Constructing an Innovative Theoretical Framework for Tea Grower’s Adoption of Carbon Sequestration Practices Using PLS-SEM

Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils is crucial in mitigating the adverse effects of global climate change and enhancing soil fertility.Among various crops, tea plantations show significant promise in adopting carbon sequestration practices.Consequently, the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu was purposefully selected for the study, involving 120 tea growers chosen using the snowball sampling method.A theoretical framework was developed to assess the factors influencing tea grower's adoption of carbon sequestration practices.Partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyse the gathered data.The results demonstrated that factors such as 'knowledge', 'attitude', 'innovativeness', 'perceived benefits' and 'perceived need' had a significant and positive influence on tea grower's adoption of carbon sequestration practices.In contrast, 'social influence' had no significant effect, underscoring the importance of increasing awareness, providing financial incentives, establishing pricing structures, and implementing government policies related to soil carbon sequestration.