Psycho-social factors influencing the intention to adopt urban horticultural practices in Pokhara Metropolitan City, Nepal: evidence from PLS-SEM analysis

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Urban horticulture has emerged as a sustainable alternative to strengthen the urban agri-food systems, yet its adoption remains limited in Nepal. This study examines psycho-social factors influencing urban residents’ intention to adopt urban horticultural practices using an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework. The traditional TPB construct was expanded by including knowledge and environmental consciousness to capture additional psychological factors for adoption intention. This study was conducted in Pokhara Metropolitan City, Nepal. Primary data were collected from purposively selected 384 households (192 adopters and 192 non-adopters) based on their engagement in urban horticultural activities. The relationship among the constructs was analyzed using partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The result shows that a positive attitude toward urban horticulture was the strongest predictor of adoption intention, followed by knowledge and perceived behavioral control. However, environmental consciousness and subjective norms had a positive but insignificant influence on adoption intention. These findings highlight that fostering positive perception, increasing resource access, and strengthening technical knowledge play an important role in urban residents’ behavioral intentions to adopt urban horticultural activities. Thus, the study recommends the need for targeted extension services, knowledge dissemination, and improved resource access to promote the adoption of urban horticultural practices.

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