Factors Influencing Adoption of Sustainable Farming Practices in Europe: A Systemic Review of Empirical Literature

Fiona Thorne,Dmytro Serebrennikov,Zein Kallas,Sinéad N Mccarthy

doi:10.3390/su12229719

Abstract

Modern practices of industrial farming, such as mineral fertilization, caused a widespread degradation of agricultural land and water bodies in Europe. Different farm management strategies exist to reduce the impact of mineral fertilization while preserving soil productivity. The aim of this paper is to provide a thorough systemic review of contemporary literature exploring factors and conditions affecting EU farmers’ adoption of sustainable farming practices. The specific focus is on widely adopted and empirically explored measures, such as organic farming, manure treatment technologies and manure fertilization, as well as soil and water conservation methods. In total, 23 peer-reviewed studies were extracted by means of Google Scholar covering the time period between 2003 and 2019. The main findings show that farmers’ environmental and economic attitudes in addition to their sources of information have a strong effect on the adoption of organic farming, although there is a lack of evidence of their impact on adopting manure treatment and conservation measures. Similarly, farmers’ age and education are found to systemically influence organic farming adoption, but not adoption of other reviewed technologies. While other factors, such as farm physical characteristics or technological attributes, may be important determinants of adoption, it is hard to recognize definite patterns of their impact across technologies given a shortage of empirical evidence. More research utilizing standardized surveys and methods of analysis is needed to formulate qualified guidelines and recommendations for policymakers.

Highlights

Intensification of agricultural production in the past century across EU countries has seriously undermined the sustainability of the farming sector, resulting in widespread degradation of key environmental resources, such as land and water
Carlisle [14] narratively reviewed determinants of adoption of various soil health practices in application to agricultural commodity production in the U.S We extend these reviews by focusing on recent adoption studies of soil and water conservation in Europe, while complementing them with a review of factors affecting adoption of organic farming and manure treatment technologies
To provide a background for technology adoption by farmers, we review key EU-level regulations affecting the adoption of organic farming and manure treatment technologies, as well as soil and water conservation practices

Summary

Introduction

Intensification of agricultural production in the past century across EU countries has seriously undermined the sustainability of the farming sector, resulting in widespread degradation of key environmental resources, such as land and water. One pernicious side effect of intensified farming is a nutrient surplus, which is defined as a positive difference between the amount of nutrients added to the soil (e.g., via fertilization) and the amount of nutrients taken or removed [1]. Despite some recent reductions in fertilizer application, the total inputs of key nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, still considerably exceed the soil absorption limits [1,2]. Due to the high nutrient concentration, part of that surplus may be washed off from soil by heavy rains, causing environmental problems [4]. Another risk arising from high nutrient levels in soil relates to mineralization and an increased loss of organic carbon. It is reported that 45% of European soils experience infertility due to severe carbon deficits [5]

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