Factors Influencing the Decision of the Handy Sense Precision Agriculture System among Corn Farmers in Ban Phot Subdistrict, Nong Phai District, Phetchabun Province

Abstract

This research aims to examine personal, economic, and social factors, investigate farmers’ opinions toward the use of precision agriculture system Handy Sense and compare personal, economic, and social factors influencing the decision to use the Handy Sense system among maize farmers. Data were collected by a questionnaire from a sample of 214 farmers. The statistical methods used included mean, percentage, standard deviation, t-test, and F-test. The results revealed that most farmers were male (64.5%), aged between 41 – 50 years (32.2%), and had a primary school level of education (41.1%). The average number of household laborers was 3.09 persons. The average farming experience in maize cultivation was 12.92 years, and average cultivated area was 14.5 rai. Most farmers had an annual income of less than 500,000 baht (41.1%) and annual expenses of less than 200,000 baht (47.7%). Most farmers were not participating in farmer groups (56.5%) and primarily received information from activity-based media. Hypothesis testing indicated that differences in gender, education level, annual income, participation in farmer groups, number of household workers and exposure to activity-based media significantly affected farmers’ decision to use the Handy Sense system at the 0.05 significance levels. The main problem identified was related to technological skills. Most farmers were middle-aged to elderly, which may lead to hesitation in using complex systems. Therefore, training programs should be provided, and the system interface should be designed to be more user-friendly.