Using structural equation modeling to identify the psychological factors influencing dairy farmers' intention to diversify agricultural production

Actions and public policies have been developed to encourage Brazilian farmers to diversify their agricultural production. However, such actions have been unable to encourage production and economic diversification. This article uses the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand the intention of dairy farmers to diversify agricultural production. Results showed that the TRA had better explanatory power of farmers' intention to diversify agricultural production than the TPB model. Corroborating the theory, results revealed that attitude and subjective norm positively influence the intention of farmers to diversify agricultural production. Implications for public policies are discussed.