Adoption of circular agricultural practices among small-scale farmers

The development of Circular Systems (CoS) is essential for enhancing the sustainability of agricultural systems and strengthening farm resilience. The linear model of 'take-make-dispose' has a significant impact on both agriculture and the environment. In particular, water scarcity and soil degradation are common challenges facing small-scale farmers located in regions like Fars, Iran. The socio-psychological factors influencing the adoption of circular agricultural practices (CAPs) by small-scale farmers in the Fars Province of Iran are studied in this paper using an applied version of a UTAUT2 model. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey of 321 small-scale farmers in the Fars Province was carried out using simple random sampling. Data collected from this survey were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 3.0 to evaluate 10 hypotheses. All 10 relationships were supported by the results. Less effort expectancy is the strongest predictor of the Behavioral Intention (β = 0.293) as well as Habit (β = 0.169). The strongest predictor of the behavior was behavioral intention (β = 0.535). In addition, facilitating conditions have a significant direct effect on both intention (β = 0.133) and use behavior (β = 0.225). This indicates that facilitating conditions represent not only a source of motivation but also a critical enabler. The research results support the validity of the UTAUT2 model in a new context-circular agriculture in a developing economy-thus extending the validity of the generalized UTAUT2 model and demonstrating the usefulness of socio-psychological models in the context of agricultural adoption research. Through this research, the findings present a clear policy avenue that also includes the importance of providing simpler ways for agricultural producers to practice methods to reduce the perceptions of complexity, use existing habits and social networks of farmers to their advantage, and finally provide tangible resources (financial, physical, human, informational) and support services to assist in overcoming the gap between intention and behavior so producers are able to continue implementing such practices on their farm over time.