Predicting Farmers’ Behavioral Intentions towards Adoption of Essential Oil Extraction Practices Using Structural Equation Modeling

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Fouzia Anjum 1
Sher Muhammad 1
Badar Siddiqui 2
Farhat Khan 1
Muhammad Yaseen 3
Muhammad Anjum 4
1 Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
2 Department of Agricultural Extension, Faculty of Crop and Food Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
3 Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Studies, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan.
4 Department of Computer Sciences, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Abstract
Smallholder farmers in northern Punjab struggle to adopt sustainable practices like essential oil extraction, despite their potential to improve livelihoods. Core elements from theory of planned behavior, technology acceptance model, and innovation diffusion theory are amalgamated to develop an adoption model that is subsequently analyzed using structural equation model. The results unveil significant mediating effects involving attitudes (perceived usefulness, easiness), normative concerns (social influence), and indicating maximum variation (R2) regarding by-product preparation (0.76) and steam distillation (0.65). The model successfully accounts moderating effects of socioeconomic variables, indicating a robust association among latent variables. Hence, improving the adoption behavior among smallholders necessitates a focus on socio-psychological and socioeconomic factors.



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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume 27, Issue 6
November and December 2025
Pages 1337-1349