Factors Influencing Farmers' Perception of Sustainable Agriculture: A Case Study of Musanze District, Rwanda

Abstract

Concerns raised by various stakeholders about misusing natural resources bring sustainable agriculture to the agenda of the agricultural policies of many developing countries. This study was intended to determine the factors influencing farmers' perceptions of sustainable agriculture in the Musanze district of Rwanda. The data was collected by administering a well-structured questionnaire to a sample of 173 farmers operating in this district. Initially, farmers were divided into two groups: those with a high sense of sustainability and those with a low sense of sustainability. A binary logistic regression model was employed to determine the factors influencing farmers' perceptions. The model's results showed that Umuganda, a Rwandan program; the level of education; listening to the radio; spending time in a nearby trading centre; the size of the farm; and the total amount of land used for agriculture were statistically significant variables that could affect agricultural sustainability in the area.