Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2026
Authors
Ingunn Berget Atle Wehn Hegnes Mari Øvrum Gaarder Valerie Lengard Almli Geir Wæhler GustavsenAbstract
Consumers play a key role in the much-needed transition to a more sustainable food system. However, consumers' willingness and ability to undergo behavioural changes may depend on personality traits as well as their motivation and awareness of the need for a more sustainable food consumption. Segmentation of consumers can therefore be useful for understanding individual differences and for the development of targeted interventions for behavioural changes. In this paper, an instrument to profile and classify Norwegian consumers is developed using a national representative sample (N = 3600). The proposed instrument comprises twenty items to measure personality traits defined by a condensed version of the Big Five Inventory as well as seven items related to attitudes to food waste, reuse and recycling. Three segments characterised by differences in openness to experience, and attitudes to food waste and reuse/recycling were identified. The segments are profiled on habits related to purchase behaviour, meal planning, as well as frequency of meat and vegetable consumption. Based on the profiles, the segments were labelled Need to Change (30%), Want to Change (41%) and Hard to Change (29%) emphasizing either low concern about food waste (Need to Change), higher concern and openness to change (Want to Change) or low scores on openness (Hard to Change). We propose that the developed instrument can be applied for profiling consumers in the Norwegian context, for tailoring consumer interventions. The study underscores that supporting the food system transition requires differentiated consumer strategies: engaging the motivated, empowering the open, and carefully reaching the resistant.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Sustainable intensification technologies (SITs) are widely promoted across sub-Saharan Africa to improve productivity and reduce land degradation. However, their relationship with land use efficiency remains insufficiently understood. This study uses a translog stochastic frontier model and farm-level data from 372 smallholder maize farmers in northern Ghana to examine how SIT adoption is associated with technical land use efficiency (TLUE). On average, SIT adopters are 21% more land efficient than non-adopters, requiring approximately 24% less land to achieve the same output. Since land is treated as a fixed input in the frontier, the TLUE score directly reflects the effective land needed to produce observed yields. Adoption of improved seed, balanced fertilizer use, and agroecological practices is linked to better resource use, with the largest gains among farmers who initially operate furthest from the frontier. These efficiency improvements may reduce pressure for cropland expansion and support sustainable land management, especially when combined with enabling conditions such as credit access, extension support, and secure tenure. This study provides novel empirical evidence on how productivity improvements through SIT can enhance land use efficiency and contribute to land sparing outcomes. The findings offer insights for policies targeting land degradation neutrality and inclusive agricultural transformation in Ghana and similar contexts.
Authors
Geir Wæhler Gustavsen Marianne Bechmann Sigrun Hjalmarsdottir Kværnø Divina Gracia P. Rodriguez Jian LiuAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Lampros LamprinakisAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Ffion Evans James Gibbons Luciana Bava Dave Chadwick Stefania Colombini Valborg Kvakkestad Lampros Lamprinakis Vibeke Lind Martina Pavesi Prysor Williams Sophie Wynne-JonesAbstract
No abstract has been registered
2025
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Lone PolletAbstract
Although community supported agriculture (CSA) is generally considered a potent alternative to the globalized food system, the capacity of CSA farms to foster community support in agriculture has been questioned due to low engagement of members at the farm and high member turnover rates. In this study, I consider the case of member-driven CSA farms and explore the potential of this CSA model to increase member engagement in CSA farming. Using an inductive, phenomenon-first approach to research, I compare the cases of four Norwegian member-driven CSA farms to describe how they engage members at the farm and explore the factors influencing member engagement. The on-farm participant observation, focus group interviews with farm coordinators and members survey revealed that Norwegian member-driven CSAs significantly engage members in all aspects of the farm operations. Yet, the differences observed between cases showed that member engagement depend on the capacity of the farm to create the right conditions for collaboration. Although the member-driven model has the potential to increase member engagement in CSA farming, the preferences of members, the opinions and engagement of coordinators, the size of the farm, the number of years of operation and the external support received by the farm, are five factors that affect the capacity of the CSA farm to collaborate with members. Ultimately, this study concludes that achieving community engagement in member-driven CSAs depends less on their organizational model and more on the specific conditions that facilitate collaboration and member engagement.