UK agricultural students’ perceptions of future technology use on-farm

Eva Schroer-Merker and Victoria Westbrooke

No 308134, Agri-Tech Economics Papers from Harper Adams University, Land, Farm & Agribusiness Management Department

Abstract: Agricultural systems are currently experiencing a wave of new technological developments, which could lead to large and possibly disruptive changes in agricultural systems. So far, the adoption rates of new technologies have been highly variable, and attempts have been made to estimate adoption rates based on specific attributes of the technology and how it will be used, which can be difficult with new and emerging technology. An alternative approach is the Theory of Reasoned Action, published by Fishbein and Ajzen in 1975, which aims to explain how individuals will behave based on their existing attitudes and behavioural intentions and could be useful for examining the factors influencing adoption of future technologies. Current agricultural students are the farmers, researchers and rural professionals of the future. Their attitudes and beliefs towards technology will influence its integration into farming systems and how ethical concerns will have to be addressed. 300 current UK agricultural students participated in in an online survey; their perceptions around current and future agricultural technology developments were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Results showed efficiency gains and improved management as the major perceived benefits of technology, while potential malfunction of and overreliance on technology were the main perceived risks.

Keywords: Farm Management; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Risk and Uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 6
Date: 2020-09-25
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:haaepa:308134

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.308134

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