Risk and risk preferences belong to the key determinants of investment-based technology adoption in agriculture. We develop and apply a novel approach in which an inverse second order stochastic dominance approach is integrated into a stochastic dynamic farm-level model to quantify the effect of...

Contractors will play a vital role in providing farms with access to new precision farming technologies, especially in small-scale farming systems. We investigate the impact of spatial competition among contractors on the uptake of precision farming and the effectiveness of policy interventions,...

The goal of this paper is to provide insights into how scientific evidence can be used for policymaking and put evidence-based agriculture and food policies at the top of research and policy agendas. We illustrate how scientific evidence can be used in a targeted manner for better policymaking...

Sustainable intensification of agriculture requires the adoption of new production techniques, tools, and programmes on a large scale. This implies substantial shifts in established ways of farming under uncertain information about potential economic and environmental outcomes. Research can...

Low-input production systems aim at mitigating agriculture's environmental impact with a lower level of chemical inputs. However, comparing the performance of low-input systems to conventional ones, particularly in terms of productivity and yield, is challenging due to selection bias. First, we...

Adverse weather conditions can affect both crop yield quantity and yield quality. In wheat production, especially the risk of a downgrading due to low baking quality, as indicated by the Hagberg Falling Number, can cause large economic losses after precipitation events. We here estimate...

Learning from the experiences of other countries can support efforts to improve agricultural policies. Switzerland provides an interesting case because its policy is exceptionally targeted towards the establishment of sustainable production systems. We describe the history and the current state...

The adoption of fungus-resistant grapevines may be a key strategy for substantially reducing fungicide use in pesticide-intensive viticulture. In a representative survey conducted among 436 grapevine growers in Switzerland, we elicited growers' expected share of land devoted to fungus-resistant...