Are farmers willing to adopt climate-smart Water-Energy-Food-Environment Nexus designs? A case of olive producers in Crete using a participatory choice experiment

Given a closing window of opportunity to address threats posed by climate change, its mitigation and adaptation are high on the agenda of researchers, policymakers, and the public. The Water-Energy-Food-Environment (WEFE) Nexus approach can prove useful in the planning and implementation of adaptation actions due to its multi-sectoral nature. In this study, we conduct a discrete choice experiment in Greece to elicit olive producers' preferences for groups of WEFE Nexus climate-smart strategies. Our findings suggest that farmers prefer to adopt less technology-intensive practices, and more common and conventional ones, such as pruning, are the most likely to be adopted. Results obtained highlight the importance for policymakers to increase awareness among agricultural producers, with a targeted approach to different groups of them (traditional, transitioning, environmentally conscious), about climate-smart practices with a special focus on the expected benefits from the adoption of more technology-intensive ones, and to provide technical advice. • The WEFE Nexus approach is useful for implementing climate change adaptation actions. • Farmers prefer to adopt less technology-intensive WEFE Nexus climate-smart practices. • Identified 3 farmers' groups: traditional, transitioning, and environmentally conscious. • There is a noticeable degree of heterogeneity in preferences between farmers' groups. • Awareness among farmers about climate-smart practices should be increased.