Household economy and traditional agroforestry systems in western Kenya

In the cash budgets of farm householdsin western Kenya, off-farm occupations and cropsaccount for the most important sources of income. Treeand livestock products are of secondary importance incash terms, although farmers attach great importanceto trees as a source of income because of the variousnon-monetary functions they supply. The findingspresented in this paper suggest that two variables,the domestic development cycle of households andwealth, are likely to affect the adoption pattern ofcertain introduced agroforestry technologies,depending on farmers' strategies to produce treeproducts and milk for subsistence, largely for themarket or some combination of the two. However, forthe most part, farmers in western Kenya are likely togive first priority to investing in enterprises, suchas business and livestock production, that yieldshort-term financial returns as oppossed to investingin long-gestation agroforestry technologies whichprovide non-tangible benefits and financial returnsonly after several years.     

美国的土壤保护:给中国农业借鉴

美国政府通过多种项目对采用土壤保护实践的农场提供资金和技术援助。联邦政府津贴对土壤保护取得的显著成就发挥了重要作用。阐述美国土壤保护的成功经验以给中国农业的决策者们提供参考。     

Conservation tillage

Conservation production systems combine tillage and planting practices to reduce soil erosion and loss of water from farmland. Successful conservation tillage practices depend on the ability of farm managers to integrate sound crop production practices with effective pest management systems. More scientific information is needed to determine the relations between tillage practices and physical, chemical, and biological soil factors that affect plant and pest ecology. There is a need to devise improved pest management strategies for conservation tillage and to better understand the impact of conservation tillage on water-quality, especially as it is related to use of agricultural chemicals. While savings in fuel, labor, and soil have induced many farmers to adopt conservation tillage, improved methods and equipment should increase adoption even more.     

Farmers’ Views of Soil Erosion Problems and their Conservation Knowledge at Beressa Watershed, Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Farmers’ decisions to conserve natural resources generally and soil and water particularly are largely determined by their knowledge of the problems and perceived benefits of conservation. In Ethiopia, however, farmer perceptions of erosion problems and farmer conservation practices have received little analysis or use in conservation planning. This research examines farmers’ views of erosion problems and their conservation knowledge and practices in the Beressa watershed in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Data were obtained from a survey of 147 farm households managing 713 fields during the 2002/2003 cropping season. In-depth interviews and group discussions were also held with the farmers to obtain additional information. The results show that 72% of the farmers reported erosion problems, and they recognized that conservation was necessary. However, they considered erosion to be severe mostly when visible signs – rills and gullies – appeared on their fields. The majority of the farmers believe that erosion could be halted, and they use a range of practices for erosion control and fertility improvement. These include contour plowing (83%), drainage ditches (82%), and stone terraces/bunds (73%). Nevertheless, despite decades of conservation intervention in the area, it appears that most farmers have developed negative attitudes towards externally recommended measures. The research concludes that under the conditions present in the Ethiopian central highlands, soil and water conservation interventions should consider farmers’ conservation knowledge and practices to improve acceptance and adoption of the recommendations. Aklilu Amsalu is a lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies of Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is currently doing his PhD research on best land management practices in highland watershed management in Ethiopia in the Department of Environmental Sciences of Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Jan de Graaff is a senior lecturer and researcher in the Erosion and Soil and Water Conservation Group of Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. His expertise is on impact assessment and economic evaluation of soil and water conservation.     

Maize production under risk: The simultaneous adoption of off-farm income diversification and agricultural credit to manage risk

Farmers in Pakistan continue to produce maize under various types of risks and adopt several strategies to manage those risks. This study is the first attempt to investigate the factors affecting the concurrent adoption of off-farm income diversification and agricultural credit which the farmers use to manage the risk to maize production. We apply bivariate and multinomial probit approaches to the primary data collected from four districts of Punjab Province in Pakistan. The results show that strong correlations exist between the off-farm diversification and agricultural credit which indicates that the use of one risk management strategy leads to another. The findings demonstrate that education, livestock number, maize farming experience, perceptions of biological risks and risk-averse nature of the growers significantly encourage the adoption of diversification as a risk management tool while farm size inversely affects the adoption of diversification. Similarly, in the adoption equation of credit, maize farming experience, farm size, perceptions of price and biological risks and risk attitude of farmers significantly enhance the chances of adopting agricultural credit to manage farm risks. These findings are important for the relevant stakeholders who seek to offer carefully designed risk minimizing options to the maize farmers.     

农户绿色生产技术采纳行为及其效应——以测土配方施肥技术为例

为揭示农户绿色生产技术采纳行为决策的规律性和显化其行为效应,基于鄱阳湖平原6个产粮大县的607份调查数据,利用内生转换回归（ESR）模型实证分析了农户采纳测土配方施肥技术的影响因素及其采纳行为的经济和生态效应。结果表明：农户采纳测土配方施肥技术主要受到家庭总收入、耕种面积和信息获取渠道的正向影响,耕地破碎度和家离农技机构距离的负向影响。测土配方施肥技术的采纳有助于农户实现水稻的增产和化肥的减量化施用,表现为在反事实假设情景下,实际采纳该技术的农户若未采纳,其水稻单位面积产值下降6.38%、化肥施用量增加2.14%;实际未采纳该技术的农户若采纳,其水稻单位面积产值提高1.83%、化肥施用量减少1.00%。鉴于此,建议降低耕地破碎度,实现适度规模经营,加强技术的宣传推广,构建技术培训体系,显化技术效益,发挥技术的示范带动效果。     

保护性耕作技术推广过程中农民的认知现状及存在的问题

保护性耕作具有保水、保土等良好的生态效益,已成为可持续农业的重要支撑技术。为了解华北平原保护性耕作在生产和推广过程中农户对保护性耕作的认知情况,在河南省保护性耕作推广示范地区进行农户一对一的问卷调查,以期为保护性耕作技术的完善及技术推广提供依据及指导。分析结果显示,在保护性耕作推广地区,农户普遍接受了保护性耕作模式,玉米的免耕技术和秸秆还田技术得到了大面积的应用,83%的农户对保护性耕作持肯定态度,认为可以培肥地力,保持水土。农户接受保护性耕作主要通过技术推广部门的田间指导,占总数的74%,也多希望通过这种方式进行新技术推广。大部分农户认为秸秆过多、病虫害增加和产量不稳等是限制保护性耕作推广和应用的重要因素,可以通过农机农艺结合、加强政府扶持、选育优良品种和改进配套技术等措施促进保护性耕作技术的发展和推广。     

农户高效农药喷雾技术采纳意愿——影响因素及其差异性分析

针对农户施用农药效率不高,过度施药造成的环境污染问题,基于计划行为理论,利用二元Logistic模型探究农户高效喷雾技术采纳意愿的心理归因。结果表明:1)高效农药喷雾技术得到了大部分农户的认可,有62.3%的农户表示愿意采纳该技术,其他农户持观望或否定态度;成本偏高和扩散渠道不畅是影响农户采纳该技术的主要障碍。2)行为态度、主观规范及知觉行为控制均正向影响农户采纳意愿,即农户对高效农药喷雾技术的态度越积极、主观规范越强、知觉行为控制越充分,农户对技术的采纳意愿越强;影响程度依次为:主观规范行为态度知觉行为控制。3)不同群体的农户对高效农药喷雾技术采纳意愿的心理归因具有差异,老年群体、小规模种植群体和不认可技术补贴群体的技术采纳意愿较低。老年群体的采纳意愿更易受主观规范和知觉行为控制的影响;小规模家庭种植群体的采纳意愿受行为态度、主观规范和知觉行为控制三者的影响;不认可技术补贴群体的采纳意愿主要受行为态度的影响。     

农户对环境友好型技术的采纳意愿及异质性分析——以湖北省为例

为了解农户对环境友好型技术的采纳意愿,利用湖北省农村地区的调查数据,基于计划行为理论,运用有序logistic回归模型探究农户环境友好型技术采纳意愿的影响因素。结论表明:1)80.73%的农户愿意采纳环境友好型技术,技术收益预期是影响农户采纳意愿的关键因素。2)行为态度、主观规范及知觉行为控制均显著影响农户采纳意愿。具体而言,技术收益预期、邻里效应和技术学习容易程度对农户技术采纳意愿有显著正向影响。3)不同技术收益预期、邻里效应影响及技术学习容易程度限定下,农户技术采纳意愿的影响因素具有异质性:种植规模对高收益预期农户采纳意愿影响更强;受乡邻行为影响越大的农户对技术学习容易度要求越高;对认为技术学习较难的农户而言,农技部门提供技术帮助是影响其采纳意愿的重要因素。政府应加大技术培训和推广力度,制定差异化的技术采纳鼓励政策,切实推进环境友好型技术的推广和实施。     

Risk preferences and the low-carbon agricultural technology adoption: Evidence from rice production in China

Climate change which is mainly caused by carbon emissions is a global problem affecting the economic development and well-being of human society. Low-carbon agriculture is of particular significance in slowing down global warming and reaching the goal of “carbon peak and carbon neutrality”. Therefore, taking straw incorporation as an example, this paper aims to investigate the impact of risk preferences on farmers’ low-carbon agricultural technology (LCAT) adoption. Based on a two-phase micro-survey data of 1 038 rice farmers in Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Hunan provinces, this paper uses experimental economics methods to measure farmers’ risk aversion and loss aversion to obtain the real risk preferences information of the farmers. We also explore the data to examine the actual LCAT adoption behavior of farmers. The results revealed that both risk aversion and loss aversion significantly inhibit farmers’ LCAT adoption: more risk-averse or more loss-averse farmers are less likely to adopt LCAT. It is further found that crop insurance, farm scale and governmental regulations can alleviate the negative impact of risk aversion and loss aversion on farmers’ LCAT adoption. Therefore, we propose that local governments need to promote low-carbon agricultural development by propagating the benefits of LCAT, extending crop insurance, promoting appropriate scale operations, and strengthening governmental regulations to promote farmers’ LCAT adoption.     

It’s not all about the money: understanding farmers’ labor allocation choices

Using a nationally representative survey of farm operators in Ireland, this study examines the effect of non-pecuniary benefits from farm work on labor allocation choices. Results suggest that non-pecuniary benefits affect both the decision to enter the off-farm labor market and also once that decision is made, the amount of time spent working off-farm. We find our derived variable representing non-monetary benefits associated with farm work to have a substantial impact similar to the effect of other more widely reported personal and farm structural variables such as the age of the farm operator, farm size, and farming system. The existence of these non-pecuniary benefits serves to increase the implied wage to farmers for their farm work. This in turn can lead to allocations of labor that would seem suboptimal from a purely financial point of view. Rural development policies aimed at creating off-farm opportunities could fail unless returns to off-farm work are high enough to compensate the farmer for losing the benefits associated with the farming lifestyle. From a methodological perspective, our analysis indicates that failure to model off-farm labor allocation choices as a two-part process may lead to some incorrect conclusions regarding the effect of certain explanatory variables. Outside of explaining farmers’ off-farm labor supply it would be useful to incorporate farmer perceptions regarding the non-pecuniary benefits from farming in economic models of farm behavior across a range of activities as this could lead to much more accurate predictions of farmers’ responses to policy changes.     

Identifying and measuring agrarian sentiment in regional Australia

In common with much of the Western world, agrarianism—valuing farmers and agricultural activity as intrinsically worthwhile, noble, and contributing to the strength of the national character—runs through Australian culture and politics. Agrarian sentiments and attitudes have been identified through empirical research and by inference from analysis of political debate, policy content, and studies of media and popular culture. Empirical studies have, however, been largely confined to the US, with little in the way of recent re-evaluations of, or developments from, early work. This paper reports on research that seeks quantitative empirical evidence for the existence of agrarianism in the Australian community and seeks to identify its core characteristics. Using a purpose-designed sub-set of items within a large, omnibus-style survey of regional and rural Australia, we demonstrate that agrarianism exists as a scientifically quantifiable concept identifiable through responses to four key propositions: that Australians should support policies aimed at improving the position of the agricultural industries; that working in agriculture and associated industries brings out the best in people; that agricultural producers make a major contribution to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation; and that the development of agriculture in Australia contributed to the development of the national character. We found very little variation in the degree to which different demographic groupings agree with agrarianism. Older people, farmers, and non-Indigenous Australian-born respondents were among those who were statistically significantly more likely to agree with the defining propositions of agrarianism, but their scores were only very slightly higher than those of other sub-populations in the sample.     

极端天气事件感知与收入水平对农户保护性耕作采用意愿的影响

为定量分析环境友好型耕作模式的发展潜力。本研究在气候变暖与极端天气事件频发的背景下,利用河南、河北等地的897户农户调查数据,采用二元离散Logit模型、补对数—对数模型分析农户保护性耕作采用意愿的影响因素,重点关注农户对极端天气事件感知、农户家庭收入水平对其保护性耕作采用意愿的影响。结果表明:农户采用保护性耕作的意愿受到极端天气事件发生频率的影响。在同样感知到极端天气事件每年发生的农户中,相较于较高收入的农户,中等收入农户采用保护性耕作的意愿更弱。此外,教育水平较高、参加农业合作社、种植面积较大的农户在采用保护性耕作上的意愿更强。据此建议,推动农户从部分采用保护性耕作技术到整套采用保护性耕作技术,农技推广部门可以重点在极端天气事件频发地区推广,且重点针对种植面积大、家庭收入水平高的农户。     

Adoption of new technologies by smallholder farmers: the contributions of extension,research institutes,cooperatives, and access to cash for improving tef production in Ethiopia

Agricultural intensification and extensification are standard responses to ecological and economic vulnerability among smallholder communities. Climate change has exacerbated this vulnerability and thrown the complexity of and critical need for managing a healthy natural resource base while increasing on-farm productivity into sharp light. Sustainable intensification is one of many mechanisms for accomplishing this balancing act. This study examines the adoption of sustainable intensification practices, namely input packages focused on tef row planting—designed to boost yield and promote more efficient use of inputs. This study utilized a mix methods approach to survey 115 smallholder farmers in the South Wollo zone of the Amhara region in Ethiopia. This study found that cash and capital, more so than contact with the AIS, influenced farmers’ decisions to adopt row planting input packages. Khat production was an important source of cash for inputs and was more likely to be available to farmers with irrigation schemes. Long-term, farmers who cultivate khat may not successfully engage in SI, as khat replaces traditional food crop production in the region. Yet, for farmers who do not grow khat, long-term investment in SI practices is unlikely unless access to affordable credit options is improved.     

农户绿色生产技术采用行为及其对收入的影响——以武陵山茶叶主产区为例

为了解农户绿色生产技术采用行为,推动农业可持续发展与农民增收.基于武陵山茶叶主产区634个农户调研数据,通过构建Heckman样本选择模型分析农户绿色生产技术采用行为的影响因素,并运用分位数回归模型进一步探讨技术采用行为对农户不同茶叶收入水平的影响及差异.结果表明:1)农户对品种改良、土壤改良与生物农药单项技术的采用率...     

农户环境意识对环境友好行为的影响——社区环境的调节效应研究

为了解和掌握农户环境友好行为的影响因素,基于重庆市403份农户样本的调查数据,运用相关分析法,层次回归分析法检验农户环境意识对环境友好行为的影响,并引入农村社区环境作为调节变量,分析社区环境对农户环境意识与环境友好行为间关系的调节效应。结果表明:环境行动技能、环境保护态度对农户环境友好行为具有显著正向影响,农村社区内的环境公共服务、环境政策执行均对农户环境意识—环境友好行为关系有显著的调节作用。结合农村需求提出如下促进农户环境友好行为的政策建议:1)加强对环境保护的宣传和鼓励,培养农户的环境保护态度;2)加强对环境友好型农业技术的推广应用,提升农户环境行动技能;3)创造生态文明型社区环境,营造环境友好的农村社区氛围,促进农户对环境友好行为的采纳。     

环境友好型农业生态补偿实践进展

环境友好型农业是兼顾生产和环境保护的农业生产方式,具有典型的正外部性。发达国家通过生态补偿措施来激励农民采取环境友好型农业生产方式,政策措施实用且有效,推动了可持续农业的快速发展。系统综述了国内外开展环境友好型农业生态补偿的实践及其效果,并基于我国在保护性耕作、测土配方施肥、土壤有机质提升、生态农业和生态标记等方面的生态补偿实践,指出了制约我国环境友好型农业生态补偿发挥更积极作用的主要因素是补偿金额、补偿期限和补偿方式。同时,通过借鉴国外发达国家的经验,提出了建立环境友好型农业技术清单等政策建议,对于加快我国环境友好型农业生态补偿进程具有重要的意义。     

农户分化对环境友好型技术采纳影响的实证研究——基于554户农户对测土配方施肥技术应用的调研

为把握农户分化对环境友好型技术采纳的影响规律,基于江西省554户农户调查数据,以测土配方施肥技术为例,运用Ordered-Probit模型,实证分析农户分化对环境友好型技术采纳行为的影响。结果表明:1)农户分化对环境友好型技术采纳行为具有显著影响,随家庭非农收入比重的增加而降低农户对环境友好型技术的采纳。2)分化后形成的不同类型农户,其环境友好型技术采纳行为的影响因素存在差异,其中农户的年龄、学习技术的经济能力的影响并不因农户分化而发生变化,年龄越大、经济能力越弱,环境友好型技术采纳行为越低;农户受教育程度、劳动力非农比例、地块分散程度、测土服务、面源污染认知的影响,表现出随家庭非农收入比重增加而减弱的趋势;技术应用效果评价、技术理解力和技术可获性等与技术本身密切相关的因素,表现出随家庭非农收入比重增加而增强的趋势。     

Routine inertia and reactionary response in animal health best practice

Animal health is a key factor affecting the economic efficiency of the dairy industry. Improvements in animal health are also of relevance to society more broadly, given important implications for animal welfare, food safety and quality. Although the economic gains of best practice with regard to animal health have been well documented, many farmers are not adopting optimal herd management techniques. This paper utilises nationally representative farm-level data from Ireland for 2013 to identify drivers and barriers to the adoption of best practice with regard to on-farm mastitis management. Exploratory factor analysis is used to derive measures of farmers’ attitudes towards animal health and mastitis and econometric techniques are employed to empirically assess the influence of these on the uptake of beneficial herd health management practices. A number of focus groups were also undertaken to complement the analysis. This paper concludes that farmers’ attitudes towards animal health are not a key driver in the uptake of best practice, although perceived disease risk is of relevance. A number of interesting issues arise in identifying barriers to the uptake of best practice, these include the possibility of routine inertia, i.e., farmers do not deviate from the routine developed around mastitis prevention until there is an indication of infection, as well as constraints around the availability of labour and time. Farmer behaviour with respect to mastitis management can thus be considered as reactionary as opposed to precautionary. This research highlights the valuable role of the extension agent but concludes that engagement around knowledge transfer and technology adoption is particularly complex.