Understanding the impact of identity and socio-economic factors on the adoption of soil conservation practices: Empirical evidence from Australia

While intensifying agricultural practices have addressed rising food demands, it has also contributed to declining soil health. Existing studies often overlook the internal factors influencing decision-making, focusing solely on external socio-economic influences. This paper extends beyond a traditional economic utility maximising framework by incorporating an identity-based utility. It addresses this gap by investigating the joint impact of farmer identity, socio-economic factors, and perceived risk aversion on farmer adoption behaviour. Utilising a survey dataset of 494 Australian farmers, we employ principal component analysis to find three farmer identities: Productivist, Conservationist and Socially-conscious. These identities are subsequently incorporated into a multivariate probit model using an identity utility framework to examine their influence on the adoption of five distinct soil conservation practices. The results show that identity can independently affect farmers’ probability of adopting soil conservation practices. However, its effect varies across different types of soil conservation practices. Our findings highlight the importance of identity alongside established factors like risk aversion, rainfall patterns, age, and attendance of training and demonstrations in shaping farmer decisions about soil conservation practices. This research illuminates the crucial role of farmer identity in shaping soil conservation decision-making, complementing existing studies focused solely on external factors. Understanding this multi-faceted interplay will equip policy-makers and stakeholders with a more comprehensive framework to encourage sustainable agricultural practices. • Three distinct identities found among Australian crop farmers: Productivists, Conservationists, and Socially-conscious. • Farmer identity can independently influence farmers' adoption choices. • Identity impacts are contextual and high perceived risk can override the influence of identity. • Farmer participation in training programs, demonstrations, and farm walks drives adoption. • Farmers with larger farm sizes are less likely to reduce chemical inputs.