Analysis of Factors Influencing the Shift from Conventional to Organic Tea Farming in the Uva High Grown Region

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_12How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Transformation; Organic; Conventional; Tea cultivation

Abstract

Organic tea cultivation has gained significant prominence within Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector due to its inherent capacity to address sustainability concerns and cater to the escalating global demand for organic products. This study aims to explore the factors influencing farmers’ decisions to adopt organic practices and examines the challenges associated with the transformative process. The sample of the study was 100, consisting of 50 organic farmers and 50 conventional farmers. Primary data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire encompassing socio-demographic characteristics, key drivers for transformation, awareness level of organic cultivation, attitudes towards organic cultivation, farmers’ level of organic cultivation and compliance with organic standards. The questionnaire was pre-tested to ensure its reliability. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression were used to analyze data. Higher profits and environmental friendliness are compelling reasons to choose organic tea farming over conventional tea cultivation. The results indicate that farmers are substantially aware of organic farming practices. Farmers’ compliance behaviour towards organic standards (OS) is not universally consistent and can vary across different standards due to several factors. These factors include the availability of support services, financial capacity, and the level of awareness regarding potential hazardous contaminants. Land Extent, higher profit, attitude on organic tea cultivation, and farmers’ knowledge about organic tea cultivation are statistically significant with p < 0.05. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by shedding light on the drivers and barriers of transitioning from conventional to organic tea cultivation in Sri Lanka. The outcomes hold practical implications for policymakers, researchers and stakeholders seeking to facilitate and promote sustainable agricultural practices within the tea industry.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - K. W. T. T. H. Vijesooriya
AU  - M. K. S. L. D. Amarathunga
AU  - K. A. D. P. Kumarasingha
AU  - U. Jayasinghe
AU  - C. H. M. Baanagala
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/15
TI  - Analysis of Factors Influencing the Shift from Conventional to Organic Tea Farming in the Uva High Grown Region
BT  - Proceedings of the International Tea Symposium (InTSym100 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 199
EP  - 218
SN  - 2468-5747
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-646-3_12
ID  - Vijesooriya2026
ER  -