Farmers' perception of co-ordinating institutions in agri-environmental measures-The example of peatland management for the provision of public goods on a landscape scale

Effective agri-environmental management of peatlands requires co-ordinated implementation action beyond that on a farm level due to the ecological functioning of the water system at the watershed level. We assess how farmers perceive different co-ordinating institutions and which farm and farmers' characteristics determine differences in the perception. We consider different institutions facilitating farm co-operation: a governmental and a more horizontal one. We apply a quantitative data analysis from a questionnaire survey including a discrete choice experiment on the willingness of peatland farmers to participate in a hypothetical agrienvironmental measure targeted at climate-friendly peatland management. Results show that preferences differ across farm types and farmers' characteristics. We find that part-time farmers and those without formal agricultural training perceive support for co-operation as beneficial, while more professional farmers (full-time, with formal agricultural training and receiving professional advice) tend to reject support for co-operation. Additionally, which institution offers support for co-operation matters. While we do not find a general pattern for or against an institution, the preferences differ across farm types and farmers' characteristics, i.e. the professionalization.

Automated summary

The study found that the willingness of peatland farmers to participate in agricultural environmental measures is influenced by farm types and farmers' characteristics. Part-time farmers and those without formal agricultural training tend to support cooperation, while more professional farmers are more likely to reject support for cooperation.