Mohammad Mardini*⁽¹⁾ Mohammad Al-Abdalla⁽²⁾ and Toni Talab⁽¹⁾

(1). Technology Transfer Department, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(2). Economic Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: Eng: Mohammad Mardini, Technology Transfer Department, (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria, E-mail: mardiny1981@gmail.com ).

Received: 17/11/ 2014                                       Accepted: 9/03/ 2015

Abstract

The study was carried out in Al-Salamya and Al-Mesherfa areas of Hama and Homs governorates, Syria, during 2009, using a randomized sample of 120 farmers, to investigate the farmers’ knowledge and adoption of some fodder, feeding, and breeding technologies. The results showed that the rate of adoption of growing fodder crops was 76.7%, and 69% of the farmers had weak knowledge with fodder technologies, 10% was the adoption rate of haymaking, and 6.7% for the straws treated with urea. The results also exhibited that 61.7% of the farmers raise livestock and about 56.7% of them have low knowledge in using feeding and breeding technologies, 37.8% was the adoption rate of ram’s isolation, and 6.8% was for adopting the artificial insemination, while 44.6% was for early weaning adopting, and 8.1% for having the improved rams. The statistical analysis clarified a positive, significant correlation between the educational level, average yield of barley, availability of agriculture machinery, the level of extension communication, the average of family income, and the degree of farmer’s knowledge about the usage of fodder technologies. The results also showed a negative significant correlation between this knowledge and the planting of fruit trees, the period of feeding on the crops residues. The statistical analysis also showed a positive significant correlation between the average yield of barley, availability of agricultue machinery, the level of extension communication, the average of family income, and adoption of farmers for the usage of fodder technologies. The most important problems that face farmers were lack of water, high costs of fuel, transportation, and production inputs, lack of machinery to invest the agricultural wastes, and the poor knowledge in fodder technologies.

Key words: Fodder technologies, Feeding and breeding technologies, Farmers’ adoption, Economic and social factors.

 Full paper in Arabic : أثر بعض العوامل الاقتصادية والاجتماعية في تبنّي المزارعين لتقانات الأعلاف والتغذية والتربية في المنطقة الوسطى من سورية