Paddy Farmers’ Perception of Solid Waste Compost as an Organic Fertilizer Supplement in Sri Lanka

抄録

The agricultural sector has emerged as a hub of opportunities for the production of organic fertilizer under the organic farming policy in Sri Lanka. But it has become more challenging to bridge the supply-demand mismatch in paddy growing. As the first empirical study on analyzing the possibility of using Municipal Solid Waste as an organic fertilizer supplement, this study examined the paddy farmers' perception of Solid Waste Compost (SWC) as a supplement for organic paddy farming that is sustainable. The Attanagalla Divisional Secretariat has been chosen as the study region, and from March to May 2023, face-to-face interviews with paddy farmers were conducted using a standardized questionnaire. Data from 254 respondents were gathered and tabulated. Using a 5-point Likert scale, the established 9 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were analyzed and compared. Overall the results demonstrate that farmers adopt SWC for their rice cultivation, they do, however, have a strikingly unfavorable opinion of SWC's prompt availability. We contend that for the SWC production to be improved and delivered with official certification, robust government involvement, including a framework and financial assistance, is necessary.