Understanding how farmers engage with nature recovery schemes

Research team

Charlie Masquelier – University of Exeter

Matt Lobley – University of Exeter

Rebecca Wheeler – University of Exeter

Caroline Nye – University of Exeter

Carolyn Petersen – University of Exeter

Aims

Farmers and other land managers play a vital role in looking after our countryside. However, competing business pressures can sometimes make engaging in nature renewal activities difficult.

This research builds on existing knowledge about challenges and opportunities for environmental land management on farms, in order to identify pathways towards high-quality engagement in nature renewal.

It aims to: 

• Understand how and why land managers currently engage with nature and undertake environmental management on their land (including but not limited to involvement in formal agri-environment schemes), and
  

• Identify the combinations of factors that lead to high-quality engagement in nature conservation and restoration. 

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Approach

There is now a long history of agri-environment schemes in the UK, in which land managers have received public money to support them to carry out environmental activities on their land. This is a popular research topic, and we know a lot about what drives farmers to take part in such schemes, as well as the various challenges and barriers that can prevent them from doing so.

Many land managers go above and beyond the obligations of such schemes to look after nature on their farms, and much of this work is done without specific funding, often driven by a personal interest and passion for wildlife and the environment. Others, meanwhile, might join a scheme primarily for its financial reward and do little beyond its minimum requirements.  

Our work uses a specialist social science methodology called Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in order to identify the configuration of factors that lead to high quality engagement in nature renewal activities – whether or not these activities are funded by a formal scheme.  This method collects qualitative data through one-to-one interviews with land managers and then translates some of this into quantitative information which will establish how five specific personal and business characteristics (farm size, farm specialisation, land tenure, social capital and interest in nature) combine to produce high-quality engagement in nature renewal. The qualitative nature of the interviews also provides rich and detailed information about people’s experiences and attitudes, which will further inform the research process and outputs. 

The research is focused on Theme 3’s five broad case study areas in England and Scotland: Devon & Cornwall, Lincolnshire, Peak District, the Scottish Highlands and the area around Dundee.

Next steps

We have completed interviews and are in the process of analysing that data. The QCA method requires careful and lengthy data calibration so this is not a speedy process. The results will be of interest to a wide range of agricultural and academic partners, as well as policy makers.