Uncovering hidden determinants of millennial farmers’ intentions in running conservation agriculture: An application of the Norm Activation Model

Abstract

Land degradation in mountainside areas is a serious threat that requires conservation actions, and the role of millennial farmers in this issue is crucial for future agricultural land sustainability. The perception of degraded land condition (LC) and the risk of farming due to ongoing agricultural land degradation (RISK) are suspected to be able to drive the intention to make conservation efforts. Based on the norm activation model, this study aims to analyze the influence of millennial farmers’ perceptions on the condition of degraded agricultural land and the risk of land degradation on their intention to perform conservation-based potato farming (CBPF). This study involved 169 millennial potato farmers on the western slope of Mount Slamet, Central Java, Indonesia. Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey from January to March 2022. The hypothesis was tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that more than 90% of respondents stated that agricultural land had been degraded. The risk and personal norms (PN) have a significant effect on the intention of CPBF (β = 0.144, β = 0.505; p-value <0.01), respectively. Unexpectedly, LC did not directly affect the intention to practice CPBF (β = 0.076, p-value = 0.159). This study provides insight into understanding the behavioral intentions of agricultural land conservation, especially millennial farmers’ perceptions of land degradation in their farming areas. To encourage the millennial farmers’ agricultural land conservation intentions, it should be started by increasing the awareness of farmers’ PN since they only pay little attention to degraded LC.