Mind the gap: perception of environmental performance of farms in Aotearoa New Zealand through farmers’ and public lenses
2025
Gatiso, T | Knook, Jorie
The agricultural sector is vital to Aotearoa New Zealand's (Ao-NZ) economy and cultural identity, yet faces social and political pressure due to its environmental impacts. Limited research has explored how the public perceives farms’ environmental performance in Ao-NZ and whether this perception differs between urban and rural areas. Our study addresses this gap by examining farmers’ environmental self-assessment, farmers’ expectation of public perception, and actual public perception of farmers’ environmental performance across Ao-NZ. We analysed data from two major surveys conducted by Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research in 2023: the Survey of Rural Decision Makers (n = 2965) and the Environmental Perception Survey (n = 2007). Our results show that while 87% of farmers rate their own environmental performance highly, only 43% expect the public to rate their environmental performance positively. However, nearly half of the public holds favourable views on farmers’ environmental practices. Moreover, farmers perceive their peers’ environmental performance more critically than their own performance. This perception gap may contribute to the urban-rural divide, making environmental policy dialogues challenging. Gender also plays a role, with women generally viewing farmers’ environmental performance more critically. These findings highlight the need to understand perception differences and their drivers to foster meaningful discussions and more effective policy development
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