IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v14y2024i12p2183-d1533447.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating Farmers’ Perceptions of Drone Technology in Thailand: Exploring Expectations, Product Quality, Perceived Value, and Adoption in Agriculture

Author

Listed:
  • Adisak Suvittawat

    (School of Management Technology, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000, Thailand)

Abstract

This study examines farmers’ perceptions of drone technology in agriculture, highlighting its growing importance in modern farming. Despite the potential benefits of drones, there remains a research gap in understanding how factors like expectations, product quality, and perceived value influence adoption. This research seeks to fill that gap through a survey of 410 farmers in Thailand who have prior drone usage experience. The methodology employed a quantitative approach using structured questionnaires, with data analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results indicate that expectations, mediated by perceived product quality and value, significantly influence farmers’ attitudes toward drone technology. Product quality—particularly in terms of precision, durability, and ease of use—emerged as a key factor in shaping trust and adoption. Economic, social, and personal perceptions were also found to drive perceived value. The study concludes that aligning drone features with farmer expectations can increase perceived value, facilitating wider adoption. Policymakers and service providers are encouraged to focus on enhancing product functionality and offering targeted educational programs to build confidence among farmers. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the socioeconomic factors influencing agricultural innovation and offers practical recommendations for promoting sustainable technological adoption in the sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Adisak Suvittawat, 2024. "Investigating Farmers’ Perceptions of Drone Technology in Thailand: Exploring Expectations, Product Quality, Perceived Value, and Adoption in Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-25, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:12:p:2183-:d:1533447
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/12/2183/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/12/2183/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phoebe Koundouri & Céline Nauges & Vangelis Tzouvelekas, 2006. "Technology Adoption under Production Uncertainty: Theory and Application to Irrigation Technology," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 88(3), pages 657-670.
    2. Patient Rambe & Peter Khaola, 2023. "Enhancing competitiveness through technology transfer and product quality: the mediation and moderation effects of location and asset value," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Zongru Liu & Jiyu Li, 2023. "Application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Precision Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-4, July.
    4. Michels, Marius & Wever, Hendrik & Musshoff, Oliver, 2023. "Drones take flight in forests: Uncovering the ‘tree’-mendous potential and ‘timber’-rific challenges for German forest managers by applying the technology acceptance model," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Manolis Manioudis & Giorgos Meramveliotakis, 2022. "Broad strokes towards a grand theory in the analysis of sustainable development: a return to the classical political economy," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(5), pages 866-878, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sauer, Johannes & Zilberman, David, 2009. "Innovation Behaviour At Farm Level – Selection And Identification," 83rd Annual Conference, March 30 - April 1, 2009, Dublin, Ireland 51073, Agricultural Economics Society.
    2. Daniel Cooley & Steven M. Smith, 2022. "Center Pivot Irrigation Systems as a Form of Drought Risk Mitigation in Humid Regions," NBER Chapters, in: American Agriculture, Water Resources, and Climate Change, pages 135-171, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Bahta, Y. & Owusu-Sekyeer, E., 2018. "Nexus between homestead food garden programme and land ownership in South Africa: Implication on the income of vegetable farmers," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277732, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Eduardo Rodrigues Sanguinet & Francisco de Borja García-García, 2023. "Rural-Urban Linkages: Regional Financial Business Services’ Integration into Chilean Agri-Food Value Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Martina Bozzola & Robert Finger, 2021. "Stability of risk attitude, agricultural policies and production shocks: evidence from Italy," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(3), pages 477-501.
    6. Hui Wang & Yao Xu, 2024. "Optimized Decision-Making for Multi-Market Green Power Transactions of Electricity Retailers under Demand-Side Response: The Chinese Market Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-15, May.
    7. CARPENTIER, Alain & GOHIN, Alexandre & SCKOKAI, Paolo & THOMAS, Alban, 2015. "Economic modelling of agricultural production: past advances and new challenges," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement (RAEStud), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 96(01), March.
    8. Pravee Kruachottikul & Pinnaree Tea-makorn & Poomsiri Dumrongvute & Solaphat Hemrungrojn & Natawut Nupairoj & Ornsiree Junchaya & Sukrit Vinayavekhin, 2024. "MediGate: a MedTech product innovation development process from university research to successful commercialization within emerging markets," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-43, December.
    9. Zhang, Hongliang & Antle, John, 2016. "Assessing Climate Vulnerability of Agricultural Systems Using High-order moments: A Case Study in the U.S. Pacific Northwest," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236233, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Yesuf, Mahmud & Kassie, Menale & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2009. "Risk Implications of Farm Technology Adoption in the Ethiopian Highlands," Working Papers in Economics 404, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    11. Izabela Zabielska & Grażyna Kowalewska, 2024. "Employment of Migrants as a Response to the Needs of Entrepreneurs in Rural Border Regions—Examples from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-15, June.
    12. Diane Charlton, 2022. "Seasonal farm labor and COVID‐19 spread," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(3), pages 1591-1609, September.
    13. Caroline Roussy & Aude Ridier & Karim Chaïb, 2014. "Adoption d’innovations par les agriculteurs : rôle des perceptions et des préférences," Post-Print hal-01123427, HAL.
    14. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Adeoti, Adetola I. & Salau, Sheu, 2011. "Measuring the effect of transaction costs for investment in irrigation pumps: Application of the unobserved stochastic threshold model to the case of Nigeria," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 6(2), pages 1-26, September.
    15. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Yamauchi, Futoshi, 2010. "Market and climatic risks and farmers' investment in productive assets under the Second Fadama Development Project in Nigeria:," IFPRI discussion papers 1033, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Byman H. Hamududu & Hambulo Ngoma, 2020. "Impacts of climate change on water resources availability in Zambia: implications for irrigation development," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 2817-2838, April.
    17. Xuan Liu & Xuexi Huo, 2024. "Green Finance, Land Transfer and China’s Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-18, December.
    18. Hrozencik, Aaron & Aillery, Marcel, 2021. "Trends in U.S. Irrigated Agriculture: Increasing Resilience Under Water Supply Scarcity," Economic Information Bulletin 327359, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    19. Zuo, Alec & Nauges, Celine & Wheeler, Sarah, 2012. "Water trading as a risk-management tool for farmers: new empirical evidence from the Australian water market," Risk and Sustainable Management Group Working Papers 149885, University of Queensland, School of Economics.
    20. Andreas Drichoutis & Phoebe Koundouri, 2011. "Estimating risk attitudes in conventional and artefactual lab experiments," DEOS Working Papers 1115, Athens University of Economics and Business.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:12:p:2183-:d:1533447. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.