Psycho-social factors influencing the adoption of sustainable intensification practices by smallholder rice farmers in Northern Ghana

AbstractReducing climate-related risks and uncertainties is crucial for the long-term survival of rain-fed smallholder rice farmers in northern Ghana. The study explored the role of psychosocial factors in the adoption and use of sustainable intensification practices to mitigate climate variability among smallholder farmers using the modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technologies and Structural Equation Modelling. Employing a mixed methods data were obtained from 240 smallholder rice farmers in the Savelugu municipality in the northern region. The results reveal that there is a strong association between behavioural intention and the number of SIPs adopted by a farmer, supporting the theory of reasoned action based on the assumption that behavioural intention predicts use behaviour contrary to suggestions that the influence of behavioural intention on use behaviour may not be particularly strong or predictable; Facilitating conditions had a direct and positive effect on the number of SIPs adopted by farmers and thus, use behaviour; Performance expectancy and farmers’ attitudes negatively affected behavioural intention while the effect of Social Influence and facilitating conditions on behavioural intension were positive. The results therefore, established the importance of performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions and attitude as predictors of farmers’ intention to adopt SIPs. The study contributes new insights to the adoption literature by presenting empirical data on how frequently underappreciated non-economic factors affect farmers’ adoption decisions in a setting characterised by informal interactions and data quality restrictions.