Abstract:
Paddy cultivation occupies a unique place in agriculture in Sri Lanka. This is further
confirmed by the dual consideration of national production as well as domestic rice
demand. Although it has played a positive role in the rural agriculture sector as
subsistence agriculture as traditional paddy cultivation, modernized paddy cultivation
can be seen in Sri Lanka with the help of modern agricultural machinery. At the same
time, there are significant benefits to be gained from leaning towards this mechanized
agriculture to make the agrarian community an economically strong community for
promoting local agriculture. Accordingly, the study's main objective is to identify the
factors that influence the use of machinery for paddy cultivation in agriculture in Sri
Lanka. Preliminary data were collected from hundreds of paddy farming households
in the Batalagoda area of the Ibbagamuwa Divisional Secretariat in the Kurunegala
District of Sri Lanka. Descriptive statistical methods identify the socioeconomic
background of the paddy farmers in the sample. The factor analysis was carried out
to identify the most effective factors influencing the use of machinery for paddy
cultivation. Accordingly, labor, convenience, time, and cost were identified as the
most effective factors. According to the research findings, manure spraying and weed
removal are still traditional practices in paddy cultivation and there is an urgent need
for research and innovation in some modern machinery. Therefore, Strategies will
enable even the farmers engaged in traditional paddy cultivation methods to use the
machinery required for efficient and effective paddy cultivation instead of arrears.
