Understanding German farmer’s intention to adopt mixed cropping using the theory of planned behavior

Abstract

The diversification of cropping systems has the potential to contribute towards a sustainable land use while preserving biodiversity. Mixed cropping is one possibility to increase biodiversity within farming systems. However, adoption of mixed cropping systems is challenging for farmers, as the agricultural sector has evolved around pure stands over the past decades and path dependencies have emerged. Yet, little is known about farmers’ motivation to adopt mixed cropping. Utilizing the theory of planned behavior as the main framework, this paper studies the psychological factors underlying farmers’ intention to adopt mixed cropping based on an online survey with 172 German farmers. In addition, the most crucial adoption obstacles are assessed. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, we show for the first time that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and injunctive as well as descriptive group norms explain over 52% of farmers’ intention to adopt mixed cropping. Our results also demonstrate that perceived ecological benefits positively influence a farmer’s attitude towards mixed cropping. Missing sales opportunities for mixed yields, the uneven maturing of crops, and deficient economic benefits are ranked as the most crucial obstacles for the implementation of mixed cropping. These results, which can be relevant for other European countries as well, indicate that the introduction of a voluntary agri-environmental scheme could encourage adoption and that considering positive effects of group norms within policy schemes could further increase adoption on a large scale.

Will Farmers Accept Lower Gross Margins for the Sustainable Cultivation Method of Mixed Cropping? First Insights from Germany

“…For mixed cropping this implies that reducing the risks associated with the cultivation can be a lever to facilitate adoption and reduce requirements for the profitability. In non-monetary terms, this could for instance be facilitated by enhancing the information availability for farmers, which also calls for further research in plant sciences [14,21].…”

“…The data used to analyze the presented research question were gathered as part of a survey that focused on German farmers' motivations and the perceived barriers for the adoption of mixed cropping. The survey was conducted online between September and November 2018 [21] . The online questionnaire was designed in the way that farmers who are non-adopters of mixed cropping were subsequently presented with the WTA questions.…”

“…Lemken et al [20] were the first who presented empirical results with respect to early adopters of mixed cropping in Germany. Bonke and Musshoff [21] provided deeper insights into the motivation of farmers to adopt mixed cropping and empirically evaluated the barriers that hinder the widespread adoption. To the best of our knowledge no study to date focuses on the profitability dimension of mixed cropping from a farmer's point of view.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge no study to date focuses on the profitability dimension of mixed cropping from a farmer's point of view. Still, there is consensus in the literature that adoption across Europe could be facilitated by the implementation of an environmental scheme [14,17,21] and that a lack of research related to the economic efficiency in high-input agricultural systems persists [13,22]. If a shift within the conventional agriculture sector towards the extensive and more sustainable cultivation of mixed stands should be achieved, the assessment of farmers' willingness to accept (WTA) profitability changes is imperative.…”

Study and Analysis of the Implementation of 4.0 Technologies in the Agri-Food Supply Chain: A State of the Art

“…According to Conti et al ( 2021), there are six thematic explanations of this resistance which are closely related to those three groups of challenges [101]. Technical challenges come from "technological persistence" and "infrastructure rigidities"; once a technology is chosen and farmers develop the skills to employ that technology, it turns into a deeply embedded procedure [102]. Educational challenges are associated with "attitudes and cultures that cause aversion to change" and "research priorities, practices and dominant innovation narratives misaligned to the transformational change agenda".…”