Cultivating choices: How social context shapes farmers’ considerations in crop and soil health promoter selection

ABSTRACT

In this study, we explore how farmers decide to adopt sustainable innovations in crop and soil health management with a particular focus on the use of insect by-products, or “frass‘. By employing a Means-End Chain approach, we investigate how social contexts, specifically group discussions, can shape this decision-making process. Our findings reveal that social contexts have a distinct influence on farmers’ decision-making. Those engaging in group discussions considered a broader set of product attributes, incgluding price, ease of use, and environmental impact. In contrast, farmers not involved in such discussions focused predominantly on product specifics like nutrient content and organic matter. This marked distinction amplifies the importance of social interaction in expanding awareness and understanding, presenting a contrast to decisions guided solely by personal judgement and technical expertise. It highlights the nuanced and complex factors affecting adoption decisions and underscores how social dynamics can subtly guide farmers” attribute considerations, providing a deeper insight into the path towards more sustainable agricultural practices.

KEYWORD:

• Means-end chain
• hierarchical value map
• decision-making process
• innovation adoption
• group discussions
• insect frass

Acknowledgments

We would like to extend a special thank you to our research assistants – Wouter Aben and Jort van Alphen – for their persistent dedication to the data collection process and data processing. Additionally, we would like to sincerely thank all of the farmers who participated in our research for the opportunity to meet with each of them. Your time and contributions are genuinely appreciated. We would also like to sincerely thank Dr. Gerard Korthals for assisting us throughout the data collection process.

Wageningen University’s Ethics Committee Social Science (ECSS) approved the conduct of this research. Farmers who participated agreed to the research conduct by signing informed consent forms.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Dutch Research Council NWO under grant number ALWGK.2016.010.