Identifying socio-psychological constructs and beliefs underlying farmers’ intention to adopt on-farm silos

Abstract

Brazil is one of the leading countries in production and exportation of grains. However, most grain production regions in Brazil do not have an adequate storage capacity, which result in losses for the grain supply chain. A possible solution to increase storage capacity is the adoption of on-farm silos. We used the Reasoned Action Approach as a framework to identify the impact of attitude, perceived norms, and perceived behavioral control on farmers’ intention to adopt on-farm silos and to identify the most important beliefs underlying their intentions to adopt it. A survey was conducted with 170 farmers in Brazil. Data was analyzed by means of Partial-Least-Square Structural Equation Modeling and MIMIC models. Results showed that attitude was the main determinant of intention, followed by perceived behavioral control and injunctive norms. Results also showed that “Sell grains at higher price”, “Have independence in relation to grain storage firms”, and “Have control over grain classification” are the most important beliefs that drive attitude; “Bank” is the most important belief that drive perceived norm; and “Have easy access to silos”, “Prioritize other investments”, and “Need skilled workers” are the most important beliefs that drive perceived behavioral control. These results revealed important implications to design public and private interventions aimed to stimulate the adoption of on-farm silos.