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Agrarian land is being converted into a non-agricultural sector, which is a matter of significant concern. This study aims to determine the factors responsible for the agrarian land conversion to the non-agricultural sector in Pakistan. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected for analysis. Quantitative data were collected from 608 farmers through a questionnaire survey, while qualitative data by in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study uses a logistic regression model and thematic analysis to determine the factors responsible for land conversion. Results show that farmers' education, total landholding, urbanization, and the provision of government facilities positively influence land conversion. The ratio of irrigated land and production per acre were negatively associated with such land conversion. The qualitative data identified the push factors such as the social network of farmers, institutional and economic, while the pull factors included commercial opportunities, industrialization, and future expectations. Farmers should be assisted in diversifying their farm operations to generate multiple income streams, reducing the financial pressure that might lead to their selling land. Strict policies are also necessary to control the conversion of agrarian land into use for non-agricultural activities. • The farmers' characteristics, land, geographical, and institutional factors played a role in agrarian land conversion. • Farmers' education, the price of land, urbanization, and government facilities positively influenced land conversion. • The lack of check & balance in government institutions triggered the problem. • The mixed study has provided an in-depth analysis of the factors influencing land conversion. • The regression model is checked for overfitting of the model, multicollinearity, and confounders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate adaptation technology represents an effective strategy in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Digital extension serves as a promising solution to overcome the constraints associated with conventional technology promotion methods. This study uses 610 apple growers survey data of the prominent apple-producing region-Shaanxi Province, to examine the impact of digital extension on farmers' adoption of climate adaptation technology and its underlying mechanism. The results show that digital extension significantly influences on farmers' adoption of climate adaptation technology, and this conclusion remains robust after additional tests. Additionally, we identify two primary mechanisms by which digital extension influences the climate adaptation technology adoption. Firstly, by enhancing farmers' access to financial resources through credit-related mechanisms, digital extension fosters their adoption of climate adaptation technology. Secondly, digital extension elevates awareness of the ecological and economic benefits, thus motivating farmers to embrace climate adaptation technology. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that digital extension has a more pronounced impact on the adoption behavior of climate adaptation technology among farmers characterized by advanced digital skills, low social capital, large-scale operations, non-farm payroll status, or vulnerability to high-disaster scenarios. • We examine the impact of digital extension on farmers' adoption of climate adaptation technology and its underlying mechanism. • Digital extension significantly promotes farmers' adoption of climate adaptation technology. • The mechanisms is mitigating credit constraints and enhancing their awareness of ecological and economic benefits. • The influence is contingent upon the digital literacy, resource endowment, and the external environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change has threatened sustainable agricultural growth over the years, severely affecting food sufficiency and the livelihood of farmers. The Climate-Smart Agricultural Technologies (CSAT), as a form of adaptation, offer pathways for mitigating the negative effect of climate change on crop producers in developing countries. This study uses cross-country (Mali and Niger) cross-sectional data to examine the welfare (proxied by crop sales revenue and income) impact of multiple adoptions of CSAT on smallholder farm households. To control for potential endogeneity that leads to bias estimates, we employ the multinomial endogenous treatment effect (METE) model, complemented with the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) for the analysis. The result reveals that household (education, location, and assets) and plot (plot size, plot topography, and soil fertility) characteristics, institutional factors (farmer-based organization, access to formal credit, and extension service) and crop disease shock significantly influence different combinations of CSAT adoption. The impact estimates show that adopting joint combinations of CSAT leads to higher crop sales revenue and income among the farmers in most cases. These findings suggest that the adoption of CSAT as a package should be encouraged and disseminated in the West Africa Sahel region. Moreover, some sociodemographic and institutional factors such as education, credit access, farmer-based organizations, and extension services could be strengthened for easy and rapid adoption of CSAT by smallholder farmers, which subsequently improves their economic welfare. • Climate change has dampened sustainable agricultural growth in sub-Saharan Africa. • Complimentary adoption of adaptation strategies offers a potential solution. • Climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSAT) emerge as a vital adaptation strategy. • Adoption of adaptation strategies (CSAT) as a package improves farmers' welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European payment for ecosystem services in the agricultural sector, or agri-environmental schemes (AES), have shown limited success in stopping biodiversity loss due to the mismatches between the scale at which they are adopted and the scale of ecological processes. This study analyzes the spatial distribution of farmer participation in the "Improvement of the steppe habitats of the Natura 2000 Network" AES in Catalonia (Spain) to test and explain potential agglomeration patterns. Our findings evidence spatial agglomeration of AES enrollment both within the farm (with farmers enrolling their adjacent or nearby plots in the scheme) and among farms (with farmers that adopt AES being near each other). Plots under the Natura2000-AES are located within a maximum distance of 2.4 km from their nearest enrolled plots, which would provide sufficient habitat continuum to allow for birds' mobility across landscapes. Our results also indicate that participation concentrates on larger, non-irrigated and/or fallow plots, farms that are managed by professionals, young farmers, and/or members of a farmer organization, and municipalities with lower socioeconomic indexes. These results contradict the assumption that there are no agglomeration patterns in the AES context and reveal the interest of further studying the socio-ecological factors that underlie spatial agglomeration patterns of AES and designing landscape-management strategies accordingly. • We analyzed the spatial patterns of agri-environmental scheme uptake in Catalonia. • We found spatial agglomeration of enrollment both within the farm and among farms. • Enrolled plots are within a maximum distance of 2.4 km from their nearest neighbor. • Participation concentrates on fallow, larger, and non-irrigated plots. • Young, professionals and farmers that belong to a cooperative tend to enroll. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gurage Zone is one of the areas of Ethiopia experiencing rapid land use and land cover (LULC) changes over the past few decades. This study assessed the contribution of eucalyptus expansion to LULC changes based on a detailed household level survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and a set of Landsat imageries. Both descriptive statistics and econometric model were employed for the analysis of drivers of eucalyptus plantation. LULC change detection technique was used to examine the changes in LULC over time. This study achieved a mean classification accuracy of 89.17% and 0.83 overall Kappa statistics for the tree LULC maps. The result of descriptive analysis revealed that more than 42% of the sampled households have planted eucalyptus trees on crop land. The study indicated that eucalyptus plantation which was fourth in LULC ranking in 2000 has increased by 68.3% in 2021 to become the second largest land cover next to crop land. On the other hand, from 2010 to 2021, the area covered by crops showed a decline. This indicates eucalyptus tree to be the major cause of LULC change in the study area. The econometric estimation identified the micro-level drivers such as land size and access to market to be important factors influencing eucalyptus plantation. This study suggests that the rapid expansion of eucalyptus plantation on fertile soil requires an immediate policy response in order to balance food crop production and eucalyptus plantation in Gurage Zone. • The area covered by eucalyptus plantation increased from almost 12% in 2000 to 20% in 2021. • Smallholder farmers' eucalyptus tree plantations were the main cause of LULC changes. • Micro-level drivers influencing LULC changes include factors such as land size and market accessibility. • Policy actions are necessary to keep a balance between the demand for forest products and food production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agri-environment-climate measures of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy are incentives aiming to reduce negative environmental impacts and increase positive effects generated from agriculture. Several criticisms have been addressed to their efficiency and effectiveness and thus, the design of innovative contract solutions is currently suggested. Among the novel contractual solutions, there are result-based payments, collective implementation of measures, the engagement of private and business actors in value chains, and new forms of land tenure systems coupled with environmental clauses. Little is known about the factors at interplay influencing farmers' decision to uptake such contracts. The present paper investigates the acceptability determinants of the above-mentioned novel contractual solutions concerning a sample of nearly 1900 farmers from 10 European Union countries. The analysis is based on a questionnaire built through a common research framework. We apply ordered logistic regressions: both proportional and partial proportional odds models are used. Farmers' preferences are interpreted by splitting the innovative contractual solutions into 13 individual contractual features which are then modeled in combination with the structural characteristics of the farms and the sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics of the farmers. We estimate farmers' willingness to enroll in result-based, collective, value-chain, and land tenure contracts and highlight the positive and negative factors potentially influencing farmers' acceptability of each type of contract. • Acceptability of result-based, collective, value chain, and land tenure contracts • Through ordered logistic regressions on 1866 farmers from 10 EU countries • Contractual design features matter (implementation details more than contract type) • Farmers have a good level of interest, but trade-offs in design and implementation • Managerial aspects/contractual design features matter vs. farms' structural characteristics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful implementation of Europe's agri-environmental policies faces various obstacles, several of which are closely linked to participation. Effectively increasing adoption of agri-environmental-climate measures (AECM) requires a deeper understanding of farmers' motives. Various case-study research has targeted ex-post studies but offers context-specific recommendations. Earlier literature reviews provide certain insights, but have not yet clarified how the evidence on adoption can be optimally applied to AECM design. We explore farmer decision-making by synthetizing results from three decades of ex-post empirical studies on AECM adoption in Europe. Our approach applies a theoretically informed participation framework that offers practical insights for AECM design. We systematically scrutinize how different stage-specific constructs, grouped into 'alignment', 'opportunity', 'engagement', and 'contracting', influence farmer decisions. We identify eight determinants of participation and 38 variables capturing their contribution to decision-making. Variables explaining the role of social contexts and satisfaction with contract design are seldom observed but prove significant in around 60 percent of cases. Conversely, variables capturing the relevance of AECM to farmers and the opportunity of participation are frequently included, but often ineffective in explaining uptake. Enhancing the alignment of the measures with farmers' needs encourages adoption, but excessive alignment carries the risk of self-selection bias toward baseline-complying agents, which likely jeopardizes AECM additionality. Our findings highlight how crucial it is for adoption studies to properly account for farmers' opportunity costs and self-selection bias. We draw policy-makers' attention to the importance of carefully considering all four constructs during policy design. • We synthetize results from three decades of AECM adoption studies in Europe. • We assess evidence against four constructs for explaining farmer's participation. • All constructs are important when designing a new AECM and studying uptake. • Information, communication, and satisfaction with the design show positive effect. • Efforts should be made to capture opportunity costs of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how Maya farmers in Mexico respond to agri-environmental subsidies aimed at promoting sustainable land use decisions. We do so through a serious games approach, using a tailor-designed board game to identify the land use behaviors of Maya farmers. The game simulated three different subsidy programs promoting mechanized agriculture, forest conservation, and agroforestry. We find that farmers tend to clear forested areas in response to agroforestry subsidies. Also, we observe that land use decisions are path-dependent, with farmers adhering to traditional and mechanized agriculture and hesitant to engage in conservation and agroforestry. These findings highlight the potential of serious games as a tool to improve understandings of how farmers make land use decisions and the resulting land use change patterns. Specifically, our findings show that serious games are well suited to understand how path dependency in decision-making can influence the effect of subsidies – and whether subsidies thereby achieve the intended goals, such as reduced deforestation. • Unlike traditional agriculture, mechanized agriculture causes rapid deforestation. • Agroforestry replaces forests and is not implemented on existing agricultural land. • Removing subsidies can result in abandonment of the land uses they target. • Sunk costs drive land use path dependency and explain farmers' behavior. • Serious games can provide an effective tool to unravel complex land use behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water catchment management negotiates a complex landscape of local and expert knowledge, cultural and historical norms, property rights, and the pressures of environmental change. Various schemes have developed in recent years that aim to provide an integrated, consultative approach to environmental management, among which payment for ecosystem services (PES) has emerged as a successful example. Yet, there are certain characteristics of catchment landscapes that problematise the implementation of PES schemes for water management. This paper explores these characteristics in a case study of the Lunan water catchment area in Angus, Scotland. We report on a scientific research project to develop and implement a tilting weir system in the catchment that aims to address wetland nutrient and sediment pollution, winter flooding in the upper catchment, and summer water shortages in the lower catchment. Socio-scientific methods investigate the potential use of a PES approach to support the local management of the tilting weir system for the provision of multiple benefits at the catchment scale. Research shows evidence of conflicting levels of support between farmers and residents for both the intervention itself and the PES approach, diverse perceptions of rights and responsibilities in relation to water, and the challenges of identifying an adequate PES intermediary in the current institutional framework. • A water-level management intervention was suggested for the provision of ecosystem services. • A PES scheme is investigated as a governance mechanism. • A survey and qualitative interviews evidence contrasting perspectives. • Perceptions of rights and responsibilities in relation to water management are key. • Challenges emerge to find an institutional intermediary when aiming for multiple benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture around the world is one of the industries most affected by, and faced with responsibility to mitigate, climate change. Through improvements in technology and efficiency as well as changes to land use management, agriculture can make an important contribution to meeting global commitments such as the Paris agreement or the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet international carbon markets have not resulted in sufficiently high financial returns to motivate the full potential of land sector changes in Australia and globally. Through analysis of 110 interviews with 55 farmers, 43 advisors and 12 stakeholders in the land sector we identify that the framing of 'carbon-farming' in agriculture as a financial opportunity creates a barrier to how farmers perceive participation in carbon markets. As a result of this finding, this paper argues that framing the opportunities with increased attention to co-benefits and broader economic incentives in addition to potential financial opportunities could re-invigorate how carbon farming is perceived and adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Limit agri-environmental measures to those with proven biodiversity benefits. • Incentives needed for optimizing placement of agri-environmental measures. • CAP greening experienced as complicated and without environmental benefits. As a part of the greening of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy in 2013, Ecological Focus Areas (EFA) became mandatory for many European farmers, with the aim to enhance on-farm biodiversity. However, their effects on biodiversity have been disputed. In this interdisciplinary effort, we assessed the effects of current and alternative formulations of EFA regulations in Sweden. By complementing economic and ecological modelling with interviews with persons at administrative and advisory bodies and a narrative decision game with farmers, we were able to demonstrate key shortcomings of mandatory EFAs as a policy instrument. In particular, we evaluated if requirements to increase the quality of EFAs and regulations allowing their collective implementation, have the potential to increase their effectiveness in benefitting functional biodiversity. We focused on how biodiversity underpinning crop pollination and natural pest control would be affected by alternative regulations. First, we show that several of the possible EFA measures have no or minimal actual effect on biodiversity. Second, we demonstrate the need for appropriate incentives for farmers to choose and place agri-environmental measures in an environmentally desirable way. The EFA regulation is experienced as complicated and without any clear environmental benefits for the participants in this study. As a result, the confidence in the policy is undermined. Third, we demonstrate the challenge of devising compulsory measures to improve biodiversity that also need to fulfil demands on being flexible and easy to administrate. Our results indicate that the latter goal has taken precedence over the former, and thus providing an explanation of the poor design of the EFA regulation from a biodiversity perspective. We argue that to enhance biodiversity in farmland through general agri-environmental measures, only measures with clear benefits for biodiversity can be on the menu. Further, better information as well as incentives for optimizing EFA placement for biodiversity on farms are needed and combined with stricter rules on quality and placement where appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• TPB used to identify variables influencing farmers' intentions to follow a NMP. • Attitude, perceived control and subjective norm positively influence intentions. • Subjective norm has a positive effect on attitude and perceived control. • Policy and trusted information sources play a role in determining perceptions. Farmer decision making in relation to chemical fertiliser and manure use is of great concern to policy makers. Inefficient use can lead to both environmental pollution and financial losses to farmers. Following a nutrient management plan (NMP) can help to mitigate these impacts and improve farm incomes. As the use of NMPs remains below expectation globally, this study aims to provide insights into the drivers of farmers' intentions to follow a NMP and to understand how behavioural change can be encouraged. An extended version of the theory of planned behaviour is adopted and structural equation modelling is used to analyse survey data collected from a sample of Irish farmers. Results show that intention to follow a NMP is primarily driven by perceived behavioural control (ease/difficulty) over following a NMP, followed by subjective norm (social pressure) and finally attitude (negative/positive evaluation) towards following a NMP. We also find that subjective norm is an important predictor of both attitude and perceived behavioural control. Furthermore, policies that require certain farmers to develop a NMP on a mandatory basis, plays a significant role in influencing famers' attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. Finally, trust in technical sources of information (e.g. advisor and discussion group) is found to be a more influential determinant of farmers' attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control than trust in social information sources (e.g. family and the media). These results provide a comprehensive understanding of the variables driving farmers' intentions to follow a NMP and highlight the importance of both socio-psychological and institutional variables in the analysis of farmer decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Five pathways explain the incorporation of young people to the livestock sector. • Five pathways agree on the importance of having access to land. • Key drivers in the incorporation are agrarian family tradition and education level. • The degree of innovation and of autonomy in decision-making are key in different pathways. The livestock sector in Europe is currently undergoing multiple transformations. The challenges posed by these changes must be faced by an increasingly aged workforce. Promoting the incorporation of young farmers into the livestock sector would be crucial for ensuring that these challenges are met in the best possible way. It is generally agreed that young farmers face these challenges with greater dynamism, flexibility and adaptability. In spite of this, young people have to face many difficulties when trying to join the livestock sector. This study analyses different ways young farmers experience the process of incorporation into the livestock sector in one of the main livestock regions in Spain (Catalonia). The Q-Methodology was used to identify five pathways: the Traditional pathway, the Neo-rural pathway, the Business pathway, the Industrial pathway and the Agroecological pathway. The fact that these five pathways coexist evidences the complex and multidimensional nature of the process of incorporation of young livestock farmers into the sector. Finally we also observed that the incorporation of young livestock farmers, its possibility or impossibility, and the pathway followed by them, are largely conditioned by five main drivers: (i) the presence or absence of an agrarian family tradition; (ii) the capacity to access adequate land; (iii) the education level; (iv) the degree of innovation in livestock activities; (v) the degree of autonomy in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Few smallholder farmers in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo communities have registered trees on their farms. • Tree registration could help to reduce elite capture of forestry sector benefits in Ghana. • Filial and community piety constrain farmers' contestation of elite capture of forestry benefits. • Assistance from the state or NGOs must be provided to help smallholder farmers secure tree tenure. The regularization of rights to commercial tree species, or "tree registration," is being promoted by the State (Forestry Commission of Ghana) and non-governmental organizations in Ghana to help minimize elite capture of forestry benefits. Our study examines smallholder farmers' response to tree registration in selected Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Region communities. Responses are considered in light of persistent constraints farmers endure, including crop damage from tree felling and non-remission (to communities from timber concessionaires) of social responsibility agreement (SRA) benefits. Nearly one-half of farmers said trees had been removed from their farms resulting in crop damage, but virtually no one could verify SRA benefits. Most farmers were unaware of tree titling, and no one had completed the registration process. The multilayered landownership and tree tenure structures in Ghana make registering difficult, if not impossible for smallholder farmers, many of whom are without the requisite social or financial capital, to follow through on instructions given to complete registration. Respondents cite a number of benefits gained by registering such as reductions in non-consensual chainsaw timber felling. However, filial and community piety (the obligation to respect and honor one's family and extended relations) may undermine farmers' use of statutory empowerment (gained through registration) to minimize elite capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We coupled cellular automata-Markov chain and farmers' intentions to simulate LUCC. • We measured LUCC consequences under four explorative scenarios. • Recommendations to decision-makers to monitor LUCC were provided. Different mechanisms drive land use and land cover changes (LUCC). This paper presents an exploratory analysis aimed at understanding the complex dynamics of LUCC based on farmers' intentions when they are faced with four scenarios with the time horizon of 2025: (1) A0 – current social and economic trend; (2) A1 – intensified agricultural production; (3) A2 – reduced agricultural production; and (4) B0 - increasing demand for urban development. LUCC models are applied to a Torres Vedras (Portugal) case study. This territory is located in a peri-urban area near Lisbon dominated by forest and agricultural land, which has been suffering considerable urban pressure in the last decades. Farmers — major agents of agricultural land use change — were interviewed to obtain their LUCC intentions according to the scenarios studied. To model LUCC a Cellular automata-Markov chain approach was applied. Our results suggest that significant LUCC will occur depending on their intentions in the different scenarios. The highlights are: (1) the highest growth in permanently irrigated land in the A1 scenario; (2) the biggest drop in non-irrigated arable land, and the highest growth in forest in the A2 scenario; and (3) the greatest urban growth was recognized in the B0 scenario. To verify if the fitting simulations performed well, techniques to measure agreement and quantity-allocation disagreements were applied.These outcomes could provide decision-makers with the capacity to observe different possible futures in 'what if' scenarios, allowing them to anticipate future uncertainties, and consequently allowing them the possibility to choose the more desirable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We combine analysis of a large plot-level dataset with farmer interviews. • We find no treatment effect of land ownership status on farmers' crop choice. • Farm and farmer characteristics and some plot features determine crop choice. • Ending rental and insecure rental reduce soil conservation behaviour. • Personal relationships between renter and owner foster soil conservation behaviour. Abstract Does ownership status of agricultural land determine farmers' soil use behaviour? Why (not)? We investigate this old question using multiple methods and data. We apply econometric analysis to plot-level data to determine whether planting decisions differ between rented and owned plots. In addition, we analyse interviews with Austrian farmers with the aim of explaining (a lack of) differences. We find a very small influence of tenancy on crop choice in the quantitative part of the study, and qualify these findings in the qualitative part. If at all, interviewed farmers treat rented and owned land differently primarily with respect to fertilization or liming, particularly if the rental is insecure or short-term. We find that renting is often perceived as long-term and secure in Austria, resulting in equal soil conservation behaviour on rented and owned plots. Personal relationships between renter and landowner as well as farmers' attitudes additionally support soil conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The number of young farmers has decreased over recent decades in several developed countries such as the United States and European countries. A recent strategy adopted by the European Union to address the resulting age imbalance is the Young Farmer Payment which provides an additional payment on top of the average basic payment introduced in the last Common Agricultural Policy reform. The objective of this study is to determine, by means of a behavioural approach, how this payment influenced the incentives of young farmers to stay in the farm. Using the endogenous succession cycle model and the structural modelling technique, we found that the payment affected young farmers' willingness to stay through its influence on non-economic motivational goals. However, we also found that there are other factors that can be even more influential, such as pessimism about farming, community and family integration, participation in decision making, and the opinion of neighbours, among others. Based on the results, we argue that similar policies could be adopted in other countries, although policies would be more effective in addressing age imbalances if they are accompanied with complementary strategies aimed to deal with the identified social and psychological considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is acknowledged that the identification of a successor within the family farm can affect the farm development, which is conventionally referred to as the succession effect. This dynamic is of particular relevance in Europe, where fostering generational renewal towards increased farm modernization and innovation is on top of policy agenda. Yet, the succession effect on the farmers' decision-making has been poorly substantiated with empirical and quantitative evidence, whereas the current policy framework mostly disregards this phenomenon. This paper aims to verify whether and to what extent the identification of a successor within the family farm affects the farmer's strategic choices, and to identify which management strategies are privileged by farmers having identified a successor. Based on a cross-sectional dataset of 768 farms from across nine European countries, a control function model is employed to test the succession effect on the farmer's decision-making, while parametric tests, odds analysis and multivariate probit regressions are applied to identify main strategies. The results confirm that the identification of a successor has a significant impact on farmers' choices, leading to an average increase of about two additional strategies adopted, and that strategies like agricultural and non-agricultural diversification, cooperation and technology adoption are privileged by farmers having a successor. The paper discusses how the current policies could be improved to better leverage the succession effect, and identifies possible strategies. • The farm succession effect on the farmers' management choices is investigated. • Count data and multivariate probit analyses are used on a sample of European farms. • The identification of a successor leads to an increase in strategies adopted. • The succession effect promotes diversification, cooperation and technology adoption. • The policy could leverage the succession effect to boost farm modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving farmers' adaptation behaviour against specific climate change threats has been a global concern. The extant literature on farmers' adaptation to soil salinity threat has mainly focused on socioeconomic factors, with less emphasis on socio-psychological factors. This study analyses the socio-psychological factors that explain farmers' intention to adapt to soil salinity using the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), structural equation modelling approach and a primary data collected on 288 farm households in Fimela district in Senegal. The results indicated that 74.8% of the farmers used organic and chemical fertilizers, and 19.8% used afforestation as climate change adaptation strategies against soil salinity threats. The results further revealed that threat and coping appraisals and subjective norms were the main socio-psychological factors that influenced farmers' intention to adapt to soil salinity threats. Contrary to our expectation, maladaptive coping had no relationship with farmers' intention to adapt against soil salinity threats in Fimela. This study has highlighted the importance of Protection Motivation Theory as a robust conceptual framework for explaining the socio-psychological adaptive behaviour of smallholder farmers against soil salinity expansion due to climate change. ● Most smallholder farmers in Fimela use climate change adaptation strategies against soil salinity. ● The farmers in Fimela use fertilizer and afforestation as climate change adaptation strategies against soil salinity. ● Threat appraisal, coping appraisal, and subjective norms affect farmers intention to adapt to soil salinity. ● Maladaptive norms have no relationships with farmers' intention to adapt to soil salinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In agriculture, long-lived assets are highly exposed to the changing climate which can erode their value and result in stranding. Stranded assets constitute a serious problem because they are generally low-liquidity investments, highly vulnerable to material devaluation, such as farmland and physical infrastructure. This can have a significant impact on the balance sheets of farmers and result in entire agricultural industries becoming unviable. Financial reporting standards are still being refined so that they can support improved accounting for climate-exposed assets. Yet, these are not readily being deployed by most agricultural businesses or their accountants. We explore the context of these standards and conduct interviews with accountants working in agriculture to explore improvements in how we cater for climate-exposed assets. Key actors note the need for clear decision criteria and improved data collection and sharing. We develop a decision tool to: firstly, support the accounting for climate-exposed assets; and secondly, improve understanding of measurement of climate-related risks. • Agricultural long-lived assets exposed to climate can have their value eroded. • Stranded assets are a problem for balance sheets of farmers and ag industries. • Financial reporting standards are being refined to support improved accounting. • Exploration of standards and interviews suggests clear decision criteria are needed. • Framework developed supports farm accountants assess climate-related risks to assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation Agriculture (CA) continues to gain relevance among small and medium-scale farmers in African countries, including Zambia, in response to food insecurity and the adverse effects of climate change. The rise in the number of market-oriented farmers, known as 'emergent farmers,' who acquire and utilize tractors and associated implements for agricultural production, has brought new dynamism to Zambian agriculture. While prior studies emphasize the significance of considering socio-economic and psychological factors in understanding farmers' adoption decisions, the underlying socio-economic and psychological determinants influencing emergent farmers' interest in CA have not been explored. This study examined the behavioral intentions of Zambian emergent farmers concerning Mechanized Conservation Agriculture (MCA) using the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior constructs: attitudes, perceived behavior control, subjective norms, and farmers' background factors. We surveyed 119 emergent farmers from selected districts and analyzed their responses through descriptive statistics and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. We employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the relationships among behavioral constructs (attitude, perceived behavioral control, and social norms) and the intention to adopt MCA. The results indicated that the positive attitude of Zambian emergent farmers had a significant impact (path coefficient = 0.24) on their intention (mean = 4.51) to adopt MCA on at least part of their farms. Perceived behavioral control, which measures perceived ability, resources, and skills for practicing MCA, also had a significant impact on intention (path coefficient = 0.37). Factors such as media influence, social influence, technical training, and extension services had positive but insignificant effects on farmers' intention to adopt MCA. Background factors, including overall farm size, farmer's age, area under CA, and years of CA use, showed a positive and significant correlation with farmers' intention to adopt MCA. These findings underscore the crucial socio-psychological facets of emergent farmers, which can be valuable for policymakers and practitioners aiming to harness their potential in promoting and enhancing sustainable agricultural approaches like MCA in Zambia. • Effects of climate change foster the practice of Conservation Agriculture in Zambia. • Farmers embracing mechanization for increased production is on the rise in Zambia. • Understanding their perceptions and intentions about mechanized agriculture is key. • Results reveal farmers' positive attitude and intention about mechanized CA. • Sustainable agricultural mechanization can boost economic and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal conservation programs in the United States rely on the voluntary participation of farmers and landowners to generate environmental benefits across agricultural landscapes. Understanding factors influencing enrollment of leased cropland is critical since over half of all cropland in the United States is leased. In this paper, we use a unique data set from a survey and choice experiment in Kansas to identify factors that affect enrollment of leased cropland in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Results suggest that farmers' environmental stewardship attitudes are associated with higher enrollment of leased cropland in the CSP. Fixed cash leases and relationships with landowners described as "business only" are related to lower enrollment in the CSP. Farmers with larger operations and those that rely more heavily on agricultural income are more likely to enroll. Farmers have strong preferences for higher CSP payments, and they dislike contracts that pay landowners a larger proportion of the base program payment. The time required to submit an application and the percentage of the operation that must be enrolled in the CSP contract are negatively related to contract selection. Our study suggests that reinforcing stewardship identities among farmers, encouraging closer tenant-landowner relationships, reducing transaction costs of participation, and relaxing contract requirements may increase enrollment of leased cropland in agri-environmental programs. • We identify factors related to enrollment of leased cropland in the CSP. • Cropland in fixed cash leases is less likely to be enrolled in the CSP. • Weaker tenant-landowner relationships may limit CSP enrollment. • Farmers prefer fewer transaction costs and less restrictive CSP requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renting agricultural land is a common practice in many countries. The possibility to rent land provides farmers with increased flexibility in terms of production volume. Land renting may have various effects on farmland management; however, results from studies analysing these are ambivalent. Farmland in the best possible state is a prerequisite for following up ambitions of feeding a growing population through a sustainable agriculture. Decisions regarding investments on farmland are key. The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of which factors are the most important ones for farmers' decisions about investments on land they rent. We carried out a questionnaire survey followed by a multiple linear regression considering 34 variables. Although variables included in our model come out as significant in explaining investments, a large part of the variation is left unexplained (R2 = 0.22). Our interpretation of this result is that making investments is a complex decision. Non-economic factors impacting on farmers' investment decisions such as trust or norms may contribute to the unexplained variation, but may only have been captured partly by our variables. Moreover, decisions regarding investments may not only vary among farmers but also among investments made by an individual farmer. The complex nature of the decisions on how to treat rented land makes it challenging for policymakers to develop measures targeted at farmers renting land. However, the finding that farmers are driving longer distances to rented land than they find acceptable deserves political attention. One potential policy implication may be strengthened incentives for land re-allotment. Re-allotment may address increasing distances and potential consequences such as reduced productivity and increased land abandonment. However, the sustainability of a re-allotment process needs to be considered carefully in terms of economic viability, ecological soundness and social responsibility. • Decisions regarding investments on rented land are not easily predicted. • Encouraging agreements about investments is advisable. • Farmers are driving longer distances to rented land than they find acceptable. • Driving large distances is environmentally and economically unsustainable. • Re-allotment could be one approach to keep farmland in production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Farmer manipulation is a pervasive influence in large scale land acquisitions. • Manipulation includes deception, pressure to acquiesce and playing on emotions. • Farmers were manipulated into leasing land, decisions that many later regretted. • The livelihoods of the smallest-scale farmers were undermined as a result. • A wider set of influences should be considered in land deals than coercion alone. Abstract In recent years, there has been considerable controversy over the poverty and livelihood impacts of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) on small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. However, while much of the concern over LSLAs has stemmed from the phenomenon of coercive expulsion of farmers from their lands, far less attention has been paid to the mechanism of manipulation, which is arguably a subtler and more pervasive form of influence over smallholders when they are incorporated into major land deals. This article addresses this theoretical and empirical gap through a case study of a LSLA implemented by an international paper and pulp company for the development of an extensive eucalyptus plantation in central Mozambique. The findings highlight the roles of three forms of manipulative influence – namely deception , pressure to acquiesce and playing upon people's emotions – that were evident during company-smallholder negotiations and the impacts that these had on farmers' livelihoods. The article concludes that, in the study of LSLAs, a much wider range of influences should be taken into consideration during the implementation of land deals than is currently the case. This is particularly important when external investors seek to develop new markets for land in which small-scale landholders can engage on a supposedly voluntary basis in search of jobs and income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • This is an ex-post analysis of greening effects based on actual farmer's behaviour • Use of 2011-2016 parcel-level data of farmland uses in Lombardy region • Markov chains has been used to detect discontinuities in farmland transitions • After greening introduction maize self-rotation decreased significantly • CAP greening may induce strong farmland use changes in high intensity farming regions Abstract This paper represents a preliminary attempt to evaluate ex-post impact of the CAP greening payment on farmland use changes, testing by a Markov Chain approach whether farmland use transitions dynamics changed after the introduction of this new policy instrument. Unlike previous contributions, relying on ex-ante simulations, this analysis is based on the actual behaviour of farmers over the period immediately after the last CAP reform. Such ex-post assessment was based on real georeferenced data on farmland allocation, collected in the Lombardy Region, in Northern Italy, over the period 2011-2016. As the current CAP has recently entered in force (in 2015), the present analysis covers the first two years of implementation of the new rules along with the previous four years. Results are in line with previous ex-ante simulations in the same region, detecting a deep discontinuity for those farmland uses characterised by monoculture before the introduction of the greening. They show a significant discontinuity of farmland use transitions in the reference area after the introduction of greening rules, pointing to a decrease in maize monoculture, in favour of other cereals and legume crops like soybean and alfalfa. Unlike some critical opinions that see current greening rules as a "low profile" compromise, the present analysis points to a strong effect of such rules on regions with high-intensity agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Non-inversion tillage (NIT) is often recommended as a soil conservation measure, protecting soil structure and soil life and preventing erosion. As the adoption of this measure is still below policy targets in many European regions, this study aimed at gaining insights in constraints and drivers of implementing NIT to understand how to stimulate behavioural change. This study uses the theory of planned behaviour as a framework for understanding farmers' decisions on applying NIT. This framework was applied in 8 case studies from 8 Farm Type Zones (FTZ) spread over 4 European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy). We used a sequential mixed method, starting with qualitative semi-structured interviews followed by a quantitative survey. Our results show varying adoption rates ranging from 19% to more than 80% across the FTZs. There are large differences between FTZs and even more between countries regarding the number and nature of enabling and hampering factors identified. Although our results do reveal some widely acknowledged advantages and constraints (such as less labour/fuel needs and more weeds), several of them are restricted to one or only some of the FTZs. Some of the conditions favouring or discouraging NIT are related to biophysical characteristics of the FTZs. Besides these biophysical characteristics, agricultural specialization and especially the crops cultivated influence the decision whether or not to plough. Also timing of sowing and harvest of particular crops influences farmers' perceptions on the ease or difficulty to apply NIT. Finally, cultural, political and socio-economic conditions of the regions are influencing adoption behaviour of the farmers, e.g. good results with ploughing, having nice-looking fields, availability of equipment, the existence of subsidies and the opinion of referents influence the decision whether or not to implement NIT in the singular FTZs. These insights in context-specific enabling and disabling conditions are helpful in defining targeted actions to stimulate adoption in a given region. This paper concludes with an overview of how the resulting insights in farmers' behaviour might contribute in addressing effective intervention strategies to increase adoption of NIT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of policy on tenure requires a strong buy-in from all stakeholders for its success. This study therefore sought to establish the perceptions of farmers on land rental policy using the knowledge, attitude and practice approach. The survey was conducted in Mashonaland East province, Zimbabwe, with a sample of 339, comprised of both A1 and A2 farmers. Knowledge for the farmers on rental policy were found to be good, attitudes were categorised mainly as fair and practice (adherence) scores were poor, though some significant differences existed for certain categories of farmers. Poor macro-economic conditions and land rental institutions as well as lack of political will accounted for the poor practices. Overall, the perceptions of farmers on land rental policy were regarded as fair, with significant differences among farmers not involved in rental markets, those renting-in and those renting-out. Results also showed that good rental policy knowledge did translate to good attitude, but good knowledge and attitudes did not translate to good practices. Establishment of effective implementing institutions is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the fundamental rules of effective communication is to "know your audience." When engaging farmers in conservation in the U.S. and elsewhere where their participation is voluntary, communication should start with the fundamental recognition that farmers are heterogeneous in many ways; their attitudes, values, and motivations, as well as their farms' biophysical and economic characteristics, can influence their behaviors. Previous typology research in Iowa, USA using data from a panel survey of farmers, revealed heterogeneity by identifying four types of farmers—Conservationists, Deliberative, Productivists, and Traditionalists—based on latent class analysis of variables measuring varied dimensions of awareness, attitudes, beliefs, perceived motivations, and barriers to practice adoption. The study presented in this article advances the typology by associating observable variables from the same survey (e.g., farmer demographics, farm enterprises, participation in conservation programs, adoption of conservation practices) with the four farmer types. The Conservationist type was the most educated and indicated a high intention of adopting cover crops. The Deliberative type tended not to have a conservation plan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Productivist farmer farmed the most land, rented and owned, and had the highest no-till implementation in land size and percentage of the group. The Traditionalist type rented the least amount of land. We expect outreach professionals, watershed coordinators, and conservation practitioners can use observable characteristics to segment the farmer population and improve conservation messages by tailoring them to the specific farmer types, leading to a higher return on investment in terms of money, time, and goodwill. • Farmer typologies can inform agricultural land use outreach. • Iowa farmers are demographically homogeneous, but land use practices vary. • The Conservationist type was most engaged in conservation, followed by the Productivist. • The Traditionalist type was least engaged in conservation. • The Deliberative farmers are far from adopting key conservation practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peatlands drained for agriculture are among the most intensive sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the land-use sector. Policy decisions on the most effective strategies to reduce GHG emissions in line with Paris Agreement goals, alongside strategies that can halt any ongoing soil and biodiversity losses, are hindered by a lack of understanding on how proposed mitigation measures are likely to be received by the farming sector. Research has identified effective GHG reduction measures, but successful on-farm adoption of these measures is contingent upon farmer perceptions of the relative practicality of implementing the measures, and the economic impact that adoption will have on the farm business. In this study, Best–Worst Scaling, a discrete choice survey method, was utilised to elicit expert (climate change, policy and biodiversity) and farmer opinion on the relative effectiveness, practicality and level of economic cost of mitigation measures that can reduce GHG emissions at the farm level. The method enabled individual mitigation measures to be ranked by effectiveness (expert opinion), practicality and economic cost (farmer opinions). There were no measures ranked as both effective and practical, or effective with low cost, but there were measures ranked by farmers as practical and low cost to implement. These included: more effective nutrient management, reduced or no tillage, the installation of buffer zones, increased fossil fuel efficiency and the optimisation of irrigation systems. The strong divergence of 'effective' measures on the one hand, and 'practical' and 'economic' measures on the other, highlights the major challenges involved in reducing high GHG emissions from agricultural organic soils. Resolving these challenges will require a combination of financial mechanisms to compensate farmers for higher costs and/or reduced yields, engagement and advice to support farmers in adopting changes in management practice, and agricultural innovation and adaptation to maintain overall food production and economic viability. If these challenges are overcome, more sustainable landscape management on agricultural lowland peat could make significant contributions to achieve national and international climate change targets. • Agricultural peatlands have high carbon emissions because of drainage practices. • Expert and farmer perceptions on emission reduction mitigation measures was captured. • Wetter farming measures were identified as essential for emission reductions. • No measures explored ranked as both effective and practical, or effective with low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has the largest natural grassland area in China. The grassland ecosystem is the material basis for the development of animal husbandry in this region, providing ecosystem services such as biodiversity protection, soil erosion prevention and local climate regulation. Grassland ecosystem services (GES) play an important role in maintaining the livelihood of local farmers and protecting the ecological environment. Based on household survey data, this paper analyzed farmers' perception and choice preference of GES in the northeastern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and studied the influence of farmers' perception on their choice preference. The results showed that farmers in the northeastern region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau had the strongest perceptions of importance, manageability, vulnerability and damage degree of provisioning GES. We found that farmers had a strong choice preference for provisioning GES directly used in production and life, but a lower preference for regulating, cultural and supporting GES. Farmers' perceived importance, manageability and damage degree all affected their choice preference, but the perceived vulnerability has no significant impact. This paper studied farmers' evaluation of GES through qualitative methods. This provides a new insight for the study of ecosystem service preference, and a reference for the formulation of scientific and rational ecological protection policies in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. • GES perception and choice preference of 417 farmers were investigated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. • Farmers in different regions have different perception and choice preference for GES. • Nearly 50% of farmers have a strong choice preference for provisioning GES. • Importance and damage perception of provisioning GES affected farmers' choice preference. • Manageability perception of regulating GES affected farmers' choice preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale agriculturists in developing countries face continuous weather-related risks, which are exacerbated by the growing issues of climate change (See Shah et al., 2018 for Pakistan; Zakaria et al. (2020) for Sub Sahara Africa). Despite efforts to introduce formal crop insurance at a subsidized rate by many governments, including in India, insurance penetration rates remain low in less developed countries (LDCs). One reason for this is continued reliance on informal credit as a risk-coping mechanism in poorer regions in times of agricultural distress. This prompts the question as to why farmers rely on these methods when apparently less expensive formal crop insurance is available. To answer, we investigate the link between the conditionalities of informal credit and the decision to adopt crop insurance together with other factors such as farmers' socioeconomic class, education, and attitude to risk. Thereby, we derive policy implications for enhancing insurance penetration among poor farmers. A theoretical model is first constructed to provide a motivation for the empirical relation examined. An analysis of the decision to adopt crop insurance and the extent of insurance coverage availed is undertaken using a two-part fractional logistic regression with crop insurance data from India (provided by the National Sample Survey Office). The results demonstrate that informal interest rates are significantly and positively correlated with the probability of taking up crop insurance, and disparities between economic and social classes in the adoption of crop insurance exist. Although the ills of usurious informal interest rates are often highlighted (Bhaduri, 1997), this indirect positive effect on crop insurance penetration has not been established heretofore. The exercise also looks at the possibility of loss expected by a farmer and their insurance adoption behaviour by relating it to Prospect Theory (Kanheman, Tversky, 1979). ● Insurance is crucial for protecting smallholders in developing countries. ● A link between informal interest rates and crop insurance adoption is established. ● Farmer ability to purchase insurance and institutional factors also play a role. ● Need to consider informal lending conditions when setting crop insurance premiums. ● Accuracy of the loss assessment mechanism is required for building farmers' trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroforestry (AF) is a land use that incorporates growing trees into agricultural crops and/or livestock production on the same piece of land. Due to tree cover and growth, AF has the potential to generate additional products, enhance biogenic carbon capture and storage, reduce soil erosion and surface water run-off and improve soil structure and fertility. These effects are likely to improve farmers' financial return with minimal land loss to agricultural production. To date, there has been very little uptake of AF in the UK despite awareness of these benefits and increasing policy support. This suggests that there are barriers to adopting AF that policy, or market developments, have yet to address. This study set out to identify these barriers, along with potential drivers to further uptake of AF in South-East and East lowland England by means of a survey of 224 farmers and landowners in 2019 covering a range of farm sizes and types. Of those farmers who said they might consider planting small areas of AF, small woods and plantations were the preferred option. Silvo-arable AF was preferred to silvo-pastoral AF. If raised to the regional level, this could take up to some 5 % of the total farmed area. Financial reasons were behind some of the reluctance to plant, as was the view that trees might interfere with other farm operations. Farmers might need both planting grants and maintenance payments to help the UK Government reach their woodland planting goal to achieve the UK net-zero target by 2050. • Some 60 % of farmers in E and SE England might consider planting agroforestry. • The likely new planting would take up 5 % of the current total farmed area. • The planting would be relatively small areas, on average, 6 ha. • Farmers believed they would be able to plant and manage new areas of agroforestry. • Farmers with low profit-maximising objectives were more likely to plant agroforestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Securing the provision of environmental public goods from agriculture is central to addressing the critical challenge of ensuring global food security while halting ecosystem degradation. Agri-environment schemes (AES) are considered to have a key role to play in supporting the transition to more sustainable ways of producing food. Existing evidence suggests that farmers are generally willing to enrol in AES for the delivery of environmental features, but robust policy support requires further exploration of land managers' preferences and how these interplay with contract features to achieve higher environmental targets. We undertook a discrete choice experiment with land managers in post-Brexit UK, with what can be considered a 'benchmark' sample of younger AES-inclined land managers. This provides a window into the future of the UK farming landscape, but also, given the revision of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy and other international discussions, it also provides insights into land managers' preferences for new contract features more widely. Our results suggest that (such type of) land managers are likely to be receptive to a transition to result-based, collaborative schemes supporting landscape-wide interventions in alignment with net zero agendas. These interventions could be done in exchange for levels of compensation similar to current levels. While this raises promise, our results also emphasize challenges, particularly to attract those less generally AES-prone land managers. Payments levels probably need to remain close to the current ones (not lower), farmers' awareness and support for net-zero agendas need to be reinforced and more interaction between land managers and policy makers will be needed. • We examined the outlines of new English agri-environmental schemes. • Past experience with schemes, age and farming full-time influence class membership. • The new schemes are expected to marginally increase English farmers' welfare. • Prospect of losing direct payments appears to influence participation in schemes. • Allowing farmers to set their own goals in schemes makes them more likely to enrol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability and public health are faced with tremendous threat caused by the agri-food system, and it has reached a consensus that the agri-food system must be transformed to be more efficient, healthy, and sustainable. Promoting farmers to implement sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) is a critical path to accelerate this transformation. This study is to understand farmers' intention to adopt Eco-breeding, a typical SAPs with Chinese characteristics and market potential, based on the perspectives of self-interested, altruistic, and social pressures, and explore how farmers make trade-offs when personal interests and norms conflict. We conducted field surveys on 600 livestock and poultry farmers and proceeded a comprehensive empirical analysis involving direct, indirect, and moderating effects tests. The results show perceived values, personal norms, and subjective norms accounted for 58.5% of the intention variance. Subjective norms are foremost predictors, and perceived values and personal norms has significant positive effects. Personal norms are mainly motivated by the awareness of consequences and ascribed responsibility. Remarkably, the results indicate that personal norms and subjective norms positively moderate the negative effects of perceived risks on intention. When these two norms exceed thresholds, the negative effects of perceived risks disappear. In addition to self-interested motives, this study highlights the importance of norms in shaping farmers' intention to adopt Eco-breeding and finally provides guidelines for designing effective promotion policy. • The first study to understand farmers' adoption of Eco-breeding, a sustainable agricultural practice with Chinese characteristics. • We analyzes farmers' decision-making integrating the perspectives of self-interested, altruistic, and social pressure. • We explore how farmers respond when self-interested motives conflicts with moral and social norms. • Personal norms and subjective norms positively moderate the negative effects of perceived risks on farmers' intention to adopt Eco-breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dominant agricultural practices are widely recognised as one of many factors leading to severe declines in honey bees and other pollinators. Improving the agri-environment for pollinators and other species is an urgent ecological priority. Beekeepers have long been at the forefront of recognising agricultural and environmental challenges to their bees; many of these also impact other pollinators. As the UK moves towards a post-Brexit agricultural policy, this should be an excellent time for beekeepers' observations and concerns to be recognised, and contribute to a system where farmers and land managers ensure the delivery of 'public goods'. However, evidence suggests significant obstacles to effectively co-producing agricultural policy that ensures pollinator wellbeing. This paper is based on archival and interview data on long-term beekeepers throughout the UK. Beekeepers' past experience of engaging with agricultural, and pollinator health policy stakeholders highlights significant obstacles to effective co-production of policy. Beekeepers' experiential observations are commonly dismissed as anecdotal, and subsequently irrelevant knowledge, according to scientifically and politically acknowledged epistemological categories. Multiple stakeholders in agriculture and land management have opposing priorities, and unequal access to power. This presents significant challenges to government efforts to overcome boundaries and co-produce actionable policy. Internationally, significant steps have been made to incorporate hybrid knowledge, and its associated value systems into environmental governance. Developing agricultural policy which acknowledges and incorporates multiple forms of evidence and pro-environmental values is necessary for a successful post-Brexit agricultural system focused on Environmental Land Management, public goods, and multiple values of nature. • Beekeepers have historically attempted to contribute to agricultural policy. • Epistemological differences and structural barriers limit their contribution. • Addressing historical barriers and power imbalances can improve co-production. • Beekeepers' environmental values can support pro-environmental land management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural flood management (NFM) involves measures to restore and protect natural hydrology and geomorphology to minimise flood risk. NFM is promoted as part of the nation's flood resilience response. Government agencies have created national maps of opportunities for specific NFM measure to target available grant aid and encourage landowners and managers to deliver effective NFM measures where most needed. Mapping opportunities within a regulatory framework ensures that measures are targeted towards areas with a presumption of suitability thus minimising the burden of the application process. The viability of NFM depends on the responsible authority and community at risk accepting the proposed measures as both effective and appropriate. Top-down initiatives can fail to meet their targets when landowners and managers feel left out of the decision making and their experiential local knowledge is at odds with the spatial prioritisation derived from national datasets. This interdisciplinary paper assesses the applicability of a technical-based national mapping approach with local stakeholders for identifying opportunities for woodland and runoff management measures to reduce flood risk within the lowland catchments of the West Thames River Basin, in southern England. Farmer surveys supported the technical map in terms of targeting areas of deep clay and silt soils over mudstone as high priority for improved land and soil management to reduce rapid runoff. However, while incentives correctly target the problem areas, farmers desired greater flexibility in choice of NFM measures to reflect local soil knowledge and the sustainability of management practices within farm systems. It is argued that a more integrated and co-designed mapping approach would enhance NFM uptake and thus achieve a greater reduction in downstream flood risk. • This paper assesses the relevance of national maps to identify opportunities for NFM in lowland agricultural catchments. • Farmers' experiential knowledge confirm the map correctly target areas with soils prone to degradation and surface runoff. • The farmers favoured soil-based NFM measures that support continued agricultural use such as cover crops and minimal tillage. • Farmers were resistant to woodland creation incentives and would prefer more support for soil and land management practices. • Our study highlights the need for co-development of NFM incentives to aid delivery of national policy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reallocation of land is one of the most essential and challenging stages of land consolidation (LC) projects. In this study, the success of two different methods used in the reallocation phase was evaluated. One of these methods is interview-based reallocation, and the other is fuzzy logic-based reallocation method. The projects' success was determined by consolidation rate, number of enterprises, number of parcels per enterprise, average parcel size, and shareholding status of the parcels. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the project carried out by both methods was successful. Consolidation rate, number of enterprises, and average parcel size values give better results with the fuzzy logic method. The number of parcels per enterprise turned out to be equal (1) in both methods. It was found that the number of single shares in the shareholding status of the parcels is higher in the fuzzy logic method. It was also revealed that single share parcel areas are more in the interview-based distribution method. It is possible to say that the fuzzy logic method is more successful than the interview-based method. • The results of the fuzzy logic based land reallocation model are compared with the results of the interview based model. • It is concluded that the results of fuzzy logic based land reallocation (54.74%) are better than the results of interview based land reallocation (45.93%). • As a result of the study, it was concluded that considering farmer's demands in fuzzy logic method would lead to more successful consolidation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the potential of including farmers in the governance, organization and execution of biodiversity monitoring. More specifically, we consider the opportunities for farmer involvement in biodiversity data collection through an explorative empirical analysis of the governance of biodiversity monitoring activities in agricultural landscapes within the Netherlands. We identify practical obstacles to farmer participation, assess the role of environmental NGOs in this process, and consider the extent to which this data leads to increasingly adaptive land management decisions to promote biodiversity. The governance of agri-environmental subsidy contracts with farmer collectives in the Netherlands, we conclude, could be used as an important vehicle to incentivize both biodiversity data collection and science-based land management decisions. • Public participation in environmental governance is a key part of the EU Green Deal. • We detail policy approaches for farmers participation in biodiversity monitoring to promote shared problem solving. • Biodiversity monitoring could also help create shared learning environments for farmers and ENGO volunteers. • Obstacles to effective farmer involvement remain, including limited resources and knowledge gaps. • Policy incentives need to aim at feeding monitoring data back into land management decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture plays a vital role in building the nation's economy. To enhance the country's financial standings, it is essential for farmers adopt innovative agricultural techniques/practices. Over the years, a rapid growth has been experienced within this domain by virtue of adapting agricultural sensors, drones, Global Positing Systems (GPS), and other integrated devices. However, adaptation of newer practices is completely overlooked by most farmers across the state of Punjab in the Indian sub-continent. It has been visualized that farmers across the state are hesitant to adapt precision agricultural practices. This is mainly due to several constraints that are encountered by the farmers across the state, i.e. , non-awareness of the concept among farmers, financial limitations, and other associated factors within the domain. Hence, to clearly understand the mindset of the farmers and their perception towards the adaption of precision agriculture techniques, the authors have prepared a structured questionnaire that consisted of 30 questions. The questionnaire was prepared to capture farmers' basic tendency towards various hurdles that farmers encounter while adopting precision agricultural practices. Responses of 342 farmers across the state of Punjab was taken under consideration to further evaluate the mindset of farmers on the following key points, i.e. , Various parameters such as basic knowledge on the usability of agricultural sensors, expectation level of farmers towards adaptation of agricultural sensors, and support from the state government, issues related to cost of agricultural sensors, and issues related practical implementation of agricultural sensors. To evaluate the responses, One-way ANOVA and Independent-sample T-test were analyzed over Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) Version 22. In addition, descriptive analysis (on individual responses) has been presented within the results section and coefficient of correlation (r) has also been has also been calculated to identify the degree of relationship among dependent and independent variables. f-distribution results obtained over SPSS software depicted a positive inclination among farmers towards usage and adaptation of newer farming concepts, provided some constraints needed to be addressed with a pragmatic approach. The main aim of the study is to evaluate the reasons for the shortcomings for non-adaptability of modern day agricultural practices among farmers and to bridge a gap among farmers and state/central government on motivating and providing all sorts of possible assistance in adopting precision agricultural practices with an aim to make effective use of land and enhancing production scale. • The present study highlights efficient land administration techniques by evaluating responses. • A feedback of 342 farmers across the state of Punjab have been considered. • Descriptive analysis, One-way ANOVA, Independent-sample T-test, and Coefficient of Correlation (r) has been performed. • The present study aims to bridge a gap among farmers and the government/various institutions to become proactive in extending help to farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing EU-wide public debate on sustainability concerns is increasingly reflected in policy programs at both supranational (e.g. the EU green deal), and national levels (e.g. the German climate protection program of 2030). As part of these programs, measures for improving the ecological sustainability of food production play a central role and require the wider implementation of innovative land use systems. Alley cropping agroforestry systems are one example that could, according to recent scientific literature, make an important contribution to resolving the trade-off between economic and ecological sustainability in sparsely forested EU countries such as Germany. However, even today these systems show limited dissemination in agricultural practice, exposing a lack of knowledge about farmers' profit and subsidy expectations and their main behavioral acceptance drivers in the current political situation. This study aims to close this gap in two ways. Firstly, it assesses farmers' expectations of economic benefits from planting alley cropping agroforestry systems, and offsets them against national taxpayers' willingness to pay an annual tax for these systems. Secondly, it quantifies the influence of psycho-social factors that drive farmers to accept alley cropping agroforestry systems as part of their cultivation program. It does this through the empirical application of a case-specific model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Data on farmers' economic expectations and model constructs were generated during a quantitative survey of 209 farmers in Germany and analyzed using descriptive statistics and partial least squares structural equation modeling technique. The descriptive results demonstrate a general rejection of alley cropping agroforestry systems and a low intention to implement them. Farmers prefer subsidy programs to the sale of wooden components as sources of economic benefit, expecting a yearly support of €512 (∼ 606US$) per hectare. Results from the partial least squares analysis show the positive influence of performance expectancy, attitude, and facilitating conditions on the behavioral intention to use an alley cropping agroforestry system, with the latter exerting a positive influence on the final use behavior. Entrepreneurial planning and intuition appear to influence some of the acceptance factors. The results suggest a wide range of implications for policy makers, advocacy groups, and farmers, proposing a focus on creating favorable conditions and positive attitudes among farmers in order to increase agroforestry dissemination. • Estimating the influence of psycho-social factors on farmers' acceptance of alley cropping agroforestry systems for sustainable land use. • Empirical study based on a case-specific conceptual framework grounded in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). • Farmers prefer governmental subsidies over generating profits from marketing the wooden components of the AFS, with a desired initial implementing subsidy of €2718 (∼ 3217US$) per hectare and an annual maintenance subsidy of €512 (∼ 616US$) per hectare. • The intention to use alley cropping agroforestry system increases with favorable performance expectancy , perception of facilitating conditions and attitude of the farmers. • Policy-makers should focus on knowledge dissemination to the farmers and establish a tax-backed low-threshold subsidy program for implementing and maintaining AFS as part of the agri-environment-climate measures of the EUs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The planting of riparian margins is a policy option for pastoral farmers in response to land use induced environmental issues such as declining water quality, stream bank erosion, and loss of aquatic and terrestrial habitat. We elicited the views and experiences as to pros and cons of planting riparian margins from two sets of dairy farmers from Taranaki, New Zealand: those who are or have planted riparian margins, and those who have not yet done so. Those farmers who have planted riparian margins identified 21 positive aspects of riparian margin plantings and 11 negative aspects of riparian margin plantings. Perceived benefits identified by this group include water quality, increased biodiversity, the provision of cultural ecosystem services, immediate direct benefits to farm management and the farm system, and in some instances increased productivity on-farm. In contrast, those farmers that had fenced but not planted their riparian margins did not consider that riparian margin plantings could add further benefits to that which could be achieved by excluding stock from waterways, and associated only negative perceptions with riparian margin plantings. Planting riparian margins is not cost neutral and will not deliver anticipated environmental benefits in every situation. However, we argue that riparian margin plantings are an important ecological infrastructure investment that needs to be captured within a wider policy framework, the benefits of which extend beyond the mitigation of a single negative externality generated by land use practices, such as nutrient loss, and contribute to a multifunctional landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural land consolidation has been a very important and efficient development tool all over the world for a century and is now an indispensable instrument for rural sustainable development in China. The Chinese central government has devoted large sums of money to rural consolidation projects each year in an effort to help protect cultivated land, to improve agricultural production, to enhance the socio-economic development of rural communities, and to help build rural landscapes. However, little attention has been paid to evaluating the performance of land consolidation projects from the view of community members, which is sorely needed. Household satisfaction with land consolidation projects is a key indicator of consolidation performance. Understanding the factors that influence household satisfaction is an effective way of dealing with problems in the interactions between land restructuring and human behaviors in rural areas and can help improve project performance. This paper examines the performance of land consolidation in terms of rural households’ levels of satisfaction in rural China and analyses the most influential factors of satisfaction. Data were gathered via questionnaires and analyzed with a probit model. Results indicated three significant points. First, overall satisfaction rate was 76.5%, meaning that most rural households in the regions of Hangzhou, Changsha, and Guiyang were satisfied with land consolidation projects. Second, 11 factors significantly affected rural residents’ satisfaction with consolidation. These factors included farmers’ level of education, employment characteristics, family size, input level of agricultural production, agricultural produce transportation methods, level of agricultural mechanization, the characteristics of land transfer in the village and within their own families, the perceived importance of land consolidation, their level of social insurance support, and their participation in rural production cooperatives. Third, six of these factors had positive effects on performance; four had negative effects, and one (employment characteristics) demonstrated a significant influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a chestnut belt in the northern Apennines (Italy), we interviewed current (n = 52) and potential growers from a younger generation (n = 57), to assess what factors are likely to drive their willingness to continue chestnut culture. In 35 cases, local appraisals of chestnut stand disturbances were also contrasted with expert assessments. More than half of current growers were confident about the future of chestnut cultivation. This proportion decreased with grower’s age and experienced issues, while slightly increased in presence of multifunctional management and support from family members. Although most growers resulted highly capable of diagnosing problems, expert advice significantly contributed to driving positive perceptions. About half of the younger interviewees also expressed interest in growing chestnut. This proportion was higher for respondents who are exposed to chestnut culture within the family, and who value cultural services above other ecosystem services (ES) of forests. Overall, passion for the activity and attachment to local heritage were the most influential motivation for both categories of respondents. We outline policy actions that may encourage the continuation of chestnut management and, more generally, conservation of cultural landscapes in mountain areas. Possible measures include financial incentives (e.g., payments for ES), tighter integration of traditional and expert knowledge in the production chain, and public recognition of the value of local heritage in land management. Broader support to maintaining services and infrastructure in rural areas, however, will also be a pre-condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious soil erosion occurred in the South Downs National Park, southern England in the years 1982–2006 and details of around 400 sites are contained in a database. In 2010 we revisited 85 of the most serious sites where erosion of >10 m 3 ha −1 y −1 had been recorded in order to assess land use change and any conservation measures undertaken. At 79% of the sites land use change had resulted in a reduction in the risk of erosion, most notably at 28 sites with a shift to permanent grass from winter cereals. At only 21% of sites was the risk of erosion unchanged. Twenty two farmers responsible for 66 of the sites were interviewed. Land management practices had changed on all of the fields of interest to this study since the time of the serious erosion events, to those which have the potential to lower soil erosion risk. Sixteen interviewees claimed that erosion was a motivating reason for changing their practices, due to either experiencing on or on- and off-farm impacts firsthand (12), having knowledge or suspicion of serious erosion having occurred on their land prior to their management (three), or having no knowledge of any serious erosion on their land but just wanting to reduce overall erosion risk (one). Amongst the main changes reported are changes of land use from winter cereals to grass or to overwinter stubble which have undoubtedly reduced the risk of erosion. However, some changed practices claimed by farmers, such as along-the-contour-working, earlier sowing and the use of rollers may be of little value. Furthermore, deeper analysis of farmers’ motivations regarding changes in land management practices suggests a complex picture in which a range of socio-economic influences come into play over time including financial incentives offered by agri-environmental schemes which were found to be an important driver of change. Future changes in farming economics may therefore undermine the reduction in erosion risk in the longer term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smallholder farmers operate within a risky and uncertain context. In addition to climate variability and climate change, social, environmental, institutional, and market-related dynamics affect their agricultural decisions and ability to cope and adapt. In this paper, we develop and apply a set of framing questions to investigate the factors shaping farmer decision-making and how these are situated in pathways of response. Drawing on a literature review of decision-making for risk management, five questions are posed to frame enquiry: what livelihood decisions are undertaken by households, who makes what decisions, when do households make decisions and why do they make them, and how do decision making processes evolve and response pathways arise. This approach conceptualises and explores household decision-making in a holistic manner, moving beyond previous studies that examine smallholder decisions through disciplinary boundaries (e.g. psychology, economics, risk management) or particular theoretical approaches (e.g. bounded rationality, theory of planned behaviour). The framing questions together with key insights from literature are used to design and interpret empirical evidence from Pratapgarh, a tribal-dominated rainfed district in southeast Rajasthan, India. The findings suggest that while resource ownership and access are the main drivers of decision-making, socio-cognitive factors such as perceived adaptive capacity and perceived efficacy to carry out adaptive actions are equally important factors mediating farmer responses. We also find that the holistic approach helps explain how personal motivations and individual perceptions of adaptive capacity interact with socioeconomic, climatic, and agro-ecological dynamics at local and regional scales to mediate risk perception and inform response behaviour. A typology of response pathways demonstrates how different households’ trajectories are determined. Making a case for mixed methods to investigate farmer decision-making holistically, this paper provides an approach that reflects the complex and iterative nature of real farmer decision-making and can be used by researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to better understand and describe decision making and to develop informed policies and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multifunctional agriculture (MFA) concept, namely, the fact that agricultural activity may also have several other functions beyond its role of producing food and fiber, has emerged as a key notion in scientific and policy debates regarding the future of agriculture and rural development. However, the relationship between undertaking multifunctional activities and farmers’ perceptions of farming is to a great extent unknown. A survey of 209 randomly selected farmers was conducted in Masal County of Guilan province, Iran to describe farmers’ perceptions of MFA and provide a better understanding of factors shaping these perceptions. Several factors were considered in the study, including traditional farming practices of small-scale farmers in the area (e.g. manual soil tillage, use of livestock manure and by-products for soil improvement, multiple cropping, family livestock), good agricultural practices at farm level related to environmental protection (e.g. low use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides), and also local traditions and heritage. Exploratory factor analysis was used to categorize agricultural functions based on the collected data and cluster analysis was used for sorting out farmers regarding six extracted factors. These factors were: multiple cropping, social acceptability, environmental health, stability and continuity, food security, and local traditions and heritage. About half of the respondents (48.3%) showed highly positive perceptions of MFA, putting emphasis on social acceptability and environmental health for food security, including also preservation of local traditions (named: guardians of culture and traditions). Almost a third (31.1%) showed moderately positive perceptions of MFA, with mainly a socio-environmental orientation, whereas a sizeable proportion (20.6%) was indifferent to MFA. Data offer useful insights to decision makers regarding the design and implementation of territorial planning strategies. Food production remains a key element in farming systems, but besides mainstream agriculture, the positive perceptions of MFA support that alternative farming systems could be implemented. However, the most successful farming systems adapted to specific contexts and needs should be promoted, taking into account existing facilities and sufficiency for appropriate rural management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grasslands have a multi-layer protection function for nature, biodiversity and climate. These functions can be fostered by an adapted management on grassland farms. Promoting nature protection alongside agricultural production is an aim of European agricultural policy. However, a number of studies indicate that existing Agri-environment measures (AEM) are not as effective as assumed, mainly because they are not sufficiently used by farmers. We investigated the view of grassland farmers on nature conservation and on existing AEM in four distinct regions on a west to east gradient in the North German Plain. We conducted a survey on 82 grassland farms inquiring basic farm data and asking questions on general agricultural issues and nature protection. The results indicate that the majority of all respondents is generally interested in nature conservation and believes it to be of concern for every farmer. In contrast, only a minority of grassland farmers is using the existing AEM to the full extend on their own farm. By applying the concept of farming styles, we classified farmers into four groups, namely Traditionalist, Idealist, Modernist, and Yield Optimizer. These farming styles groups differ in farm and management parameters, general attitudes towards agricultural issues, farming objectives and economic success. We found that in our survey the farming styles groups differ in their attitude towards nature conservation. However, they do not differ in the adoption of AEM and have different reasons for not taking part. We state that for a better implementation of AEM into agricultural practice a better communication, which is adapted to the different ways that farmers manage their farm and think and feel, is needed. Consequently, AEM need to be revised as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK government has pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Ambitious targets have been set to plant nearly a million hectares of new woodland in the UK by 2050 to meet these net-zero commitments. More than 70% of UK's land is used for agricultural production and to meet these targets the Climate Change Committee has estimated that by 2050 approximately 21% of agricultural land will be required for tree planting, agroforestry and the extension of farm hedges. Achieving this creates a potential conflict between land for food production and land for carbon sequestration. However, trees and woodlands, when integrated into farming systems, can be multifunctional and play a significant role in helping farmers adapt and become more resilient in the face of climate change. Over the last 100 years numerous government policies and incentive schemes have endeavoured to encourage more tree planting activities amongst farmers and landowners with varying degrees of success. This paper reviews the role of policy in determining the presence of trees in the UK's agricultural landscape over the past 100 years. We quantify the current extent of woodland and tree cover and aim to put the UK's net-zero tree planting targets in the context of historical agricultural land use patterns. We evaluate drivers behind the current extent of trees, woodland and agroforestry on UK farms and identify key elements of success in current and previous policies and incentive schemes to help inform future policy mechanisms for the UK to meet its tree planting targets. Farmers are increasingly under pressure to deliver a wide range of environmental goals as well as producing food. The effectiveness of financial incentives to influence tree planting is dependent on the pre-existing interest and values of the farmer or landowner and grants alone may not be sufficient to encourage farmers to plant trees. Scheme complexity, bureaucracy and insufficient payment rates are barriers to the success of woodland grants and agri-environment schemes. Simplicity is important to encourage uptake, however oversimplification of schemes can lead to unintended consequences. Advice and guidance are key elements in the successful adoption of any new land management methods. A key to future progress will be scheme flexibility to enable farmers to choose to plant trees where it best suits local conditions, to align policy tools with farmer values and to ensure that farmers and landowners have the knowledge and support to make these decisions. • The effectiveness of financial incentives to influence tree planting depends on the pre-existing interest and values of the farmer or landowner. • Key to future progress will be enabling farmers to choose to plant trees where it best suits local conditions. • Tree planting grants co-designed with stakeholders, ensuring barriers are considered are likely to have improved uptake. • Scheme simplicity and flexibility are important, but care is needed that a simplification of schemes does not allow for undesirable outcomes. • Policy tools need to be aligned with farmer values and tailored high-quality advice and guidance available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming systems in marginal or less favored areas of Europe have faced a multitude of challenges as a response to so-called "mega-trends". A typical response has been land abandonment. The focus of this paper is on the farming systems of the Greek islands of Lesvos and Lemnos. These neighboring islands are geographically very similar but differ greatly in their farming systems, resulting in different responses to the same megatrends. While land abandonment is widespread in the small-scale olive groves of Lesvos, on Lemnos specialization towards animal and dairy products is more common. We performed land cover analysis and interviews with farmers in both areas, in two complementing rounds: one more quantitative that recorded recent changes and farmer rationales and a more qualitative one that investigated longer term trends and decision-making patterns. The analysis revealed that, among others, land ownership and inheritance patterns matter in both areas in different ways, leading to diverse trajectories. On Lemnos, as part of the traditional mixed-farming system (Mandra), land leasing is dominant, separating land users and landowners. Interviews also reveal the different symbolic capital, as olive trees on Lesvos are considered a family asset and not just a land use, something that cannot be said of the leased grazing lands on Lemnos. The market value of the different products is important, but the different trajectories also demonstrate how the rationales behind the responses to mega-trends can guide which trajectories will be dominant in the area. This article highlights the complexity and mix of local drivers and global trends that drive abandonment at both farm and the landscape scales and guides the formulation and application of agricultural policies and public resources for improved management of marginal areas. [Display omitted] • Remote sensing, farmer interviews, and oral history inform land use trajectories. • At the farm-level, intensification dominates on Lemnos. • Marginalization and diversification into niche markets dominate on Lesvos. • At the landscape-scale, persistence dominates on Lemnos and abandonment on Lesvos. • The form of capital and land market flexibility influence the farmers response to mega-trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gains and losses of farmers' welfare brought by China's land expropriation have been of broad concern, but little literature has focused on the motivation of land-lost farmers to settle in cities. Although the Chinese government has implemented a series of major strategies influencing land-lost farmers' migration, the citizenization of rural migrants has always been a challenge. Using the data from 2016 China's Labor-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS), this paper discovers that land expropriation strengthens land-lost farmers' willingness toward urban settlement. Two underlying mechanisms that may influence the decision of land-lost farmers to settle in cities are revealed: positive economic factors and negative social-cultural factors. The economic incentives caused by land compensation can promote the probability of farmers' urban settlement intention. However, farmland loss also brought an increased employment risk for farmers. Besides, after the land expropriation, the land-lost farmers have more frequent contact with their old neighbors. These social-cultural factors would hinder the farmers' willingness toward urban settlement. Our findings are robust using both Instrumental variable (IV) estimation and the propensity score matching (PSM) method. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the economic and social consequences of land expropriation policies. In addition to land expropriation, more attention should be paid to the resettlement of land-lost farmers. • This paper discovers that land expropriation strengthens land-lost farmers' willingness toward urban settlement. • Underlying mechanisms include positive economic factors and negative social-cultural factors based on the push-pull theory. • The main results are robust using both Instrumental variable (IV) estimation and the propensity score matching (PSM) method. • These findings provide a deeper understanding of the economic and social consequences of land expropriation policies. • In addition to land expropriation, more attention should be paid to the resettlement of land-lost farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]