A holistic approach in explaining farmers' intentional behaviour on manure waste utilization

Abstract

This research examined livestock farmers' intention to move manure waste to an allocated landfill and the impact of financial support by municipalities on farmer's behavior. The theoretical framework was developed using the Theory of Planned Behavior and tested the validity of the model. The survey was carried out with 336 farmers in Bursa, Turkey, where animal husbandry is the primary source of livelihood. Research results have shown that the developed model proved to be satisfactory in predicting farmers' intentions. The attitude (β=0.38; p <0.01) variable was the most important determining factor on farmer behavior followed by subjective norms (β=0.30; p <0.01). Financial incentives provided by local governments was a strong mediator effect between attitude (β=0.62; p <0.01) and farmers' behavior. This study emphasizes that local governments should employ more proactive environmental measures, raise financial incentive initiatives in animal waste management to ensure farmers ' participation in these practices and sustainable agriculture.