EFFECT OF URBANIZATION ON THE ADOPTION OF AGRIENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES BY CROP AND LIVESTOCK FARMS IN CANADA

This paper investigates the extent to which agri-environrnental practices(AEPs) adopted by Canadian crop livestock farms were adjusted to thepresence of urbanization. Seven AEPs: (1) water management; (2) wildlifeconservation; (3) pesticide management; (4) fertilizer management; (5)manure management; (6) nutrient management; (7) grazing management,were considered.It was hypothesized that farmers close to urbanized areas are more likely toadopt AEPs to minimize any conflict with their non-farm neighbors. The keyexplanatory variables included in the seven empirical models, whichcomprised of level of adoption of an AEP as the dependant variable, toexplain the degree of urbanization were: (the distance (km) "as the crowflies" from the geographical centre of each Census Sub-Division to that of thenearest Census Metropolitan Area in Canada, and (2) population density(number of persons/krrr') in the locale of each farming operation. In addition,a number of other standard control variables influencing the adoption ofAEPs (e.g. type and size of farm, age of operator, ownership, income etc.)were also included.The data from the Statistics in Canada collected through the "FarmEnvironmental Management Survey - 2001" (n=16053) were used. Theresults based on Logit Regression analysis imply that there are significantdifferences with respect to the adoption of AEPs in crop and livestock farmslocated in low versus high population density regions. The results imply inturn that farmers in urbanized areas face greater social and economicconstraints, and thus likely higher costs, than their counterparts in more ruralareas .

An empirical investigation on factors affecting coconut growers in the Kurunegala district to adopt integrated pest management techniques

The Coconut Development Office Divisions in the Kurunegala district were in the process of introducingIntegrated Pest Management (lPM) techniques to the coconut growers in order to control the majorpest and disease outbreaks of coconut plantations in the district. This study assesses the factorsaffecting these coconut growers to be innovative in adopting these IPM techniques in the cultivation.The Choice Model used in consumer economics (McFadden 1974) was used as the theoretical baseto explain this behaviour. There were] 27 coconut growers belong to four regions, namelyDarnbadeniya, Kudagalgamuwa, Weerambugedara, and Wellawa who had received a formal educationon the use of IPM techniques in this respect from an Extension Officerls attached to the CoconutCultivation Board were selected to collect data during the April to June in 2005. The Ordered LogisticRegression techniques were used to estimate the coefficients of empirical model, in which fivedependentvariables were developed to reflect the time taken by each grower to adopt at least twoIPM techniques in the cultivation effectively, where the "least" and "most" time takers were namedas "innovators" and "laggards", respectively. The results based on Logits and Marginal Probabilitiessuggest that factors such as age, education, income, and time commitment to the land had a significantand relatively higher impact on grower to be an "innovator". It also revealed that land size, availabilityof credit and skilled labor have no significant impact 011 this behaviour.

FARMER ATTITUDES TOWARDS ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABLE PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES: THE CASE OF INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT IN VEGETABLE CULTIVATIONS IN SRI LANKA

This study examines empirically the extent to which vegetable cultivatingfarmers in Sri Lanka are willing to adopt effective, economical andsustainable crop protection technologies such as Integrated Pest Management(lPM) instead of applying solely chemical pesticides to control pests. It usesprimary data collected through a series of personnel interviews with arandomly selected sample of vegetable farmers (n = 100) that practicechemical control measures in the Kurunegala and Puttalam districts in theWayamba Province from May to July in 2005.The behavioural change in farmer attitudes and perceptions towards adoptionof environmentally-friendly IPM techniques instead of applying chemicals onthe vegetable cultivation on a regular basis were captured by means of twoindexes - Additive Index (AI) and a Multiplicative Index (MI), which usedthe scores given by participants to the survey to a set of attitudinal statements(n = 17) explaining this behaviour on a Likert scale. The outcome of AI andMI were in turn modelled with the farmer's socio economic characteristics,including the age, sex, level of education, income, managerial time,experience in farming, extent of land allocated for cultivation, crop type,availability of credit and extension facilities etc. to test significance of thesefactors on this behaviour. The results suggest that many of these have asignificant impact on the farmer's degree of responsiveness towards adoptionof sustainable agricultural practices. The outcome of analysis highlights theneed of provision of appropriate private and regulatory incentives for farmersto change their behaviour in this respect

THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENT REGULATION ON FIRMS’ PRIVATE ACTION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: CASE OF NON-ADOPTION OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES BY FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR IN SRI LANKA

The purpose of this study was to examine empirically extent to which the regulatory framework and the legal system on environment have an impact on firms‟ private action on environment quality using the case of Sri Lankan food processing firms‟ non-compliance to the 9 different solid waste management practices (SWMPs) recommended by the Ministry of Environment for a firm to adopt based on the production and processing activities it undertakes. The perceptions of managers of 160 firms that did not adopt a single SWMP were assessed by means of an index – “Environment Regulation Responsiveness Index” (ERRI) of which the values reflects the relative strength of the firm in concern perceived on the environmental regulation (i.e.  -1.0 the least to 1.0 the most responsive). The outcome of analysis highlights that the magnitude of ERRI of the majority of firms was relatively low (i.e. in between -0.5 to 0.5), especially for the small scale firms, suggesting that firms did not consider the government regulation as a promising factor to act on the environment. This calls for a critical revision and adjustments to the policy on environmental quality management both at the national and provincial level in order to promote voluntary action by firms

POTENTIAL FOR ECO- TOURISM AS A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO UTILIZE RESOURCES IN UP-COUNTRY TEA ESTA TES IN SRI LANKA

In the context of tea industry in Sri Lanka, ecotourism has been recognized asan economically viable, environmentally friendly, and socially acceptablenon-crop diversification mechanism to increase profits according to AsianDevelopment Bank report, 2000.The purpose of this study was to assess the potential for ecotourism inupcountry tea plantations in Sri Lanka. Six estates, namely: (1) Hellbodda;(2) Kaloogala; (3) Melfort; (4) Rothschild; (5) Sanquhar, and (6) Sogama thatare located in the Pussellawa plantation sub district have been selected as thecases.Collection of data was characterized by: (1) a field survey at each location toidentify the availability of potential resources for ecotourism (e.g. attractions,infrastructure); (2) a community survey with the estate households; (3) aseries of personnel interviews with the estate management, and (4)questionnaire-based surveys with potential local and foreign tourists to thesesites.The information collected through the field, community, and managementsurveys were used to develop an index - "Tourism Potential Index" (TPI),that explain the capacity of each estate to develop ecotourism. The resultsbased on the TPI suggest that the best location for ecotourism was theRothschild followed by Hellbodda, and Sogama. The results also show thatabout 75% of estate community was in favor of implementing an ecotourismproject, and about 84% and 78% of foreign and local tourists, respectively,are willing to visit such a project. The results highlight the necessity ofimplementing sustainable alternative projects to enhance the quality of life ofthe estate community.

LEADERSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF PLANTATION SECTOR OF SRI LANKA: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE STYLE, BEHAVIOR AND PERSPECTIVES OF ESTATE MANAGERS

The style, behavior, perspectives of management practices and the types of management in practice in the plantation sector of Sri Lanka are considered unique from other businesses, in general, and agribusinesses, in particular. The reasons include, amongst the others, its years of exposure to various historical, geographical and cultural influences as well as the socio-economic and political dimensions to which this particular sector is linked with, but there is a paucity of literature that provides evidence to prove this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to fill that gap in the management literature to be certain extent. The entire study was designed to complete in two phases running over eight months (April to October 2010). A qualitative review involving Focus Group Discussions and In-depth Interviews was carried out in Phase I with the senior administrators and expert stakeholders attached to the plantation sector, which led to the development of a validated structured questionnaire. This was used to gather data from the Senior Estate Managers (n = 65) with more than 10 years of experience and are attached to 8 Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) by means of a personal interview.The outcome of analysis substantiates that most managers believed the leadership style that prevails in their organizations showing “empowering” characteristics. The results further explored that these managers, yet,preferred a more “consensual” nature of leadership and a “proactive” organizational climate, as opposed to a “reactive” leadership style. These findings raise important managerial implications for the present success and future survival of the plantation industry. The primary elucidation is that the nature of leadership is beyond those firms within the “Colombo business circles” and secondly whether the style of management/leadership will need to change in line with changes within the organizational environment so as to create and sustain a competitive advantage.Key Words: Leadership Style, Managerial Perceptions, Organizational Behavior, Plantation Sector For full paper: [email protected]