The Impact of Behavioral Drivers on Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices: The Case of Organic Farming in Turkey

Nuray Cakirli Akyüz and Ludwig Theuvsen
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Nuray Cakirli Akyüz: Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agribusiness Management, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Ludwig Theuvsen: Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Agribusiness Management, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-20

Abstract: Adoption decisions represent a crucial topic in sustainable agriculture research, particularly in the organic agriculture sector; to understand farmers’ decision-making, research has to delve more deeply into the influences of farmers’ behavior. The aim of this study, therefore, is to determine the behavioral intentions of Turkish sultana raisin producers toward organic farming practices. The proposed model integrates basic elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior and the technology acceptance model, which is then tested with survey data gathered from conventional and organic farmers by applying structural equation modeling, a powerful multivariate statistical technique. The results reveal that organic agriculture is perceived as a useful low-cost innovation by conventional farmers. Relating the results to group comparisons indicates that members of the conventional group are significantly more likely to have a positive intention towards adopting organic farming practices. Our results suggest possible interventions that policymakers should implement not only to stimulate adoption intentions of conventional farmers, but also to sustain continuance of organic practices by current operators.

Keywords: organic farming; adoption; conversion; structural equation modeling; Turkey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:17:p:6875-:d:403407

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