The Role of Technical Knowledge and Technology Accessibility in Explaining Grain Farmers’ Soil Conservation Behavior: The Use of Technology Acceptance Model

Ahmadi Firouzjaie, Ali; Ahmadi, Leili; Khalaj, Hamideh

doi:10.30473/ee.2023.64105.2526

The Role of Technical Knowledge and Technology Accessibility in Explaining Grain Farmers’ Soil Conservation Behavior: The Use of Technology Acceptance Model

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

² Graduated student of Rural Development, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

10.30473/ee.2023.64105.2526

Abstract

Soil degradation caused by conventional agriculture is a growing problem on grain farms in Bagherabad district of Mahallat county. This study sought to investigate grain farmers᾽ soil conservation behavior (SCB) based on an extended technology acceptance model (TAM). Structural equation modeling technique was used to test this extended TAM based on the survey collected data from 243 grain farmers. Findings revealed that farmers poorly used soil conservation practices (SCPs). However, among SCPs, grain farmers have used organic manuring the most and cover cropping the least on their farms. The reason for this is they had more knowledge about organic manuring and also more access to the organic manures. This study also supported the indirect effect of technical knowledge (TK) and Technology Accessibility (TA) on Perceived Usefulness (PU) through affecting Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) directly. In addition, the present study pointed out that the intention was the most important factor explaining SCB and PEOU was the most important factor influencing intention. Therefore, to improve SCB, improving farmers᾽ perceived ease of use (PEOU) should be considered through facilitating TA along with enhancing TK. In this regard, along with providing extension services, policy makers are advised to facilitate farmers’ access to appropriate soil conservation (SC) technologies and inputs and also increase the purchasing power of farmers through granting cheap credit facilities and supplying technologies at affordable prices.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Environmental Education and sustainable agriculture

References

Ajzen, I. (1991). “The theory of planned behavior”. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

Al-Emran, M., Mezhuyev, V., & Kamaludin, A. (2018). “Technology Acceptance Model in M-learning context: A systematic review”. Computers and Education, 125: 389-412.

Arriaga, F. J., Guzman, J., & Lowery, B. (2017). “Conventional Agricultural Production Systems and Soil Functions”. In Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems. 109-125.

Asfaw, D., & Neka, M. (2017). “Factors affecting adoption of soil and water conservation practices: The case of Wereillu Woreda (District), South Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia”. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 5(4): 273–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2017.10.002

Bagheri, A., Bondori, A., Allahyari, M. S., & Surujlal, J. (2020). “Use of biologic inputs among cereal farmers: application of technology acceptance model”. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23(4): 5165-5181.

Buah, S. S. J., Nutsugah, S. K., Kanton, R. A. L., Atokple, I. D. K., Dogbe, W., Karikari, A. S., Wiredu, A. N., Amankwah, A., Osei, C., Ajayi, O., & Ndiaye, K. (2011). “Enhancing farmers’ access to technology for increased rice productivity in Ghana”. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 6(19): 4455-4466.

Chin, W. W. (1998). “The partial least squares approach for structural equation modeling”. Modern Methods for Business Research, 295(2): 295-336.

Chismar, W. G., & Wiley-Patton, S. (2003). “Does the extended technology acceptance model apply to physicians”. Proceedings of the 36th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2003. Proceedings of the (pp. 8-pp). IEEE.

Davis, F. D. (1989). “Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology”. MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems. 13(3): 319-340.

Davis, F. D., Bagozzi, R. P., & Warshaw, P. R. (1989). “User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models”. Management Science, 35(8): 982-1003. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.35.8.982

Despotović, J., Rodić, V., & Caracciolo, F. (2019). “Factors affecting farmers’ adoption of integrated pest management in Serbia: An application of the theory of planned behavior”. Journal of Cleaner Production, 228: 1196–1205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.149

Dutot, V. (2015). “Factors influencing Near Field Communication (NFC) adoption: An extended TAM approach”. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 26(1): 45-57.

Fantappiè, M., Lorenzetti, R., De Meo, I., & Costantini, E. A. C. (2020). “How to improve the adoption of soil conservation practices? Suggestions from farmers’ perception in western Sicily”. Journal of Rural Studies, 73: 186-202.

Farouque, M. G., & Takeya, H. (2008). “Resource-poor farmers’ constraints regarding integrated soil fertility and nutrient management system practices: A study in rural Bangladesh”. International Journal of Agricultural Research, 3(3): 188-195. https://doi.org/10.3923/ijar.2008.188.195

Faruque-As-Sunny, Huang, Z., & Karimanzira, T. (2018). “Investigating Key Factors Influencing Farming Decisions Based on Soil Testing and Fertilizer Recommendation Facilities (STFRF)—A Case Study on Rural Bangladesh”. Sustainability, 10(11): 1-24.

Fishbein, M, & Ajzen, I. (1975). “Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley”. In Computers in Human Behavior, 10(2): 177-189.

Fishbein, Martin, & Ajzen, I. (1975). “Chapter 1. Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research”. In Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). “Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error”. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1): 39–50.

Gangwar, H., Date, H., & Ramaswamy, R. (2015). “Understanding determinants of cloud computing adoption using an integrated TAM-TOE model”. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 28(1): 107-130.

Gefen, D., & Straub, D. (2000). “The Relative Importance of Perceived Ease of Use in IS Adoption: A Study of E-Commerce Adoption”. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 1(1): 1–30.

Granić, A., & Marangunić, N. (2019). “Technology acceptance model in educational context: A systematic literature review”. In British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(5): 2572-2593.

Haghjou, M., Hayati, B., & Momeni Choleki, D. (2014). “Identification of Factors Affecting Adoption of Soil Conservation Practices by Some Rainfed Farmers in Iran”. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 16(5): 957–967.

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). “A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Second Edition”. In California: Sage publications.

Haji, L., Valizadeh, N., Rezaei-Moghaddam, K., & Hayati, D. (2020). “Analyzing iranian farmers’ behavioral intention towards acceptance of drip irrigation using extended technology acceptance model”. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 22(5): 1177-1190.

Han, Q., Siddique, K. H. M., & Li, F. (2018). “Adoption of conservation tillage on the semi-arid Loess Plateau of Northwest China”. Sustainability (Switzerland), 10(8): 2621.

Henseler, J., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). “Goodness-of-fit indices for partial least squares path modeling”. Computational Statistics, 28(2): 565–580.

Hinton, P., McMurray, I., & Brownlow, C. (2004). “SPSS Explained”. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203642597

Hulland, J. (1999). “Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: A review of four recent studies”. Strategic Management Journal, 20(2): 195–204.

Kader, M. A., Senge, M., Mojid, M. A., & Ito, K. (2017). “Recent advances in mulching materials and methods for modifying soil environment”. In Soil and Tillage Research, 168: 155-166.

Khazaei Pool, J., Verij Kazemi, R., Amani, M., & Kia Lashaki, J. (2016). “An extension of the technology acceptance model for the E-Repurchasing of sports match tickets”. International Journal of Management and Business Research, 6(1): 1-12.

Khoza, S., de Beer, L. T., van Niekerk, D., & Nemakonde, L. (2020). “A gender-differentiated analysis of climate-smart agriculture adoption by smallholder farmers: application of the extended technology acceptance model”. Gender, Technology and Development, 25(1): 1-21.

Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). “Determining Sample Size for Research Activities”. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3): 607-610.

Kulkarni, M. (2019). “Digital accessibility: Challenges and opportunities”. IIMB Management Review, 31(1): 91-98.

Marangunić, N., & Granić, A. (2015). “Technology acceptance model: a literature review from 1986 to 2013”. Universal Access in the Information Society, 14(1): 81-95.

Matuschke, I., & Qaim, M. (2008). “Seed market privatisation and farmers’ access to crop technologies: The case of hybrid pearl millet adoption in India”. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 59(3): 498-515.

Michels, M., Bonke, V., & Musshoff, O. (2019). “Understanding the adoption of smartphone apps in dairy herd management”. Journal of Dairy Science, 102(10): 9422-9434.

Naspetti, S., Mandolesi, S., Buysse, J., Latvala, T., Nicholas, P., Padel, S., Van Loo, E. J., & Zanoli, R. (2017). “Determinants of the acceptance of sustainable production strategies among dairy farmers: Development and testing of a modified technology acceptance model”. Sustainability (Switzerland), 9(10): 1805.

Nielsen, K. M. (2018). “Organic farming”. In Encyclopedia of Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.10603-7

Ntshangase, N. L., Muroyiwa, B., & Sibanda, M. (2018). “Farmers’ perceptions and factors influencing the adoption of no-till conservation agriculture by small-scale farmers in Zashuke, KwaZulu-Natal province”. Sustainability (Switzerland), 10(2): 555.

Pagliacci, F., Defrancesco, E., Mozzato, D., Bortolini, L., Pezzuolo, A., Pirotti, F., Pisani, E., & Gatto, P. (2020). “Drivers of farmers’ adoption and continuation of climate-smart agricultural practices. A study from northeastern Italy”. Science of the Total Environment, 710: 136345.

Pappa, I. C., Iliopoulos, C., & Massouras, T. (2018). “What determines the acceptance and use of electronic traceability systems in agri-food supply chains?” Journal of Rural Studies, 58: 123-135.

Pittelkow, C. M., Liang, X., Linquist, B. A., Van Groenigen, L. J., Lee, J., Lundy, M. E., Van Gestel, N., Six, J., Venterea, R. T., & Van Kessel, C. (2015). “Productivity limits and potentials of the principles of conservation agriculture”. Nature, 517(7534): 365-368.

Rahimi B, Nadri H, Afshar HL, Timpka T. A systematic review of the technology acceptance model in health informatics. Applied clinical informatics, 9(03):604-34.

Rahimi, B., Nadri, H., Afshar, H. L., & Timpka, T. (2018). “A systematic review of the technology acceptance model in health informatics”. In Applied Clinical Informatics. 9(03), 604-634.

Rahimi, B., Nadri, H., Afshar, H.L. and Timpka, T., 2018. A systematic review of the technology acceptance model in health informatics. Applied clinical informatics, 9(03), pp.604-634.

Rahimi, Bahlol, Hamed Nadri, Hadi Lotfnezhad Afshar, and Toomas Timpka. "A systematic review of the technology acceptance model in health informatics." Applied clinical informatics 9, no. 03 (2018): 604-634.

Rezaei, R., Safa, L., & Ganjkhanloo, M. M. (2020). “Understanding farmers’ ecological conservation behavior regarding the use of integrated pest management- an application of the technology acceptance model”. Global Ecology and Conservation. 22: e00941.

Samiee, S., & Rezaei-Moghaddam, K. (2017). “The proposed alternative model to predict adoption of innovations: The case of no-till technology in Iran”. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 16(3): 270-279.

Silva, A. G., Canavari, M., & Sidali, K. L. (2018). “A Technology Acceptance Model of common bean growers’ intention to adopt Integrated Production in the Brazilian Central Region”. Die Bodenkultur: Journal of Land Management, Food and Environment, 68(3): 131-143.

Straub, D., & Gefen, D. (2004). “Validation Guidelines for IS Positivist Research”. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 13(1): 24.

Tenenhaus, M., Amato, S., & Vinzi, E. V. (2004). “A global goodness-of-fit index for PLS structural equation modelling”. The XLII SIS Scientific Meeting, 1(2): 739–742.

Timprasert, S., Datta, A., & Ranamukhaarachchi, S. L. (2014). “Factors determining adoption of integrated pest management by vegetable growers in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand”. Crop Protection, 62: 32–39.

van Dijk, W. F. A., Lokhorst, A. M., Berendse, F., & de Snoo, G. R. (2016). “Factors underlying farmers’ intentions to perform unsubsidised agri-environmental measures”. Land Use Policy, 59: 207-216.

Verma, P., & Sinha, N. (2018). “Integrating perceived economic wellbeing to technology acceptance model: The case of mobile based agricultural extension service”. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 126: 207-216.

Wang, Y. na, Jin, L., & Mao, H. (2019). “Farmer Cooperatives’ Intention to Adopt Agricultural Information Technology—Mediating Effects of Attitude”. Information Systems Frontiers, 21(3): 565-580.

Ward, P. S., Bell, A. R., Droppelmann, K., & Benton, T. G. (2018). “Early adoption of conservation agriculture practices: Understanding partial compliance in programs with multiple adoption decisions”. Land Use Policy, 70: 27-37.

Wauters, E., Bielders, C., Poesen, J., Govers, G., & Mathijs, E. (2010). “Adoption of soil conservation practices in Belgium: An examination of the theory of planned behaviour in the agri-environmental domain”. Land Use Policy, 27(1): 86-94.

Werner, M., Wauters, E., Bijttebier, J., Steinmann, H. H., Ruysschaert, G., & Knierim, A. (2017). “Farm level implementation of soil conservation measures: Farmers’ beliefs and intentions”. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 32(6): 524-537.

Wetzels, M., Odekerken-Schröder, G., & Van Oppen, C. (2009). “Using PLS path modeling for assessing hierarchical construct models: Guidelines and empirical illustration”. MIS Quarterly, 33(1): 177-195.

Yang, Z., Mugera, A. W., Yin, N., & Wang, Y. (2018). “Soil conservation practices and production efficiency of smallholder farms in Central China”. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 20(4): 1517-1533.