Browsing by Subject "co-creation"

The SAVE gypsum pilot project investigated the suitability of gypsum amendment as a new means of agricultural water protection in cooperation with local farmers. The participating farmers acted not only as testers of the method, but also as co-developers, whose expertise, observations and experience were used as part of the effort to produce a new cost-effective, widely accepted method of water protection from gypsum. The study investigated the factors that influenced the participation of farmers in the pilot project developing a new potential water protection method and, on the other hand, the factors that influenced their acceptance of gypsum amendment. The results tell about the acceptance of the method from the point of view of future users and about which factors in the method are relevant for farmers. The information helps in the evaluation, development, furthering and marketing of the method. The thesis was based on research related co-creation of innovations and acceptance of new agri-environmental methods. The material of the study was the answers of the farmers' surveys of the SAVE gypsum project. The surveys were conducted for three consecutive winters, beginning in December 2016 and ending in January 2019. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, logistic regression analysis and cross-tabulation (χ² test and McNemar test). According to the results, the main reasons for participating in the pilot were related to the improvement of the environmental reputation of the Finnish agricultural sector, curiosity about the effects of gypsum and the opportunity to promote water protection and related research. These factors, as well as the desire to strengthen Finnish agriculture, the sense of responsibility and the sense of community of farmers, also best predicted the acceptance of the method for reasons of participation. Positive factors in approving the method were the perception of local people's positive attitude towards the method, the experience of gypsum as an easy method for water protection, and the fact that the farmer was not concerned about the effects of gypsum on field condition and productivity or the surrounding environment.