IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v9y2017i11p2024-d117595.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Adoption of Organic Farming as an Opportunity for Syrian Farmers of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Structural Equation Modelling

Author

Listed:
  • Irwa Issa

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Marketing, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany)

  • Ulrich Hamm

    (Department of Agricultural and Food Marketing, University of Kassel, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany)

Abstract

Exporting organic fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV) to the European Union could represent a great opportunity for Syrian farmers and exporters. Yet, the organic sector in Syria is comparatively young and only a very small area of FFV is organically managed. To date, little is known about Syrian farmers’ attitudes towards organic FFV production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the intentions and attitudes of Syrian farmers of FFV towards organic farming and how likely they are to convert their farms to organic production within the next five years. Using a two-stage cluster sampling procedure, 266 conventional farmers of FFV in 75 villages located in different districts of Syria’s coastal region were selected for this survey. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews by a project partner in Syria (Citrus Fruit Board in Tartous) from December 2012 until mid-May 2013. We used the Theory of Planned Behaviour as theoretical framework and Partial Least Squares Path Modelling as the main tool for data analysis. The results show that most farmers used at least one of the practices that are also part of certified organic production (throughout this article, the term organic agriculture, farming, and/or production always refer to certified organic agricultural production), and hold strong positive attitudes and intentions to adopt organic production within the next five years.

Suggested Citation

  • Irwa Issa & Ulrich Hamm, 2017. "Adoption of Organic Farming as an Opportunity for Syrian Farmers of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Structural Equation Modelling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-22, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:11:p:2024-:d:117595
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/11/2024/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/11/2024/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Miniard, Paul W & Cohen, Joel B, 1983. "Modeling Personal and Normative Influences on Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 10(2), pages 169-180, September.
    2. Tutkun, Aysel & Lehmann, Bernard & Schmidt, Peter, 2006. "Explaining the Conversion to Organic Farming of Farmers of the Obwalden Canton, Switzerland - Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior within a Structural Equation Modeling Approach," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25313, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Läpple, Doris & Kelley, Hugh, 2013. "Understanding the uptake of organic farming: Accounting for heterogeneities among Irish farmers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 11-19.
    4. Ika Darnhofer & Walter Schneeberger & Bernhard Freyer, 2005. "Converting or not converting to organic farming in Austria:Farmer types and their rationale," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 22(1), pages 39-52, March.
    5. Michael Chappell & Liliana LaValle, 2011. "Food security and biodiversity: can we have both? An agroecological analysis," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(1), pages 3-26, February.
    6. Offermann, Frank & Nieberg, Hiltrud & Zander, Katrin, 2009. "Dependency of organic farms on direct payments in selected EU member states: Today and tomorrow," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 273-279, June.
    7. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    8. Joyce Thamaga-Chitja & Sheryl Hendriks, 2008. "Emerging issues in smallholder organic production and marketing in South Africa," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 317-326.
    9. John Cranfield & Spencer Henson & James Holliday, 2010. "The motives, benefits, and problems of conversion to organic production," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 27(3), pages 291-306, September.
    10. Douglas H. Constance & Jin Young Choi, 2010. "Overcoming the Barriers to Organic Adoption in the United States: A Look at Pragmatic Conventional Producers in Texas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, January.
    11. Raynolds, Laura T., 2004. "The Globalization of Organic Agro-Food Networks," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 725-743, May.
    12. Eva Schmidtner & Christian Lippert & Barbara Engler & Anna Maria Häring & Jaochim Aurbacher & Stephan Dabbert, 2012. "Spatial distribution of organic farming in Germany: does neighbourhood matter?," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 39(4), pages 661-683, September.
    13. Tutkun, Aysel & Lehmann, Bernard, 2006. "Explaining the conversion to particularly animal-friendly stabling system of farmers of the Obwalden Canton, Switzerland – Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior within a Structural Equation Mode," 80th Annual Conference, March 30-31, 2006, Paris-Grignon, France 244400, Agricultural Economics Society.
    14. Jouzi, Zeynab & Azadi, Hossein & Taheri, Fatemeh & Zarafshani, Kiumars & Gebrehiwot, Kindeya & Van Passel, Steven & Lebailly, Philippe, 2017. "Organic Farming and Small-Scale Farmers: Main Opportunities and Challenges," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 144-154.
    15. Wollni, Meike & Andersson, Camilla, 2014. "Spatial patterns of organic agriculture adoption: Evidence from Honduras," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 120-128.
    16. Oelofse, Myles & Høgh-Jensen, Henning & Abreu, Lucimar S. & Almeida, Gustavo F. & Hui, Qiao Yu & Sultan, Tursinbek & de Neergaard, Andreas, 2010. "Certified organic agriculture in China and Brazil: Market accessibility and outcomes following adoption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1785-1793, July.
    17. Blackman, Allen & Naranjo, Maria A., 2012. "Does eco-certification have environmental benefits? Organic coffee in Costa Rica," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 58-66.
    18. Saem Lee & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Patrick Poppenborg & Hio-Jung Shin & Thomas Koellner, 2016. "Conventional, Partially Converted and Environmentally Friendly Farming in South Korea: Profitability and Factors Affecting Farmers’ Choice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-18, July.
    19. Albert Bandura, 1988. "Organisational Applications of Social Cognitive Theory," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 13(2), pages 275-302, December.
    20. Peterson, Hikaru Hanawa & Barkley, Andrew P. & Chacon-Cascante, Adriana & Kastens, Terry L., 2012. "The Motivation for Organic Grain Farming in the United States: Profits, Lifestyle, or the Environment?," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 44(2), pages 1-19, May.
    21. Mzoughi, Naoufel, 2011. "Farmers adoption of integrated crop protection and organic farming: Do moral and social concerns matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(8), pages 1536-1545, June.
    22. Caroline E. Hattam & Donald J. Lacombe & Garth J. Holloway, 2012. "Organic certification, export market access and the impacts of policy: Bayesian estimation of avocado smallholder “times-to-organic certification” in Michoacán Mexico," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 43(4), pages 441-457, July.
    23. Lee-Ann Sutherland, 2013. "Can organic farmers be ‘good farmers’? Adding the ‘taste of necessity’ to the conventionalization debate," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(3), pages 429-441, September.
    24. Erin Nelson & Laura Gómez Tovar & Rita Schwentesius Rindermann & Manuel Gómez Cruz, 2010. "Participatory organic certification in Mexico: an alternative approach to maintaining the integrity of the organic label," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 27(2), pages 227-237, June.
    25. Matthias Koesling & Ola Flaten & Gudbrand Lien, 2008. "Factors influencing the conversion to organic farming in Norway," International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1/2), pages 78-95.
    26. Kleemann, Linda & Abdulai, Awudu, 2013. "Organic certification, agro-ecological practices and return on investment: Evidence from pineapple producers in Ghana," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 330-341.
    27. David J. Lewis & Bradford L. Barham & Brian Robinson, 2011. "Are There Spatial Spillovers in the Adoption of Clean Technology? The Case of Organic Dairy Farming," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(2), pages 250-267.
    28. Janssen, Meike & Hamm, Ulrich, 2014. "Governmental and private certification labels for organic food: Consumer attitudes and preferences in Germany," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P2), pages 437-448.
    29. Filippo Sgroi & Matteo Candela & Anna Maria Di Trapani & Mario Foderà & Riccardo Squatrito & Riccardo Testa & Salvatore Tudisca, 2015. "Economic and Financial Comparison between Organic and Conventional Farming in Sicilian Lemon Orchards," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-15, January.
    30. De Cock, Lieve, 2005. "Determinants of Organic Farming Conversion," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24675, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    31. Kaufmann, Peter & Stagl, Sigrid & Franks, Daniel W., 2009. "Simulating the diffusion of organic farming practices in two New EU Member States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2580-2593, August.
    32. KruegerJR, Norris F. & Reilly, Michael D. & Carsrud, Alan L., 2000. "Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 15(5-6), pages 411-432.
    33. Bolwig, Simon & Gibbon, Peter & Jones, Sam, 2009. "The Economics of Smallholder Organic Contract Farming in Tropical Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 1094-1104, June.
    34. Läpple, Doris & Rensburg, Tom Van, 2011. "Adoption of organic farming: Are there differences between early and late adoption?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1406-1414, May.
    35. Henning Best, 2008. "Organic agriculture and the conventionalization hypothesis: A case study from West Germany," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(1), pages 95-106, January.
    36. Radwan, Amr & Gil, Jose Maria & Diab, Yaser A.A. & Abo-Nahoul, Mohamed A., 2011. "Determinants of the Adaption of Organic Agriculture in Egypt Using a Duration Analysis Technique," 85th Annual Conference, April 18-20, 2011, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 108961, Agricultural Economics Society.
    37. Reinartz, Werner & Haenlein, Michael & Henseler, Jörg, 2009. "An empirical comparison of the efficacy of covariance-based and variance-based SEM," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 332-344.
    38. Jessica Goldberger, 2008. "Non-governmental organizations, strategic bridge building, and the “scientization” of organic agriculture in Kenya," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 25(2), pages 271-289, June.
    39. Sarker, M.A. & Itohara, Y. & Hoque, M., . "Determinants of Adoption Decisions: The Case of Organic Farming (OF) in Bangladesh," Extension Farming Systems Journal - EFS Journal, Australasian Farm Business Management Network, vol. 5(2).
    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. Nettle, R. & Morton, J.M. & McDonald, N. & Suryana, M. & Birch, D. & Nyengo, K. & Mbuli, M. & Ayre, M. & King, B. & Paschen, J.-A. & Reichelt, N., 2021. "Factors associated with farmers’ use of fee-for-service advisors in a privatized agricultural extension system," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Nuray Cakirli Akyüz & Ludwig Theuvsen, 2020. "The Impact of Behavioral Drivers on Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices: The Case of Organic Farming in Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Dilip Nandwani & Dinesh Jamarkattel & Khem Raj Dahal & Ritikshya Poudel & Suman Giri & Toya Nath Joshi, 2021. "Attitudes of Fruit and Vegetable Farmers towards Organic Farming in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-11, April.
    4. Joy R. Petway & Yu-Pin Lin & Rainer F. Wunderlich, 2019. "Analyzing Opinions on Sustainable Agriculture: Toward Increasing Farmer Knowledge of Organic Practices in Taiwan-Yuanli Township," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-27, July.
    5. Chi, Shu-Yi & Chien, Li-Hsien, 2023. "Why defuzzification matters: An empirical study of fresh fruit supply chain management," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 311(2), pages 648-659.
    6. Joy R. Petway & Yu-Pin Lin & Rainer F. Wunderlich, 2020. "A Place-Based Approach to Agricultural Nonmaterial Intangible Cultural Ecosystem Service Values," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-22, January.
    7. Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure & Zongho Kom & Karabo Shale & Nthaduleni Samuel Nethengwe & Jacobus Steyn, 2021. "Perceptions of Smallholder Farmers towards Organic Farming in South Africa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, November.

    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. Wollni, Meike & Andersson, Camilla, 2014. "Spatial patterns of organic agriculture adoption: Evidence from Honduras," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 120-128.
    2. Wollni, Meike & Andersson, Camilla I.M., 2013. "Spatial effects in organic agriculture adoption in Honduras: the role of social conformity, positive externalities, and information," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149911, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Daniele Mozzato & Paola Gatto & Edi Defrancesco & Lucia Bortolini & Francesco Pirotti & Elena Pisani & Luigi Sartori, 2018. "The Role of Factors Affecting the Adoption of Environmentally Friendly Farming Practices: Can Geographical Context and Time Explain the Differences Emerging from Literature?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-23, August.
    4. Beatrice Dingha & Leah Sandler & Arnab Bhowmik & Clement Akotsen-Mensah & Louis Jackai & Kevin Gibson & Ronald Turco, 2019. "Industrial Hemp Knowledge and Interest among North Carolina Organic Farmers in the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Ratana Sapbamrer & Ajchamon Thammachai, 2021. "A Systematic Review of Factors Influencing Farmers’ Adoption of Organic Farming," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-28, March.
    6. 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.
    7. Andow, D.A. & Resende Filho, M.A. & Carneiro, R.G. & Lorena, D.R. & Sujii, E.R. & Alves, R.T., 2017. "Heterogeneity in Intention to Adopt Organic Strawberry Production Practices Among Producers in the Federal District, Brazil," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 177-189.
    8. Boun My, Kene & Nguyen-Van, Phu & Kim Cuong Pham, Thi & Stenger, Anne & Tiet, Tuyen & To-The, Nguyen, 2022. "Drivers of organic farming: Lab-in-the-field evidence of the role of social comparison and information nudge in networks in Vietnam," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    9. Malek, Žiga & Tieskens, Koen F. & Verburg, Peter H., 2019. "Explaining the global spatial distribution of organic crop producers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    10. Natalia Brzezina & Katharina Biely & Ariella Helfgott & Birgit Kopainsky & Joost Vervoort & Erik Mathijs, 2017. "Development of Organic Farming in Europe at the Crossroads: Looking for the Way Forward through System Archetypes Lenses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-23, May.
    11. Bonfiglio, Andrea & Arzeni, Andrea, 2019. "Spatial distribution of organic farms and territorial context: An application to an Italian rural region," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 8(3), December.
    12. Philippos Karipidis & Sotiria Karypidou, 2021. "Factors that Impact Farmers’ Organic Conversion Decisions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-24, April.
    13. Waripas Jiumpanyarach, 2021. "Organic Agriculture: Farmers Perception and Adaptation in Northern Thailand," Asian Journal of Agriculture and rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 11(3), pages 245-254, September.
    14. Nuray Cakirli Akyüz & Ludwig Theuvsen, 2020. "The Impact of Behavioral Drivers on Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices: The Case of Organic Farming in Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, August.
    15. Han, Guang & Arbuckle, J. Gordon & Grudens-Schuck, Nancy, 2021. "Motivations, goals, and benefits associated with organic grain farming by producers in Iowa, U.S," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    16. Ayuya, Oscar I. & Gido, Eric O. & Bett, Hillary K. & Lagat, Job K. & Kahi, Alexander K. & Bauer, Siegfried, 2015. "Effect of Certified Organic Production Systems on Poverty among Smallholder Farmers: Empirical Evidence from Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 27-37.
    17. Parvathi, Priyanka & Waibel, Hermann, 2015. "Adoption and Impact of Black Pepper Certification in India," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 54(2), pages 1-29, May.
    18. Vu, Ha Thu & Tran, Duc & Goto, Daisaku & Kawata, Keisuke, 2020. "Does experience sharing affect farmers’ pro-environmental behavior? A randomized controlled trial in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    19. François J Dessart & Jesús Barreiro-Hurlé & René van Bavel, 2019. "Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: a policy-oriented review," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 46(3), pages 417-471.
    20. Hannus, Veronika & Sauer, Johannes, 2021. "It is not only about money —– German farmers' preferences regarding voluntary standards for farm sustainability management," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).

    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:9:y:2017:i:11:p:2024-:d:117595. 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.