Analysis of Awareness Index and Adoption Potential on Sustainable Natural Rubber (SNR) Guidelines Among Selected Farmers in Mudon Township

Rubber is an important industrial crop, as about 70% of natural rubber is used in tyre production. In Myanmar, rubber was cultivated around the country except Magway Region while Mon State is the largest rubber plantation. Mudon Township was selected as the study area because 98% of its rubber farmers were smallholders, making it one of the most representative regions in Mon State. This study aimed to analyze awareness index and adoption potential of Sustainable Natural Rubber (SNR) guidelines of sample smallholder rubber farmers during 2024-2025 rubber production season. These guidelines were initiated in 2016 and are essential for sustainable rubber production, improve yield through good agricultural practices, supporting smallholder livelihoods, enhancing environmental protection and economic growth. A total of 150 sample rubber farmers from five villages in Mudon Township were selected by purposive and simple random sampling methods and interviewed with structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, awareness index and adoption potential analysis were used as analytical tools. The results indicated that the majority of rubber farmers had medium awareness index on SNR guidelines (73.33%), followed by high awareness (24.67%), while only (2.00%) exhibited low awareness level. In adoption potential, most farmers fall under the medium adoption potential category (77.33%), (13.33%) showed high adoption potential and (9.33%) remaining at a low adoption potential level. To enhance farmers awareness and adoption potential on SNR guidelines, it is recommended that government agencies and non-government organization should collaborate for provision of rubber farmers in capacity building programs, such as regular training, field demonstrations, workshops and particularly focusing on extension support to improve adoption of SNR guideline. In addition, financial and institutional support mechanisms should also be enhanced. Providing access to credit, subsidies for recommended inputs, and market incentive for adopting sustainable practices can encourage farmers to transition from traditional methods to SNR standard practices.