Abstract:
This study aims to investigate the impact of demographic, economic status and farming characteristics on the choice of tea plant cultivars among tea smallholders in Badulla district. Since the best selection of tea plant cultivar is the major aspect of raising the tea productivity and yield, tea smallholders face the problem of selecting the best variety to adopt in their farming. 108 tea smallholders were randomly selected from three Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Badulla district. A set of questionnaires was issued to the selected tea smallholders in 2019. The collected data was analyzed using various analytical such as frequency and chi-square test, one way ANOVA and multinomial probit model in the study. The frequency analysis revealed that 43.5% of the smallholders chose VP 20/25 cultivar, while 29.6% and 26.9% chose VP 20/23 and CY9 cultivars, respectively. Results of the chi-square test revealed that gender and types of marketing channels have significantly associated with the choices of tea plants, whereas one way ANOVA implied that the average yield of VP20/25 and VP 20/23 cultivars are the same, but they differ from CY9. The multinomial probit model revealed that gender, secondary education, farm experience, income, land size, output and prices of each tea plant, types of marketing channels and frequency of harvest are major determinants in the choice of tea plants in the study. It is better to extend a study on the choices of tea cultivars with new series and their implications to compare the adoption preferences between different series of cultivars. These findings are useful for tea plant cultivars and tea estate owners to engage in tea farming efficiency
