Unveiling drivers of conservation agriculture amidst climate challenges: A coastal Bangladeshi case study

Conservation agriculture practices play a pivotal role in augmenting agricultural productivity while concurrently fostering biodiversity, mitigating soil erosion, and enhancing plant nutrition. This study aims to delve into the determinants influencing the adoption behavior of farmers regarding conservation agriculture practices, categorizing them into medium adoption, less adoption, and non-adoption groups. Primary data were meticulously gathered from three distinct regions within the coastal areas of Bangladesh, encompassing a total of 450 respondents. Descriptive statistics were employed to delineate the socio-economic status of farmers, while multinomial logistic regression was utilized to identify factors affecting conservation agriculture adoption. This study also employed to find out the severity of different climate problem faced by the farmers. Analysis of organizational communication patterns revealed that medium adopters maintained a more substantial connection with diverse organizations compared to other groups. Descriptive statistics elucidated that both medium and less adopters of conservation agriculture had undergone more training, possessed higher farm incomes, and exhibited greater levels of education compared to non-adopters. Further exploration through factor analysis unveiled that increased training significantly influenced farmers' decisions to embrace conservation agriculture practices, concurrently enhancing their knowledge of agricultural methodologies. The study identified positive relationships between crop income, cultivable land, different channel communication exposure, climate change perception and training duration with the adoption of conservation agriculture. Finally, the results underscore the importance of organizational monitoring systems and frequent farmer engagement, alongside an augmentation in training initiatives. These measures are posited to yield more favorable outcomes in promoting conservation agriculture practices among farmers. Alongside, Conservation agriculture play a key role for achieving sustainable land use and climate action.