Climate change constitutes a major threat to agricultural production, food security, and natural resource management. Saudi Arabia is particularly susceptible to increasing temperatures and extreme climatic events, such as arid weather and drought. The purpose of this study is to assess farmers’ beliefs and concerns as regards climate change. Extensive interviews were conducted with 164 farmers in the Jazan region. Results revealed that 89.6% of the farmers believed that climate change is due to human activities and 93.3% believed that it is because of natural change. Seventy-five percent of the farmers were concerned about insects and 73% about the prevalence of weeds on their farms. Findings of cluster analysis revealed that farmers who are more likely to believe in climate change are more in agreement with the role of extension services in capacity building. Farmers’ beliefs about climate change were significantly influenced by membership of agricultural cooperatives, access to loans, use of extension services, age, farm size, and level of soil fertility. Access to loans was the only significant factor to explain the differences in farmers’ concerns. These results suggest the need for capacity-building activities targeted at improving farmers’ adaptability to manage climate variability.

Recently, there has been increasing concern about reducing and replacing chemical fertilizers with biofertilizers to enhance soil fertility and maintain agroecosystems and sustainable agricultural production. Given that knowledge of biofertilizers is information-intensive, the lack of information-seeking behavior (ISB) might be the primary constraint for farmers adopting biofertilizers. This study aimed to analyze how ISB influences farmers’ adoption of biofertilizers, using a sample of 228 onion farmers in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that most farmers had a moderate level of ISB. The most frequently accessed sources were mobile applications, extension institutions, and progressive farmers. The results of cluster analysis show that farmers’ ISB differed significantly according to their main occupation. Among the onion farmers, 35%had adopted biofertilizers. The findings also reveal that farm size, attitude toward biofertilizers, the credibility of information sources, and the usefulness of the information positively and significantly influence farmers’ adoption of biofertilizers. It was concluded that understanding the relationship between adoption and ISB could assist policymakers in focusing on knowledge diffusion when designing extension programs and advisory services to facilitate better usage of biofertilizers.

Concerns over the potential harmful impacts of changing climate are strongly echoing around the globe. With its wide range of hazards to human societies, climate change is posing serious threats to human survival and impacting every aspect of human life, including food production systems. It is, therefore, imperative to gauge the local knowledge, perceptions, and adaptation capacity for the effective mitigation of the ill impacts of climate change. In this backdrop, the present study has been designed to investigate the perceptions of farmers regarding causes and impacts of climate change on agriculture. Required data were collected from the Madinah region in Saudi Arabia and analyzed to answer the following study questions: How do farmers perceive impacts of climate change? What factors affect their perceived impacts of climate change? Additionally, what factors affect their perception about the causes of climate change? Individual logit models were used to assess the impacts of various factors on perceived causes and perceived impacts of climate change on agriculture. A multinomial logit model was also employed to figure out significant determinants of perceived causes of climate change on agriculture. Results indicated that the most dominant perceived impacts of climate change are its effects on crop production, followed by drying water sources. The results also revealed that the age of the farmers had a positive effect on their perception of natural processes being the cause of climate change. Similarly, farming experience had an inverse effect on their perceptions regarding causes of climate change. The majority of the farmers seemed clear about the possible drivers of climate change in the country. In particular, about 79 percent of the farmers believed that GHGs and pollution are causing climate change in the country. The findings provide useful insights into farmers’ perceptions about causes and impacts of climate change and may be used by policymakers to strategically design extension and agricultural development initiatives for helping the farmers to implement sustainable agricultural practices to adapt to and lower the adverse impacts of climate change in the Kingdom.

In the agricultural sector, plastic is widely used for enhancing crop production and farm incomes. Fruit and vegetable production under greenhouses and tunnels makes abundant use of plastic which mostly turns into agricultural plastic waste. Understanding perceived barriers to recycling plastic and farmers’ perception of environmental risk associated with plastic is crucial in the formulation and implementation of effective agricultural interventions for promoting the recycling of agricultural plastic waste to sustain the natural environment. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess farmers’ perceived barriers to recycling agricultural plastic waste and their perceptions of environmental risks associated with plastic. Data were collected from fruit and vegetable growers situated in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, using a simple random sampling approach with the help of a pre-tested paper-based questionnaire. The farmers’ education level, age, farm size, and contact with extension offices significantly influenced their perceptions of the lack of recycling facilities as a barrier to recycling agricultural waste. Moreover, education and farm size significantly influenced their perceptions of high cost as a barrier to recycling agricultural plastic waste. In addition, age and farm size significantly influenced their perceptions of environmental risks associated with agricultural plastic waste. The study recommends that recycling programs through the active involvement of agricultural extension and environmental agencies should be implemented to promote the recycling of agricultural plastic waste to reduce environmental risks. The government should provide recycling facilities in the study area, enhancing their availability and affordability to farmers.

This research aimed to study mango growers' attitudes toward modern irrigation systems in Al-Hudaydah governorate, Yemen. Data were collected from 323 mango growers using a simple random sampling technique with the help of a pre-tested paper-based questionnaire. The results showed that most mango growers had neutral attitudes toward modern irrigation systems. Moreover, the majority of mango growers were non-adopters. Growers' attitudes toward modern irrigation systems are determined by farmers' education, social participation, farm size, and adoption. Age, social participation, and adoption significantly positively correlated with growers' attitudes toward modern irrigation systems. Farm size showed a significant negative correlation with growers' attitudes toward modern irrigation systems. The study recommends that the Department of Agricultural Extension promote modern irrigation systems through the active involvement of various stakeholders. In addition, the government should make serious efforts to make modern irrigation technologies available in the market at a highly affordable cost. Overall, the positive attitudes and adoption of modern irrigation technologies by the growers would be advantageous for both the growers as well as the government, as these promising technologies have the potential to enhance agricultural productivity and reduce water scarcity.

Food insecurity remains a structural impediment to rural welfare in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with smallholder farming households in northern Nigeria among the most severely affected. This study examined the socioeconomic determinants of food security among farming households in Kano State, Nigeria, with emphasis on the role of institutional credit access, using the Food Consumption Score (FCS) methodology. Data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews using multi-stage cluster sampling and analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression. Slightly fewer than half of the sampled households met the food-secure threshold, and food security status was significantly associated with the level of access to institutional credit, with a noticeable gap in food security status between high-access and no-access households. Multiple regression confirmed that access to institutional credit, farming experience, and farm size were significant and positive determinants of food security, while household size was a significant negative determinant. These findings demonstrate that institutional credit is an important, policy-actionable pillar of rural food security in Kano State Nigeria, best pursued alongside corresponding investments in farmer experience-transfer, land access, and household welfare.