Determinants of farmers' participation in horticulture-based extension programs in Iran: application of the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Abstract

This paper aims to discover the determinants of farmers’ participation in horticulture-based Education programs in the Western Azerbaijan province, Iran. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the study also tries to make a comparison between participants and non-participants, who have achieved in this program. A sample of 231 farmers (137 participants and 94 non-participants) was selected based on a stratified random sampling method. Data gathering instrument was a questionnaire that its validity was approved by a group of experts and its reliability was confirmed by calculating Cronbach's alpha (α=0.71). The results showed that, there were significant differences between participants and non-participants in agricultural education programs in terms of all the TPB contexts. Additionally, the results of the regression analysis showed that attitude to how thinking and decision and subjective norms were the best determinants of farmers’ participation.