7 pages, With the growing needs of society for food safety and quality, as well as habitat protection, soil and water quality improvement, the role of eco-innovations in agriculture can be considered to provide ecosystem services and environmental protection. The attention paid by institutions to food safety and quality encourages innovative solutions. The aim of this paper is to present the attitudes of farmers to implement eco-innovative solutions such as organic farming and agri-environmental practices. A survey was conducted among 64 organic farmers dealing with perennial crops, pastures, and beekeeping in Bulgaria. The data from the survey was used to build logistic regression to analyze the factors affecting the decisions to implement eco-innovative solutions. The results reveal that three most important factors affect willingness to adopt eco-innovations are: positive perception of the impact of eco-innovation on environment quality, positive change in income as a result of organic farming, and adequate state policy and regulation of the agricultural sector.
16 pages, Applying sustainable horticulture as an innovation in The Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) Indonesia can be a commendable example in agricultural extension education. Previous research has revealed that understanding farmers' perceptions of innovation is essential for appropriate interventions to change their behavior. In DIY, the surveys were conducted in 2016 with 257 males and 93 females of farmers groups member from 21 villages in Sleman, Bantul, and Kulonprogo Regency. The objective of the survey was to determine the effects of farmer's internal factors on the perception of ecological, social economy, and ethical (ESE) urgency as a component of sustainable horticulture practices. The findings from the ecological, social, and ethical dimensions among the farming community in DIY indicated that, directly and indirectly, the farmers can acknowledge and practice sustainable horticulture. However, this was altering several factors, most notably, motivation and the prospect of increased income. The important thing in extension work was motivation, and a major motivating factor was the possibility of increased agricultural income. This study suggests that extension education of achieving horticultural sustainability in DIY should be based on the motivation of farmers and thoughtfulness of their basic needs especially needs to have higher income.
19 pages, Farmers are often overlooked and undervalued as sources of innovation, but can be powerful drivers of ingenuity and development. We evaluate historical developments in the Australian subterranean clover seed-production industry as a case study of farmer-driven innovation. Subterranean clover seed machinery patents (75% of which were patented by farmers) are analysed using conventional innovation frameworks, such as the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), to extract lessons for supporting farmer-driven innovation. The small scale of this industry, compared with mainstream cereal-cropping industries and the isolation of farmers, provides analogous lessons for agriculture in developing countries. Economic drivers are important in enabling farmer innovation and the value proposition for developing new inventions must be clear to justify the time and expense. Farmers are different from firms and their on-farm knowledge and experience can form an essential part of innovation. Drivers of innovation also differ, with farmers less likely to attempt to commercialize inventions. Farmers can also be hesitant to share their inventions, instead holding them as trade secrets in competitive industries. Support and collaboration are needed from government and researchers to assist in commercialization or dissemination of useful innovations and to prevent knowledge from being confined to a localized farmer or region. Advances in agriculture require farmer input in research and development, but the benefits will be greater if farmers are enabled to be drivers of innovation.
25 pages, Adjustments and adaptive responses to diminishing resources (land, water, and energy) in agriculture due to population increase and climate change in the recent decades are varied. Proactive adaptive coping mechanisms must be instituted to avoid the onslaught of massive starvation. Organic and agroecological innovations are the logical options. But organic farming is not one-size-fits-all solution. While organic farming is considered as one of the solutions to farming in crisis, there are many barriers to its adoption. Among these constraints are (1) the nature of organic farming being difficult, laborious, and knowledge and skills intensive, the required environment (air, soil, and water), and the certification requirement and (2) the support systems from government and consumers not in place.
16pgs, Joint venture (JV) farm structures have the potential to increase the productivity and profitability of traditional family farms. However, such structures are not widely adopted within the farm business community. Furthermore, knowledge on the relative attractiveness of different JV models to farmers is limited. We use a choice experiment to explore what JV structures are preferred by Australian farmers, and how farmers’ socio-demographic and attitudinal characteristics influence the type of JV structure preferred. A latent class analysis revealed significant unobserved preference heterogeneity amongst the population. We identify four latent classes that differ in their preferences regarding the number of JV partners, access to new machinery, and/or the opportunity for additional annual leave. All classes of farmers displayed positive preferences for operational decision-making with other JV partners, although they varied in their preferences towards final operational responsibility. The diversity in preferences shows that there is no ‘one size fits all’ JV design, leaving opportunities for a range of JV decision models. Such flexibility in JV design is likely to have advantages when seeking JV partners, with a significant proportion of the sampled population open to collaborative decision-making models.
14 pages., Via online journal., Green technology is the means of improving towards the rising environmental concern. The implication of green fertilizer technology (GFT) is the need for the modern development of environmentally friendly technology, also to increase the production level among all the agriculture crops. It is especially needed for paddy production, as it has always been considered as an important commodity because it is the main staple food for the nation. Paddy production in Malaysia using GFT allows for sustainable development and boosts the yield. Nevertheless, the adoption rate of GFT is unsatisfactory in most of the developing countries, including in Malaysia. The fact that the cost of production is considerably higher results in low-level perception regarding the adoption of GFT. Hence, the integration of communication and technology factors could become one of the main elements for the further development of the paddy sector in Malaysia. The overall objective of this research study will identify the factors that determine paddy farmer's adoption decision on GFT in Malaysia. To do so, a literature review was compiled on the topic of agriculture innovation-based adoption decision theories such as Diffusion of innovation (DOI), Theory of reasoned action (TRA), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Technology acceptance model (TAM) and communication channels to study paddy farmers' adoption decision of GFT. The results of the review revealed that this framework highlights adoption as an intricate behavior, interweaving aspects such as communication channels, socio-psychological and innovation attribute considerations. The conceptual framework illuminates the decision towards adoption as a self-motivated process, assumes a composite interaction among groups of variables coming from two different theories. The combination of DOI, TRA, TPB, TAM and communication channels overcome some limitations that arise when the only theory is used to examine the adoption decision among paddy farmers in Malaysia. Correspondingly, there has been limited empirical research done on the decision of adoption toward GFT use among paddy farmers in Malaysia.
Parminter, Terry (author) and Neild, Jeremy (author)
Format:
Abstract
Publication Date:
2013-08
Published:
New Zealand
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D02418
Notes:
Page 29 - Abstract of a paper presented at the International Conference of the Australasia Pacific Extension Network (APEN), Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand, August 26-28, 2013. 100 pages.
Kaine, Geoff (author), Seymour, Eloise (author), Wright, Vic (author), and Longley, Sam (author)
Format:
Abstract
Publication Date:
2013-08
Published:
Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D02423
Notes:
Page 39 - Abstract of a paper presented at the International Conference of the Australasia Pacific Extension Network (APEN), Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand, August 26-28, 2013. 100 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 186 Document Number: D00924
Notes:
Paper presented at the 131st EAAE (European Association of Agricultural Economists) seminar, "Innovation for agricultural competitiveness and sustainability of rural areas," Prague, Czech Republic, September 18-19, 2012.
