How Environmental Perception Drives Climate Awareness Among Oil Palm Smallholders?

Abstract

The adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by oil palm smallholders is vital for maintaining ecological balance and economic stability in Malaysia. While top-down policies often focus on financial support, the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Model suggests that a farmer's internal psychological state, specifically their knowledge and perceptions, fundamentally shape their environmental practices. To design effective behavioral interventions, policymakers must understand the environmental-behavior dynamics driving these farmers. Without addressing the psychological factors that link ecological perception to active climate awareness, financial incentives alone are insufficient to produce long-term, sustainable habits. This study aims to explore the psychological and behavioral drivers connecting environmental perceptions to climate change awareness among oil palm smallholders in Johor, Malaysia. The specific objectives are to identify the underlying factor structure of smallholders' sustainability perceptions and awareness, and to establish the relationship between positive ecological perception and active climate awareness. This study utilized a quantitative research design based on the KAP Model and Environmental Awareness Theory. Data was gathered through a structured questionnaire and 202 randomly selected independent oil palm smallholders across Johor. Data was analyzed using SPSS, specifically utilizing Exploratory Factor Analysis to group variables, and Pearson correlation for the relationships test. The scope of this study is geographically limited to Johor, and the purely quantitative methodology restricts qualitative exploration into the deeper cultural or personal reasons behind the reported perceptions. The results from Factor analysis successfully categorized perception into two main dimensions i.e., Environmental Benefits and Ecological and Health Impacts. Awareness was categorized into Climate Change Mitigation and Climate Change Impacts. Smallholder farmers demonstrated exceptionally high positive perceptions (means > 4.30) and high climate awareness (means 3.98–4.38). Crucially, hypothesis testing revealed a statistically significant relationship (p < 0.05) between a smallholder's positive perception of sustainable agriculture and their awareness of climate change, validating the KAP model's premise that positive attitudes drive deeper awareness. Environmental awareness in this community is strongly driven by an intrinsic understanding of ecological and health benefits. Consequently, agricultural training programs must pivot from purely technical instructions to holistic, continuous environmental education to effectively translate this high psychological readiness into actual sustainable farming practices.