Public economics

Business

Neuroscience

Common Agricultural Policy

Biology

Agriculture

Marketing

Environmental economics

Cognition

Psychology

Economics

Ecology

Agricultural policy

Sustainable agriculture

European Review of Agricultural Economics

This paper reviews the findings from the last 20 years on the behavioural factors that influence farmers’ decisions to adopt environmentally sustainable practices. It also proposes policy options to increase adoption, based on these behavioural factors and embedded in the EU Common Agricultural Policy. Behavioural factors are grouped into three clusters, from more distal to more proximal: (i) dispositional factors; (ii) social factors and (iii) cognitive factors. Overall, the review demonstrates that considering behavioural factors enriches economic analyses of farmer decision-making, and can lead to more realistic and effective agri-environmental policies.

Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: a policy-oriented review