Subjective norms influence advisors’ reluctance to discuss farm health and safety

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this paper distinguishes between three groups, advisors, leading farmers and other farmers, and evaluates the extent that these influence farm advisors’ intensions to engage with Farmer Health and Safety (FHS) extension activities.

Methodology:

A cross-sectional survey was undertaken with advisors (N = 302) participating in a national Knowledge Transfer Programme (KTP). Surveys were completed by 136 advisors. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was undertaken to identify factors affecting the advisor’s intentions to engage with FHS.

Findings:

TPB constructs explain 48% of the variance in intention. SEM findings illustrate that, in turn, perceived social pressure from leading farmers (subjective norms), Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC), and attitude as the key factors which positively and directly influence the intention. Social pressure from leading and conventional farmers, and other advisors (subjective norms), positively and directly influences attitude, PBC, and, indirectly, intention to engage with FHS.

Practical implications:

The results highlight the importance of involving leading farmers in advisor training activities relating to FHS as a way of demonstrating and confirming the importance of this issue to advisors. This study suggests the involvement of farmers and advisors in the design and delivery of education and training programmes aimed at developing advisor competencies to engage in farm health and safety.

Theoretical implications:

This study demonstrates the importance of identifying and understanding the influence of different social groups, in this instance, leading farmers, on behavioural intensions.

Originality/value:

The research establishes that end-users of advisory services play a key role in shaping advisors’ intentions.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Intention
• farm advisors
• farm health and safety
• subjective norms
• leading farmers
• TPB
• structural equation modelling
• Ireland

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the efforts made by all advisors who participated in the survey. We also extend our gratitude to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for funding this research.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine [grant number 17S269].

Notes on contributors

Mohammad Mohammadrezaei

Dr. Mohammad Mohammadrezaei is a postdoc research fellow at Teagasc. His research mainly focuses on explaining decision-making (farmers, advisors, and students) towards farm health and safety and sustainable farming. He applies and develops social and behavioural theories to identify the key determinants of decision-making to inform tailored co-design behavioural change interventions.

David Meredith

Dr. David Meredith interests centre on understanding the interrelated local, regional, national and international social and economic processes that underpin contemporary rural development.

John McNamara

Dr. John McNamara works as Health and Safety Extension Specialist for TEAGASC - The Irish State Agriculture and Food Development Authority. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor in Extension in farm OHS at School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Ireland and was Vice Chair of the EU COST Action SACURIMA aimed at developing and exchanging knowledge on enhancing OHS Culture in Agriculture.