Underlying motivational factors of farmers when acquiring arable land
The area of arable land is decreasing every year as a result of expanding cities or road networks, a fact affecting the farmers’ business possibilities. The farms in Sweden are simultaneously getting fewer but larger in size, the higher survival rate among the larger farms indicating that growing...
| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | Second cycle, A2E |
| Lenguaje: | sueco Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2020
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/15860/ |
| Sumario: | The area of arable land is decreasing every year as a result of expanding cities or road
networks, a fact affecting the farmers’ business possibilities. The farms in Sweden are
simultaneously getting fewer but larger in size, the higher survival rate among the larger
farms indicating that growing means surviving. Furthermore, the price of arable land in
Sweden has drastically increased over the past ten years, with Östergötland being one of the
highest priced areas. However, recent literature regarding the acquisition of arable land
discusses how theory focusing on monetary values fails to recognise farmers’ behaviour and
values. Instead, recent literature suggests that non-pecuniary attributes, along with economic
factors, influence farmers’ decision-making in different contexts.
The present study was designed to determine the underlying motivational factors of farmers
when acquiring arable land. The study contributes to the field by deriving from existing
literature, such as the net present value, hedonic pricing and behavioural aspects, and
criticizing its inadequacy. By doing so, the present study aims to create a more holistic picture
of the matter. The study is based on Means-End Chain theory (MEC), a framework for
describing and linking peoples’ values to their behaviour. The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation
Technique (ZMET) was used, a qualitative method previously never applied in this context,
providing a new perspective and generating a unique result. The method enabled the farmers
themselves to control what aspects were highlighted during the interviews and forced them
deeper into their reasoning process. The cause-effect relationships between elements elicited
were then coded and illustrated in a Hierarchal Value Map (HVM), constituting the result of
present study.
The main findings indicate how farmers’ underlying motivational factors cannot be
characterized as either financial or non-financial when acquiring arable land. Rather, financial
and non-financial factors are in this context closely linked. The most prominent value
pronounced during the interviews was “Profitability”, closely followed by “Happiness” and
“Well-being”. The interviewed farmers acquired the arable land essentially based on location,
to increase farm size and to enable continued operation. These attributes were found to
increased revenue and improve efficiency as well as the work situation. Using ZMET in the
study was considered vital to assess the respondents’ reasoning processes and thereby the indepth
information governing the result. To conclude, the result of the present study shows that
there is a complex set of factors that motivates farmers in their decision to acquire arable land. |
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