Farmers' objectives as determinants of organic farming adoption: the case of Catalonian vineyard production

This article assesses the decision to adopt organic farming practices. We use Duration Analysis (DA) to determine why farmers adopt organic farming practices and what influences the timing of adoption. We extend previous studies by including farmers' objectives, risk preferences, and agricultur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agricultural economics 2010-09, Vol.41 (5), p.409-423
Main Authors: Kallas, Zein, Serra, Teresa, Gil, José Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultura
Agricultura biològica
Agricultura sostenible
Analytical hierarchy process
Catalonia
Catalunya
D80
Duration analysis
Enginyeria agroalimentària
Farmers' objectives
Organic farming
Organic farming adoption
Q12
Q18
Spain
Vineyards
Vinya
Viticultura
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC
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Summary:This article assesses the decision to adopt organic farming practices. We use Duration Analysis (DA) to determine why farmers adopt organic farming practices and what influences the timing of adoption. We extend previous studies by including farmers' objectives, risk preferences, and agricultural policies as covariates in the DA model. The Analytical Hierarchy Process is used as a multicriteria decision-making methodology to measure farmers' objectives. The empirical analysis uses farm-level data from a sample of vineyard farms in the Spanish region of Catalonia. Farmers' objectives are found to influence the conversion decision. Moreover, farmers who are not risk averse are more likely to adopt organic farming. Results point to the policy changes that have been most relevant in motivating adoption of organic practices.
ISSN:0169-5150
1574-0862
DOI:10.1111/j.1574-0862.2010.00454.x