Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-05T12:02:57.934Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

DRIVERS FOR EFFICIENT WATER USE IN AGRICULTURE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF FAMILY FARMS IN ALMERÍA, SPAIN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2016

LAURA PIEDRA-MUÑOZ ,
LAURA L. VEGA-LÓPEZ ,
EMILIO GALDEANO-GÓMEZ  and
JOSÉ A. ZEPEDA-ZEPEDA
LAURA PIEDRA-MUÑOZ*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Business, University of Almería, Ctra. de Sacramento, s/n, 04120, Almería, Spain
LAURA L. VEGA-LÓPEZ
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Km. 38.5 Carretera México-Texcoco, 56227, Texcoco de Mora, México
EMILIO GALDEANO-GÓMEZ
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Business, University of Almería, Ctra. de Sacramento, s/n, 04120, Almería, Spain
JOSÉ A. ZEPEDA-ZEPEDA
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Km. 38.5 Carretera México-Texcoco, 56227, Texcoco de Mora, México
*
§Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This paper aims to determine the influence of family farming features on efficient use of water. The analysis focusses on a random sample of family farms in the province of Almería, southeast Spain. A hierarchical regression model was conducted to determine how the water efficiency is related to environmental awareness and certain characteristics of farmers, decision-makers and the family farm itself. The results show that these family farms strive to be more efficient in their use of water when they are going to be inherited, when there are younger decision-makers who have received a better education, and also when women are involved. Moreover, this efficiency is positively related to more ecological production and to the farmer's habitual behaviour with respect to water economy. The study provides evidence regarding the influences of socio-economic and environmental features of family farming on water use efficiency that may prove useful for other analyses and policy makers on water management in agriculture.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , February 2018 , pp. 31 - 44
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arcury, T. A. and Christianson, E. H. (1990). Environmental worldview in response to environmental problems: Kentucky 1984 and 1998 compared. Environmental Behaviour 22:387–407.Google Scholar
Aznar-Sánchez, J. A. and Picón, A. S. (2010). Innovación y distrito en torno a un “milagro”: La configuración del sistema productivo local de la agricultura intensiva en Almería (Innovation and district around a “miracle”: The configuration of the local productive system of intensive agriculture in Almería). Revista de Historia Industrial 42:157–193.Google Scholar
Berrone, P., Cruz, C., Gómez Mejía, L. R. and Larraza Kintana, M. (2010). Socioemotional wealth and corporate responses to institutional pressures: Do family-controlled firms pollute less? Administrative Science Quarterly 55:82–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2010.55.1.82.Google Scholar
Bingham, J. B., Dyer, W. G. Jr., Smith, I. and Adams, G. L. (2011). Stakeholder identity orientation approach to corporate social performance in family firms. Journal of Business Ethics, 99:565–585. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0669-9.Google Scholar
Cruz, C., Larraza-Kintana, M., Garcés-Galdeano, L. and Berrone, P. (2014). Are family firms really more socially responsible? Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 38:1295–1316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/etap.12125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delmas, M. and Gergaud, O. (2014). Sustainable certification for future generations. The case of family business. Family Business Review 27:228–243. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0894486514538651.Google Scholar
Delmas, M. and Toffel, M. (2004). Stakeholders and environmental management practices: An institutional framework. Business Strategy and the Environment 13:209–222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bse.409.Google Scholar
Duarte, R., Pinilla, V. and Serrano, A. (2014). The water footprint of the Spanish agricultural sector: 1860–2010. Ecological Economics 108:200–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.10.020.Google Scholar
Farmar-Bowers, Q. (2010). Understanding the strategic decisions women make in farming families. Journal of Rural Studies 26:141–151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2009.09.008.Google Scholar
Fernández, M. D., González, A. M., Carreño, J., Pérez, C. and Bonachela, S. (2007). Analysis of on-farm irrigation performance in Mediterranean greenhouses. Agricultural Water Management 89:251–260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2007.02.001.Google Scholar
Ferraro-García, F. J., Aznar-Sánchez, J. A., Mesa-Barreto, E. and Aguilera Díaz, B. (2000). El Sistema Productivo Almeriense y Los Condicionamientos Hidrológicos (Almeria's Productive System and Hydrological Conditioning). Madrid: Civitas.Google Scholar
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Boston: Pitman.Google Scholar
Fundación Cajamar (2014). Análisis de la campaña hortofrutícola de Almería. Campaña 2013/2014 (Analysis of fruit and vegetable campaign in Almería. Campaign 2013/2014). Servicio de Estudios Agroalimentarios de Cajamar. Informes y Monografías 47.Google Scholar
Galdeano-Gómez, E., Aznar-Sánchez, J. A. and Pérez-Mesa, J. C. (2011). The complexity of theories on rural development in Europe: An analysis of the paradigmatic case of almería (South-east Spain). Sociologia Ruralis 51:54–78.Google Scholar
Galdeano-Gómez, E., Céspedes-Lorente, J. J. and Martínez-Del Río, J. (2008). Environmental performance and spillover effects on productivity: Evidence from horticultural firms. Journal of Environmental Management 88:1552–1561. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.07.028.Google Scholar
Galdeano Gómez, E., Pérez-Mesa, J. C. and Godoy-Durán, A. (2016). The social dimension as a driver of sustainable development: The case of family farms in southeast Spain. Sustainabilty Science 11:349–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, D. S., Jones, A. W. and Bergesen, A. J. (2002). Organizational size and pollution: The case of the U.S. chemical industry. American Sociological Review 67:389–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grubbström, A., Stenbacka, S. and Joosse, S. (2014). Balancing family traditions and business: Gendered strategies for achieving future resilience among agricultural students. Journal of Rural Studies 35:152–161. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2014.05.003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Habbershon, T. and Pistrui, J. (2002). Enterprising families domain: Family-influenced ownership groups in pursuit of transgenerational wealth. Family Business Review 15:223–237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2002.00223.x.Google Scholar
Hoekstra, A. Y. and Mekonnen, M. M. (2012). The water footprint of humanity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109:3232–3237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1109936109.Google Scholar
Jones, R. E. and Dunlap, R. E. (1992). The social basses of environmental concern: Have they changed over time? Rural Sociology 57:28–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-0831.1992.tb00455.x.Google Scholar
Karali, E., Brunner, B., Doherty, R., Hersperger, A. and Rounsevell, M. (2014). Identifying the factors that influence farmer participation in environmental management practices in Switzerland. Human Ecology 42:951–963. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10745-014-9701-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kienzler, K. M., Lamers, J. P. A., McDonald, A., Mirzabaeva, A., Ibragimov, N., Egamberdiev, O., Ruzibaev, E. and Akramkhanov, A. (2012). Conservation agriculture in central asia-what do we know and where do we go from here? Field Crops Research 132:95–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2011.12.008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, H. F. and Zhang, D. D. (2008). Perceiving the environment from the lay perspective in desertified areas, northern China. Environmental Management 41:168–182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-007-9052-8.Google Scholar
Ling, Y. and Kellermanns, F. W. (2010). The effects of family firm specific sources of TMT diversity: The moderating role of information exchange frequency. Journal of Management Studies 47:322–344. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2009.00893.x.Google Scholar
Liu, B. B., Yu, Q. Q., Bi, J. and Zhang, Y. L. (2009). The driving force of improving corporate environmental performance based on the stakeholder theory. Zhongguo Renkou Ziyuan Yu Huan Jing/China Population Resources and Environment 19:80–84.Google Scholar
McGrath, R. G. (2001). Exploratory learning, innovative capacity and managerial oversight. Academy of Management Journal 44:118–131. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3069340.Google Scholar
Medina, M. F. (2014). La Gestión del Riesgo y Las Políticas de Cambio Climático en la Agricultura Ecológica (The Risk Management and Climate Change Policies in Organic Farming). Almería: Editorial Universidad de Almería & Cajamar.Google Scholar
Molina-Herrera, J. (2005). Claves para la interpretación económica de la provincia de Almería (Keys to the economic interpretation of the province of Almería). In La Economía de la Provincia de Almería (Economy of the Province of Almería), 13–41 (Eds Caja Rural Intermediterránea). Almería: Instituto de Estudios de Cajamar.Google Scholar
Sotelo, J. A. (2011). Huella Hídrica, Desarrollo y Sostenibilidad en España (Water footprint, development and sustainability in Spain). Madrid: Fundación Mapfre.Google Scholar
Spriggs, M., Yu, A., Deeds, D. and Sorenson, R. L. (2012). Too many cooks in the kitchen: Innovative capacity, collaborative network orientation, and performance in small family businesses. Family Business Review 26:32–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0894486512468600.Google Scholar
Tang, J., Folmer, H. and Xue, J. (2013). Estimation of awareness and perception of water scarcity among farmers in the Guanzhong Plain, China, by means of a structural equation model. Journal of Environmental Management 126:55–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.03.051.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tolón-Becerra, A., Lastra Bravo, X. and Fernández Membrive, V. J. (2013). Huella hídrica y sostenibilidad del uso de los recursos hídricos. Aplicación al poniente almeriense. Estudios previos y medidas de eficiencia (Water footprint and sustainability of use of water resources. Application to Almeria West. Previous studies and efficiency measures). M+A Revista Electrónica de Medioambiente 14:56–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/rev_MARE.2013.v14.n1.42123.Google Scholar