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A scoping review on incentives for adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and their outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Valeria Piñeiro

    (International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI))

  • Joaquín Arias

    (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA))

  • Jochen Dürr

    (Center for Development Research (ZEF))

  • Pablo Elverdin

    (Group of Producing Countries from the Southern Cone (GPS))

  • Ana María Ibáñez

    (Inter-American Development Bank (IADB))

  • Alison Kinengyere

    (Makerere University)

  • Cristian Morales Opazo

    (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO))

  • Nkechi Owoo

    (University of Ghana)

  • Jessica R. Page

    (Ohio State University (OSU))

  • Steven D. Prager

    (International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT))

  • Maximo Torero

    (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO))

Abstract

The increasing pressure on agricultural production systems to achieve global food security and prevent environmental degradation necessitates a transition towards more sustainable practices. The purpose of this scoping review is to understand how the incentives offered to farmers motivate the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and, ultimately, how and whether they result in measurable outcomes. To this end, this scoping review examines the evidence of nearly 18,000 papers on whether incentive-based programmes lead to the adoption of sustainable practices and their effect on environmental, economic and productivity outcomes. We find that independent of the incentive type, programmes linked to short-term economic benefit have a higher adoption rate than those aimed solely at providing an ecological service. In the long run, one of the strongest motivations for farmers to adopt sustainable practices is perceived benefits for either their farms, the environment or both. Beyond this, the importance of technical assistance and extension services in promoting sustainable practices emerges strongly from this scoping review. Finally, we find that policy instruments are more effective if their design considers the characteristics of the target population, and the associated trade-offs between economic, environmental and social outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Valeria Piñeiro & Joaquín Arias & Jochen Dürr & Pablo Elverdin & Ana María Ibáñez & Alison Kinengyere & Cristian Morales Opazo & Nkechi Owoo & Jessica R. Page & Steven D. Prager & Maximo Torero, 2020. "A scoping review on incentives for adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and their outcomes," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(10), pages 809-820, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:3:y:2020:i:10:d:10.1038_s41893-020-00617-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-020-00617-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Harald König & Martina F. Baumann & Christopher Coenen, 2021. "Emerging Technologies and Innovation—Hopes for and Obstacles to Inclusive Societal Co-Construction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-13, November.
    2. Anderson, Kym, 2022. "Trade-related food policies in a more volatile climate and trade environment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    3. Che, Yuyuan & Feng, Hongli & Hennessy, David A., 2023. "Will adoption occur if a practice is win-win for profit and the environment? An application to a rancher's grazing practice choices," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    4. Ellinor Isgren & Yann Clough & Alice Murage & Elina Andersson, 2023. "Are agricultural extension systems ready to scale up ecological intensification in East Africa? A literature review with particular attention to the Push-Pull Technology (PPT)," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(5), pages 1399-1420, October.
    5. Michalek, Jerzy, 2022. "Environmental and farm impacts of the EU RDP agri-environmental measures: Evidence from Slovak regions," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    6. Madhu Khanna & Ruiqing Miao, 2022. "Inducing the adoption of emerging technologies for sustainable intensification of food and renewable energy production: insights from applied economics," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(1), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Julien Demenois & Alexia Dayet & Alain Karsenty, 2022. "Surviving the jungle of soil organic carbon certification standards: an analytic and critical review," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 1-17, January.
    8. Veronika Hannus & Johannes Sauer, 2021. "Understanding Farmers’ Intention to Use a Sustainability Standard: The Role of Economic Rewards, Knowledge, and Ease of Use," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-21, September.
    9. Tianran Ding & Wouter Achten, 2023. "Coupling agent-based modeling with territorial LCA to support agricultural land-use planning," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/359527, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. Maertens, Annemie & Wollni, Meike & Wei, Jaizhu & Li, Lingzhi & Zhou, Li, 2023. "Reducing antibiotics: Evidence from an Experiment among Poultry Farmers in China," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335494, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Seijger, Chris & Hellegers, Petra, 2023. "How do societies reform their agricultural water management towards new priorities for water, agriculture, and the environment?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    12. Kym Anderson, 2021. "Food policy in a more volatile climate and trade environment," Departmental Working Papers 2021-25, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    13. Tshering Choden & Bhim Bahadur Ghaley, 2021. "A Portfolio of Effective Water and Soil Conservation Practices for Arable Production Systems in Europe and North Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-18, March.
    14. Giannoccaro, Giacomo & Roselli, Luigi & Sardaro, Ruggiero & de Gennaro, Bernardo C., 2022. "Design of an incentive-based tool for effective water saving policy in agriculture," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    15. Neha Deopa & Daniele Rinaldo, 2023. "Sacred Ecology: The Environmental Impact of African Traditional Religions," Papers 2401.13673, arXiv.org.
    16. Ashton, Lisa, 2022. "A framework for promoting natural climate solutions in the agriculture sector," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    17. Bredemeier, Birte & Herrmann, Sylvia & Sattler, Claudia & Prager, Katrin & van Bussel, Lenny G.J. & Rex, Julia, 2022. "Insights into innovative contract design to improve the integration of biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural management," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    18. Noeldeke, Beatrice & Winter, Etti & Ntawuhiganayo, Elisée Bahati, 2022. "Representing human decision-making in agent-based simulation models: Agroforestry adoption in rural Rwanda," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    19. José Luis Molina-Pardo & Emilio Rodríguez-Caballero & Miguel Cueto & Pablo Barranco & Manuel Sánchez-Robles & Azucena Laguía-Allué & Esther Giménez-Luque, 2021. "Effects of Agricultural Use on Endangered Plant Taxa in Spain," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-25, November.
    20. Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Edgar Yoder & Hazem S. Kassem, 2021. "Extension Agents’ Perceptions of the Role of Extension Services in Organic Agriculture: A Case Study from Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-15, April.
    21. Khatri-Chhetri, Arun & Sapkota, Tek B. & Maharjan, Sofina & Cheerakkollil Konath, Noufa & Shirsath, Paresh, 2023. "Agricultural emissions reduction potential by improving technical efficiency in crop production," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    22. Passarelli, Mariacarmela & Bongiorno, Giuseppe & Cucino, Valentina & Cariola, Alfio, 2023. "Adopting new technologies during the crisis: An empirical analysis of agricultural sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    23. Tiéfigué Pierrette Coulibaly & Jianguo Du & Daniel Diakité & Olivier Joseph Abban & Elvis Kouakou, 2021. "A Proposed Conceptual Framework on the Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices: The Role of Network Contact Frequency and Institutional Trust," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-12, February.
    24. Tianran Ding & Wouter Achten, 2022. "Coupling agent-based modeling with territorial LCA to support agricultural land-use planning," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/352782, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    25. Jacob P. Byl, 2021. "Three Barriers to Effective Programs with Payment for Ecosystem Services: Behavioral Responses in a Computer-Based Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.

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