Farmers’ perceptions of sustainable agriculture in the Red River Delta, Vietnam

Abstract

While economic growth and food security in Vietnam's Red River Delta are heavily reliant on agriculture, the intensive use of agricultural land has resulted in various negative impacts on the environment, such as soil degradation, water pollution, biodiversity loss, and health effects on humans and animals. The current situation emphasizes an increased need for sustainable agriculture practices in the region. Understanding farmers' decision-making processes and identifying factors that influence their choices is crucial in order to promote their adoption of sustainable agriculture practices. This study examines the impact of attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, age, and gender on farmers' intention to adopt sustainable agriculture practices using the Theory of Planned Behavior and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The results show that attitude towards sustainable agriculture practices showed a path coefficient of 0.310 (p < 0.001), and perceived behavioral control had a coefficient of 0.305 (p < 0.001), indicating strong positive relationships with intention. However, subjective norms, despite a positive coefficient, did not significantly affect intentions (path coefficient 0.099, p > 0.05). Age was found to have a moderating effect; older farmers are less likely to adopt sustainable agriculture practices compared to their younger counterparts. Gender, however, did not present a significant influence. In light of these findings, policymakers face a challenge in creating incentives to encourage farmers' engagement in sustainable agriculture practices in the Red River Delta and at the same time discourage youth out-migration from the agricultural sector more generally. Overall, this study enriches our theoretical understanding of the factors influencing sustainable agriculture adoption in developing countries and offers practical insights for policymakers and agricultural stakeholders in the Red River Delta to promote more effective and targeted sustainable agriculture practices.