Effects of gender and agricultural cooperatives on biodiversity conservation farming practices: evidence from an emerging economy

Purpose This study explores the effects of gender and participation in agricultural cooperatives on biodiversity conservation farming practices in vegetable production. Design/methodology/approach This study used data collected from a survey of 627 vegetable farmers in Viet Nam and employed the Ordered Probit regression model to examine the effects of gender and participation in agricultural cooperatives on biodiversity conservation farming practices. Findings We find that female vegetable farmers are more likely to conduct biodiversity conservation farming practices than male farmers. This gender difference is, however, removed when participation in agricultural cooperatives is controlled, suggesting that agricultural cooperatives effectively facilitate biodiversity conservation farming practices. Research limitations/implications It is noted that our study is not free from some limitations. First, we conducted our study on vegetable farmers only. The biodiversity conservation practices in vegetable cultivation might be different from other types of farming. Future studies should be conducted with other types of agricultural cultivation. Second, we do not have enough data to explain why female farmers are more likely to adopt biodiversity conservation practices than male farmers. Future studies should capture biological and social aspects of gender differences to address this limitation. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on biodiversity conservation by presenting empirical evidence on the effects of gender and agricultural cooperatives. Participation in agricultural cooperatives is revealed to facilitate the adoption of biodiversity conservation practices. In addition, we find that the education of farmers, the number of years that farmers have been living in the local area and the quality of land and water are positively related to the adoption of biodiversity conservation practices in vegetable production.