Event Satisfaction Influence on Adoption Intentions for Climate-Smart Agriculture and Sustainability Perception
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ajet.v5i3.8433Keywords:
Adoption intention Behavior, Event Satisfaction, Extension Education, Knowledge Gain, Resource Stewardship PerceptionAbstract
Understanding why individuals decide to adopt climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices is important in agricultural extension. While extension programs are designed to increase knowledge, research evidence suggests that knowledge gains alone may not fully explain adoption intentions. This study examines how knowledge gain, satisfaction, and demographic characteristics influence adoption intention and sustainability perceptions of CSA practices among CSA field days participants in Maryland (N = 79). Post-event survey data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Spearman’s rank correlation, and hierarchical regression. Wilcoxon signed-rank test results show that participants experienced a significant increase in knowledge following the field day event (V = 1933, p < 0.001). Analysis revealed that knowledge gain is a significant predictor of adoption but not a significant predictor of sustainability perception. Demographic variables (age, gender, and education) were not significant predictors of adoption intention and sustainability perception. Once satisfaction was included in the model, it emerged as the only determinant of adoption intention (β = .31, p = .013) and sustainability perception (β = 0.34, p = .008), and knowledge gain was no longer a significant predictor of adoption intention. Overall, the findings highlight a divergence between knowledge gain and intention to adopt and sustainability beliefs of CSA practices, emphasizing that event quality and participant satisfaction play a more important role. These results indicate that outcomes of extension activities depend not only on knowledge delivery but also on the quality of the learning experience.
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