Assessment of Farmers’ Perception of Agroforestry Practices in Jhenaidah District of Bangladesh

Aims: The main objective of this study was to investigate and analyze the farmers’ attitude towards agroforestry, the reasons for adoption of agroforestry by farmers and the problems being faced by them in the Jhenaidah district, Bangladesh.

Place and Duration of Study: The survey was conducted during May, 2014 in Jhenaidah District of Bangladesh.

Methodology: This paper includes the perspective assessment of the farmers about practicing agriculture and forest tree species, rearing pastures etc. all together in Jhenaidah District in Bangladesh. During the study a multistage random sampling technique was adopted among 102 farmers of different age (21-65+ years) who were interviewed through a semi-structured questionnaire individually. Likert scale is followed to identify the farmer’s perception and attitude.

Results: The middle aged farmers (42.7%) were mostly interested in adopting agroforestry with traditional practice whereas young aged farmers (23.95%) appeared to practice it in a wide range. On the other hand, farmers (23.53%) who generally take lease for cultivation do not practice agroforestry. In the study area all farmers practice homestead agroforestry and 61% of the farmers practice cropland agroforestry. Above 80% respondents have taken positively agroforestry practice, but did not receive formal training skills or facility but just inherited ideas from their superiors.

Conclusion: Most of the farmer’s (94.12%) have positive attitude towards Agroforestry in Jhenaidah district.