Factors Influencing Adoption of Sustainable Farming Practices in Europe: A Systemic Review of Empirical Literature

Dmytro Serebrennikov, Fiona Thorne, Zein Kallas and Sinéad N. McCarthy
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Dmytro Serebrennikov: Teagasc Food Research Center, D15 DY05 Dublin, Ireland
Fiona Thorne: Teagasc Food Research Center, D15 DY05 Dublin, Ireland
Zein Kallas: Center for Research in Agrofood Economy and Development (CREDA-UPC-IRTA), 08860 Castelldefels, Spain
Sinéad N. McCarthy: Teagasc Food Research Center, D15 DY05 Dublin, Ireland

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-23

Abstract: Modern practices of industrial farming, such as mineral fertilization, caused a widespread degradation of agricultural land and water bodies in Europe. Different farm management strategies exist to reduce the impact of mineral fertilization while preserving soil productivity. The aim of this paper is to provide a thorough systemic review of contemporary literature exploring factors and conditions affecting EU farmers’ adoption of sustainable farming practices. The specific focus is on widely adopted and empirically explored measures, such as organic farming, manure treatment technologies and manure fertilization, as well as soil and water conservation methods. In total, 23 peer-reviewed studies were extracted by means of Google Scholar covering the time period between 2003 and 2019. The main findings show that farmers’ environmental and economic attitudes in addition to their sources of information have a strong effect on the adoption of organic farming, although there is a lack of evidence of their impact on adopting manure treatment and conservation measures. Similarly, farmers’ age and education are found to systemically influence organic farming adoption, but not adoption of other reviewed technologies. While other factors, such as farm physical characteristics or technological attributes, may be important determinants of adoption, it is hard to recognize definite patterns of their impact across technologies given a shortage of empirical evidence. More research utilizing standardized surveys and methods of analysis is needed to formulate qualified guidelines and recommendations for policymakers.

Keywords: organic farming; manure treatment; conservation agriculture; animal waste; adoption factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9719-:d:448845

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