Examining Farmers’ Adoption Decisions towards Precision-Agricultural Practices in Greek Dairy Cattle Farms

Georgios Kleftodimos, Leonidas Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Christina Kleisiari, Aristotelis C. Tagarakis and Dionysis Bochtis
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Georgios Kleftodimos: Centre of Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), 6th km Charilaou-Thermi Rd., 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Leonidas Sotirios Kyrgiakos: Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytoko, 38446 Volos, Greece
Christina Kleisiari: Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytoko, 38446 Volos, Greece
Aristotelis C. Tagarakis: Centre of Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), 6th km Charilaou-Thermi Rd., 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Dionysis Bochtis: Centre of Research and Technology-Hellas (CERTH), Institute for Bio-Economy and Agri-Technology (IBO), 6th km Charilaou-Thermi Rd., 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Nowadays, the sustainability of Greek dairy cattle farms is questionable due to low competitiveness and high GHG emissions. In this context, the BIOCIRCULAR project, funded by the EYDE ETAK, developed a series of alternative practices focusing on precision agriculture principles. However, the adoption of any practice from farmers is not a given, and depends on several determinants. Hence, the objective of this study is to examine farmers’ adoption decisions regarding precision-agricultural practices in Greek dairy production systems, as well as the economic and environmental impacts of this adoption. In order to achieve this, a bio-economic model was developed based on mathematical programming methods. The proposed model simulates a large number of dairy cattle farms with or without crop production, including different management strategies and their relevant costs, and provides an environmental assessment of the adopted practices based on GHG emissions. Moreover, in order to analyze farmers’ adoption decisions, different policy measures, linked to various environmental outcomes, were examined. The results highlighted that the adoption of precision-agricultural practices led to significantly better economic and environmental outcomes. Furthermore, it was found that different levels of incentives can be efficiently targeted to encourage the adoption of new feeds and, more broadly, to secure the sustainability of the sector.

Keywords: farmers’ adoption decisions; policy scenarios; bio-economic model; dairy cattle farms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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