Mapping incentives for change in the transition to net zero

To achieve the UK’s initiative of achieving net zero by 2045, many emission-reducing interventions have been identified in the UK agri-food sector. The success of these interventions depends on stakeholders’ uptake, which is in turn motivated by different incentives. However, the multi-segmented nature of food supply chains implies that the role of incentive schemes would differ for different stakeholders based on their location along the supply chain (upstream/downstream), perceptions, production system, etc.

This project will identify and analyse the motivation and incentives of UK livestock farmers and food processors. It aims to map these incentives within the UK livestock food supply chain to provide a better understanding of their role in the uptake of specific practices in the transition to net zero.

Project lead: Shailesh Shrestha, Scotland’s Rural College

Project members: Steven Jacobs, Organic Farmers & Growers CIC (OF&G); Nicola Noble, National Sheep Association (NSA); Kerry Whiteside, Samworth Brothers; Albert Boaitey, Newcastle University; Tianchu Lu, University College London; Joy Okwuwa-Okonkwo, University of West England, Bristol; Tarek Soliman, Scotland’s Rural College

Findings

• For beef and sheep farmers a low cost of interventions, ease of use and easy accessibility are major incentives to adopt interventions to reduce farm emissions.
• Interventions related to grass and crop management were the most frequently used adoption on farms.
• A lack of information on interventions and their effectiveness to reduce emissions as well as farmers’ own skill levels to adopt interventions on farm are the major obstacles to successful uptake of interventions on farms.
• Farmers with a membership to agri-environment schemes had a higher tendency to adopt interventions to reduce GHG emissions.
• Farmers’ perception on climate change plays an important role in adoption level of interventions. Their belief in their roles in contributing to mitigate climate change provides a strong incentive to adopt.

Suggestions for further research

• This project showed that cost of interventions is one of the influencing variables on decision making for adoption of interventions on farms. Research focused on cost benefit analysis of the interventions on farms will be helpful in identifying cost effective interventions. It will also assist in improving farmer adoption.
• Research focused on improving general information on farm emissions and climate change would add to this project.