Farmer’s behaviour towards innovative solutions using TAM framework with mixed methodology: Analysis of case studies of rice farmers in the Mediterranean region

With an extension of 1,300,000 hectares (Mayer et al., 2019), rice is one of the most cultivated crops in the Mediterranean region. The leading rice producer countries in the region are Egypt, with 650,000 hectares (Elbasiouny and Elbehiry, 2020), and Italy, the first European producer, with 227,319 hectares (I.Stat, 2022). The Mediterranean region is highly dependent on irrigated agriculture, and water scarcity is one of the prominent issues that farmers face, especially in rice cultivation. The Mediterranean region is one of the most water-scarce because of several reasons, among which the high population density, semi-arid climatic conditions, decreased water quality, and increased recreational demands (United Nations, 2017). Moreover, the irrigated cropland covers approximately 30% of its area, resulting in a significant consumption of fresh water for agricultural uses (FAO, 2016). Therefore, innovative irrigation technologies can play a significant role in ensuring water availability and sustainable management (SDG6). Technologies in precision agriculture are designed to optimise the use of different agricultural inputs and increase yields and profitability (Evans et al., 2012). Scholars and innovative product developers have been providing innovative technological solutions to enable farmers to sustainably utilise the available water resources. Different studies have evaluated the adoption of alternative water sources, such as waste water (Dare and Mohtar, 2018), recycled water (Carr et al., 2011), desalinated water (Aznar-Sánchez et al., 2017) and Variable Rate Irrigation technology (O’Shaughnessy et al., 2016). Scientific research showed the benefits of adopting innovative irrigation solutions as in increasing yields and reducing water consumption in vineyards by more than 15% (Nadav, 2017; Klein et al. 2018), increasing potato yields by up to 6% (King et al., 2005) and saving up to 25 % of water consumption (Hedley and Yule, 2009). There is scientific literature that identified several reasons for the low prevalence of the available technologies, as the high costs of the technology and services, limited know-how, lack of research support for farmers, farmer’s pressure to increase farm productivity (Mitchell et al. 2021), and poor economic incentives (Evans et al., 2012). More recent studies focus on understanding those behaviours and attitudes that affect farmers’ decisions to accept and adopt innovative technology (Canavari et al., 2021; Ambong and Paulino, 2020). A deeper understanding of the factors that influence farmers’ decision making is crucial to facilitate precision agriculture uptake and foster a smooth transition towards a more sustainable irrigation system (Canavari et al.,2021). Furthermore, they provide more holistic information to technology researchers and developers to improve the novel products or systems, make them more user-friendly, and better mitigate the potential factors that might hinder technology adoption. Accepting any technology is the antecedent of its adoption: without acceptance, potential users are highly unlikely to adopt, efficiently utilise and upgrade the innovation (van Biljon and Renaud, 2008). This study analyses the drivers and factors affecting rice farmers’ acceptance and adoption of novel irrigation technology in the Mediterranean region.