Modeling the Adoption of Aquaculture Technologies among the Members of 4-H Club Youth

Abstract

Aquaculture farming in the country Philippines has played a vital role concerning employment and food security for every Filipino. This article aimed to look into a piece of information that explicate the factors of aquaculture technology adoption among the 4-H club youth members. The study uses primary data gathered from selected members of 4-H club youth in Southern Leyte, Philippines. Standard descriptive measures were calculated to characterize and describe the collected information and a statistical model were engaged to capture the significant predictors of the adoption of aquaculture technologies among youth. Results revealed that there are only a few (10.17%) of the youth members are adopting aquaculture technology. The members are neutral on their perception of aquaculture technology concerning complexity, economically viable, and environmentally safe. In addition, they disagree on the compatibility and minimal risk of the said technology. The regression model reveals that older adults (p-value<0.1), males (p-value<0.1), and higher income (p-value<0.05) are more likely to adopt the technology. The inverse effect from 4-H coordinator influence (p-value<0.05) and environmental safety characteristics (p-value<0.1) was found in the model regarding adopting the technology. Moreover, youth members are likely to adopt the technology if it is economically viable (p-value<0.05) to them. Hence, it is concluded that if the technology is affordable and understood by the farmers, there is a strong likelihood that they will adopt it in their respective places. The study suggests that the local government must support and implement more training and workshop for aquaculture technology to encourage and educate more youth.