Climate change adaptation practices in fruit-irrigated agriculture: the role of nudging in farmers’ adoption decisions

Purpose This study analyses farmers’ responses to economic incentives and behavioural nudges for promoting adoption of water and soil conservation practices, identifying which are most effective. Design/methodology/approach A discrete choice experiment was conducted with irrigated fruit farmers, focusing on three climate change adaptation agricultural practices (subsurface irrigation, regulated deficit irrigation and cover crops) combined with a monetary incentive (framed as subsidy or discount) and additional services replicating the most common characteristics of nudges. Four categories of nudges are evaluated: facilitators (advisory mobile apps), confrontational (apps showcasing the negative effects of not adopting the water-saving practices), social norms (apps benchmarking individual performance against peers) and reinforcement (public recognition and certifications). The analysis incorporates preference heterogeneity based on farmers’ attitudes to nudging. Findings Results show that both monetary incentives and nudges increase farmers’ willingness to adopt subsurface irrigation, regulated deficit irrigation and cover crops. Apps tackling behavioural biases can reduce the need for compensation. Confrontational nudges are most effective; facilitation nudges show heterogeneous response and social influence and signalling nudges generate undefined responses. Therefore, there is potential to reduce the overall cost of promoting biodiversity and water-saving technology adoption by farmers by combining economic incentives with tailored nudges. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on irrigated fruit farmers in the Region of Murcia, Spain, which may limit the generalisation of the findings to other agricultural systems and geographical contexts. Moreover, stated preferences derived from a discrete choice experiment may differ from actual adoption behaviour. Future research could test these behavioural interventions in real-world settings and examine their effectiveness across different farmer profiles, agricultural sectors and regions. Practical implications Financial incentives remain important for encouraging farmers to adopt climate change adaptation practices, but behavioural interventions can complement them and potentially reduce the level of financial support required. Policymakers, irrigation associations and advisory services could use digital tools providing personalised information on the environmental consequences of farming practices. For example, irrigation-scheduling and climate-risk dashboards could provide tailored recommendations based on environmental conditions and local water availability, combining behavioural information with technical guidance according to farmer profiles. Social implications Promoting climate change adaptation practices can contribute to more sustainable water and soil management in water-scarce agricultural regions. By making the environmental consequences of farming decisions more visible, behavioural interventions may strengthen farmers’ awareness of climate-related risks and encourage more sustainable resource use. Tailoring these interventions to farmers’ environmental attitudes and risk perceptions may also improve their effectiveness and support broader collective efforts towards climate-resilient agriculture. Originality/value This study explores how combining economic incentives and nudges can facilitate the adoption of climate change adaptation farming practices. The combined economic and behavioural analysis provides novel evidence to inform the design of more climate-resilient agricultural policies.