Impact of community education interventions on adopting sustainable agriculture practices among smallholder farmers in Vaijapur Village, Karnataka, India

Implementing sustainable agricultural practices in village communities necessitates the adoption of the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) model, alongside the integration of the Social Behavior Change Communication model and Theory of Planned Behavior to guide community education interventions aimed at achieving the desired behavior change. This process involves sequential steps: acquiring knowledge, forming attitudes, and changing practices to embrace a new intervention. The goal is to promote environmental health, agricultural productivity, and the well-being of the community. This study therefore, aims to provide knowledge through community-based interventions that will influence farmers’ attitudes and practices, emphasizing the importance of sustainable agriculture. The sample consisted of 80 smallholder farmers aged between 31 and 51 years (mean age = 43.45, SD = 9.75) from Vaijapur village. The study result found that factors such as agricultural loans, off-farm incomes, group membership, land size, household labor availability, and the farmers’ intentions significantly impacted the intention to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. Results showed a notable increase in knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to sustainable agriculture following the intervention. In particular, the pre-test mean score (M = 85.96, SD = 3.42) increased to a post-test mean score (M = 113.11, SD = 4.99). The mean difference of 27.15 was statistically significant, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of (25.39, 28.91), t (79) = 58.31**, p < 0.01. This corresponds to an effect size of d = 6.54, indicating an exceptionally large impact of the intervention. Study conclude the community education interventions increased farmers’ awareness and knowledge, resulting in a favorable change to their perceptions and attitudes. Consequently, out of 80 farmers, two adopted sustainable agricultural practices in the village.