Using a socio-psychological model to identify and understand factors influencing the use and adoption of a successful innovation by small-scale dairy farmers of Central Mexico

This paper seeks to make an exploratory investigation regarding farmers who have been using an innovation for a relatively long period (established users), compared to farmers who have only recently started (recent users). Therefore, the aims of this research were to identify (i) the extent to which intentions, attitudes and social pressure are similar or different between these two groups and (ii) whether comparison of the groups can improve academic understanding and provide insights into what is influencing the uptake of innovations. The study was conducted with 80 farmers who are already engaged with the use of improved grassland. In order to develop an understanding of the differences in drivers of the adoption of new technology, the sample was divided into established users and recent users of the innovation. To identify differences between groups regarding farmer and farm characteristics, 11 quantitative variables were analysed through a dependent t-test. The theory of reasoned action (TRA) was used as a theoretical framework and the Spearman rank-order correlation was used in data analyses. To identify differences in farmers’ perceptions of the components of the TRA, we used the Mann–Whitney U test. The results showed that established users had stronger intention to use improved grassland in the next 12 months, which would be attributed to activity based on milk production as a main source of family income. Advantages of improved grassland included lower animal feeding expenses; increases in quantity, quality and availability of fodder production and increases in milk production. We concluded that established and recent users’ intention to use improved grassland over the 12 months was influenced in different ways. Established users’ intention to adopt was strongly influenced by normative beliefs, i.e. social pressure from salient referents, where the father, uncle and veterinarian played the most important role, whereas recent users’ intention was mainly influenced by behavioural beliefs (positive and negative beliefs regarding the innovation) and the variables that describe the farm characteristics, i.e. the advantages and disadvantages that farmers perceive of the use of improved grassland on their farms, which were also considered as drivers of adoption.