Underlying values and motivational factors of farmers : a study of Swedish farmers who use HVO in their productions
The Swedish agriculture is yet to a large extent dependent on fossil fuels. In order to tackle climate change and attain the various environmental goals set by both public and private associations, there is an urgent need for the agricultural sector to transform to more sustainable production method...
| Autores principales: | , |
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| Formato: | L3 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Economics
2022
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| Materias: |
| Sumario: | The Swedish agriculture is yet to a large extent dependent on fossil fuels. In order to tackle climate change and attain the various environmental goals set by both public and private associations, there is an urgent need for the agricultural sector to transform to more sustainable production methods. Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is a biofuel that can be used in current machinery without any technical restrictions. Sustainable inputs, such as HVO, are today more expensive than non-sustainable alternatives. Further, traditional economic theories argues that producers are driven by economic incentives and strive to maximise profit. Hence, this study aims to gain insight into the motivational factors and underlying values as to why farmers use HVO in their productions. The elicitation and understanding of the motivational factors are key aspects in understanding how various stakeholders can support this transition through both private and public instruments. Existing literature is scattered regarding motivational factors in relation to the use of biofuel in agriculture. Through a qualitative approach ten farmers, who currently used HVO in their production, were interviewed to study motivational factors in an agricultural context. The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) and the laddering technique were used during the interviews and later the Means-End Chain theory (MEC) was applied to elicit the underlying motivational factors. The findings of this study suggest that “Responsibility” is the most prominent value followed by the values “Self- achievement”, “Security”, “Satisfaction” and “Legacy”. Furthermore, profitability is not mentioned as a motivational factor as to why farmers use HVO in their production, but as a factor that enables the decision. Rather, the motivational factors elicited were of behavioural nature. Therefore, this study argues that there is a need for the development of new mental models that include non-pecuniary values in traditional economic theories. |
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