Purpose
The adoption of solar energy by households is an important avenue of protecting the environment and enabling energy access in rural areas, especially in developing countries like Uganda, ...where energy access is low. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors that influence the households’ willingness to adopt solar photovoltaic (PV) energy and how soon the households are willing to adopt solar PV energy for business use in Uganda.
Design/methodology/approach
Heckman’s two-step selection model was used to determine the willingness and urgency of adopting solar PV energy for business use in selected districts in Eastern Uganda. The respondents were selected purposively at the household level at a given point in time.
Findings
Results show that sex, household head estimated income, mode of acquisition and repayment terms of solar technology positively influence both willingness and urgency to adopt solar energy for business use in households. However, financial disclosure only influences willingness to adopt solar. Then, age and energy need only significantly influence how soon the household is willing to adopt solar PV energy for business use.
Research limitations/implications
This study’s findings essentially apply to the individual factors that determine the willingness and urgency to adopt solar PV energy for business use by households. Hence, further research is needed to understand the external and industrial factors which could strengthen the predictive potential of the elements in this study.
Practical implications
This study underscores the need for regulatory enforcement on the supply and usage of quality, reliable and affordable solar equipment which are suitable for business use. Also, the need to promote and finance the usage of solar PV as a green energy source for household businesses has been emphasized.
Originality/value
The study simultaneously examines the willingness and urgency to adopt solar PV energy for household business purposes using Heckman’s two-step selection model. This has hitherto remained unknown empirically.
Xinjiang is the main cotton-producing area in China. However, its natural environment is special, and natural disasters frequently occur during the agricultural production process. Fortunately, the ...application of modern agricultural production technology provides a good tool for cotton farmers to reduce disaster losses. In order to analyze the impact of agricultural natural disasters on farmers’ adoption of agricultural production technology, based on the survey data of 216 cotton farmers in the main cotton production areas, this study uses a binary logistic model to analyze the impact of disaster types and stages on cotton farmers’ application of drip irrigation water-saving technology. The results show that hail, drought, and disease disasters have a significant impact on the application of drip irrigation water-saving technology, considering that the damage to equipment and technology’s control of disasters are the reasons behind; post-disaster remediation in the growth or maturity period also has a significant impact, which can reduce losses; and market price risk for cotton also has a significant impact.
Most farmland in the US Corn Belt is used to grow row crops at large scales (e.g., corn, soybean) that are highly processed before entering the human food stream rather than specialty crops grown in ...smaller areas and meant for direct human consumption (table food). Bolstering local table food production close to urban populations in this region through peri-urban agriculture (PUA) could enhance sustainability and resilience. Understanding factors influencing PUA producers' preferences and willingness to produce table food would enable supportive planning and policy efforts. This study combined land use visualization and survey data to examine the potential for increased local table food production for the US Corn Belt. We developed a spatial visualization of current agricultural land use and a future scenario with increased table food production designed to meet 50% of dietary requirements for a metropolitan population in 2050. A survey was administered to row crop (1360) and specialty crop (55) producers near Des Moines, Iowa, US to understand current and intended agricultural land use and factors influencing production. Responses from 316 row crop and 25 specialty crop producers were eligible for this analysis. A future scenario with increased table food production would require less than 3% of available agricultural land and some additional producers (approximately 130, primarily for grain production). Survey responses indicated PUA producers planned small increases in table food production in the next three to five years. Producer plans, including land rental for table food production, could provide approximately 25% of residents' fruit, vegetables, and grains, an increase from the baseline of 2%. Row crop producers ranked food safety regulations, and specialty producers ranked labor concerns as strong influences on their decision-making. Both groups indicated that crop insurance and processing facilities were also important. Increasing table food production by clustering mid-scale operations to increase economies of scale and strengthening supply chains and production infrastructure could provide new profitable opportunities for farmers and more resilient food systems for growing urban regions in the US Corn Belt. Continuing to address producer factors and landscape-scale environmental impacts will be critical in considering food system sustainability challenges holistically.
Sustainable agricultural technologies are of great significance in fully utilizing agricultural resources and promoting agricultural production. However, the adoption rates of these technologies are ...often characterized as low in rural areas in China. To figure out the potential salient determinants of rice farmers’ willingness to adopt sustainable agricultural technologies, this paper, by employing the multivariate probit model and ordered probit model, particularly and firstly explores the roles of observational learning and experience-based learning through communication from parents within the household on rice farmers’ willingness to adopt these technologies. Results show that there are strong complementarities and substitutabilities between sustainable agricultural technologies that rice farmers are willing to adopt, and that observational learning and experience-based learning through communication within the household do have pronounced effects on rice farmers’ willingness to adopt some sustainable agricultural technologies and on their intensive use intentions. Therefore, while formulating policies to improve the adoption rates and adoption intensity of these technologies, relevant government agencies should take the complementarities and substitutabilities between sustainable agricultural technologies as well as observational learning and experience-based learning through communication from parents into consideration.
Despite recent calls for environmental protection, many countries rely heavily on agrochemicals for agricultural production. To limit the use of chemicals and enhance environmental health, the idea ...of chemical leasing has been put forth. This pilot project takes into account farmers' preferences for leasing agrochemicals. The goal of the study is to ascertain farmers' interest in chemical leasing and to recommend an appropriate agrochemical leasing strategy for Sri Lankan farmers. In this study, structural equation modeling was used to identify the components of the sustainability and environmental protection approaches, and principal component analysis was utilized to estimate the willingness variables. The paddy farmers in four village divisions in Homagama, in the west of Sri Lanka, were selected by random sampling method. The results obtained from the structural equation modeling revealed that farmers' concerns about the environment influenced their willingness to adopt chemical leasing. The business model's cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness impacted the sustainability approach. According to the environmental protection approach, the farmers' opinions were influenced by variables including groundwater pollution and risks to the general public's health. The study describes a collaborative paradigm that focuses on profitability with a strong foundation in sustainability to implement agrochemical leasing.
With increasing food insecurity and climate change, conservation agriculture has emerged as a sustainable alternative to intensive conventional agriculture as a source of food supply. Yet the ...adoption rate of conservation agriculture is still low. Our paper analyses the factors affecting farmers’ willingness to adopt conservation agriculture in Lebanon. The findings show that household characteristics—years of farming and farm size affect conservation agriculture adoption. However, household characteristics alone were insufficient to explain conservation agriculture adoption. We found that farming experience, information sources, frequency of irrigation, and severity of weed infestation in the past, participation in specific trainings, and farmers’ perception about the long-term impact of conservation agriculture, were key determinants of conservation agriculture adoption. Our paper encourages policymakers to invest in conservation agriculture to overcome food insecurity and environmental changes affecting food systems in the Middle East. The paper also informs agribusiness firms to view conservation agriculture as a viable alternative to strengthen their business relationship with farmers in arid and semi-arid regions.
This study evaluates the adoption of biological control of the Diaphorina citri and the citrus growers’ willingness to pay for biopesticides. The citrus greening continues to spread over Brazilian ...orchards, reaching 17.89% of all citrus trees in 2015. Utilizing data from a survey with decision-making agents from the sector, this paper used a logit model to obtain the determinants and a contingent valuation method to elicit growers’ willingness to pay for a biopesticide. Results showed high acceptability of growers to the biocontrol. Important factors regarding its adoption included experience in growing citrus, a high level of education and dependence on citrus production. Producers from São Paulo’s southern region paid the highest value for the biopesticide. We observed that worsening of the disease has led players from citrus chain to search for new forms of insect control.
Green attributes transparency presents new opportunities and challenges to advertisers. This study developed a research framework to enhance consumers’ willingness to adopt green cosmetics from ...several green constructs, such as corporate transparency, corporate social responsibility (CSR), green brand image, green brand trust, and green brand equity, and showed the green field strategy implications. This study commissioned a professional survey company to distribute an online questionnaire of cosmetic using experience to the participants. AMOS statistics software was used to analyze the measurement reliability and validity, and to examine the research hypotheses using structural equation modeling. The contribution of the study aimed to provide a correct standpoint for new concepts of green strategy in accordance with environmental trends, activities, and positive enterprise image to increase the consumers’ willingness to adopt green cosmetics from five constructs.
In China, wheat straw incorporation (WSI) is the most popular way of utilizing wheat straw. WSI can manage agricultural residues to improve soil quality and avoid open burning in fields. However, ...farmers have been reluctant to implement WSI, which hinders sustainability. This study collected first-hand data about 1027 wheat growers, and used a Logit model to explore the influence of perceived value, government regulation, and their interaction on farmer willingness to adopt WSI. The results also reveal the differences between farmers with different farm sizes, as well as differences in other characteristics impacting WSI willingness. The study found that implementing government regulations and increasing the positive perceived value by farmers can effectively improve farmer willingness to adopt WSI. For example, government subsidies and farmers’ perceptions about cost-related risks impact farmer willingness. There is an interaction effect between government regulation and perceived value with respect to farmer willingness. Policy outreach could effectively strengthen the positive impacts of farmers’ perception of social benefits on farmer willingness. Government subsidies could effectively weaken the negative impacts of farmers’ perception of cost-related and time-related risks on farmer willingness. Farmers with different sized farms are influenced differently by government regulation and perceived value. The willingness of large-scale farmers to adopt WSI is generally influenced by government regulation and perceived value; in contrast, the willingness of traditional farmers is mainly influenced by policy outreach and perceived economic benefits.
Understanding the determinants of farmers’ disaster adaptation is significant for risk reduction. This study explores farmers’ willingness and influencing factors to adopt various agricultural and ...non-agricultural adaptation measures to mitigate irrigation-induced landslides on the Loess Plateau, northern China. Multivariate probit models are applied to address the joint decision-making of multiple choices considering their inter-correlations, using data from 397 farmer survey questionnaires. The results reveal that farmers’ characteristics, landslide experience, social factors, landslide perception, and the present adaptation situation play important but different roles in their adaptation decisions regarding various measures (drip irrigation, drought-tolerant crops, income diversification, and migration). Heterogeneity among farmers is considered: Government support, social network, and perception of landslide causation are essential in affecting all of the farmers’ adaptation decisions, while the impacts of the annual income, gender, land scale, and risk perception on non-agriculture farmers and full-time or part-time farmers are opposite. Notably, current adaptation hinders farmers’ future actions. The probability of adopting a specific measure is estimated to be higher than that of joint adoption. Barriers to adaptation are also addressed, and policy implications are discussed. This study provides a theoretical and practical reference for mitigating landslide risks that are caused by artificial triggers.
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