Increasing the adoption intensity of sustainable agricultural practices in Europe: Farm and practice level insights

Understanding what influences the adoption of multiple sustainable farming practices, a concept we call adoption intensity, is critical to the sustainable development of our food system. Drawing on a survey of Eu-ropean farmers, and using structural equation modelling, we found dispositional influences important for adoption intensity at the farm-level but not as important for adoption intensity across all aspects of farm management. Productivity objectives were negatively associated with adoption intensity, but value chain sup-port was positively associated, indicating the important role of the supply chain at the farm level. Participation in agri-environment schemes was not associated with farm-level adoption intensity but did have a positive asso-ciation with adoption intensity in three farm management categories. These results have important implications for sustainable agricultural policy development and highlight the need to consider different incentives based on the scale of the change to be achieved.

Automated summary

Understanding the factors that influence the adoption intensity of sustainable farming practices is crucial for the sustainable development of the food system. This study found that dispositional influences play a significant role in adoption intensity at the farm level, while productivity objectives have a negative association and value chain support has a positive association with adoption intensity. Participation in agri-environment schemes is not associated with farm-level adoption intensity.