Balancing environmental benefits and agricultural technologies – perspectives from German consumers

Societal and political voices call for stronger environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and reduced pesticide use. Integrating digital farming technologies into farming systems like strip intercropping offers promising pathways toward more sustainable and efficient food production. The successful adoption of these innovations depends on acceptance by both farmers and consumers. To explore these intersections of technology, sustainability, and market dynamics from a consumer perspective, a discrete choice experiment (DCE) followed by consumer segmentation was conducted in Germany. The study examines preferences for different farming systems, focusing on autonomous machinery, landscape structure, food prices, and environmental factors. Sociodemographic variables, along with value- and attitude-based factors, were used to differentiate consumer segments. The study highlights social preferences for welfare-enhancing agricultural systems, such as strip intercropping, and demonstrates a societal demand for more sustainable agroecosystem outcomes, in terms of biodiversity, soil erosion prevention and reduced use of chemical-synthetic pesticides. Results show that the balance between environmental benefits and agricultural technology differs markedly across four consumer segments, underscoring the need to integrate ecological and technological dimensions in communication and policy for enhancing consumer acceptance and support sustainable transitions in agriculture.