SMALL-SCALE DAIRY PRODUCERS’ INTENTION TO USE CORN SILAGE AND THE ROLE OF SOCIOECONOMIC AND SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN DECISION MAKING

Abstract

Background. Corn silage has shown a better economic sustainability to the small-scale dairy farms; however, the adoption rates among farmers have been low. Objective. This paper used the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to identify socioeconomic and socio-psychological factors influencing farmers’ intention to use corn silage. The TPB pointed out that individual’s behaviour is conducted by the individual’s intention, which in turn is determined by the individual’s attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. Methodology. The study was conducted with 106 farmers, divided in users (n=48) and non-users (n=58) of corn silage. To identify differences between groups, the Mann Whitney U test was conducted and Spearman’s correlations were used to analyse the constructs of the TPB. Results. The results showed that users of corn silage had the biggest farm size and their intention was significantly correlated (P<0.05) with the farm characteristics. The TPB’s results suggest that users and non-users decisions were based on positive beliefs of corn silage. Users generally perceived a greater social pressure and had a greater motivation to comply, however, non-users manifested to be encouraged by farmer’s self-initiative and personnel of the university. Non-users indicated that major constrain to use corn silage was the lack of technical skills and knowledge. Implications.  The paper adds evidence for a better understanding of factors driving farmer’s decisions to use corn silage on the farm. Conclusions. The farm characteristics and socio-psychological factors played an important role on farmers decisions to use corn silage on their farms. The findings are of interest for small-scale dairy sector in developing countries.