Drivers for the Adoption of Organic Farming: Evidence from an Analysis of Chinese Farmers

Maosen Xia, Pingan Xiang (), Guo Mei and Zhizhen Liu
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Maosen Xia: School of Business, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Pingan Xiang: School of Business, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Guo Mei: School of Business, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Zhizhen Liu: School of Business, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: Adoption decision is an important topic in organic farming research. In order to understand farmers’ decision-making, it is necessary to delve into the factors influencing their behavior. Some studies have used social psychology models to explore the adoption intention of farmers in specific locations regarding organic farming, but there is a lack of investigation into the differences in driving factors for adoption intention among farmers in the pre-organic conversion (conventional), mid-conversion (conversion), and post-conversion (certified) stages, as well as the examination of the relationship between intention and behavior. This study aims to address this issue by examining the driving factors of Chinese farmers’ adoption of organic farming practices. We established a theoretical framework based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and applied Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze intention data collected from 432 farmers and behavior data collected one year later. The study found that attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and descriptive norms positively drive the intention to adopt organic farming. In addition to intention being a determinant of behavior, farm size also positively influences behavior. The strength of the impacts of subjective norms on intention and farm size on behavior differs between conventional farmers and conversion farmers. The common driving chain of “attitude → intention → behavior” exists in the organic adoption decision of conventional, conversion, and certified farmers. Our findings suggest that the public sector can attract conventional farmers to transition to organic and stabilize existing practitioners of organic agriculture practices by considering the differences in driving factors when formulating intervention policies.

Keywords: organic farming; drivers; farmers; Theory of Planned Behavior; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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