“You never farm alone”: Farmer land-use decisions influenced by social relations

Farmer land-use decisions are commonly explained and predicted by socio-demographic, economic, ecological, and psychological factors. However, these models explain only part of the empirical data without accounting for the effect of social relations. This study aimed at exploring the effect of social relations on farmer land-use decisions using the status-power theory of relations. We hypothesised that farmer land-use decisions are driven by the need to comply with requirements of their salient reference groups, such as family, government, and spiritual beings. We undertook a case study in the Mt. Kenya region where we conducted individual interviews and focus group discussions among smallholder farmers. We then used chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) to explore influence of social relations on land-use practices. Reported social relations were diverse and accounted for land-use decisions that could not be explained by socio-demographic, economic or ecological factors. The results showed that a farmer seemed more likely to choose a land-use option if he/she believed his/her salient reference groups would be pleased with the option. Reconciling social relations with other factors such as farmer's socio-demographic factors and geographic location also had a significant effect on the results. Insights into the impact of social relations in farmer land-use decisions can explain the often-heterogeneous decisions and can complement the economic analysis that is the conventional focus in analysis of farmer decisions. An understanding of the effects of social relations can strengthen development of policies that motivate implementation of more sustainable agriculture options.