21st Century Challenges in Arable Farming - Essays on the Agricultural Land Market and Drone Adoption in Germany
by Cord-Friedrich von Hobe
Date of Examination:2021-08-13
Date of issue:2021-09-09
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Oliver Mußhoff
Referee:Prof. Dr. Oliver Mußhoff
Referee:Prof. Dr. Bernhard Brümmer
Referee:Prof. Dr. Jan-Henning Feil
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Abstract
English
This cumulative thesis addresses two key challenges facing modern arable farming in Germany in the 21st century. The first challenge considered is the agricultural land market. The ongoing reduction in the limited production factor of land and the sharp price increases on the purchase and rental market for agricultural land are leading to an ongoing social, political and scientific debate about causes, effects and the need for political intervention. The scarcity of land requires an increase in productivity from a sectoral perspective and an increase in the profitability of the land under cultivation from a business management perspective. Additionally, sustainability and resource efficiency are playing a considerably increasing role in arable farming. By adopting precision agriculture technologies, farmers can increase farm productivity by improving yields while reducing input use and external environmental impacts. Therefore, the adoption of precision agriculture technologies is considered an important goal and current challenge in arable farming. Drones are one of the newest technologies belonging to precision agriculture, and many potential applications are promised due to their multifunctionality. Nevertheless, so far drones are less used in arable farming than expected and very little is known about the adoption process of drones. The adoption of precision agriculture technologies, and in this case specifically the case of drones, is therefore considered as the second key challenge in arable farming in the cumulative thesis. The first paper studies the status quo regarding price drivers on European farmland rental markets according to current literature and offers primary survey results of German farmers’ perceptions regarding those identified price drivers. Results show that "policy/CAP", "bioenergy", "climate change" as well as "market prices/competition" are identified by the primary literature as central price drivers on the European farmland rental markets and that the surveyed German farmers perceive these four price drivers differently from the literature regarding their relevance. The second paper studies the effect of restricted tendering in farmland auctions as a widely used policy intervention tool on the agricultural land market utilizing Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and auction theory. It is demonstrated that restricted tendering in land market auctions reduces the average number of bidders but does not fulfill the ultimate purpose of lower prices for structurally disadvantaged groups of bidders, as it leads to higher purchase prices on average. In the third paper, key factors influencing the adoption of drones are studied with a modified trans-theoretical model of adoption (TTMA). The focus of this fundamental research is mainly on sociodemographic farm and farmer characteristics. Results show that, among other factors, farmers' age, gender, and technology literacy, as well as farm size, influence the adoption process of drones in arable farming. The fourth paper extends the scope of research towards the latent factors influencing the adoption process of drones in arable farming based on an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). It is shown that both raising farmers' awareness of farm-specific applications of drones and confidence in using a drone can increase farmers' intention to use a drone. The results are primarily of interest to agricultural policymakers who are involved in the active debate on agricultural land market interventions as well as those who wish to politically promote the dissemination of PAT. Furthermore, the results are of interest to farmers, (potential) buyers in the farmland market and agricultural expansion services. Developers and providers of drones and farm equipment that integrates drone technology could also benefit from this research. Each of the papers contributes to its particular body of literature and shows potential directions for future research.
Keywords: agricultural land market; farmland auctions; restricted tendering; propensity score matching; precision agriculture; drones; technology adoption; German farmers; technology acceptance model