What drives farmers to use conservation agriculture? Application of mediated protection motivation theory

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Khadijeh Bazrafkan¹  Naser Valizadeh¹  Setareh Khannejad²  Nazanin Kianmehr¹  Masoud Bijani³  Dariush Hayati¹ 

[1] Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University;Department of Rural Extension and Development, College of Agriculture, University of Tabriz;Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University

关键词: Psychological analysis;    Soil conservation;    water conservation;    sustainable agriculture;    Adoption intention.;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2022.991323

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Conservation agriculture is an approach for managing agricultural ecosystems, improving productivity, increasing benefits, food security, and preserving resources and the environment. The core purpose of this study was to analyze the constructs affecting the intention to use conservation agriculture measures. For this purpose, protection motivation theory was applied as the theoretical framework. Validation of the model was done using a cross-sectional survey among Iranian farmers and SMART PLS software was used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the direct effects of the five constructs of perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, response cost, response efficacy, and self-efficacy were significant on the intention to use conservation agriculture measures. In addition, the variables of perceived severity, response cost, and perceived self-efficacy had significant effects on the fear of not using conservation agriculture measures. The results of the bootstrapping analysis indicated that the fear of not using conservation agriculture measures significantly mediated the effects of perceived severity, response cost, and self-efficacy on the intention to use conservation agriculture. The results of the present research help to develop protection motivation theory by defining new relationships between its variables and achieving a deeper understanding of these relationships. The results also can pave the way for social and psychological interventions in the field of adopting the principles of conservation agriculture in agricultural societies. Finally, the results of this research can be used as a decision-making tool and help for users and planners of behavioral changes to better identify the focus points and necessary strategies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY