Impact of Better Management Practices on Sustainable Cotton Production: Evidence from South Punjab

الملخص

The basic purpose of this study was to look at the position of Better Management Practices (BMPs) of cotton crop in order to reduce the burden on our natural scarce resources. Relevant information was taken from 150 respondents from the district Khanewal, Punjab. The results of this study revealed that the education level and landholding size of respondents have a positive impact on the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. While the farmer’s age and farming experience were found a negative impact on BMPs adoption rate. Similarly, contact of respondents with the staff of farmer’s field schools and the number of visits of farmer’s field school staff were found positively correlated to BMPs adoption rate. The results of the regression analysis revealed the impact of different agriculture inputs and BMPs on cotton yield. The results showed that the age of the farmers, education, fertilizer, irrigations, water scouting, cotton area, farmyard manure, and hybrid seed variety and sowing method had a positive sign while the sign of pesticide coefficient was negative. The gross margins of BMPs adopter and non-adopter were 45,955 PKR and 28,790 PKR per acre respectively. The model also indicated that the production function fits well with the given data set. Therefore, the results of this study conveyed policy messages for the private and public organizations to promote BMPs for the betterment of the farming community.