Ban Glyphosate—Does It Affect the Swedish Farmers' Willingness to Grow Cover Crops?

Abstract

The cultivation of cover crops is one of the new Eco-scheme practices introduced in Sweden. This study examines how the design of policy attributes of these schemes influences farmers' willingness to grow cover crops on arable land, with particular focus on the potential impact of a glyphosate ban. A discrete choice experiment was conducted with Swedish crop farmers (N = 875), considering three policy attributes (commitment duration, maximum allowable percentage of mixed legume plants, and subsidy payment levels), two alternatives (permission to sell or utilize cover crop biomass versus restrictions), and one treatment condition (glyphosate ban). A Latent Class Logit Model was employed to explore heterogeneity in farmers' willingness to grow cover crops. The analysis identified three distinct farmer groups: 29% are unlikely to grow cover crops regardless of policy attribute design, 41% are predisposed to adoption irrespective of policy attributes, and 30% are influenced by subsidy payment scheme design. For the latter group, a glyphosate ban should reduce their willingness to grow cover crops. These findings offer valuable insights for enhancing flexibility in Eco-scheme management prescriptions for promoting greater farmer participation, such as easing the restriction on the maximum number of legume plants in cover crops and permitting farmers to sell or utilize cover crops.