Exploring intentions to convert into organic farming in small-scale agriculture: Social embeddedness in extended theory of planned behaviour framework

Abstract

CONTEXT

The European Union actively supports and promotes the development of more sustainable and resilient farming systems and contributes to the significant expansion of organic farming. Despite the considerable growth of the organic agricultural sector, this process faces several structural challenges, especially in countries with fragmented agriculture, such as Romania, where small-scale farming dominates. Small-scale farmers are quite reluctant to transition to organic farming even despite financial incentives.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to understand small-scale farmers' reluctance to adopt organic farming by combining embeddedness theory, which links economic activities to social structures, with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB).

METHODS

A survey of 150 small-scale farms in Romania's Centru region was conducted in 2023 using semi-structured face-to-face questionnaires. The research framework combines embeddedness theory and the extended TPB using structural equation modelling and simultaneous confirmatory factor analysis.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

It was demonstrated that network embeddedness exerts the most significant influence on pro-environmental behavioural intentions when considered in the context of other TPB constructs. However, this positive impact is partially offset by the negative impact of embeddedness at the farm level. Our research results suggest that changing the approach of small-scale farmers to organic farming requires strengthening network embeddedness through workshops, training sessions, rallies, and meetings that would highlight the benefits of organic farming.

SIGNIFICANCE

We shed more light on the behavioural drivers of adopting organic practices in small-scale framing and argue that the relational embeddedness construct represents a significant extension of the TPB framework for agri-environmental studies. Hence, our study highlights the necessity of relational and behavioural insights in understanding and transforming agricultural systems.