Climate and soil conditions shape farmers’ climate change adaptation preferences

Climate change poses a significant threat to agriculture and challenges farmers’ adaptive capacity. Understanding how farmers evaluate and prioritize different climate change adaptation measures under consideration of their natural environment is crucial yet widely overlooked. This study determines the relative importance that farmers attach to different adaptation measures and explores the role of climatic and soil conditions in this context. It uses a best-worst scaling experiment with German arable farmers in combination with geospatial climate and soil information. Findings reveal a preference for incremental adaptation measures over more transformative ones. However, preferences varied considerably with average local temperature, precipitation, and soil quality. The finding that farmers’ adaptation preferences are highly diverse and context-specific calls for tailored policies. It is crucial for policymakers to have a thorough understanding of farmers’ adaptation preferences. Based on the results, the study discusses multiple actions that policymakers can take to incentivize farmers to favor more effective adaptation measures.