Non-adoption of environmental innovations in wine growing

Abstract

Environmental innovations are frequently developed for use in agriculture, but their uptake and continued use is often patchy. In contrast to commercial innovations, environmental innovations often bring social benefits but provide limited commercial benefits. Businesses are unlikely to adopt and continue using environmental innovations that provide little commercial benefit unless targeted policies promote or require their uptake. The weak uptake of environmental innovations in the Waipara wine industry provides support for these contentions. The Greening Waipara Project developed and introduced seven ecologically and sustainably focused practices to the region's vineyards and wineries. However, adoption of the environmental innovations was, with one exception, relatively low. The costs associated with the innovations tend to outweigh the benefits gained by businesses. There are poor prospects for the adoption of such innovations.