|
|
|
|
|
| Farmer behavior and perceptions to alternative scenarios in a highly intensive agricultural region, south central China |
| LI Hong-qing, ZHENG Fei, ZHAO Yao-yang |
| Institute of National Land Resources Management, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, P.R.China |
|
|
|
|
Abstract Intensive agriculture has caused unintended environmental consequences, such as water quality degradation. It is necessary for policymakers to make proper planning of sustainable agricultural development. Using a Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework, we conducted surveys focused on farmer behavior toward agriculture and environmental protection in 2009 and 2011. The surveys indicated that farmer behavior was complex and contradictory, and caused some environmental effects. Therefore, we used normative landscape scenario method to develop two scenarios. Both scenarios emphasized on stable economic growth along with water quality improvement and presented good effects. A feedback survey was organized in 2013 to interpret farmers’ perceptions of the alternative scenarios. The results indicate Scenario I is likely to be accepted by farmers; however, the beautiful rural landscape in Scenario II represents what farmers want, and Scenario I or II can be achieved by changing farm behavior in the future. By logistic regression model analysis, increasing agriculture benefits and new technology popularization were key factors affecting farmer behavior. Relevant policy implications on farmers were proposed. This paper showed how important to understand farmer behavior and perceptions to agricultural development, and a description of the alternative scenarios and policy implications are meaningful for policymakers to manage nature resources.
|
|
Received: 25 July 2016
Accepted:
|
| Fund: This research was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (2015B13614), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41130526). We would like to thank the experts and farmers who participated in the interviews. |
|
Corresponding Authors:
Correspondence LI Hong-qing, Tel: +86-25-83786381, E-mail: lihongqing163@126.com
|
Cite this article:
LI Hong-qing, ZHENG Fei, ZHAO Yao-yang.
2017.
Farmer behavior and perceptions to alternative scenarios in a highly intensive agricultural region, south central China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 16(08): 1852-1864.
|
| Baerenklau K A. 2005. Toward an understanding of technology adoption: Risk, learning, and neighborhood effects. Landscape Ecology, 81, 1–19.Baumgart-Getz A, Prokopy L S, Floress K. 2012. Why farmers adopt best management practice in the United States: A meta-analysis of the adoption literature. Journal of Environmental Management, 96, 17–25.Blackstock K L, Ingram J, Burton R, Brown K M, Slee B. 2010. Understanding and influencing behavior change by farmers to improve water quality. Science of the Total Environment, 408, 5631–5638. Briggenman B C, Gray A W, Morehart M J, Baker T G, Wilson C A. 2007. A new U.S. farm household typology: Implications for agricultural policy. Applied Economic Perspective and Policy, 29, 765–782.Cao S, Xu C, Chen L, Wang X. 2009. Attitudes of farmers in China’s northern Shanxi Province towards the land-use changes required under the Grain for Green Project, and implications for the project’s success. Land Use Policy, 26, 1182–1194. Cross J E, Keske C M, Lacy M G, Hoag D L K, Bastian C T. 2011. Adoption of conservation easements among agricultural landowners in Colorado and Wyoming: The role of economic dependence and sense of place. Landscape Urban Planning, 101, 75–83.Giovanopoulou E, Nastis S A, Papanagiotou E. 2011. Modeling farmer participation in agri-environmental nitrate pollution reducing schemes. Ecological Economics, 70, 2175–2180.Grosjean P, Kontoleon A. 2009. How sustainable are sustainable development programs? The case of the sloping land conversion program in China. World Development, 37, 268–285.Hoai P M, Sebesvari Z, Tu B M, Pham H V, Renaud F G. 2011. Pesticide pollution in agricultural areas of Northern Vietnam: Case study in Hoang Liet and Minh Dai communes. Environmental Pollution, 159, 3344–3350.Ingram J. 2008. Are farmers in England equipped to meet the knowledge challenge of sustainable soil management? An analysis of farmer and advisor views. Journal of Environmental Management, 86, 214–228.Knowler D, Bradshaw B. 2007. Farmers’ adoption of conservation agriculture: A review and synthesis of recent research. Food Policy, 32, 25–48.Komarek A M, Shi X, Heerink N. 2014. Household-level effects of China’s sloping land conversion program under price and policy shifts. Land Use Policy, 40, 36–44.Kvakkestad V, Rorstad P K, Vatn A. 2015. Norwegian farmers’ perspectives on agriculture and agricultural payments: Between productivism and cultural landscapes. Land Use Policy, 42, 83–92.Jia X P, Huang J K, Xiang C, Bergmann H, Zhang F S. 2013. Farmer’s adoption of improved nitrogen management strategies in maize production in China: An experimental knowledge training. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 12, 364–373.Lam Q D, Schmalz B, Fohrer N. 2011. The impact of agricultural best management practices on water quality in a North German lowland catchments. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 183, 351–379.Lemke A M, Lindenbaum T T, Perry W L, Herbert M E, Tear T H, Herkert J R. 2010. Effects of outreach on the awareness and adoption of conservation practices by farmers in two agricultural watersheds of the Mackinaw River, Illinois. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 65, 304–315.Li H Q, Liu L M. 2016. Normative landscape scenario and its application in planning of new countryside construction. Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering, 32, 305–311. (in Chinese)Liang Y, Li S, Feldman M W, Daily G C. 2012. Does household composition matter? The impact of the Grain for Green Program on rural livelihoods in China. Ecological Economics, 75, 152–160.Liu R, Zhang P, Wang X, Chen Y, Shen Z. 2013. Assessment of effects of best management practices on agricultural non-point source pollution in Xiangxi River watershed. Agricultural Water Management, 117, 9–18.Malawska A, Topping C J, Nielsen H. 2014. Why do we need to integrate farmer decision making and wildlife models for policy evaluation? Land Use Policy, 38, 732–740.Mariola M J. 2012. Farmers, trust, and the market solution to water pollution: The role of social embeddedness in water quality trading. Journal of Rural Studies, 28, 577–589.Mbaga-Semgalawe Z, Folmer H. 2000. Household adoption behavior of improved soil conservation: The case of the North Pare and West Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. Land Use Policy, 17, 321–336.Murphy G, Hynes S, Murphy E, O’Donoghue C. 2014. An investigation into the type of farmer who chose to participate in Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) and the role of institutional change in influencing scheme effectiveness. Land Use Policy, 39, 199–210.Nassauer J I, Corry R C. 2004. Using normative scenarios in landscape ecology. Landscape Ecology, 19, 343–356.Nassauer J I, Santelmann M V, Scavia D. 2007. From the Corn Belt to the Gulf: Societal and Environmental Implications of Alternative Agricultural Futures. Resources for Future, Washington, D.C., USA.Prokopy L S, Floress K, Klotthor-Weinkauf D, Baumgart-Getz A. 2008. Determinants of agricultural best management practice adoption: Evidence from the literature. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 63, 300–311.Ryan R, Erickson D, De Young R. 2003. Farmers’ motivations for adopting conservation practices along riparian zones in a mid-western agricultural watershed. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 46, 19–37.Sattler C, Nagel U J. 2010. Factors affecting farmers’ acceptance of conservation measures-a case study from north-eastern Germany. Land Use Policy, 27, 70–77.Smith H F, Sullivan C A. 2014. Ecosystem service within agricultural landscapes - Farmers’ perceptions. Ecological Economics, 98, 72–80.Stuart S, Schewe R L, McDermott M. 2014. Reducing nitrogen fertilizer application as a climate change mitigation strategy: Understanding farmer decision-making and potential barriers to change in the US. Land Use Policy, 36, 210–218.Tan S H. 2014. Do land characteristics affect farmers’ soil fertility management? Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 13, 2546–2557.Wescoat J L, Johnston D M. 2007. Political Economies of Landscape Change. Springer Press, Dordrecht, Netherlands.Willy D K, Zhunusova E, Holm-Muller K. 2014. Estimating the joint effect of multiple soil conservation practices: A case study of smallholder farmers in the Lake Naivasha basin, Kenya. Land Use Policy, 39, 177–187.Zhen L, Li F, Huang H, Dilly O, Liu J. 2011. Households’ willingness to reduce pollution threat in the Poyang Lake region, southern China. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 110, 15–22. |
| No Suggested Reading articles found! |
|
|
Viewed |
|
|
|
Full text
|
|
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
|
Cited |
|
|
|
|
| |
Shared |
|
|
|
|
| |
Discussed |
|
|
|
|
