Determinants of adoption of organic rice production: a case of smallholder farmers in Hai Lang district of Vietnam

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that affect smallholders' adoption of organic rice production in the Hai Lang district of Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a cross-sectional survey research design. A sample size of 215 was drawn from a total of 455 smallholders. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including a binary logistic regression, were used to analyse the data.

Findings

The study concludes that younger female smallholders participating in credit/training programs and community-based organisations, who have a high level of education, a large household size and more experience in rice farming, and who grow mixed crops, have a greater tendency to adopt organic rice production.

Research limitations/implications

A combination of demographic, socio-economic and institutional characteristics of rice smallholders should be considered when promoting organic rice farming practices by smallholders and when choosing organic agricultural development strategies for smallholders in developing countries.

Originality/value

This research provides significant understanding of the determinants of organic rice adoption by smallholder farmers and highlights factors that need to be considered when designing policies to enhance the uptake of organic farming in developing countries.

Citation

Hoang, H.G. (2021), "Determinants of adoption of organic rice production: a case of smallholder farmers in Hai Lang district of Vietnam", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 48 No. 10, pp. 1463-1475. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-03-2021-0147