Abstract
Farmers’ views on research and extension services (RES) included in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System are rarely investigated. This study analyses the relationship between key factors of innovation behaviour (market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation attitude) and the use of RES through structural equation modelling, focusing on small-scale agricultural holdings. Market orientation and learning orientation appear to be positively correlated, confirming that synergies between both factors provide a background for innovativeness. Learning orientation and farm-holders’ education level, improve knowledge exchange and make the agriculture innovation process more inclusive. However, farmers’ innovation attitude is not clearly correlated with the use of RES. Motivations about “the will to do innovations” are represented by a construct that does not appear to have a determinant effect as a mediator in farmer’s decisions about using RES.
Highlights
In the context of the European Union (EU) strategies for 2020, farmers need timely access to knowledge and information, as well as training and education (EC, 2014)
The measurement model obtained from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was estimated through Maximum Likelihood (ML), and the correlation matrix exhibits significant relationships between the constructs (Table 4)
The specific indicators that determine the goodness of fit of the CFA model, chi-square (CMIN) = 128.114; degrees of free
Summary
In the context of the European Union (EU) strategies for 2020, farmers need timely access to knowledge and information, as well as training and education (EC, 2014) This must be facilitated by policy programs where agricultural research and extension services play a key role. In the context of the present paper, these variables are the expression of aptitudes, attitudes and values of that can influence farmer’s behaviour and their willingness to use RES. To test this relationship, we designed a Structural Equation Model (SEM) to discuss the impact factor of different constructs to determine particular farmers’ prospects in the usefulness of RES
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