Understanding and promoting good soil stewardship

The Activating markets to create incentives for improved soil management literature scoping study identified the lack of research on what consumers know about soil stewardship and its effects on consumer demand.

In the current market, there are few incentives for the good soil management. To address this, farmers need a better understanding of the consumer demand for soil stewardship and their willingness to pay. Once this is determined, communication strategies and materials will be developed to promote good soil stewardship to consumers, then the requirements and potential use of this information by food processors will be examined.

This project will develop and trial a range of different communication materials to educate and promote soil stewardship to consumers in order to determine whether consumers are willing to pay more for food that has been produced using good soil stewardship practices.

The project will also engage with value chain stakeholders to better understand their potential demand for information about consumer’s willingness to pay, perceived obstacles for its use, and specific information requirements for rewarding farmers for quality practices.

Involving and researching value-chain stakeholders is critical for achieving the goal of financially rewarding famers for improved soil stewardship. Even if consumers are found to be willing to pay for soil stewardship, and this can be activated through effective communications, the end-goal of rewarding farmers through higher prices for their products will not be achieved without the cooperation of critical value chain stakeholders such as food manufacturers and retailers. These intermediaries are essential for presenting soil stewardship attributes on their products and providing financial incentives for landholders.