From PhD student Kashif Khagan

You are invited to participate in a PhD research project (reference no 2023-204) on “Carbon farming: role and implications for broadacre agriculture”. As a part of this research, an online survey is being conducted to gauge farmer’s perceptions of carbon farming. The Ararat Rural City Council funds this research, and the PhD candidate is supported by Federation University Australia and Destination Australia Scholarship. Supervisors include Prof. Harpinder Sandhu (principal supervisor), Dr. Benedikt Fest (Associate supervisor), and Dr Tim Harrison (Industry supervisor).

This study aims to understand farmers’ perceptions about carbon farming. It will also help identify various barriers and opportunities for adopting carbon farming.

Survey found here: https://federation.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4Vf95jgsRPdPsQS

The responses will be anonymous and confidential. The survey questions will cover some demographic attributes, farm characteristics, and the opinions and perceptions of the farmers about the adoption of carbon farming and its potential co-benefits. It will also include the perception of prospective challenges and opportunities for adopting carbon farming. The collected data will be analysed using quantitative methods. There will be no individually identifiable information, remarks, comments, or other identification of you as an individual participant in the disseminated results of the study. All results will be presented as aggregate summary data.

Agreeing to participate in and completing the survey implies that you consent to include your response in the data analysis. Participation in this research study is strictly voluntary, and you may choose not to participate without fear of penalty or any negative consequences. You can withdraw from the survey anytime, and all the survey responses, including the informed consent, will be deleted. You may choose not to answer survey questions you wish to avoid answering. If consent is withdrawn after data has been aggregated and processed, it is impossible to remove non-identifiable data, although consent can still be removed.

Any data we obtain from you will be managed to ensure, as far as possible, your privacy and anonymity. All data will be stored securely (de-identified and password protected) by the researchers on this project and will adhere to human research ethics protocols. The collected data will be used for thesis reports and journal articles and may also be disseminated at conferences. Please be aware that your de-identified data may be used to inform future research. Data will be destroyed after five years.

There is no direct compensation for participating in this study. However, your participation will be a valuable addition to the survey. The researchers on this project have extensive experience in social research in agriculture, farm assessments, environment, and community. They look forward to your responses if you participate in this research project.

Survey found here: https://federation.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4Vf95jgsRPdPsQS