Farmer preferences for adopting precision farming technologies: a case study from Italy

TLDR

Precision farming technologies can reduce fertilizer use, irrigation, and costs while mitigating environmental impact, yet their adoption remains low across Europe. This study examines Italian farmers’ willingness to adopt precision farming technologies through a choice experiment, focusing on how social influence shapes feature valuation. The analysis employs mixed and latent class logit models to evaluate farmers’ preferences. Results indicate that awareness of fellow farmers’ adoption enhances the perceived value of precision farming features, underscoring the role of networks.

Abstract

Abstract Precision farming (PF) technologies can help to mitigate the environmental impact of agriculture by reducing fertiliser use and irrigation while saving cost for the farmer. However, these technologies are not widely adopted in Europe. We study farmers’ willingness to adopt PF technologies based on a choice experiment. Among other determinants, we explore the role of social influence for the valuation of PF technology features. The data are analysed using mixed and latent class logit models. Our results show that knowledge of fellow farmers who adopted the technology positively influences the valuation of PF technology features, stressing the importance of networks.