Towards Sustainable Farming Development: The Attitude of Farmers in a Selected Area of Shimane Prefecture, Japan

This study mainly discusses the attitude of farmers towards environment and sustainability issues of agricultural development. Field work was conducted in Nakano block of Iwami town, Shimane prefecture and data were collected from the farmers through personal interviews. Findings revealed that most of the farmers confronted low levels of environmental problems. The issues mostly confronted were the reduction of necessary aquatic life and beneficial insects in nature due to the use of agro-chemicals. Cultivation of high yielding varieties of crops with proper management practices, use of low toxicity pesticides and care in handling were the matters mostly suggested by farmers to combat environmental degradation. Most of the farmers possessed a highly favorable attitude towards the above issues. Significant positive correlation was found only between the farmers' attitude and their formal education and newspaper exposure.