An Analysis of the Factors Affecting the Adoption of Good Agricultural Practices Among Sugarcane Farmers in the Dry North Ecological Zone in Jamaica

This study discusses some factors which affect the adoption of good agricultural practices among a group of sugarcane farmers. The data were collected via a questionnaire administered in 2009 as part of a cost of production survey. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as the mean, standard deviation, correlation and regression analyses. The results of the regression analysis indicated that knowledge about good agricultural practices, experience as measured by the number of years the farmers were growing sugarcane, total acreage of land used to produced the sugarcane crop, the level of dependence on sugarcane as a major source of income, profit received per acre from the sale of sugarcane and the interactions among these variables explained 83% of the variation in the adoption of the good agricultural practices. This study will have practical significance as major stakeholders, including government and private agencies, can use the results to develop programmes that will increase the level of adoption to these practices, by paying particular attention to the significant variables. The methodology can be applied to other areas within the sugarcane industry locally as well as regionally.