Determinants of adoption of integrated systems by cattle farmers in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The level of diffusion of integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) and integrated livestock-forestry systems (ILFS) among cattle farmers in Brazil is still low, despite the environmental and economic benefits and governmental policy support. The present study aims at identifying the factors that determine the adoption of these systems in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The theory of adoption and diffusion of agricultural innovations takes into consideration several economic and non-economic determinants. Data from 175 farms and multinomial logit models were used to test hypotheses on the role played by farms’ scale, farms’ topography, farms’ type of soil, farmers’ knowledge, farmers’ capacity for innovation, availability of local facilities for grain trade, extension service, and credit supply. The results highlighted the important role played by farmers’ human and physical resources when adopting these systems. Knowledge, scalable agricultural land and fixed capital for crop farming being the most relevant ones. Access to credit and extension service helped to overcome lack of physical capital and knowledge. Farmers with innovative capacity were the ones who showed to be more prone to adopt. Availability of local infrastructure for grain trading facilitated the adoption of ICLS. Adoption of ILFS turn out to be an alternative option in slopping land and sandy soils. Results shed light on strategies to accelerate the diffusion of those systems.