Study on profitability and factors influencing participation in Organic Farmer Association: A case study of Sangthong District, Vientiane Capital, Laos

Abstract

This study compared profitability between the farmers participating in Sangthong Organic Farmers Association (SOFA) and the inorganic farmers in Sangthong District, Vientiane Capital, Laos, and estimated the factors influencing farmers to participate in the SOFA. The data collection was conducted with random sampling procedure to 110 organic farmers and 110 inorganic farmers in 10 target villages. Comparative analysis on revenue structure was conducted, to investigate whether organic farmers could gain more profit from rice production than inorganic farmers. Binary logistic regression model was employed to identify the factors influencing farmers' participation in the SOFA. The results of revenue structure comparison showed that as hypothesized, the organic farmers can get higher profit from their rice than the inorganic farmers. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that six factors influencing farmers' participation in the SOFA, including their age, farming experiences, family labors, farming activities, education and profit margin. This study implied the government to promote local organic aroma rice to more private export companies; the local authority can encourage local farmers to participate in organic group, by providing more information and simplifying some processes; the private companies should maintain reasonable price to sustain profits for organic members.