Abstract:
The decision of land allocation is one of the critical factors which influence the food security
of a nation. When land is allocated, the productivity and sustainability have to be considered
because land availability is becoming scarce. Hence, this research seeks to find out the
crucial factors associated with land allocation which influence the farmers’ decision in the
Jaffna peninsula of the Northern region. A structured questionnaire designed and pretested
with selected respondents was administered to the sample farmers. Primary data were
collected from a sample of 306 farmers randomly selected from seven AI divisions located
in the region. The multivariate regression model was employed to reach the objectives of
this research. The compiled data where analyzed within the framework of seemingly
unrelated regression (SUR) by employing the econometric software STATA 11. The model
equations for vegetable, fruit and tuber crops were statistically significant at 1% α level and
for cash crop it was at 5% α level. Around 10% to 22% of the variation on farmers’ decision
regarding land allocation was explained by the model. The results revealed that educational
level, farming experience, contact with extension, gifting land, household’s capital and
access to credit showed a positive and significant impact on farmers’ decision making on
land allocation for crops. Only family labour imparted a negative impact on land allocation.
The recommendation is that if the aim is to motivate the farmer in vegetable cultivation the
element of liquidity has to be enhanced. To meet this condition low interest credit facility
could be arranged, relevant constituents could be supplied at a reasonable price and
farmers could be motivated to cultivate the remaining land in their possession. When a
formal credit facility is arranged it should be tagged with longer grace periods to help ease
the burden of a loan and motivate them further in crop farming. If the fruit crop production
in the region is increased, it would motivate the farmers in the Puttur and Urumpirai areas.
Further facilitation of a better farm level education which may provide information and
knowledge regarding proper crop management strategies, cropping systems such as
intercropping, crop rotation and multi cropping will increase farm land utilization, efficiency
and productivity of land. Exchange of family labour between farm families to fulfil labour
needs also reduces the cost of hired labour and increases the land utilization to provide a
variety of crops. Finally, where household labour is abundant, the recommendation is to
allocate more land for vegetable cultivation. This will enable them to enhance their income.
To facilitate better participation of women in the use of land, it is recommended that the
Government, NGOs and agribusiness companies assist especially female headed
households in providing them agricultural inputs, modern implements, micro financing and
markets. This would increase the participation of females in agricultural production.
