21
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Are farmers’ minds really too elusive to capture? A novel evaluation framework for the knowledge transfer initiatives in agriculture

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon & ORCID Icon
Article: 2379877 | Received 26 Oct 2023, Accepted 08 Jul 2024, Published online: 05 Aug 2024

References

  • Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
  • Ajzen, I. (2011). Behavior interventions: Design and evaluation guided by the theory of planned behavior. In M. M. Mark, S. I. Donaldson, & B. C. Campbell (Eds.), Social psychology and evaluation (pp. 74–101). Guilford Press.
  • Alif, Ž, Novak, A., Mihelič, R., Juvančič, L., & Šumrada, T. (2024). Can knowledge transfer speed up climate change mitigation in agriculture? A randomized experimental evaluation of participatory workshops. Environmental Science & Policy, 152, 103662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103662
  • Beck, M., Van Bunnen, P., Wathelet, J.-M., Cozier, J., Ghysen, A., Micha, E., Kubinakova, K., & Mantino, F. (2021). Evaluation support study on the CAP’s impact on knowledge exchange and advisory activities: Final report. Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2762045268.
  • Bedrač, M., Bele, S., Brečko, J., Hiti Dvoršak, A., Kožar, M., Ložar, L., Moljk, B., Telič, V., Travnikar, T., & Zagorc, B. (2023). Poročilo o stanju kmetijstva, živilstva, gozdarstva in ribištva 2022 [Report on the state of agriculture, food, forestry and fisheries in 2022]. Agricultural Institute of Slovenia; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the Republic of Slovenia. https://www.kis.si/f/docs/Porocila_o_stanju_v_kmetijstvu/ZP_2022_splosno__priloge_2.pdf
  • Bonan, J., & Pagani, L. (2018). Junior farmer field schools, agricultural knowledge and spillover effects: Quasi-experimental evidence from northern Uganda. The Journal of Development Studies, 54(11), 2007–2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2017.1355457
  • Bourne, M., Bruyn, L. L. d., & Prior, J. (2021). Participatory versus traditional agricultural advisory models for training farmers in conservation agriculture: A comparative analysis from Kenya. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 27(2), 153–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2020.1828113
  • Bozzini, E., & Hunt, J. (2015). Bringing evaluation into the policy cycle: CAP cross compliance and the defining and re–defining of objectives and indicators. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 6(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1867299X00004281
  • Brook, A., Zint, M., & De Young, R. (2003). Landowners' responses to an endangered species act listing and implications for encouraging conservation. Conservation Biology, 17(6), 1638–1649. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2003.00258.x
  • Brown, C., Kovacs, E., Herzon, I., Villamayor-Tomas, S., Albizua, A., Galanaki, A., Grammatikopoulou, I., McCracken, D., Olsson, J., & Zinngrebe, Y. (2020). Simplistic understandings of farmer motivations could undermine the environmental potential of the common agricultural policy. Land Use Policy, 101, 105136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105136
  • Cagliero, R., Legnini, M., & Licciardo, F. (2021). Evaluating the new common agricultural policy: Improving the rules. EuroChoices, 20(3), 27–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/1746-692X.12315
  • Cairney, P. (2019). Understanding public policy: Theories and issues (2nd). Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Castaño, J., Blanco, M., & Martinez, P. (2019). Reviewing counterfactual analyses to assess impacts of EU rural development programmes: What lessons can be learned from the 2007–2013 ex-post evaluations? Sustainability, 11(4), 1105. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041105
  • Cawley, A., O'Donoghue, C., Heanue, K., Hilliard, R., & Sheehan, M. (2018). The impact of extension services on farm-level income: An instrumental variable approach to combat endogeneity concerns. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 40(4), 585–612. https://doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppx062
  • Chen, H. (1990). Issues in constructing program theory. New Directions for Program Evaluation, 1990(47), 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1551
  • Colquhoun, H. L., Lowe, D., Helis, E., Belanger, D., Ens, B., Hill, S., Mayhew, A., Taylor, M., & Grimshaw, J. M. (2016). Evaluation of a training program for medicines-oriented policymakers to use a database of systematic reviews. Health Research Policy and Systems, 14(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-016-0140-1
  • Coon, J. J., van Riper, C. J., Morton, L. W., & Miller, J. R. (2020). Evaluating nonresponse bias in survey research conducted in the rural midwest. Society & Natural Resources, 33(8), 968–986. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2019.1705950
  • Czajkowski, M., Zagórska, K., Letki, N., Tryjanowski, P., & Wąs, A. (2021). Drivers of farmers’ willingness to adopt extensive farming practices in a globally important bird area. Land Use Policy, 107, 104223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104223
  • Dahler-Larsen, P., & Boodhoo, A. (2019). Evaluation culture and good governance: Is there a link? Evaluation, 25(3), 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389018819110
  • Danso-Abbeam, G. (2022). Do agricultural extension services promote adoption of soil and water conservation practices? Evidence from northern Ghana Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 10, 100381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2022.100381
  • Dinar, A., Karagiannis, G., & Tzouvelekas, V. (2007). Evaluating the impact of agricultural extension on farms’ performance in crete: A nonneutral stochastic frontier approach. Agricultural Economics, 36(2), 135–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2007.00193.x
  • Donaldson, S I. (2007). Program theory-driven evaluation science: Strategies and application. Routledge.
  • Donaldson, S. I., Lee, J. Y., & Donaldson, S. I. (2019). The effectiveness of positive psychology interventions in the workplace: A theory-driven evaluation approach. In L. E. Van Zyl & S. Rothmann Sr. (Eds.), Theoretical approaches to multi-cultural positive psychological interventions (pp. 115–159). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20583-6_6.
  • EC. (2017). Technical handbook monitoring evaluation framework of the Common agricultural policy 2014–2020. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/food-farming-fisheries/key_policies/documents/technical-handbook-monitoring-evaluation-framework_june17_en.pdf
  • EC. (2022). Evaluation of the CAP's impact on knowledge exchange and advisory activities (p. 74). European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=SWD(2022)137&lang=sl
  • ECA. (2015). Special Report No 12/2015: The EU priority of promoting a knowledge-based rural economy has been affected by poor management of knowledge-transfer and advisory measures. European Court of Auditors. http://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/Report.aspx?did=33224&TermStoreId=8935807f-8495-4a93-a302-f4b76776d8ea&TermSetId=49e662c4-f172-43ae-8a5e-7276133de92c&TermId=5f6589a2-5a2e-4ae8-8cc6-e05bf544b71f
  • ECA. (2017). Rural development programming: Less complexity and more focus on results needed. Special report No 16, 2017. European Court of Auditors. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2865357364
  • El Benni, N., Grovermann, C., & Finger, R. (2023). Towards more evidence-based agricultural and food policies. Q Open, 3, qoad003. https://doi.org/10.1093/qopen/qoad003
  • ENRD. (2016). Rural Development Priority 1: Knowledge transfer and innovation in agriculture, forestry and rural areas. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/priority-1-summary.pdf
  • ENRD. (2019). RDP analysis: Support to environment & climate change—M01 & M02: Knowledge transfer & Advisory services. European Network for Rural Development. https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/rdp_analysis_m01-02.pdf
  • Erjavec, E., & Rac, I. (2023). Improving the quality of CAP strategic planning through enhancing the role of agricultural economics. EuroChoices, 22, 71–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/1746-692X.12393
  • Erjavec, E., Šumrada, T., Juvančič, L., Rac, I., Cunder, T., Bedrač, M., Lovec, M., Bučar, M., & Volk, T. (2018). Vrednotenje slovenske kmetijske politike v obdobju 2015-2020: Raziskovalna podpora za strateško načrtovanje po letu 2020. Kmetijski inštitut Slovenije. https://www.program-podezelja.si/sl/knjiznica/287-vrednotenje-slovenske-kmetijske-politike-v-obdobju-2015-2020/file.
  • Faure, G., Desjeux, Y., & Gasselin, P. (2012). New challenges in agricultural advisory services from a research perspective: A literature review, synthesis and research agenda. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 18(5), 461–492. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2012.707063
  • Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (2010). Predicting and changing behavior: The reasoned action approach. Taylor and Francis.
  • Fitzpatrick, J. L., Sanders, J. R., & Worthen, B. R. (2011). Program evaluation: Alternative approaches and practical guidelines. Pearson Education.
  • Gaffey, V. (2013). A fresh look at the intervention logic of structural funds. Evaluation, 19(2), 195–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389013485196
  • Giulivi, N., Harou, A. P., Gautam, S., & Guereña, D. (2023). Getting the message out: Information and communication technologies and agricultural extension. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 105(3), 1011–1045. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12348
  • Gopal, R., Singh, V., & Aggarwal, A. (2021). Impact of online classes on the satisfaction and performance of students during the pandemic period of COVID 19. Education and Information Technologies, 26(6), 6923–6947. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10523-1
  • Grinnell, R. M., Gabor, P., & Unrau, Y. A. (2016). Program evaluation for social workers: Foundations of evidence-based programs. Oxford University Press.
  • Hall, A., Turner, L., & Kilpatrick, S. (2019). Using the theory of planned behaviour framework to understand Tasmanian dairy farmer engagement with extension activities to inform future delivery. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 25(3), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2019.1571422
  • Harmelink, M., Nilsson, L., & Harmsen, R. (2008). Theory-based policy evaluation of 20 energy efficiency instruments. Energy Efficiency, 1(2), 131–148. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-008-9007-9
  • Hill, B., Bradley, D., & Williams, E. (2017). Evaluation of knowledge transfer; conceptual and practical problems of impact assessment of farming connect in Wales. Journal of Rural Studies, 49, 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.11.003
  • Hollett, R. C., Gignac, G. E., Milligan, S., & Chang, P. (2020). Explaining lecture attendance behavior via structural equation modeling: Self-determination theory and the theory of planned behavior. Learning and Individual Differences, 81, 101907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101907
  • Ingram, J., Mills, J., Black, J., Chivers, C.-A., & Skaalsveen, K. (2022). Do agricultural advisory services in Europe have the capacity to support the transition to healthy soils? Land, 11(5), 599. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11050599
  • JSKS. (2021). Zbirnik letnega poročila o delu Javne službe kmetijskega svetovanja za leto 2020.
  • JSKS. (2023). Kmetijsko svetovanje [Agricultural advisory]. Javna služba kmetijskega svetovanja. https://www.kgzs.si/jsks.
  • KGZS. (2021). Zbirnik letnega poročila o delu Javne službe kmetijskega svetovanja za leto 2020 (Report). Kmetijsko gospodarska zbornica Slovenije.
  • Knierim, A., Labarthe, P., Laurent, C., Prager, K., Kania, J., Madureira, L., & Ndah, T. H. (2017). Pluralism of agricultural advisory service providers – Facts and insights from Europe. Journal of Rural Studies, 55, 45–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.07.018
  • Knook, J., & Turner, J. A. (2020). Reshaping a farming culture through participatory extension: An institutional logics perspective. Journal of Rural Studies, 78, 411–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.06.037
  • Kreft, C., Angst, M., Huber, R., & Finger, R. (2023). Farmers’ social networks and regional spillover effects in agricultural climate change mitigation. Climatic Change, 176(2), 8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-023-03484-6
  • Lioutas, E. D., Charatsari, C., Istenič, MČ, Rocca, G. L., & Rosa, M. D. (2019). The challenges of setting up the evaluation of extension systems by using a systems approach: The case of Greece, Italy and Slovenia. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 25(2), 139–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2019.1583818
  • Lipicer, S. K., Fink-Hafner, D., Kropivnik, S., & Židan, A. (2009). Vrednotenje javnih politik. Fakulteta za družbene vede.
  • Lovec, M., Šumrada, T., & Erjavec, E. (2020). New CAP delivery model, old issues. Intereconomics, 55(2), 112–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10272-020-0880-6
  • Luján Soto, R., de Vente, J., & Cuéllar Padilla, M. (2021). Learning from farmers’ experiences with participatory monitoring and evaluation of regenerative agriculture based on visual soil assessment. Journal of Rural Studies, 88, 192–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2021.10.017
  • Mase, A. S., Babin, N. L., Prokopy, L. S., & Genskow, K. D. (2015). Trust in sources of soil and water quality information: Implications for environmental outreach and education. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 51(6), 1656–1666. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12349
  • Masset, E., & Haddad, L. (2015). Does beneficiary farmer feedback improve project performance? An impact study of a participatory monitoring intervention in Mindanao, Philippines. The Journal of Development Studies, 51(3), 287–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2014.959933
  • Mayne, J. (2009). Building an evaluative culture: The key to effective evaluation and results management. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 24(2), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.24.001
  • MKGP. (2021). Letno poročilo o izvajanju Program razvoja podeželja RS za obdobje 2014-2020 za leto 2020. Ministrstvo za kmetijstvo, gozdarstvi in prehrano, Republika Slovenija. https://skp.si/prp-2014-2020-2022/spremljanje-in-vrednotenje-2014-2020/spremljanje-prp.
  • Nordin, M., & Höjgård, S. (2017). An evaluation of extension services in Sweden. Agricultural Economics, 48(1), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12294
  • Novak, A., Šumrada, T., Istenič, MČ, & Erjavec, E. (2022). Farmers’ decision to participate in agri-environmental measures for the conservation of extensive grasslands in the Haloze region. Acta Agriculturae Slovenica, 118(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.14720/aas.2022.118.1.2011
  • OECD. (2015). Fostering Green Growth in Agriculture: The Role of Training, Advisory Services and Extension Initiatives | READ online. Oecd-Ilibrary.Org. https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/agriculture-and-food/fostering-green-growth-in-agriculture_9789264232198-en.
  • Oyinbo, O., Chamberlin, J., Vanlauwe, B., Vranken, L., Kamara, Y. A., Craufurd, P., & Maertens, M. (2019). Farmers' preferences for high-input agriculture supported by site-specific extension services: Evidence from a choice experiment in Nigeria. Agricultural Systems, 173, 12–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2019.02.003
  • Paschen, J.-A., Reichelt, N., King, B., Ayre, M., & Nettle, R. (2017). Enrolling advisers in governing privatised agricultural extension in Australia: Challenges and opportunities for the research, development and extension system. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 23(3), 265–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2017.1320642
  • Petit, M. (2019). Another reform of the common agricultural policy: What to expect. EuroChoices, 18(1), 34–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/1746-692X.12221
  • Prager, K., Creaney, R., & Lorenzo-Arribas, A. (2017). Criteria for a system level evaluation of farm advisory services. Land Use Policy, 61, 86–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.11.003
  • Quinn, K. (2010). Methodological considerations in surveys of older adults: Technology matters. International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society, 8, 114–133. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.3897.9209
  • Rajalahti, R., & Swanson, B. (2010). Strengthening agricultural extension and advisory systems: Procedures for assessing, transforming, and evaluating extension systems. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Strengthening-agricultural-extension-and-advisory-%3A-Rajalahti-Swanson/a4b34c47ebf0ae2248f94420b66e2c1ed7b65db0.
  • Regulation 2021/2115. (2021). http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2115/oj
  • Regulation 834/2014. (2014). http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2014/834/oj
  • Rezaei, R., Safa, L., Damalas, C. A., & Ganjkhanloo, M. M. (2019). Drivers of farmers' intention to use integrated pest management: Integrating theory of planned behavior and norm activation model. Journal of Environmental Management, 236, 328–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.01.097
  • Saldana, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. SAGE.
  • Skoglund, E., Fernandez, J., Sherer, J. T., Coyle, E. A., Garey, K. W., Fleming, M. L., & Sofjan, A. K. (2020). Using the theory of planned behavior to evaluate factors that influence PharmD students’ intention to attend lectures. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84(5), 7550. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7550
  • Sok, J., Borges, J. R., Schmidt, P., & Ajzen, I. (2021). Farmer behaviour as reasoned action: A critical review of research with the theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 72(2), 388–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12408
  • Stupak, N., Sanders, J., & Heinrich, B. (2019). The role of farmers' understanding of nature in shaping their uptake of nature protection measures. Ecological Economics, 157, 301–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.022
  • Šumrada, T., Japelj, A., Verbič, M., & Erjavec, E. (2022). Farmers’ preferences for result-based schemes for grassland conservation in Slovenia. Journal for Nature Conservation, 66, 126143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2022.126143
  • Šumrada, T., Lovec, M., Juvančič, L., Rac, I., & Erjavec, E. (2020). Fit for the task? Integration of biodiversity policy into the post-2020 common agricultural policy: Illustration on the case of Slovenia. Journal for Nature Conservation, 54, 125804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125804
  • SURS. (2020). Agricultural census 2020: Labour force on agricultural holdings. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. https://pxweb.stat.si/SiStat/en/Podrocja/Index/85/agriculture-forestry-and-fishery.
  • Tama, R. A. Z., Ying, L., Yu, M., Hoque, M. M., Adnan, K. M., & Sarker, S. A. (2021). Assessing farmers’ intention towards conservation agriculture by using the extended theory of planned behavior. Journal of Environmental Management, 280, 111654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111654
  • Thomas, E., Riley, M., & Spees, J. (2020). Knowledge flows: Farmers’ social relations and knowledge sharing practices in ‘catchment sensitive farming’. Land Use Policy, 90, 104254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104254
  • Van Belle, S. B., Marchal, B., Dubourg, D., & Kegels, G. (2010). How to develop a theory-driven evaluation design? Lessons learned from an adolescent sexual and reproductive health programme in West Africa. BMC Public Health, 10(1), 741. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-741
  • Wang, S. L. (2014). Cooperative extension system: Trends and economic impacts on U.S. Agriculture. Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource, 29.
  • Wąs, A., Malak-Rawlikowska, A., Zavalloni, M., Viaggi, D., Kobus, P., & Sulewski, P. (2021). In search of factors determining the participation of farmers in agri-environmental schemes – Does only money matter in Poland? Land Use Policy, 101, 105190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105190
  • Wauters, E., Bielders, C., Poesen, J., Govers, G., & Mathijs, E. (2010). Adoption of soil conservation practices in Belgium: An examination of the theory of planned behaviour in the agri-environmental domain. Land Use Policy, 27(1), 86–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.02.009
  • Weiss, C. H. (1997). Theory-based evaluation: Past, present, and future. New Directions for Evaluation, 1997(76), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1086
  • Weiss, C. H. (1999). The interface between evaluation and public policy. Evaluation, 5(4), 468–486. https://doi.org/10.1177/135638909900500408
  • Włodarczyk-Marciniak, R., Frankiewicz, P., & Krauze, K. (2020). Socio-cultural valuation of Polish agricultural landscape components by farmers and its consequences. Journal of Rural Studies, 74, 190–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.01.017