Survey Dataset on Adoption Patterns of Climate-Neutral Farming Practices and Their Drivers and Barriers Across Europe

Summary

Climate-neutral farming requires a transformation of agricultural systems that not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also maintain productivity and resilience. However, adoption of climate-friendly practices is often constrained by limited understanding of the drivers and barriers that shape farmers’ decisions. To address this gap, the EU-funded project ClieNFarms (Workpackage 3) investigated which farmers engage with which solutions to transition towards climate neutrality. Building on a survey conducted among farmers across Europe, the dataset captures the dimensions of adoption behaviour. It covers three main components:
1) Farm and farmer characteristics – including structural, socio-demographic and management aspects (e.g. land use, enterprise types, livestock numbers, education, labour input, and advisory/training participation).
2) Knowledge, networking, use and future adoption of climate-mitigation practices – covering arable, grassland, dairy cattle and beef cattle livestock and technology practices.
3) Perceptions, motivations, and barriers – encompassing farmers’ priorities and attitudes towards climate-neutral farming, and perceived barriers to adoption.
In Deliverable D3.3 (Deliverables - ClieNFarms) this dataset was used to analyse adoption dynamics and identify drivers and barriers. Specifically, a Poisson regression model was applied to assess the determinants of adoption intensity, while a Multivariate Probit model was employed to capture farmers joint decision-making behaviour regarding the simultaneous adoption of multiple practices. This evidence provides a basis for developing recommendations to enhance the uptake of climate-neutral agricultural solutions across diverse European contexts.