Socio-Demographic Factors Contributing to the Productivity in Paddy Farming: A Case Study

According to 2010 statistics, paddy cultivation had been the livelihood of more than 1.8 million farm families in Sri Lanka. The annual rice ( Oryza sativa L. ) production of 2.1 million tons in 1980 had increased to 4.3 million tons in 2010. Paddy farmers are mutually benefitted from group activities. This study examined the sociodemographic factors contributing to the success of paddy farmers in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka with a focus on the innovation and adoption of new practices, farming experience, knowledge sharing and team behaviour among farmers. Their perceptions about farming as a career, productivity, and profitability in paddy farming were analyzed. Impact of gender on paddy farming practices was examined. Sixty three paddy farmers (32 males, and 31 females) were selected for the study from Polpithigama Divisional Secretariat area based on stratified random sampling. Mann-Whitney test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, Correlation, and Chi-square tests were used for inferential analysis of data along with descriptive analysis. Knowledge sharing behaviour in farming correlated strongly with the respondents’ perception of farming as a career. Knowledge sharing correlated moderately with their farming experience. Innovation and adoption of new practices was the major contributing factor in the productivity of paddy farming. Significant differences were observed between gender and farming practices, with male farmers recording superior performances over female farmers in many farming practices. Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 25 (3): 437-444 (2014)