences,
University Technology Petronas, Tronoh, Malaysia, and
Amir Noor
Department of Computer Science, London Metropolitan University, London, UK
Abstract
Purpose –With the increased stress on sustainability and food security, in addition, the need towards
halting environmental deprivation has focused attention on green fertilizer technology (GFT), which is
the means of improving the situation causing the rising environmental concern. It also gives efficient
use of farm resources which can help to protect crops. Moreover, the adoption of GFT is one aspect to
answer the problem in regards to the sustainable environment. In the year 1980, an initiative took place
to simplify the adoption decision in the developing countries. Regardless of the low adoption rate
elsewhere, comparable exertions in the current year have originated in developing countries. Accepting
those primary factors that influence the adoption of GFT is very important. The paper aims to discuss
these issues.
Design/methodology/approach –This study re-examines these factors and draws policy implications
from that review for future actions. This research study re-examines them, based on other studies examining
the inadequate adoption of GFT in developing countries, by generalising their conclusions to clarify why
farmers have or have not made the decision to adopt GFT. The ability to address that awareness enables the
theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model to predict the farmer’s intention of acceptability of the GFT.
By following a socio-psychological approach, by using TPB, the researchers have found out the paddy
farmers’adoption decision towards GFT. The researchers later discuss the implications for promoting the
adoption of GFT, which delivers suggestions for the upcoming research study.
Findings –The idea of this research study is to seek farmers’understanding about environmental attitudes
in connection with conservation behaviour. The overall aim of this paper is to conceptualise the framework
created by amending the environmental concern amongst paddy farmers towards GFT.
Originality/value –This research study will allow more academic consideration and may direct future
research on the empirical findings on the environmental concern through the proposed conceptual framework
amongst paddy farmers in Malaysia.
Keywords Adoption, Consumer behaviour, Intention, Environmental concern, TPB, GFT, Personal norm
Paper type Literature review
1. Introduction
The Green Revolution has radicallyboosted the paddy yield both in LatinAmerica as well as
Asia, and shows a strong indication of the prospective of farming technologies in enhancing
the public’s lifestyles particularly in the evolving world (Pray, 1981). Certainly, it has turned
World Journal of Science,
Technology and Sustainable
Development
Vol. 14 No. 4, 2017
pp. 336-354
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2042-5945
DOI 10.1108/WJSTSD-08-2016-0053
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5945.htm
The authors would like to thank Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) and the YUTP GRANT
SCHEME cost centre (015 AA-H31) for the financial support under the to conduct this research study.
336
WJSTSD
14,4
out to be the foundation of provision for the Green Revolution in Asia by some charitable
groups and foundations. Prosperous agronomic transformation worldwide has been mainly
ascribed towards the enhancement of farm technologies like water conservation, and
improved soil, seeds, and fertilizers (Adnan, Nordin, Rahman, and Noor, 2017; Johnston and
Kilby, 1975;Kherallah and Kirsten, 2002;Mellor, 1976). The adoption of the statedtechnologies
offers chances for increasing both the agricultural incomes and productivity (Feder et al., 1985).
In the settingof emerging countries, the impactof improved technologies towardsthe farming
productivity is properly recognised (Sunding and Zilberman, 2001). Hence, these improved
technologies help to reduce the environmental pollution. The world-wide apprehension about
deteriorating environmental conditions requires ecological nutritional goods that contribute
towards a sustainable environment (Kumar et al., 2016). Although the current nutrition
manufacture scheme faces the contest of increasing food making to feed the world population,
it is deprived of negotiating the environment (Jennings et al., 2016). With the overall cultivation
practices, food production, and its impact on the environment, it is indispensable that farmers
should adopt efficient innovations that intensify productivity and reduce environmental
damage ( Jennings et al., 2016). One of the most recent empirically proven technologies that is
considered vital for efficient production is “green fertilizer technology”(GFT) (Kottegoda et al.,
2011). With its innovation, production, and profitability graph showing a major proliferation,
and with its efficient usage, it has helped in reducing environmental damages. GFT is easy to
use and is widely available to paddy farmers and agriculturalists in Malaysia (Chiew and
Shimada,2013). The adoptionof GFT also gives crop protection (Adnan, Nordin,Rahman, and
Noor, 2017). Even though the innovation of GFT gets promoted and indorsed by governmental
extension agencies, an extensive research suggests that the adoption amongst farmers is
stumpy (Adnan, Nordin, Rahman, and Noor, 2017; de Lauwere et al., 2012). Assuming the
existing low-adoption rate, it is beneficial to discover whether these farmers essentially have an
intent to adopt GFT (Adnan, Nordin, Rahman, and Noor, 2017; Saleh, 2013). A brief knowledge
and a thorough understanding of the factors which determine the intention to utilise GFT
might help policy makers design policy initiatives to improve the feasibility of the adoption
rates for this modernisation(Chua and Oh, 2011; Martey et al., 2014). Consequently, this paper
has two research questions.
RQ1. How durable isthe intention of agriculturalistsand farmers in Malaysia touse GFT?
RQ2. What are the factors that determine their intentions and target to utilise this
innovation?
Over a period of time, researchers and scientists have shown a significant interest towards
investigating agricultural technology adoption and its factors effecting the environment
(Adesina and Baidu-Forson, 1995; Chua and Oh, 2011). A vast number of studies on the
adoption decision in the agriculture industry have been carried out throughout the world
(Reimer et al., 2012). In the environment of developed countries, several technologies have
been tested and examined, which have helped in shaping the various factors affecting the
adoption decision (Borges, 2015; Läpple and Kelley, 2013). Conversely, in developing
countries, the construction of the agriculture decision process in the acceptance of
innovation is unproductively understood (Sambodo, 2007; Tey, 2013). Along with that,
within developing countries, most of the studies on the adoption of innovations in
agriculture are usually based on a random utility framework (Borges et al., 2014). Most of
the research and studies focus on explaining how characteristics of the innovation and
observable socioeconomic characteristics influence farmers’and agriculturists’decisions
(Borges et al., 2014). Such socioeconom ic features take account of ag e, gender,
enlightenment, and educational level and farm size (Reimer et al., 2012). These studies
generally analyse only authentic adoption behaviour,rather than the intention to adopt GFT.
Another studysuggests that there was a slightunderstanding of the psychological paradigms
337
Green fertilizer
technologies
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