Understanding Farmer Behaviour for Successful Climate Change Mitigation in Voluntary Initiatives

Abstract

Private and voluntary initiatives, such as voluntary carbon markets, can support public policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in agriculture. This study investigates the impact of behavioural factors (reluctance to change) and social dynamics (peer imitation) on the adoption of two mitigation practices on Swiss dairy and beef farms: the use of the feed additive 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP), the commercial product Bovaer and substituting concentrate feeds with on-farm cultivated legumes. Using a bio-economic agent-based model and a diverse sample of farms, we simulated outcomes for reducing GHG emissions under increasing levels of financial compensation in scenarios reflecting behavioural and social influences. The results show that, assuming profit-maximising behaviour, emissions could be reduced by up to 24% at a price of 150 CHF per tonne of CO2-equivalent. However, when farmers' reluctance to change is considered, the mitigation potential decreases significantly. Introducing social network effects, such as peer imitation, improves outcomes, increasing the potential reduction and showing that social influence can help overcome behavioural resistance. These findings suggest that, although private and voluntary schemes offer meaningful potential for reducing agricultural emissions, their effectiveness is limited when real-world behavioural dynamics are considered. The study highlights the importance of aligning voluntary market mechanisms with supportive public policies to maximise GHG reductions.