A systematic review on the impact of incentives on the adoption of conservation agriculture: new guidelines for policymakers and researchers

Facing the new challenges of sustainable development in the agricultural sector requires transitioning toward sustainable systems, such as conservation agriculture (CA) practices. Despite several decades of work to diffuse CA technologies, the adoption rate remains below expectations in several coun...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of agricultural sustainability Vol. 21; no. 1
Main Authors El Bakali, Imane, Ait El Mekki, Abdelkader, Maatala, Nassreddine, Harbouze, Rachid
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Taylor & Francis 31.12.2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Agricultural conservation
Agricultural industry
Agricultural practices
Agriculture
Conservation
Conservation practices
diffusion
disincentives
Ecosystem services
Incentives
policies
Subsidies
Sustainability
Sustainable development
sustainable innovations
Systematic review
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Summary:Facing the new challenges of sustainable development in the agricultural sector requires transitioning toward sustainable systems, such as conservation agriculture (CA) practices. Despite several decades of work to diffuse CA technologies, the adoption rate remains below expectations in several countries. Different policy scenarios have been adopted to address this situation, mainly incentives. However, evidence of their effectiveness and possibilities of reinforcement are not clearly defined in the literature. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the evidence of the impact of incentives on the adoption of conservation agriculture practices to help academics and politicians understand how to effectively spread sustainable innovations such as CA. Results show that four kinds of incentives are evaluated Agri-Environment Schemes (AES)/Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), input subsidies, direct subsidies, and market-based incentives. The impact of PES and input subsidies was significant and positive for the diffusion of CA. However, the component of minimum tillage dissemination was not significantly affected by PES agglomeration payments or greater levels of direct subsidies, respectively. The incentives investigated are not sufficiently diversified in type, which consequently limits their usefulness. Three recommendations for the deployment of incentives were made in light of these findings.
ISSN:1473-5903
1747-762X
DOI:10.1080/14735903.2023.2290415