The diffusion process of no-tillage with herbicides application in Southern Spain's olive groves

Abstract

This paper analyses the processes of both the adoption and diffusion of no-tillage and of the type of application of herbicides among Southern Spain's olive farmers, using data from a farm survey. We estimate several probit models to identify some socio-economic and institutional factors related to the decision to use each practice of no-tillage on a regular basis and several diffusion models to describe the spatial and temporal spread of no-tillage among farmers. Our results show that no-tillage is practised by 90% of surveyed farmers either with the localised (21%) or non-localised (69%) application of herbicides. The diffusion process of no-tillage has been very intense since the mid-1990s, and has been based on the interaction among farmers in the area of study rather than on external factors. Some characteristics related to the adoption of each practice are farm size, irrigation and the continuity of the farming activity by some relative.

Keywords:

• soil erosion
• soil conservation
• zero tillage
• adoption
• diffusion of innovations

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers whose suggestions and comments have greatly improved this paper. Juan Agustín Franco Martínez wishes to thank the Spanish National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA) for its financial support through a pre-doctoral grant. Javier Calatrava Leyva wishes to thank the Spanish Government for its financial support through the research project AGL2006-12293-C02-02/AGR.