IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i7p2828-d1365838.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Farmers’ Transition to Climate-Smart Agriculture: A Systematic Review of the Decision-Making Factors Affecting Adoption

Author

Listed:
  • Marilena Gemtou

    (Department of Natural Resources Development and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece)

  • Konstantina Kakkavou

    (Department of Natural Resources Development and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece)

  • Evangelos Anastasiou

    (Department of Natural Resources Development and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece)

  • Spyros Fountas

    (Department of Natural Resources Development and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece)

  • Soren Marcus Pedersen

    (Institute of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, DK-1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark)

  • Gohar Isakhanyan

    (Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Kassa Tarekegn Erekalo

    (Institute of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, DK-1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark)

  • Serafin Pazos-Vidal

    (European Association for Innovation in Local Development, 260 Chaussée Saint-Pierre, 1040 Brussels, Belgium)

Abstract

Agriculture is currently facing major challenges related to ensuring the food security of a rising population and climate change with extreme weather patterns. At the same time, agriculture is a cause of environmental degradation, pollution and biodiversity loss. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is proposed as an approach that provides a roadmap to sustainable agricultural development. Despite this, farmer adoption rates of CSA practices and technologies in Europe remain low. This paper seeks to systematically review and synthesize the factors that facilitate or hinder farmers’ uptake of CSA in Europe. Out of the 2827 articles identified in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, a total of 137 research articles were included for analysis following the PRISMA methodology. The factors are categorized into seven categories, namely socio-demographics, psychological, farm characteristics, practice/technology-related attributes, biotic/abiotic, systemic and policy factors, with the majority of the studies focusing on the first four categories, while systemic and policy factors are relatively understudied. The results highlight for the first time that the adoption of CSA does not depend solely on farmer characteristics but also on the food systems and structures in which farmers operate, as well as the interactions with other value chain actors. To promote the adoption of CSA practices, extension and advisory services along with access to timely and reliable information, play a vital role in increasing awareness and in the provision of training and the encouragement of farmers’ behavioral shifts towards sustainable practices. From a technological point of view, adapting technologies to be easy to use, compatible with current farming objectives and cost-efficient will render them less risky investments for farmers and will foster adoption rates. Finally, support from the government in terms of financial support, subsidies and reduced bureaucratic procedures is crucial for motivating CSA adoption.

Suggested Citation

  • Marilena Gemtou & Konstantina Kakkavou & Evangelos Anastasiou & Spyros Fountas & Soren Marcus Pedersen & Gohar Isakhanyan & Kassa Tarekegn Erekalo & Serafin Pazos-Vidal, 2024. "Farmers’ Transition to Climate-Smart Agriculture: A Systematic Review of the Decision-Making Factors Affecting Adoption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-34, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:7:p:2828-:d:1365838
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/7/2828/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/7/2828/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Case, S.D.C. & Oelofse, M. & Hou, Y. & Oenema, O. & Jensen, L.S., 2017. "Farmer perceptions and use of organic waste products as fertilisers – A survey study of potential benefits and barriers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 84-95.
    2. Niki A. Rust & Rebecca M. Jarvis & Mark S. Reed & Julia Cooper, 2021. "Framing of sustainable agricultural practices by the farming press and its effect on adoption," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 753-765, September.
    3. Stefania Troiano & Matteo Carzedda & Francesco Marangon, 2023. "Better richer than environmentally friendly? Describing preferences toward and factors affecting precision agriculture adoption in Italy," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. 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.
    5. Margherita Masi & Jorgelina Di Pasquale & Yari Vecchio & Fabian Capitanio, 2023. "Precision Farming: Barriers of Variable Rate Technology Adoption in Italy," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, May.
    6. Ralph De Witte & Dirk Janssen & Samir Sayadi Gmada & Carmen García-García, 2023. "Best Practices for Training in Sustainable Greenhouse Horticulture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-26, March.
    7. Chatzimichael, Konstantinos & Genius, Margarita & Tzouvelekas, Vangelis, 2014. "Informational cascades and technology adoption: Evidence from Greek and German organic growers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P1), pages 186-195.
    8. Doris Läpple & Hugh Kelley, 2015. "Spatial dependence in the adoption of organic drystock farming in Ireland," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 42(2), pages 315-337.
    9. Ndiritu, S. Wagura & Kassie, Menale & Shiferaw, Bekele, 2014. "Are there systematic gender differences in the adoption of sustainable agricultural intensification practices? Evidence from Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P1), pages 117-127.
    10. Yari Vecchio & Marcello De Rosa & Gregorio Pauselli & Margherita Masi & Felice Adinolfi, 2022. "The leading role of perception: the FACOPA model to comprehend innovation adoption," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, December.
    11. Möhring, Niklas & Finger, Robert, 2022. "Pesticide-free but not organic: Adoption of a large-scale wheat production standard in Switzerland," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    12. Lemken, Dominic & Spiller, Achim & von Meyer-Höfer, Marie, 2017. "The Case of Legume-Cereal Crop Mixtures in Modern Agriculture and the Transtheoretical Model of Gradual Adoption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 20-28.
    13. Tensi, Annika Francesca & Ang, Frederic & van der Fels-Klerx, H.J., 2022. "Behavioural drivers and barriers for adopting microbial applications in arable farms: Evidence from the Netherlands and Germany," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    14. Lioutas, Evagelos D. & Charatsari, Chrysanthi, 2020. "Smart farming and short food supply chains: Are they compatible?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    15. Dinis, Isabel & Ortolani, Livia & Bocci, Riccardo & Brites, Cláudia, 2015. "Organic agriculture values and practices in Portugal and Italy," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 39-45.
    16. Konrad, Maria Theresia & Nielsen, Helle Ørsted & Pedersen, Anders Branth & Elofsson, Katarina, 2019. "Drivers of Farmers' Investments in Nutrient Abatement Technologies in Five Baltic Sea Countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 91-100.
    17. Heidi Leonhardt & Michael Braito & Reinhard Uehleke, 2022. "Combining the best of two methodological worlds? Integrating Q methodology-based farmer archetypes in a quantitative model of agri-environmental scheme uptake," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 217-232, March.
    18. Marius Michels & Wilm Fecke & Jan‐Henning Feil & Oliver Musshoff & Frederike Lülfs‐Baden & Saskia Krone, 2020. "“Anytime, anyplace, anywhere”—A sample selection model of mobile internet adoption in german agriculture," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(2), pages 192-207, April.
    19. Qing Xu & Sylvie Huet & Eric Perret & Guillaume Deffuant, 2020. "Do Farm Characteristics or Social Dynamics Explain the Conversion to Organic Farming by Dairy Farmers? An Agent-Based Model of Dairy Farming in 27 French Cantons," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 23(2), pages 1-4.
    20. Ryschawy, Julie & Grillot, Myriam & Charmeau, Anaïs & Pelletier, Aude & Moraine, Marc & Martin, Guillaume, 2022. "A participatory approach based on the serious game Dynamix to co-design scenarios of crop-livestock integration among farms," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    21. Laura Siepmann & Kimberly A. Nicholas, 2018. "German Winegrowers’ Motives and Barriers to Convert to Organic Farming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aschauer, Nadine & Parnell, Stephen, 2025. "Analysis of mathematical modelling approaches to capture human behaviour dynamics in agricultural pest and disease systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    2. Rui Chen & Ye Su & Lan Tran, 2024. "Small Farmer’s Perceptions of Climate Change and Adoption of Climate-Smart Practices: Evidence from Missouri, USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Ji, Xiangyu & Wang, Yiting & Yang, Lei & Li, Chun & Chen, Liding, 2025. "The impact of cropland transfer on rural household income in China: The moderating effects of education," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    4. Stefano Bigiotti & Mariangela Ludovica Santarsiero & Anna Irene Del Monaco & Alvaro Marucci, 2025. "Eco-Efficient Retrofitting of Rural Heritage: A Systematic Review of Sustainable Strategies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-48, July.
    5. Xiaoxue Feng & Jun Chen & Zebing Mao & Yanhong Peng & Suhaiza Zailani, 2025. "Exploring Determinants of and Barriers to Climate-Smart Agricultural Technologies Adoption in Chinese Cooperatives: A Hybrid Study," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-28, May.
    6. Fadel Ali Ramadan Agila & Askin Kiraz, 2025. "Climate Change and Agricultural Risks: Perception of Farmers from a Socio-Economic Sustainability Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-20, August.
    7. Martin Ochieng Abwao & Hillary Bett & Natalia Turcekova & Edith Gathungu, 2025. "Behavioral Drivers of Cage Tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) Producers and Consumers in Kenya’s Lake Victoria Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-25, June.
    8. Rocco Addorisio & Roberta Spadoni & Giulia Maesano, 2025. "Adoption of Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture: A Scoping Review of the System Domain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-28, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fabian Klebl & Peter H. Feindt & Annette Piorr, 2024. "Farmers’ behavioural determinants of on-farm biodiversity management in Europe: a systematic review," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 41(2), pages 831-861, June.
    2. Mohamed Ghali & Maha Ben Jaballah & Nejla Ben Arfa & Annie Sigwalt, 2022. "Analysis of factors that influence adoption of agroecological practices in viticulture," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 179-209, September.
    3. Dmytro Serebrennikov & Fiona Thorne & Zein Kallas & Sinéad N. McCarthy, 2020. "Factors Influencing Adoption of Sustainable Farming Practices in Europe: A Systemic Review of Empirical Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Osrof, Hazem Yusuf & Tan, Cheng Ling & Angappa, Gunasekaran & Yeo, Sook Fern & Tan, Kim Hua, 2023. "Adoption of smart farming technologies in field operations: A systematic review and future research agenda," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Yanbing Wang & Niklas Möhring & Robert Finger, 2023. "When my neighbors matter: Spillover effects in the adoption of large‐scale pesticide‐free wheat production," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(2), pages 256-273, March.
    6. Bethan Thompson & Gaëlle Leduc & Gordana Manevska‐Tasevska & Luiza Toma & Helena Hansson, 2024. "Farmers' adoption of ecological practices: A systematic literature map," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(1), pages 84-107, February.
    7. Beata Michaliszyn-Gabryś & Joachim Bronder & Janusz Krupanek, 2024. "Social Life Cycle Assessment of Laser Weed Control System: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-28, March.
    8. Marios Zachariou & Adewale Henry Adenuga & Claire Jack, 2025. "Education and Farmers’ Environmental Performance: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-26, January.
    9. Parra-López, Carlos & Reina-Usuga, Liliana & Carmona-Torres, Carmen & Sayadi, Samir & Klerkx, Laurens, 2021. "Digital transformation of the agrifood system: Quantifying the conditioning factors to inform policy planning in the olive sector," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    10. Weihong Huang & Caiyan Yang & Ke Liu & Rui Min, 2023. "Information Acquisition Ability and Farmers’ Herd Behavior in Rice–Crayfish Coculture System Adoption," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, September.
    11. Xiaohong Zhou & Donghong Ding, 2022. "Factors Influencing Farmers’ Willingness and Behaviors in Organic Agriculture Development: An Empirical Analysis Based on Survey Data of Farmers in Anhui Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-21, November.
    12. Rui Chen & Ye Su & Lan Tran, 2024. "Small Farmer’s Perceptions of Climate Change and Adoption of Climate-Smart Practices: Evidence from Missouri, USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-19, November.
    13. Rode, Julian & Bartkowski, Bartosz & Büttner, Nina & Müller, Birgit, . "Grouping Agri-Environmental Practices in Germany Along Behavioural Drivers for Adoption," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 74.
    14. Thanh Mai Ha & Gordana Manevska-Tasevska & Martin Weih & Helena Hansson, 2024. "Heterogeneity in farmers’ stage of behavioural change in intercropping adoption: an application of the Transtheoretical Model," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    15. Finger, Robert & Sok, Jaap & Ahovi, Emmanuel & Akter, Sharmin & Bremmer, Johan & Dachbrodt-Saaydeh, Silke & de Lauwere, Carolien & Kreft, Cordelia & Kudsk, Per & Lambarraa-Lehnhardt, Fatima & McCallum, 2024. "Towards sustainable crop protection in agriculture: A framework for research and policy," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    16. Nicolette Matthews & Bennie Grové & Johannes Hendrikus Barnard, 2025. "Economic Analysis of Segmented Soil Salinity Management Using Current Irrigation Technology," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, April.
    17. Nawab Khan & Ram L. Ray & Hazem S. Kassem & Muhammad Ihtisham & Abdullah & Simplice A. Asongu & Stephen Ansah & Shemei Zhang, 2021. "Toward Cleaner Production: Can Mobile Phone Technology Help Reduce Inorganic Fertilizer Application? Evidence Using a National Level Dataset," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, September.
    18. Cuong Le Van & Nguyen To The, 2019. "Farmers’ adoption of organic production," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 33-59, February.
    19. Anastasios Michailidis & Chrysanthi Charatsari & Thomas Bournaris & Efstratios Loizou & Aikaterini Paltaki & Dimitra Lazaridou & Evagelos D. Lioutas, 2024. "A First View on the Competencies and Training Needs of Farmers Working with and Researchers Working on Precision Agriculture Technologies," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, January.
    20. Lumumba, Brian Omondi & Otieno, David Jakinda & Nyikal, Rose Adhiambo, 2024. "Exploring farmers’ perspectives on desert locust management in Kenya: a comparison of Q and R-methodologies," IAAE 2024 Conference, August 2-7, 2024, New Delhi, India 344320, International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:7:p:2828-:d:1365838. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.