Overcoming the barriers for biodiesel use in Spain: An analysis of the role of convenience and price

The aim of the paper is to analyse biodiesel market acceptance in Spain. In particular, we study the intention to use biodiesel by Spanish diesel car drivers and the factors explaining this intention. To achieve this goal, we developed a model of the intention to use biodiesel based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour but extended in two ways. The first one consists of the inclusion of two new predictors of the intention to use (environmental self-identity and biodiesel knowledge) and the second, the extension of the model to take into account the two barriers in the adoption of biodiesel in the market (potential price premium and limited availability in the petrol stations). This model has been specified as an ordered probit and estimated using data from a survey conducted in Spain. Results indicated that apart from the attitudes towards biodiesel use, the most important factors explaining the intention to use biodiesel are the biodiesel knowledge and the environmental self-identity, in other words, the new predictors in the Theory of Planned Behaviour model. In addition, the effects of all the factors (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, biodiesel knowledge, environmental self-identity and socio-demographic characteristics) on the intention to use were different, depending on the price and the availability of the biodiesel in the market. Thus, we can conclude that to analyse the intention to use biodiesel, different price and availability scenarios should be taken into account. Empirical results indicated that to increase biodiesel use, the best option is to increase biodiesel knowledge and environmental self-identity

Willing or complying? The delicate interplay between voluntary and mandatory interventions to promote farmers' environmental behavior

Agri-environmental policies generally build around two complementary approaches: mandatory requirements and (compensated) voluntary measures. One of the challenges of the future EU Common Agricultural Policy is precisely to find the right balance between these two types of interventions. We conducted an experiment with farmers in three EU Member States to assess the impact of (1) increasing mandatory contributions to the environment, and of (2) decreasing unconditional income support. We also assess the effect of two key behavioural factors: environmental concern and trait reactance. Results show that both interventions reduce voluntary contributions to the environment, but the reduction is higher when mandatory contributions increase than when income decreases.. However, when mandatory contribution increases substantially, this more than offsets the reduction of voluntary contributions, leading to higher total contributions

Drivers of diversification and pluriactivity among smallholder farmers—evidence from Nigeria

Diversification and pluriactivity have become a norm among farm business owners (FBOs) due to persistent low farm income. This study applies the resource-based theory to examine drivers of diversification and livelihood income-oriented towards a sustainable livelihood. Our framework develops hypotheses about the impact of internal and external resources on livelihood choices at the household level. We use a survey of 480 rural Nigerian farmers (agripreneurs), applying a Multivariate Tobit to test our framework. We find that education plays the most significant role in all types of employment options. The more FBOs are educated, the more the likelihood that they will choose non-farm or wage employment. This study revealed that while the agriculture sector’s share of rural employment is declining, non-farm is on the increase. More so, there is a decline in farming among the young generation, marital status bias and gender influence in resource allocation. The socioeconomic (income and food security) and socio-cultural (employment and rural-urban migration) implications of rural sustainability linked to UN Development Goals have been highlighted and analysed in this article

Comunicación corta. Nuevos mercados funcionales: factores que influyen en la probabilidad de compra de vinos funcionales

Concern regarding the relationship between diet and health is growing among consumers. As an answer to this concern, the food industry has developed functional foods, a market with an increasing demand both in volume and expenditure. New functional products are being developed for which market potential must be investigated. This paper centres on one of this products, a wine with increased levels of resveratrol, a natural compound which has been found to be positively related to the reduction in the risk of inflammatory diseases. The market potential of this new product is assessed using a survey of wine consumers in the city of Granada (Spain). Consumers are asked for the probability of purchasing this new wine in order to identify "potential consumers" and factors influencing belonging to this category are identified. A significant proportion of the sample is found to belong to the "potential consumers" category with cognitive, affective and situational variables as the main factors affecting inclusion within this category.La preocupación por la relación entre salud y dieta está creciendo entre los consumidores. Como respuesta a esta preocupación, la industria agroalimentaria ha desarrollado los denominados alimentos funcionales, un mercado que experimenta una demanda creciente tanto en volumen como en gasto. Ante el desarrollo de nuevos productos es necesario conocer su potencial de mercado. El presente trabajo se centra en uno de estos productos, un vino producido a partir de uvas con niveles incrementados de resveratrol, un compuesto que ha sido relacionado positivamente con la reducción en el riesgo de enfermedades inflamatorias. El potencial de mercado para este producto se estima a partir de una encuesta a consumidores de vino en la ciudad de Granada (España). Se pregunta a los consumidores por su probabilidad de compra de este producto para identificar a los "consumidores potenciales", así como los factores que influyen en la pertenencia a dicho grupo. Una proporción significativa de la muestra es identificada como "consumidores potenciales", siendo factores de tipo cognitivo, afectivo y situacionales los que afectan a la inclusión de los individuos en ese segmento

Implicaciones en el mercado de una nueva regulación: el impacto de la información nutricional y de salud en la elección del consumidor

Consumer concern for health impacts of diet has increased the use of nutritional information and claims by agro-food industry. Under the current European legislation on nutrition and health claims and on nutritional labelling, three type of nutritional information can be provided on food products: nutritional facts panel, nutritional claims and health claims. In this context, the aim of the paper is to assess how much consumers' value the provision of three types of nutritional information in a meat product not precisely perceived as healthy, "pork Frankfurt sausages", using a choice experiment. The data comes from a survey conducted in two Spanish medium size towns (Zaragoza and Córdoba) during 2007. A mixed logit model is used to estimate the effect of the nutrition information attributes on consumers' utility and derive their willingness to pay. Results show that all three nutritional and health information items are valued by consumers, although preferences are heterogeneous. Health claims are significantly higher valued than nutritional attributes (facts panel or claim). Estimated market shares show that the use of any of the available labelling options will obtain significant market success even at prices including premiums above current price levels.La preocupación de los consumidores por los impactos de la salud de la dieta ha supuesto que la industria agroalimentaria haya incrementado la presencia de información nutricional y de salud en sus productos. La legislación comunitaria relativa a las alegaciones nutricionales y de salud, así como de etiquetado nutricional, permite la inclusión en los alimentos de tres tipos de información nutricional: composición nutricional, alegaciones nutricionales y alegaciones de salud. En este contexto, el objetivo del presente artículo es evaluar en qué medida los consumidores valoran la presencia de estos tres tipos de información nutricional en un producto cárnico utilizando la metodología de los experimentos de elección. La aplicación empírica se centra en un producto que no es percibido como saludable por los consumidores: las salchichas de cerdo cocidas tipo Frankfurt. Para ello se ha llevado a cabo una encuesta a consumidores en dos ciudades medianas españolas (Zaragoza y Córdoba) en el año 2007. Se han estimado los efectos de los distintos tipos de información sobre la utilidad de los consumidores a partir de un modelo de parámetros aleatorios, así como la disponibilidad a pagar por ellos. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que los tres tipos de información son valorados por los consumidores, aunque las preferencias son heterogéneas. Las alegaciones de salud son significativamente más valoradas que las fuentes de información relacionadas con nutrientes, ya sean como composición nutricional o como alegación. También se han estimado cuotas de mercado para evaluar el éxito potencial de la introducción de nuevas estrategias de etiquetado en este mercado, detectando que cualquiera de las opciones de etiquetado obtendría cuotas de mercado significativas, incluso si éstas llevaran asociados incrementos de precios

Insights on cisgenic plants with durable disease resistance under the European Green Deal

Significant shares of harvests are lost to pests and diseases, therefore, minimizing these losses could solve part of the supply constraints to feed the world. Cisgenesis is defined as the insertion of genetic material into a recipient organism from a donor that is sexually compatible. Here, we review (i) conventional plant breeding, (ii) cisgenesis, (iii) current pesticide-based disease management, (iv) potential economic implications of cultivating cisgenic crops with durable disease resistances, and (v) potential environmental implications of cultivating such crops; focusing mostly on potatoes, but also apples, with resistances to Phytophthora infestans and Venturia inaequalis, respectively. Adopting cisgenic varieties could provide benefits to farmers and to the environment through lower pesticide use, thus contributing to the European Green Deal target

Perspectives on stakeholder participation in the design of economic experiments for agricultural policymaking: Pros, cons, and twelve recommendations for researchers

Economic experiments have emerged as a powerful tool for agricultural policy evaluations. In this perspective, we argue that involving stakeholders in the design of economic experiments is critical to satisfy mandates for evidence-based policies and encourage policymakers' usage of experimental results. To identify advantages and disadvantages of involving stakeholders when designing experiments, we synthesize observations from six experiments in Europe and North America. In these experiments, the primary advantage was the ability to learn within realistic decision environments and thus make relevant policy recommendations. Disadvantages include complicated implementation and constraints on treatment design. We compile 12 recommendations for researchers