Project Cane Changer: using behavioural science to create practice change

This paper provides the initial outcome data from Project Cane Changer – a behaviour-change project focussed on the sugar industry in Queensland. Delivered across the Wet Tropics region between 2017 to 2018, Cane Changer aimed to use behavioural science to accelerate the uptake of best-management farming practices across cane farms within the region. The project comprised the delivery of four behavioural-change strategies across a total of 770 landholders and industry stakeholders, incorporating 113 workshops and over 400 meetings and events. The results indicate that Cane Changer contributed to a 316% increase in Smartcane Best- Management-Practice accreditation rates across the region. In addition, the program was associated with improvements in the psycho-social factors associated with the uptake of new farming practices including farmers’ sense of positive recognition and personal responsibility towards improving water quality running into the Great Barrier Reef. The paper concludes by describing key learnings in relation to the role of behavioural science in accelerating the uptake of best-management farming practices in agricultural settings. Key words Behavioural science, practice change, water quality, cane farmer, Great Barrier Reef