Farmers’ preferences of the agricultural inputs for rice farming in Senegal River Basin, Mauritania: A best-worst scaling approach

Abstract

Rice consumption is increasing rapidly in Western African countries. However, this consumption is mostly covered by imports. In terms of food security, the governments of these countries have adopted agricultural policies and projects that strengthen the rice production sector. Numerous studies have suggested solutions for improving productivity and efficient farm management. However, these studies depended on field observations to grasp current farm conditions without considering farmers’ preferences, and perceptions. To achieve sustainable agricultural development, cooperation among local farmers is indispensable. Therefore, farmers’ perceptions should be considered in agricultural policymaking. This study attempts to evaluate local farmers’ preferences regarding important agricultural inputs for rice production, using the best-worst scaling method in Mauritania. The results indicate that most farmers recognize the importance of seeds and irrigation in rice production, but pesticides, fertilizers, and labor tend to be neglected. In addition, a hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to classify farmers into three clusters. The clusters 1, 2, and 3 emphasize irrigation, agricultural machinery, and seeds, respectively. The issues of low productivity, low quality, and inefficient labor use have been identified in the clusters 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the technology and knowledge about the proper use of fertilizers and pesticides in the future, to encourage improvements in the yield and profits of farmers.