Shaping farmers’ beliefs, risk perception and adaptation response through Construct Level Theory in the southwest Iran
Abstract Due to the severe effects of climate change on the agricultural sector, urgent action is required on the part of farmers and is, indeed, critical to reducing climate change impacts. However, reports globally revealed farmers’ engagement in climate change adaptation is still insufficient, am...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32564-x |
| _version_ | 1797846045808394240 |
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| author | Masoud Yazdanpanah Tahereh Zobeidi Laura A. Warner Katharina Löhr Alexa Lamm Stefan Sieber |
| author_facet | Masoud Yazdanpanah Tahereh Zobeidi Laura A. Warner Katharina Löhr Alexa Lamm Stefan Sieber |
| author_sort | Masoud Yazdanpanah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Due to the severe effects of climate change on the agricultural sector, urgent action is required on the part of farmers and is, indeed, critical to reducing climate change impacts. However, reports globally revealed farmers’ engagement in climate change adaptation is still insufficient, ambivalent, and inconsistent and farmers do not consider adaptation to be urgent. Researchers have argued that this issue is rooted in psychological biases beside other factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate how psychological distance determines climate change beliefs, risk perception and adaptation strategies among Iranian farmers. A cross-sectional paper-based survey was conducted in the Dasht-e Azadegan county of Khuzestan province in southwest Iran. The study sample consisted of 250 farmers selected through a multi-stage random sampling process. An expert panel review and a pilot study were conducted to confirm convergent validity and reliability of the scales. The results confirm that all four dimensions of psychological distance influence water management adaptation strategies and non-farm activities. Moreover, all psychological dimensions, except the temporal dimension, affect adaptation in farming management. Thus, making climate change more proximal to decision makers could be a strategic way of encouraging individuals to take adaptive actions. This study emphasizes that concepts of psychological distance can be applied to help organizations (e.g., agriculture extension services) to understand farmers’ risk perceptions and responses to climate change impacts and improve risk communication to better engage farmers in climate action. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:48:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-de8a2ba824514f72907ef84fe67d8cdc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:48:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-de8a2ba824514f72907ef84fe67d8cdc2023-04-16T11:11:53ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-04-0113111210.1038/s41598-023-32564-xShaping farmers’ beliefs, risk perception and adaptation response through Construct Level Theory in the southwest IranMasoud Yazdanpanah0Tahereh Zobeidi1Laura A. Warner2Katharina Löhr3Alexa Lamm4Stefan Sieber5Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of KhuzestanCooperation and Transformative Group, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of FloridaLeibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of GeorgiaLeibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)Abstract Due to the severe effects of climate change on the agricultural sector, urgent action is required on the part of farmers and is, indeed, critical to reducing climate change impacts. However, reports globally revealed farmers’ engagement in climate change adaptation is still insufficient, ambivalent, and inconsistent and farmers do not consider adaptation to be urgent. Researchers have argued that this issue is rooted in psychological biases beside other factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate how psychological distance determines climate change beliefs, risk perception and adaptation strategies among Iranian farmers. A cross-sectional paper-based survey was conducted in the Dasht-e Azadegan county of Khuzestan province in southwest Iran. The study sample consisted of 250 farmers selected through a multi-stage random sampling process. An expert panel review and a pilot study were conducted to confirm convergent validity and reliability of the scales. The results confirm that all four dimensions of psychological distance influence water management adaptation strategies and non-farm activities. Moreover, all psychological dimensions, except the temporal dimension, affect adaptation in farming management. Thus, making climate change more proximal to decision makers could be a strategic way of encouraging individuals to take adaptive actions. This study emphasizes that concepts of psychological distance can be applied to help organizations (e.g., agriculture extension services) to understand farmers’ risk perceptions and responses to climate change impacts and improve risk communication to better engage farmers in climate action.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32564-x |
| spellingShingle | Masoud Yazdanpanah Tahereh Zobeidi Laura A. Warner Katharina Löhr Alexa Lamm Stefan Sieber Shaping farmers’ beliefs, risk perception and adaptation response through Construct Level Theory in the southwest Iran Scientific Reports |
| title | Shaping farmers’ beliefs, risk perception and adaptation response through Construct Level Theory in the southwest Iran |
| title_full | Shaping farmers’ beliefs, risk perception and adaptation response through Construct Level Theory in the southwest Iran |
| title_fullStr | Shaping farmers’ beliefs, risk perception and adaptation response through Construct Level Theory in the southwest Iran |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shaping farmers’ beliefs, risk perception and adaptation response through Construct Level Theory in the southwest Iran |
| title_short | Shaping farmers’ beliefs, risk perception and adaptation response through Construct Level Theory in the southwest Iran |
| title_sort | shaping farmers beliefs risk perception and adaptation response through construct level theory in the southwest iran |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32564-x |
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