Risk Perceptions, Preferences and the Adoption Dynamics of Pesticide-Free Production

They study the adoption of a new pesticide-free wheat production system in Switzerland. Large-scale transitions into such production systems have implications for the entire agricultural and food sector. Using survey data from 1,073 Swiss wheat producers, they empirically test whether risk preferences and risks perceptions in four domains relate to farmers’ decisions to adopt -and when to adopt pesticide-free production. They observe heterogeneity in farmers’ risk perceptions (e.g., early vs. late adopter) and find that farmers’ risk preferences, as well as their perceptions of production and institutional risk are related to adoption behaviour, in contrast to perceived market and investment risks.