Farmers intention to adopt sustainable agriculture hinges on climate awareness: The case of Vietnamese coffee

Adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAP) is essential for economic, social and environmental adaptation to climate change. For cash crops like Vietnamese coffee, this is even more relevant, since the country experiences climate change impacts, with direct implications for the well-being of smallholder farmers. Understanding the factors that influence farmers’ decision to adopt SAP can unravel useful recommendations for decision-makers. In this paper we explore the factors that influence farmers’ intention to adopt SAP for coffee farming using data from 93 interviews in Ban Me Thuot, Vietnam. The decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior was the theoretical framing of our work, with the extension that included climate change perception and farmers’ past behavior. We employed the grounded theory approach for data collection and structuring to reveal variables pertaining to sustainable agriculture adoption. We used Structural equation modeling to test the relations among behavioral determinants (attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control, and past behavior) that lead to intention to adopt sustainable agriculture. The results showed that farmers’ intention to adopt sustainable agricultural practices is influenced by their perception of social pressure and their abilities to perform sustainable agriculture. Farmers’ climate change perception also significantly influenced their behavioral determinants. A significant finding was that social trust covaries with financial control. We highlight the need for raising climate perception and awareness to promote the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices while building trust in both the scientific information received by local farmers but also their social circle.