BEDOUIN FARMERS' ACCEPTANCE TO THE IDEA OF CONTRACT FARMING IN NORTH SINAI GOVERNORATE

Document Type : Research articles.

Authors

1 Associate Prof. Researcher and Head of the Agriculture Extension Department, Socio-Economic Division, Desert Research Center

2 Agricultural Extension Researcher, Agricultural Extension Division, Desert Research Center

Abstract

The research was carried out to define the knowledge of Bedouin respondent's
farmers to the idea of contract farming at the study area, convincing and accepting such
idea and getting to know the benefits of putting such idea into practice.
The study was conducted in the four coastal centers in North Sinai Governorate from
west to east as follows: Beer Alabd, Al Arish, Al Sheikh Zwaied and Rafah, where
agriculture is the main profession of their inhabitants due to the availability of the land
and the water. Each Center was represented by two villages, the eight (8) selected
villages were: El Sadat and Aqtia in Beer Alabd, Al Sabeel and El Sakaska in Al Arish,
Al Sakadra and Al Zaheer in Al Sheikh Zwoied and Al Matalla and Abo Shenar in Rafah.
The study sample contained 3607 farmers; a randomized sample of 361 farmers with
10% of the total number of farmers in such villages was taken. Data were collected via an
interview questionnaire from September 2013 to May 2014, research data were
completed from each respondent over three times with a time difference of 3 months.
The first time had the respondent's response to his knowledge to the expressions of
contract farming which came to 34 expressions, the second time had the respondent's
response to his convincing to such expressions and the third time had the response that
indicate his accepting to the expressions of contract farming. Number survey, replicate
table, the Percentage and the Mean were used to analyze the date.
The study results were as follows:
1- Results showed that 21.6% of respondents had no idea about contact farming, 16.9%
had moderate knowledge, 24.6% were moderately knowledge of the idea, and 36.0 % of
respondents knew the idea of contract farming well.
2- It was revealed that 24.4% of respondents were not convinced of the idea of contract
farming, 18.3% were fairly convinced of it, 24.6% were moderately convinced of the
idea, and 32.7% of respondents were well convinced of the idea of contract farming.
3- Results also indicated that 26.9% of respondents didn't accept the idea of contract
farming, 20.8% fairly accepted it, 23.3% accepted it moderately, and 29.1% accepted
the idea of contract farming well.
4- The total average degree of respondents' accepting to the idea of contract farming was
1.65 indicating fair accepting to such idea.
5- Respondents mentioned some benefits of applying the idea of contract farming at the
study area as follows: marketing of the contracted crop guaranteed with 70.1%, the
contracted crop to be sold at reasonable price with 66.5%, reliable farm inputs
provided with 55.4% , proper extensional service obtained with 30.7%, growing some
export crops expanded with 25.5%, and new markets for the Egyptian agricultural crops
opened with 19.4 of the respondents.


Main Subjects