Driving sustainable tea production: how cooperative membership influences the adoption of environmentally friendly practices in Sri Lanka

Purpose This study investigates the impact of cooperative membership on the adoption of environmentally friendly practices (EFPs) among smallholder tea farmers in Sri Lanka, a leading high-value crop sector undergoing a sustainability transition. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on survey data from 745 tea-farming households collected from Sri Lanka. A Conditional Mixed Process approach is employed to address the endogeneity issue. We further examine the heterogeneous effects across income levels. Findings The results indicate that cooperative membership has a significant impact on the adoption of EFPs and the number of EFPs adopted. Specifically, cooperative membership has a positive influence on the adoption of crop diversification, mulching, and water management, with the most significant effects observed among low-income farmers. It also significantly increases the number of EFPs adopted; meanwhile, mechanism analysis further reveals that price satisfaction partially mediates this relationship. Practical implications Policies should promote inclusive cooperative participation, especially for resource-constrained farmers, while strengthening the capacity of cooperatives to provide credit and technical support. In addition, fostering knowledge-sharing within cooperatives can institutionalize learning and accelerate Sri Lanka's transition toward sustainable tea production. Originality/value This study provides new micro-level evidence on how cooperative membership promotes environmentally friendly tea production in Sri Lanka, jointly examining the adoption of EFPs and the number of EFPs adopted.