Identifying behavior change interventions with deep leverage: a conceptual and qualitative case study with farmers from Germany

Successful transformation of agriculture toward a more sustainable trajectory requires agri-environmental practices and interventions that are deemed supportive by farmers, have the potential for a transformative change and are based on a solid understanding of farmers’ behavior and decision-making. This article reports on in-depth semi-structured interviews with German farmers to uncover key facilitators of and barriers to the adoption of agri-environmental practices. In a first step, 10 themes were identified using a qualitative content analysis, which were then assessed for their potential leverage point from a system perspective and integrated into the diagnostic Behavior Change Wheel to identify targets for behavioral interventions. The paper shows that adding the transformative potential to behavioral interventions is useful. According to our analyses, deep leverage interventions are most likely to be associated with the theme Land stewardship and Identity, and the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior)—element Reflective motivation, referring to the conscious cognitive processes that direct and inspire behavior.