Propensity of farmers towards ecosystem services provision with tree landraces

Agrobiodiversity encompasses the diverse range of agricultural crop systems. The adoption of agrobiodiversity leads to the provision of valuable ecosystem services, highlighting the importance of biodiversity in the context of food and agriculture. Unfortunately, significant loss of genetic diversity has occurred in recent decades, resulting in a severe decline in provisioning, regulating, support, and cultural services. The conservation efforts of farmers have played a crucial role in preserving landraces, which involves the exchange of propagating materials, seeds, and information on traditional cultivation techniques. Farmers are therefore vital agents in the conservation of genetic resources. This study aims to analyze Apulia’s farmers' intentions to incorporate agrobiodiversity into their farms, considering various factors that influence crop choice. An extended version of the "Theory of Planned Behavior" (TPB) is adopted: attitudes, social norms, and perceptions of control are examined as determinants that interact with factors such as knowledge of landraces, socio-demographic characteristics, profiles of farms, and opinions on different types of valorization processes. The use of structural equation modeling (SEM) allows for the exploration of the pathways for agrobiodiversity valorization. Preliminary findings reveal that farmers are more likely to accept and adopt agrobiodiversity when it aligns with certain respondent profiles, such as self-consumption or local markets oriented and those who possess familiarity with valorization processes and environmental issues. This study contributes to the identification of factors that can contribute to achieving the goals of a more sustainable agriculture in terms of ecosystem services provision.