Training and social-psychological drivers of farmers’ intention to adopt renewable energy for agricultural machinery: An Italian study

The use of renewable energy alternatives to power agricultural machinery is essential for the transition to more sustainable agriculture. Several individual and psychological variables may affect farmers’ willingness to adopt these alternatives, potentially rendering innovation efforts ineffective. This study examines the triggers for the intention to adopt renewable energy alternatives for agricultural machinery in a group of Italian farmers (N = 409) using a mediation model. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding the frequency of participation in training programmes and their ease of understanding, perceived usefulness, environmental benefits, and safety risks of adopting three renewable energy sources (biomethane, electricity from renewable sources, and hydrogen) for the operation of agricultural machinery. The results showed that training was positively associated with perceived usefulness (β = 0.14, p < 0.01) and negatively associated with safety concerns (β = -0.15, p < 0.05), while its association with perceived environmental benefits was not significant (β = 0.04, p > 0.05). Perceived usefulness (β = 0.16, p < 0.01), environmental benefits (β = 0.27, p < 0.001) and safety concerns (β = -0.27, p < 0.001) were in turn significantly associated with the intention to use renewable energy sources. The model was invariant across the types of energy sources considered, implying that the critical variables for farmers’ decision-making operate similarly in the adoption of all these alternatives. The implications of developing information and education campaigns as effective policy tools to promote these renewable energy alternatives to farmers are discussed.