Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices towards Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the Barind Tract of Bangladesh

The global imperative to transition towards sustainable agricultural systems is particularly acute in vulnerable, resource-scarce regions such as the Barind Tract of Bangladesh, an area characterized by a semi-arid climate, soil infertility, and acute water scarcity. Understanding the drivers and barriers to adoption is critical, with the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) framework serving as a vital analytical tool. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of farmers' KAP towards sustainable agriculture and examines the socio-economic and institutional factors that influence them. Data were collected through structured, face-to-face interviews with 273 smallholder farmers, selected via a multi-stage random sampling technique across the Rajshahi district. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression models. The findings reveal a critical paradox: while farmers possess moderate to high levels of knowledge (Mean = 19.27) and overwhelmingly favorable attitudes (Mean = 56.34) regarding the benefits of sustainable practices, their actual adoption remains only moderate (Mean = 16.16), exposing a significant knowledge-practice gap. Regression analyses identified Annual Farm Income (AFI) as the single most significant positive determinant across all three KAP domains, underscoring economic capacity as the fundamental gatekeeper to adoption. Farming experience and cosmopoliteness were also positive influencers, while conventional levers such as formal education, training, and agricultural extension contact showed surprisingly limited statistical impact. The study concludes that the linear KAP progression is inadequate for explaining farmer behavior in this context; instead, adoption is constrained less by cognitive limitations and more by deep-seated structural and economic barriers. Consequently, effective policy must pivot decisively from top-down information campaigns to integrated strategies that provide financial de-risking, strengthen market linkages for sustainable produce, and transform extension services into facilitative, farmer-centric learning networks to bridge the persistent intention-action divide.