Farmers' perceptions shape motivation for integrated pest management (IPM): an extended technology acceptance model

Understanding how farmers perceive integrated pest management (IPM) is essential for improving its adoption, yet these perceptual drivers remain underexamined. This study examined fruit farmers’ willingness to adopt IPM by assessing perceptions of IPM in the context of the technology acceptance model (TAM) with two additional variables (i.e., perceived social pressure and perceived environmental benefits). Farmers expressed a nearly neutral intention to adopt IPM, reflecting uncertainty and continued reliance on pesticides. Intention to adopt IPM was positively correlated with female and educated farmers, but negatively with age. Perceived usefulness (PU) scored relatively high, whereas perceived ease of use (PEU) was low, suggesting good awareness of IPM; however, there are concerns about its practical implementation. PEU also positively influenced PU. Farmers showed low scores of perceived social pressure and perceived environmental benefits, implying low influence by trusted others towards IPM adoption and low awareness of the environmental friendliness of this method, respectively. The above four variables were positive predictors of farmers’ willingness to adopt IPM, explaining 58.3% of the variability in farmers’ willingness. Perceived social pressure and perceived environmental benefits improved the predictive ability of the TAM from 49.8% to 58.3%. These findings highlight the need for strengthened training and advisory services that emphasize the practicality, benefits, and environmental value of IPM to enhance farmers’ confidence and adoption. • Farmers’ intention to adopt IPM was neutral, suggesting uncertainty. • High perceived usefulness, but low ease of use limited IPM adoption. • Adoption was higher among educated farmers but decreased with age. • Social pressure and environmental benefits predicted IPM adoption. • Extended TAM improved explanatory power from 49.8% to 58.3%.