Socio-economic, structural, and policy drivers of agroforestry in Great Britain

Agroforestry (AF) is a critical solution for climate, biodiversity, and food security, yet its adoption is hindered by a lack of practice-specific evidence. This paper examines the factors influencing farmer adoption of eight AF practices in Great Britain. Survey data from 315 farmers, including a Best-Worst Scaling experiment, is analysed using a spatial multivariate ordered probit model. The analysis shows that farmer adoption intention is strongest for low-intensity practices (e.g., small woods, windbreaks) and weakest for integrated systems like silvoarable, silvopasture and agrosilvopasture with economic, structural, social, and policy factors exerting practice-specific influences. This evidence, alongside key farmer preferences for financial incentives and simplified regulations but against mandatory public access, points to stronger five-year adoption potential low-intensity AF options compared to more transformative, integrated practices. Consequently, effective strategies to increase AF adoption must be practice-specific, designed to address the distinct technical and perceptual barriers for each AF system. Effective policy should align incentives and communication with farmers characteristics. We show that a one-size-fits-all approach is inadequate; scaling up AF requires a dual strategy of practice-specific interventions, such as targeted financial support, and building market infrastructure for silvoarable, coupled with demographically-tailored outreach that aligns scheme communication with farmer identity, age, and location. We conclude that scaling up AF requires differentiated, evidence-based interventions tailored to both the specific AF practice and the farmer.