Margaret Githinji, Meine van Noordwijk, Catherine Muthuri, Erika N. Speelman, Jarl Kampen, Gert Jan Hofstede
Context: Farmer land-use decisions are commonly explained and predicted by socio-demographic, economic, ecological, and psychological factors. However, these models explain only part of the empirical data without accounting for the effect of social relations. Objective: This study aimed at exploring the effect of social relations on farmer land-use decisions using the status-power theory of relations. We hypothesised that farmer land-use decisions are driven by the need to comply with requirements of their salient reference groups, such as family, government, and spiritual beings. Methods: We undertook a case study in the Mt. Kenya region where we conducted individual interviews and focus group discussions among smallholder farmers. We then used chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) to explore influence of social relations on land-use practices. Results and conclusions: Reported social relations were diverse and accounted for land-use decisions that could not be explained by socio-demographic, economic or ecological factors. The results showed that a farmer seemed more likely to choose a land-use option if he/she believed his/her salient reference groups would be pleased with the option. Reconciling social relations with other factors such as farmer's socio-demographic factors and geographic location also had a significant effect on the results. Significance: Insights into the impact of social relations in farmer land-use decisions can explain the often-heterogeneous decisions and can complement the economic analysis that is the conventional focus in analysis of farmer decisions. An understanding of the effects of social relations can strengthen development of policies that motivate implementation of more sustainable agriculture options. © 2024 The Authors
Information Technology Group, Social Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6706 KN, Netherlands; Plant Production Systems, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, 6700 AK, Netherlands; Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Bogor, Indonesia; Agroforestry Research Group, Brawijaya University, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya; Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6700 AA, Netherlands; Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6700 AA, Netherlands; UARM, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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