Policies and programs driving adoption of practice change therefore need to engage in participatory processes which ( i ) acknowledge the importance of property-specific circumstances , ( ii ) respects their personal goals and ( iii ) validates the applicability of local knowledge in landholders ’ decision making . Genuine engagement in process design is a two-way process which gathers such information and , in doing so , increases landholders ’ knowledge but also their ownership of issues and faith in the science . Consideration of local knowledge and circumstances leads to better program design and subsequently higher participation , effectiveness and impact .
7.2.2 Meta analysis of adoption of BMPs A meta analysis of studies investigating the adoption of best management practices by landholders across the USA was conducted by Baumgart-Getz ( Baumgart-Getz et al . 2012 ). While not a local or even Australian study , this meta analysis is relevant because it quantitatively integrated a large number of adoption studies . In doing so , it was able to provide statistical measures of the strengths of factor influences on adoption , and also of the heterogeneity of the influence across case studies . The findings thus offer valuable context for of generic value and validation of the qualitative insights offered by the Australian studies .
The US results demonstrated in particular that :
• among “ capacity ” factors
▪ ‘ capital ’ as a measure of investment into the property was the best financial predictor of adoption with high impact and low heterogeneity ;
▪ income from farming had a significant positive impact ;
▪ property size — relative to industry and region — had a relatively large positive impact ;
▪ age had a significant and negative impact , suggesting that older farmers have a shorter planning horizon than younger farmers ;
▪ attendance of industry-specific training courses had a significant position impact while formal education did not ;
▪ networks , in particular relations to extension agencies and interactions with neighbouring properties , were a significant positive predictor ; and
▪ security of tenure had a significant positive impact ;
• among “ attitude ” factors
▪ the importance landholders placed on environmental values was the only positive significant predictor while
▪ risk aversion and size of incentive measures ( payments ) were not statistically significant ;
• “ environmental awareness ” was important overall , specifically
▪ understanding by landholders of the consequences of degradation on their land had a large statistically significant impact ;
▪ knowledge of what programs existed to assist adoption was significant also ; while
▪ understanding generic agricultural causes was not .
This research suggests that , in general , financial incentives can be — but are not necessarily — a significant driver of adoption in situations where private benefit arises from practice change . There is , however , a universal need for information and suasion measures . In particular , messages that articulate how an individual landholder ’ s actions impact on water quality and the associated opportunity to make a positive difference are more likely to support practice change than general problem definitions . The US experience also points out that extension and information dissemination is best be delivered through existing networks , both institutional and local .
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