[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i20p8540-d428700.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Affecting the Use of Organic Seed by Organic Farmers in Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Stefano Orsini

    (Organic Research Centre, Trent Lodge, Stroud Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6JN, UK)

  • Ambrogio Costanzo

    (Organic Research Centre, Trent Lodge, Stroud Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6JN, UK)

  • Francesco Solfanelli

    (Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Raffaele Zanoli

    (Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (D3A), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy)

  • Susanne Padel

    (Thünen-Institut of Farm Economics, Bundesallee 63, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany)

  • Monika M. Messmer

    (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Ackerstrasse 113, 5070 Frick, Switzerland)

  • Eva Winter

    (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Ackerstrasse 113, 5070 Frick, Switzerland)

  • Freya Schaefer

    (FiBL Deutschland, Kasseler Straße 1a, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

Abstract
The new European Organic Regulation 2018/848 has announced the phasing out of derogations for the use of untreated non-organic seed by 2036. However, the use of organic seed by organic farmers is currently limited. This paper aims to identify the factors affecting the use of organic seed. It is based on data collected from 749 organic farmers in 20 European countries, by conducting an online survey and using a network sampling. Results of the descriptive statistics and linear mixed models indicate that: (1) the situation of organic seed use is not consistent across geographical regions and crop sectors; (2) the use of organic seed is higher on farms selling directly to consumers than on those selling to supermarkets; (3) larger and more recently converted farms use less organic seed than established organic farms. In the second part of the paper, we analyse farmers’ attitudes towards organic seed use. The structural equation model (SEM) suggests that the highest contribution to explaining intention to use organic seed comes from social norms, i.e., farmers’ perception of societal expectations, particularly from the consumer and the organic certifier. Such expectations, if communicated in the public and political discourse, could stimulate the use of organic seed.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefano Orsini & Ambrogio Costanzo & Francesco Solfanelli & Raffaele Zanoli & Susanne Padel & Monika M. Messmer & Eva Winter & Freya Schaefer, 2020. "Factors Affecting the Use of Organic Seed by Organic Farmers in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:20:p:8540-:d:428700
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/20/8540/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/20/8540/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Läpple, Doris & Kelley, Hugh, 2013. "Understanding the uptake of organic farming: Accounting for heterogeneities among Irish farmers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 11-19.
    2. Mzoughi, Naoufel, 2011. "Farmers adoption of integrated crop protection and organic farming: Do moral and social concerns matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(8), pages 1536-1545, June.
    3. Alan C. Acock, 2013. "Discovering Structural Equation Modeling Using Stata," Stata Press books, StataCorp LP, number dsemus, March.
    4. Wilson, Clevo & Tisdell, Clem, 2001. "Why farmers continue to use pesticides despite environmental, health and sustainability costs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 449-462, December.
    5. Bates, Douglas & Mächler, Martin & Bolker, Ben & Walker, Steve, 2015. "Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 67(i01).
    6. Gambelli, Danilo & Solfanelli, Francesco & Zanoli, Raffaele & Zorn, Alexander & Lippert, Christian & Dabbert, Stephan, 2014. "Non-compliance in organic farming: A cross-country comparison of Italy and Germany," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P2), pages 449-458.
    7. Simona Naspetti & Serena Mandolesi & Jeroen Buysse & Terhi Latvala & Philippa Nicholas & Susanne Padel & Ellen J. Van Loo & Raffaele Zanoli, 2017. "Determinants of the Acceptance of Sustainable Production Strategies among Dairy Farmers: Development and Testing of a Modified Technology Acceptance Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    9. Giovanni Pino & Pierluigi Toma & Cristian Rizzo & Pier Paolo Miglietta & Alessandro M. Peluso & Gianluigi Guido, 2017. "Determinants of Farmers’ Intention to Adopt Water Saving Measures: Evidence from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Menozzi, Davide & Fioravanzi, Martina & Donati, Michele, 2015. "Farmer’s motivation to adopt sustainable agricultural practices," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 4(2), pages 1-23, August.
    11. Erica N.C. Renaud & Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren & Janice Jiggins, 2016. "The meta-governance of organic seed regulation in the USA, European Union and Mexico," International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(3), pages 262-291.
    12. Schaak, Henning & Mußhoff, Oliver, 2018. "Understanding the adoption of grazing practices in German dairy farming," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 230-239.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Susanne Padel & Stefano Orsini & Francesco Solfanelli & Raffaele Zanoli, 2021. "Can the Market Deliver 100% Organic Seed and Varieties in Europe?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Eva Winter & Christian Grovermann & Monika M. Messmer & Joachim Aurbacher, 2023. "Assessing seed and breeding interventions for organic farming using a multiagent value chain approach," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Matteo Petitti & Sergio Castro-Pacheco & Antonio Lo Fiego & Domenico Cerbino & Paolo Di Luzio & Giuseppe De Santis & Riccardo Bocci & Salvatore Ceccarelli, 2022. "Evolutionary Participatory Selection for Organic Heterogeneous Material: A Case Study with Ox-Heart Tomato in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-24, September.
    4. Friedrich Rübcke von Veltheim & Heinke Heise, 2021. "German Farmers’ Attitudes on Adopting Autonomous Field Robots: An Empirical Survey," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-19, March.
    5. Freya Schäfer & Kaja Gutzen & Maaike Raaijmakers & Katharina Meyer & Xenia Gatzert & Martin Sommer & Ágnes Bruszik & Monika M. Messmer, 2022. "Securing Commitments from Stakeholders in 10 EU Member States—The Organic Seed Declaration to Foster Stakeholder Involvement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-13, July.
    6. Francesco Solfanelli & Emel Ozturk & Emilia Cubero Dudinskaya & Serena Mandolesi & Stefano Orsini & Monika Messmer & Simona Naspetti & Freya Schaefer & Eva Winter & Raffaele Zanoli, 2022. "Estimating Supply and Demand of Organic Seeds in Europe Using Survey Data and MI Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-23, August.
    7. Rohe, Sebastian & Oltmer, Marie & Wolter, Hendrik & Gmeiner, Nina & Tschersich , Julia, 2022. "Forever Niche: Why do organic vegetable varieties not diffuse?," Papers in Innovation Studies 2022/8, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    8. Winter, Eva & Grovermann, Christian & Aurbacher, Joachim & Messmer, Monika M., 2021. "Analysing Interventions in the Seed and Breeding System for Organic Carrot Seed Use in Germany - a Multi-Agent Value Chain Approach," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314959, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Veronika Hannus & Johannes Sauer, 2021. "Understanding Farmers’ Intention to Use a Sustainability Standard: The Role of Economic Rewards, Knowledge, and Ease of Use," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Massfeller, Anna & Meraner, Manuela & Hüttel, Silke & Uehleke, Reinhard, 2022. "Farmers' acceptance of results-based agri-environmental schemes: A German perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    3. Daxini, Amar & Ryan, Mary & O’Donoghue, Cathal & Barnes, Andrew P., 2019. "Understanding farmers’ intentions to follow a nutrient management plan using the theory of planned behaviour," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 428-437.
    4. Dmytro Serebrennikov & Fiona Thorne & Zein Kallas & Sinéad N. McCarthy, 2020. "Factors Influencing Adoption of Sustainable Farming Practices in Europe: A Systemic Review of Empirical Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Boun My, Kene & Nguyen-Van, Phu & Kim Cuong Pham, Thi & Stenger, Anne & Tiet, Tuyen & To-The, Nguyen, 2022. "Drivers of organic farming: Lab-in-the-field evidence of the role of social comparison and information nudge in networks in Vietnam," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    6. Vu, Ha Thu & Tran, Duc & Goto, Daisaku & Kawata, Keisuke, 2020. "Does experience sharing affect farmers’ pro-environmental behavior? A randomized controlled trial in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    7. François J Dessart & Jesús Barreiro-Hurlé & René van Bavel, 2019. "Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: a policy-oriented review," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(3), pages 417-471.
    8. Irwa Issa & Ulrich Hamm, 2017. "Adoption of Organic Farming as an Opportunity for Syrian Farmers of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Structural Equation Modelling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-22, November.
    9. Hannus, Veronika & Sauer, Johannes, 2021. "It is not only about money —– German farmers' preferences regarding voluntary standards for farm sustainability management," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    10. Jianhua Wang & Yuanyuan Deng & Yuting Ma, 2017. "Relationships between Safe Pesticide Practice and Perceived Benefits and Subjective Norm, and the Moderation Role of Information Acquisition: Evidence from 971 Farmers in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-11, August.
    11. Nadia Adnan & Shahrina Md Nordin, 2021. "How COVID 19 effect Malaysian paddy industry? Adoption of green fertilizer a potential resolution," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 8089-8129, June.
    12. de Lauwere, Carolien & Slegers, Monique & Meeusen, Marieke, 2022. "The influence of behavioural factors and external conditions on Dutch farmers’ decision making in the transition towards circular agriculture," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    13. Caroline Roussy & Aude Ridier & Karim Chaïb, 2014. "Adoption d’innovations par les agriculteurs : rôle des perceptions et des préférences," Post-Print hal-01123427, HAL.
    14. Gómez-Limón, José A. & Gutiérrez-Martín, Carlos & Riesgo, Laura, 2016. "Modeling at farm level: Positive Multi-Attribute Utility Programming," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 17-27.
    15. Phu Nguyen-Van & Anne Stenger & Tuyen Tiet, 2021. "Social incentive factors in interventions promoting sustainable behaviors: A meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-27, December.
    16. Wollni, Meike & Andersson, Camilla, 2014. "Spatial patterns of organic agriculture adoption: Evidence from Honduras," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 120-128.
    17. Bourceret, Amélie & Accatino, Francesco & Robert, Corinne, 2024. "A modeling framework of a territorial socio-ecosystem to study the trajectories of change in agricultural phytosanitary practices," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 494(C).
    18. John M. Polimeni & Raluca I. Iorgulescu & Lucian Liviu Albu & Andrei Ionica, 2022. "Romanian Farmers’ Markets: Understanding the Environmental Attitudes of Farmers as an Instrument for Bioeconomy Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-20, September.
    19. Shang, Linmei & Heckelei, Thomas & Gerullis, Maria K. & Börner, Jan & Rasch, Sebastian, 2021. "Adoption and diffusion of digital farming technologies - integrating farm-level evidence and system interaction," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    20. Ouvrard, Benjamin & Abildtrup, Jens & Bostedt, Göran & Stenger, Anne, 2019. "Determinants of forest owners attitudes towards wood ash recycling in Sweden - Can the nutrient cycle be closed?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:20:p:8540-:d:428700. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.