Dimensions of rural web as factors influencing farmer's adoption of sustainable agricultural practices: A review

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the main driving forces of rural development. Ensuring its sustainability in practice will provide economic, social and environmental benefits to the rural area. This will then contribute to sustainable rural development in general. Similarly, the processes of rural development are also the external influences that can facilitate the condition for sustainable practices to be carried out in ease of manner. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of rural development processes as facilitating factors in farmer's decision-making on the adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Practices (SAP). Using the method of Protocol, Search, Appraisal, Synthesis, Analysis and Reporting (PSALSAR), this study has adapted six steps towards conducting a systematic literature review. A total of 50 empirical studies obtained from Scopus database were reviewed to determine the significant factors influencing the adoption of SAP. These factors were then coded into six dimensions of rural development processes which are endogeneity, novelty, market governance, institutional, social capital and sustainability. The finding of this paper has discovered that the institutional dimension contains the most factors influencing SAP adoption, followed up by social capital. The rural development dimension with the least significant factors from the empirical studies reviewed is the novelty dimension. This finding has highlighted the gap in the literature regarding factors influencing adoption. Future research should consider exploring the relationship between farmers' novelty practices with their decisions in adopting SAP.