Abstract
Improved fertilizer management practice in sugarcane production is a key component in plans to improve Great Barrier Reef (GBR) water quality. Research focused on understanding the wider systemic factors that drive behavioral change in agriculture is currently limited, with the dominant focus on individual farmer and psycho-social factors. Adopting a wider systems perspective, this study examines farming behavior change and the role of supporting services among 238 sugarcane growers (74,597 hectares) in Queensland’s Wet Tropics region who completed surveys reporting on changes in the method they used to calculate fertilizer application rates, along with information on their farm business, socio-demographics, and self-reported importance ratings on a variety of topics. Informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, survey data are analyzed using regression models to identify factors influencing the change from traditional to improved practice, and early adoption of improved practice. Results indicate growers were less likely to change fertilizer practice if they regarded maintaining good relationships with other local growers as being extremely important, had off-farm income, or had not attended a government-funded fertilizer management workshop in the five years preceding the survey. Similar drivers acted to promote or delay early adoption of improved practice. Results demonstrate the influence of government-funded services to support practice change.
Highlights
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) World Heritage Area off the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, is a global ecological and cultural icon that has been estimated to contribute more than AUD $6 billion annually to Australia’s national economy [1]
A total of 238 sugarcane growers completed surveys reporting on changes in fertilizer application and focal factors that may explain behavior change
When only including Theory of planned behavior constructs (TPB) constructs as drivers (Model 1), growers were more likely to have changed the basis for their fertilizer calculation rate if they were neutral regarding the importance of having their efforts recognized by the wider community as an important factor in their farm decision making, all else equal
Summary
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) World Heritage Area off the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, is a global ecological and cultural icon that has been estimated to contribute more than AUD $6 billion annually to Australia’s national economy [1]. The 2017 Scientific Consensus Statement concluded that, along with the existential threat posed by climate change, poor water quality is a major factor contributing to the declining condition of the GBR’s coastal and reef ecosystems [2]. Discharges of nutrients, fine sediments, and pesticides have been identified as the greatest water quality-related risks to the Reef [2], leading to substantial target reductions in end-of-catchment nutrient and fine sediment loads along the GBR coastline [3]. Challenging nutrient load reductions (50–70% from modelled 2012-12 levels) have been set for the Wet Tropics region, where sugarcane is the major agricultural crop [3]. The “Six Easy Steps” (6ES) approach for calculating fertilizer application rates to sugarcane has been promoted as the industrypreferred management practice for the past 10 years [5,6]. The “Six Easy Steps” (6ES) approach for calculating fertilizer application rates to sugarcane has been promoted as the industrypreferred management practice for the past 10 years [5,6]. 6ES uses a region-specific District
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