Wageningen University and Research, Farming System Ecology, PO Box 430, 6700, AK, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Wageningen University and Research, Farming System Ecology, PO Box 430, 6700, AK, Wageningen, the Netherlands; Teagasc Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland.
J Environ Manage. 2023 Nov 1;345:118741. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118741. Epub 2023 Aug 19.
The scaling of adopted measures on farms is often proposed however, the factors that inform non-adoption of advised measures are typically overlooked. Better understanding of these factors could offer important insights for overcoming these bottlenecks and therefore offer important potential with respect to addressing agri-environmental challenges. We investigated the factors hampering the adoption of sustainable land management practices advised by the main agricultural extension of Ireland. A large qualitative dataset (N = 760) containing farmers' reasons for rejection of advised practices was analysed to identify bottlenecks for adoption. Our research showed that rejection can be explained by different underlying reasons. While subsidies exist for the implementation of sustainable land management practices, incentives to implement are insufficient and costs remain the main barrier for the adoption of the sustainable land management practices. Additionally, land ownership challenges and the aging farming population hamper the adoption of sustainable land management practices. Next to an analysis of the reasons for rejection of all advised practices, we investigated three often advised sustainable land management practices in-depth: implementation of riparian buffer zones, preventing cattle access to watercourses and implementation of a nutrient management plan. The differences in barriers for adoption between these practices showed the need for nuanced communication in order to enhance uptake. In order to reach water quality targets through enhanced uptake of sustainable land management practice, advice should be framed and tailored to farmer objectives.
尽管经常提出在农场采用已采取措施的措施，但通常会忽略告知不采用建议措施的因素。更好地了解这些因素可以为克服这些瓶颈提供重要的见解，因此在解决农业环境挑战方面具有重要的潜力。我们调查了阻碍爱尔兰主要农业推广机构建议的可持续土地管理实践采用的因素。分析了包含农民拒绝采用建议实践的原因的大型定性数据集（N=760），以确定采用的瓶颈。我们的研究表明，拒绝可以用不同的潜在原因来解释。虽然存在可持续土地管理实践实施的补贴，但实施激励措施不足，成本仍然是采用可持续土地管理实践的主要障碍。此外，土地所有权的挑战和农业人口老龄化阻碍了可持续土地管理实践的采用。除了分析所有建议实践的拒绝原因外，我们还深入研究了三种经常建议的可持续土地管理实践：实施河岸缓冲区、防止牛进入水道和实施养分管理计划。这些实践的采用障碍的差异表明，需要进行细致入微的沟通，以提高采用率。为了通过提高可持续土地管理实践的采用率来达到水质目标，建议应根据农民的目标进行调整和定制。
