An analysis of farmers' intention to use green pesticides: The application of the extended theory of planned behavior and health belief model

The use of chemical pesticides in agriculture has damaged agricultural land, fisheries, fauna, and flora. Furthermore, increased mortality and morbidity of humans due to the unsafe use of chemical pesticides are the most prevalent and serious occupational hazards faced by farmers. The present study aimed to examine farmers' intention to use green pesticides using two models - the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the health belief model (HBM) - as the research framework (moral norms and self-identity were used on the TPB framework as additional constructs). The population was composed of farmers in the provinces of Kermanshah, Lorestan, and Hamedan in Western Iran of whom 480 farmers were sampled using the stratified random sampling method. The research instrument was a questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used for data analysis. Results showed that in TPB, the constructs of moral norms, attitude, and self-identity accounted for 52.2 percent of the variance in the intention to use green pesticides. According to HBM, perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, cues to action, and motivation could capture 61.2 percent of the variance in the intention. It was revealed that both theories could potentially predict intention, but HBM outperformed TPB in this sense. It is recommended to hold local and regional meetings for knowledge and technology sharing, develop infrastructure for production and distribution of inputs, emphasize the role of green pest management in the safety of agricultural crop producers and consumers through mass media, and farms with follow-up training programs.