Exploring the Effect of Perceived Transaction Costs on Farmers’ Attitudes toward Participation in Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs)
There is growing interest in research and policy to provide alternatives for developing and supporting sustainable business models in the agricultural sector. Agri-environment–climate measures (AECMs) were devised with the intention of compensating land users for potential income losses generated fr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/136 |
| _version_ | 1797608968923643904 |
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| author | Francesco Riccioli Salomon Espinosa Diaz Francesco Di Iacovo Roberta Moruzzo |
| author_facet | Francesco Riccioli Salomon Espinosa Diaz Francesco Di Iacovo Roberta Moruzzo |
| author_sort | Francesco Riccioli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is growing interest in research and policy to provide alternatives for developing and supporting sustainable business models in the agricultural sector. Agri-environment–climate measures (AECMs) were devised with the intention of compensating land users for potential income losses generated from the uptake of more appropriate, less intensive management practices in areas considered environmentally sensitive. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of these public initiatives is influenced by farmers’ decision to participate, which in turn is influenced by the level of transaction costs (TC) they must bear when engaging in these programs. Most studies have approached this topic from a quantitative perspective, trying to measure and estimate transaction costs; however, there is a lack of qualitative studies exploring the perceptions of farmers around these costs and analyzing how such perceptions influence their attitude toward AECM participation. This study presents the results of thirty semi-structured interviews conducted among farmers involved in different AECMs across seven European countries, in which their perceptions about transaction costs were explored through the assessment of the time required to perform certain activities. The objective was to gain deeper insights into the way in which the perceived level of TC can affect farmers’ attitudes and decisions toward the implementation of environment-friendly management practices through AECMs. Results showed that such perceptions are influenced by several factors, such as the presence or absence of intermediaries helping farmers to carry out some of the most time-consuming activities, the organizational structure of the contract, and the experience farmers acquire through repeated participation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:54:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-289441b7d5de4afbab52de7a26fcdcd4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:54:06Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-289441b7d5de4afbab52de7a26fcdcd42023-11-17T13:51:51ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602023-02-0112313610.3390/socsci12030136Exploring the Effect of Perceived Transaction Costs on Farmers’ Attitudes toward Participation in Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs)Francesco Riccioli0Salomon Espinosa Diaz1Francesco Di Iacovo2Roberta Moruzzo3Rural Economic Section, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyRural Economic Section, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyRural Economic Section, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyRural Economic Section, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyThere is growing interest in research and policy to provide alternatives for developing and supporting sustainable business models in the agricultural sector. Agri-environment–climate measures (AECMs) were devised with the intention of compensating land users for potential income losses generated from the uptake of more appropriate, less intensive management practices in areas considered environmentally sensitive. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of these public initiatives is influenced by farmers’ decision to participate, which in turn is influenced by the level of transaction costs (TC) they must bear when engaging in these programs. Most studies have approached this topic from a quantitative perspective, trying to measure and estimate transaction costs; however, there is a lack of qualitative studies exploring the perceptions of farmers around these costs and analyzing how such perceptions influence their attitude toward AECM participation. This study presents the results of thirty semi-structured interviews conducted among farmers involved in different AECMs across seven European countries, in which their perceptions about transaction costs were explored through the assessment of the time required to perform certain activities. The objective was to gain deeper insights into the way in which the perceived level of TC can affect farmers’ attitudes and decisions toward the implementation of environment-friendly management practices through AECMs. Results showed that such perceptions are influenced by several factors, such as the presence or absence of intermediaries helping farmers to carry out some of the most time-consuming activities, the organizational structure of the contract, and the experience farmers acquire through repeated participation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/136agro-environment–climate measurestransaction costsexploratory qualitative analysis |
| spellingShingle | Francesco Riccioli Salomon Espinosa Diaz Francesco Di Iacovo Roberta Moruzzo Exploring the Effect of Perceived Transaction Costs on Farmers’ Attitudes toward Participation in Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs) Social Sciences agro-environment–climate measures transaction costs exploratory qualitative analysis |
| title | Exploring the Effect of Perceived Transaction Costs on Farmers’ Attitudes toward Participation in Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs) |
| title_full | Exploring the Effect of Perceived Transaction Costs on Farmers’ Attitudes toward Participation in Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs) |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the Effect of Perceived Transaction Costs on Farmers’ Attitudes toward Participation in Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the Effect of Perceived Transaction Costs on Farmers’ Attitudes toward Participation in Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs) |
| title_short | Exploring the Effect of Perceived Transaction Costs on Farmers’ Attitudes toward Participation in Agri-Environment-Climate Measures (AECMs) |
| title_sort | exploring the effect of perceived transaction costs on farmers attitudes toward participation in agri environment climate measures aecms |
| topic | agro-environment–climate measures transaction costs exploratory qualitative analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/3/136 |
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