Farmer perceptions and adoption barriers for conservation agriculture in dryland systems

Abstract:

Conservation Agriculture (CA) has been promoted as a pathway to sustainable dryland farming, yet adoption rates remain below 5% across most of semi-arid Russia. This research investigated farmer perceptions of CA and identified adoption barriers among 180 dryland farmers in Saratov Oblast using structured interviews and a Likert-based perception survey. CA adopters (n = 42) scored soil health (4.3/5) and economic benefit (4.1/5) significantly higher than non-adopters (2.8 and 2.3 respectively). The leading barriers were lack of knowledge (78.4% of non-adopters), unavailability of specialised seeding equipment (62.3%), and concerns about weed pressure without tillage (54.7%). Discriminant analysis correctly classified 84.2% of respondents into adopter/non-adopter groups based on six perception dimensions. Extension programmes that combine on-farm demonstrations with equipment-sharing cooperatives may accelerate CA uptake in Russian dryland systems.