Soil health challenges and farmers' adaptation strategies: Transition pathways in Türkiye and the European Union

Soil degradation in the European Union (EU) and Türkiye poses a serious threat to ecosystems and human well-being. While agriculture has the potential to mitigate this issue through sustainable practices, a gap persists in their adoption, often stemming from a disconnect between farmers' awareness (enabling conditions) and the practical support for action (facilitating conditions), even where policies are present. To investigate this gap, 78 farmers were surveyed across six EU regions and one in Türkiye, all with vulnerable soils but differing land market and ownership structures. A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to examine scale effects on environmental performance, defined as the gap between current and recommended soil management practices. Findings reveal that farmers with greater awareness of soil health tend to derive their income mainly from agriculture, rely on family labour, and own the land they cultivate, conditions more common in Türkiye. In contrast, EU regions often lack enabling conditions, sometimes due to land market imbalances, and sometimes due to the low attractiveness of agriculture for new generations. In Eastern EU regions, family farms are diminishing, while in Southern EU regions, generational renewal is limited. Despite the presence of incentives, these structural conditions hinder behavioural change. This suggests that even without facilitating conditions, enabling conditions rooted in land ownership and labour structure can positively influence environmentally sound practices. The paper concludes with reflections on policy implications and directions for future research.