Eliciting farmers’ preferences towards agriculture education in Northern Ireland

Purpose:Agriculture education promotes farmers and societalwelfare through a more efficient use of resources and theadoption of sustainable farming practices. Nevertheless, farmers’educational attainment is limited across countries. This studyexplores farmers’intention to participate in formal agricultureeducation.Design/methodology/approach:A discrete choice experimentsurvey with 363 farmers exploring their preferences for differentspecifications within a diploma in agriculture was employed. Wefocus on Northern Ireland, a country with a relatively largeagricultural sector and were farmers have a low level of formaleducation.Findings:Our results show that farmers exhibited a preference forshort courses delivered in the evenings, with 75% of the teachingtime delivered online, favouring educational topics linked to farmperformance against those related to socio-environmentaloutcomes. Part-time younger farmers, operating in small farmslocated in less favoured areas, reported the highest willingness topay for the course. However, farmers that had previouslyparticipated in a Young Farmer Payment Scheme reported thelowest interest in undertaking the course.Practical implications:The study provides useful information toeducation providers in relation to the design of agriculturecourses to better meet farmers’preferences and thereforeencourage levels of uptake. Secondly, the study can helppolicymakers to make informed decisions about policyinstruments incentivising farmers to engage in education.Theoretical implications:By drawing from random parameterchoice models, the study highlights that the heterogeneity offarmers’preferences should be considered when modelling theirdecision to engage in agriculture education.Originality/value:This is thefirst study that elicits farmers’preferences towards agriculture education via a discrete choiceexperiment. Secondly, the study explores preferenceheterogeneity based on farmers and farms’characteristics