Sustainability-related innovation adoption: the case of the Dutch pig farmer

Abstract

This paper explores the process of adoption of innovations in pig husbandry systems in the Netherlands, related to sustainability challenges that the pig sector is facing. It investigates the factors that influence farmers’ decisions to build a new stable, as well as the choice to build either a conventional or a more sustainable stable. It demonstrates the impact of the adopter characteristics (such as age and knowledge), operation characteristics (such as type, size and location of the farm) and institutional setting (such as influence of government and other stakeholders) on these decisions. Jointly these represent the factors that shape the farmer's perception of the adoption of a more sustainable pig husbandry system. In the current policy context there is much interest in knowing how farmers respond to sustainability-oriented policies. Seen in this light it is reassuring that the present study shows that next to profit orientation, a positive attitude (based on knowledge about the environmental impact of farming) towards the environment is needed for the decision to build a more sustainable stable.