Farmers’ behavioral intentions to adopt livestock interventions for food security: a theory of planned behaviour approach

This study investigated the factors influencing farmers’ intentions to adopt livestock and dairy development projects (LDDP) in Bangladesh. It extended the theory of planned behaviour by including the intention to adopt LDDP’s interventions as an additional independent variable. The study examined the impact of these factors on farmers’ intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. A sample of 384 farmers from Pabna districts of Bangladesh was selected using a multistage sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using SmartPLS-SEM-4 software, employing path analysis to determine the effects of the independent variables on farmers' intention to adopt LDDP interventions. The results showed that by incorporating psychological factors, such as farmer’s attitudes (A), subjective norms (SN), Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC), behaviour intention (BI), and intention to adopt LDDP interventions, the extended TPB’s ability to explain farmers’ intention to adopt LDDP intervention for food and nutrition security (FNS). The study also included hypothesis testing results to determine the significance of relationships, such as attitudes influencing BI, PBC affecting BI, and SN impacting BI. The hypotheses tested indicated the relationships between attitudes and BI, behaviour intention and intention to adopt LDDP interventions, PBC and BI, and SN and BI. The results showed a significant relationship between behaviour intention and intention to adopt LDDP interventions (t = 38.829, P < 0.000). This suggests that behaviour intention plays a crucial role in determining individuals' intention to adopt livestock interventions for FNS. The R2 values provide insights into the variations explained by the model for BI and the intention to adopt LDDP interventions. The study recommends that policymakers gain a better understanding of the factors influencing behaviours and attitudes related to FNS and LDDP adoption, informing more effective policy implementation strategies.