Understanding and promoting adoption of conservation practices by rural landholders

Abstract

Research on the adoption of rural innovations is reviewed and interpreted through a cross-disciplinary lens to provide practical guidance for research, extension and policy relating to conservation practices. Adoption of innovations by landholders is presented as a dynamic learning process. Adoption depends on a range of personal, social, cultural and economic factors, as well as on characteristics of the innovation itself. Adoption occurs when the landholder perceives that the innovation in question will enhance the achievement of their personal goals. A range of goals is identifiable among landholders, including economic, social and environmental goals. Innovations are more likely to be adopted when they have a high ‘relative advantage’ (perceived superiority to the idea or practice that it supersedes), and when they are readily trialable (easy to test and learn about before adoption). Non-adoption or low adoption of a number of conservation practices is readily explicable in terms of their failure to provide a relative advantage (particularly in economic terms) or a range of difficulties that landholders may have in trialing them.

Environmentally-friendly agricultural practices and their acceptance by smallholder farmers in China—A case study in Xinxiang County, Henan Province

“…Thus, farmers' attitudes influence their decision-making. Knowledge and learning also influence landholders' decisions to adopt conservation practices on their land (Pannell et al 2006). Most surveyed farmers had misunderstandings and little knowledge of efficient field fertilization.…”

“…Trialability refers to the degree that an innovation can be tested before it is adopted. Trialing can help a farmer make good decisions, increasing the likelihood that beneficial innovations will be adopted (Pannell et al, 2006). Observability signifies the extent to which both an innovation and its potential benefits are visible to others, e.g.…”

“…In contrast, Knowler and Bradshaw (2007) concluded that no universal variables explain farmers' adoption except social capital. Nevertheless, the cited studies clearly show that their adoption is influenced by a diverse range of interacting personal, social, cultural and economic factors (Pannell et al, 2006;Lambert et al, 2007). Equally clearly, it is important to consider the attitudes of the farmers to recommended practices in addition to other factors (Barr et al, 2000;Pannell et al, 2006;Sattler et al, 2010).…”

“…Nevertheless, the cited studies clearly show that their adoption is influenced by a diverse range of interacting personal, social, cultural and economic factors (Pannell et al, 2006;Lambert et al, 2007). Equally clearly, it is important to consider the attitudes of the farmers to recommended practices in addition to other factors (Barr et al, 2000;Pannell et al, 2006;Sattler et al, 2010). However, most studies on the promotion of EAPs in China have focused on their advantages and disadvantages, as shown in Table 1 (Gao et al, 2011;Chu et al, 2012;Shao et al, 2005;Liu et al, 2010;Zhang et al, 2005;Zhang, 2008;Ji et al, 2012;Stevenson et al, 2014), few have explored their acceptance by farmers (Li et al, 2008).…”

Opportunities for UAV mapping to support unplanned settlement upgrading

“…Although this is similar to the resolution which can be obtained by aerial photography, UAVs cost less and, at least for . As such, this possibility of obtaining high-resolution spatial data in a relatively cheap and dynamic manner could be a practical approach to provide essential baseline information in unplanned settlement upgrading projects.However, for a UAV to be useful for unplanned settlement mapping, the workflow must not only meet the technical requirements of the user, but the new technology must fit into the local context (Pannell et al, 2011) and its use should be ethical and provide adequate protection of the privacy of those whose properties and even their bodies, are recorded on the images. It is therefore important to analyze the spatial information requirements of the potential end-users as well as the social context.…”