Chinese land policies and farmers’ adoption of organic fertilizer for saline soils

Soil salinization has become a global concern and poses a great threat to food production and sustainable land use. Land use policies are the main driver of saline soil farmland use in ecosystems. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for analyzing how saline soil farmland use is affected by land use practices of individual farm households. An empirical study, using an ordered probit model, was conducted based on questionnaire responses from farm households in 8 towns and 14 villages in eco-fragile areas in Shandong, Jilin and Xinjiang provinces. The results suggest that land tenure, state systems agricultural support, characteristics of a field parcel and characteristics of the farm households have different influences on farmer's land use in three regions. The adoption of organic fertilizer by individual households is constrained by the lack of stability and integrity in land tenure. Furthermore, the parcel of a field is generally small, sparsely distributed and often fragmented, which increases costs. Even subsidizing organic fertilizer does not necessarily help in its adoption. Given these challenges, this study makes recommendations for different regions that may promote the adoption of improved saline soil farmland cultivation methods by farmers.     

Participatory trials and farmers' social realities: understanding the adoption of legume technologies in a Malawian farmer community

This article presents results from a study exploring the reasons for low adoption of legume technologies to improve soil fertility by farmers from a community in central Malawi who took part in participatory trials. This study explores the influence of gender roles in agriculture and land ownership and socio-economic differentiation in the community. Because most women do not own land and are traditionally responsible for legume crops, they have little interest in managing soil fertility for maize crops. Men are not interested in using legumes in maize-cropping systems. Some are too poor: this group needs to complement their subsistence maize production with paid labour on the farms of better-off farmers; restricting the labour availability for their own farming activities. Wealthier farmers have access to, and prefer to use chemical fertilizer and cattle manure. Take-up rates among the middle group of farmers were also low. This study discusses how these (and other) factors influence the (non-)adoption of maize-legume technologies in Malawi and the effectiveness of participatory research. It emphasizes how differentiated farmer-realities affect the uptake of technologies identified as promising in participatory field evaluations.     

农户视角耕地集约利用及驱动机制的内生差异研究

目的 基于农户视角，将家庭生计及耕地规模纳入农户观察，探析农户耕地集约利用模式及驱动机制的内生性差异，为针对性农户耕地集约利用政策优化提供依据。方法 文章运用生产要素能值分析法（Emergy Analysis）对农户耕地利用集约度进行测算和对比，结合ArcGIS标准差椭圆和Pearson相关性分析，系统探究农户耕地利用集约度空间分布及驱动机制的差异性。结果 （1）农户间的耕地利用集约度的结构差异主要表现在化肥、机械和劳动力三方面，耕地面积较小的兼业户（占农户总量的64%）耕地利用集约度较高，耕地面积较大的纯农户耕地利用集约度较低；（2）农户间耕地利用集约度在空间上形成积累性差异，其中纯农户耕地利用集约度的西南—东北方向性显著、高值区呈点状分散，而兼业户耕地利用集约度分布的东—西方向性显著、高值区呈带状集聚，在东—西和南—北方向上成“倒U型”趋势分布；（3）纯农户耕地利用集约度更易受自身属性驱动（文化程度、耕地面积和破碎度等），而兼业户耕地利用集约度对当地经济（GDP）、地区农业发展（农业产值、区域复种指数）等区域型外部因子更为敏感。结论 农户间耕地利用集约度及其空间分布异质性显著，其驱动机制具有一定隐含差异，农户耕地利用模式的优化需“因户制宜”合理引导。     

Adoption of agricultural land management technologies by smallholder farmers in the Jos Plateau,Nigeria

Against a background of growing concern about the adverse effects of agricultural land degradation due to accelerated soil erosion, nutrient depletion and high population pressure, farmers in the Jos Plateau, Nigeria have adopted biological and structural land management practices, though the degree of adoption of such practices varies from one farm household to another. This study, based on a survey of 150 farm households, employed a stepwise multiple linear regression model to analyse the factors significantly influencing the adoption of land management technologies. The results of the analysis revealed four variables, namely, extension service, agricultural labour force, accelerated soil erosion and out-migration, explaining nearly 90% of the variation in the range of land management technologies adopted. The first three of these variables have positive influences on adoption. Extension service appeared to be the strongest, impacting on skills in the agricultural labour force. Policy recommendations are made in line with the findings of the analysis.     

Mechanization in land preparation and agricultural intensification: The case of rice farming in the Cote d'Ivoire

It is critically important to intensify farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa by disseminating improved agronomic practices and increasing the application of modern inputs. One of the region's problems is that proper land preparation is difficult due to the scarcity of draft animals and the underdevelopment of the tractor rental market. Our analysis of rice production in the Cote d'Ivoire reveals that farmers who use tractors in land preparation more intensively apply fertilizer and use more labor to carefully implement proper agronomic practices, thereby raising productivity. Thus, the diffusion of tractors appears to be key to the intensification of rice farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa.     

社会化服务对农户林地规模经营行为的影响研究

以林业栽培技术服务为例,基于1342份实地调研数据运用IVProbit和倾向得分匹配(PSM)模型考察林业社会化服务对林地规模经营行为影响的程度和方向。结果表明:林业栽培技术服务能显著促进农户林地规模经营行为,但对不同林种的影响程度差异较大;林业工作站或技术推广站主导的栽培技术服务在促进农户规模化经营行为中承担主要角色,反映出林业社会化服务的市场化进程相对缓慢,市场化主体供应的服务未能很好地满足农户林地规模化经营的需求。因此,政府应当大力发展林业社会化服务,完善林业生产服务体系,扩大服务的受众面;培育多元化社会化服务主体,推动林业社会化服务专业化和精准化发展。     

Perennial grain crops in the West Soudanian Savanna of Mali: perspectives from agroecology and gendered spaces

Perennial grain crops may play an important role in environmentally sound and socially just food systems for Africa. We study the future possibility of integrating perennial grains into Malian farming systems from the perspective of agroecology, and more specifically using a gendered space approach. We interviewed 72 farmers across the sorghum-growing region of Mali. We found that perennial grains offer a vision for transforming human relations with nature that mirrors the resource sharing of customary land tenure, including patterns of extensive and intensive land use in time and space. Women interviewees identified a broad set of potential advantages and challenges to perennial grain production. Advantages include reduced labour, saving seed, and improving food security. Women farmers were concerned about livestock, water access, and resource limitations. We argue that perennial grains may increase access to land and natural resources for women farmers. Perennial grains may improve soil quality, reduce labour early in the rainy season, and provision more resources from fallow lands. Pastoralists stand to benefit from improved pastures in the dry season. We conclude that investments are needed to develop viable crop types in consideration of the complexity of West African farming systems and the local needs of women farmers and pastoralists.     

林业社会化服务供给对贫困农户林地投入产出影响分析

基于江西省700户用材林农户调查数据,采用回归模型定量分析林业社会化服务供给对不同贫困程度农户林地投入和产出的影响程度和影响方向,以验证林权配套改革中的社会化服务供给是否发挥应有的效果。结果表明:林木栽培技术服务对一般贫困农户林地投入和林地产出水平具有显著正向影响;金融服务对非贫困农户和重度贫困农户林地投入水平具有显著正向影响;病虫害防治等服务对非贫困农户和一般贫困农户林地投入有显著负向影响;林地面积对不同农户林地投入产出具有显著的负向影响;是否参加林地保险对重度贫困农户林地投入有显著正向影响;劳动力人数对非贫困农户林地投入有显著正向影响;家庭收入结构对不同农户林地投入产出具有显著正向影响;户主年龄对非贫困农户和一般贫困农户林地投入有显著正向影响。因此,提出针对贫困农户提供林业技术培训;加大对贫困农户林业金融扶贫力度;加大林业社会化服务体系建设的财政投入力度等对策建议。     

Adoption of improved maize varieties in the hills of Nepal

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the most important cereal crop in the hills of Nepal, where the grain is used for human consumption and the stover for animal fodder. Maize farms are small, and population pressure necessitates the intensification of existing farming systems. Maize research directed at developing technologies for maize production began in Nepal in 1965. In 2000, a survey was carried out in two districts to determine the current level of adoption of improved maize production practices. In each of these districts, remote and accessible village development committees (VDCs) were surveyed. Questionnaires were administered to 54 randomly selected households in each VDC. A Tobit analysis was used to determine socio‐economic, physical and technology factors that influence the use of improved varieties by farmers. All households use composted farmyard manure, and in the more accessible areas, urea as part of their soil fertility management strategy. Use of improved varieties was less than 60% for all VDCs and only 15% in the most remote VDC. In three of the four VDCs, adoption of improved varieties primarily occurred during the past 5 years. Based on a Tobit analysis, Khet land area, ethnic group, years of fertiliser use, off‐farm income, and contact with extension significantly and positively affected adoption of improved varieties. Farmers in VDCs in central Nepal reported lack of seed to be the major constraint to the adoption of improved varieties, while lack of knowledge of new varieties was the major constraint for farmers in the western VDCs. The results from this survey suggest that the strategy for improving the adoption of new varieties will differ depending on infrastructure and the socio‐economic conditions of the farmers in a given area.     

Oil Palm Expansion among Smallholder Farmers in Sumatra,Indonesia

Many tropical regions are experiencing a rapid growth of oil palm cultivation. In Indonesia, the world's leading palm oil producer, in addition to large companies, smallholder farmers are increasingly engaged in the oil palm sector. Smallholder oil palm cultivation may contribute to income gains and socio‐economic development. However, land‐use decisions by smallholders are not well understood. Without appropriate policies, negative social and environmental consequences can also occur. To improve the knowledge base, we use data about present and past land‐use decisions from a survey of farm households in Sumatra. Employing duration models, we analyse the determinants and dynamics of oil palm adoption among smallholders. We find that independently operating farmers are currently driving growth rates in the oil palm sector. Smallholder adoption decisions are mainly attributable to regional and village level factors. While the current adoption primarily occurs outside of contracts, previous contractual ties between companies and other farmers in the same village play an important role for individual decisions. Beyond initial adoption, we also analyse later expansion decisions. While expanding the oil palm area subsequent to initial adoption is common among all types of adopters, those without previous contracts are found to expand significantly faster. We conclude that the concessions the government has allocated to palm oil companies in the past have initiated oil palm adoption in the small farm sector, but that the ensuing land‐use dynamics are mostly beyond government control. Some wider implications are discussed.     

秦巴山区不同类型贫困户易地搬迁意愿及影响因素研究基于重庆418户农户调查

目的 通过对重庆秦巴山区贫困农户的调研,分析秦巴山区不同类型贫困农户的易地扶贫搬迁意愿及影响因素,找出影响贫困农户搬迁的关键因子,为助推脱贫攻坚提供科学决策依据。方法 文章运用二元Logistic回归模型,选取23个指标构建影响因素评价指标体系,并运用主成分分析法提取13个主要因子,分析主要因子对不同类型贫困农户的易地搬迁意愿影响因素。结果 贫困农户搬迁意愿较强,但不同类型贫困户的搬迁意愿具有明显差异,低保兜底型贫困户>非农型贫困户>兼业型贫困户>务农型贫困户;在影响因素方面,家庭人口数量、医疗教育负担、住房结构、搬迁政策认知情况是影响贫困农户搬迁意愿的共同因素;人均耕地面积、家庭年人均纯收入、耕作半径、耕地是否流转是务农型贫困户的差异性因素,年龄、非农劳动力比重、距离村干道距离是非农型贫困户的差异性因素,家庭年人均纯收入、耕地是否流转以及住房结构是兼业型贫困户的差异性因素,人均耕地面积、人均住房面积和搬迁方式满意情况是低保兜底型贫困户的差异性因素。结论 不同类型贫困农户易地搬迁意愿及影响因素具有显著差异,政府应该在充分尊重农户意愿的基础上推进易地扶贫搬迁工作,并构建一套长效稳定增收机制。     

我国谷子种植户持续种植意愿的影响因素研究

文章通过对3个省(自治区)、5个市,268户谷子种植户的问卷调查,采用logit模型,使用逐步回归分析的方法,对影响谷子种植户持续种植谷子意愿的因素进行了分析。从户主个人基本情况、农户家庭情况、农户农业生产情况、谷子生产情况等4个方面共选择13项调查内容作为解释变量,以第2年是否持续种植谷子作为被解释变量,逐步回归分析结果表明:种植户种植业收入占家庭总收入的比重、种植户家庭耕地面积、谷子种植补贴通过了显著性检验。种植业收入占家庭总收入的比重与谷子持续种植呈显著负相关,比重越高持续种植意愿越低。谷子产量受自然因素影响大,农户从减小风险的角度出发,收入对种植业越依赖谷子的种植意愿越弱。家庭耕地面积与谷子持续种植呈显著正相关,家庭耕地面积越大,谷子被选择种植的机会也就越大,规模效应越明显,持续种植意愿越强。补贴对持续种植意愿呈显著正相关关系,种植补贴意味着更多的收益,积极性就越高。依据分析结果提出了要进一步提升对种植谷子的重视,加大科研投入力度,做好科技成果的转化与推广工作;要加大谷子种植补贴的力度、范围及内容,在良种、农膜、资金等方面对种植户给予支持与补贴,调动农户谷子种植的积极性;推进土地流转,在农户种植规模扩大过程中提高土地规模效益的政策建议。     

A stall-feeding management for improved cattle in semiarid central Tanzania: factors influencing adoption

This study's objectives were to determine factors influencing smallholder farmers' adoption of a stall-feeding management system for improved dairy cattle in semiarid Tanzania and other related technology packages, Heckman's two-stage procedure was used to determine factors influencing participation in the project and the adoption of recommended management practices. Stall-feeding technology is Jocularly attractive to those households with fewer resources particularly those that are female headed. Wealthier farmers, as measured by area of land cultivated, are less likely to adopt the stall-feeding technology. Household labour is found to be important in determining the degree to Which the technology and associated management practices were adopted. Age of the household head has a positive impact on the size of the Intensive feed gardens. Different measures of extension-related contact are significant in influencing the potential lor adopting stall-fed technology, the number of stall-fed cattle kept, the probability of growing water melons, and the size of intensive feed gardens. The implications are that research and extension messages with reference to the stall-feeding management system need to be targeted to specific types of households (e.g., female farmers, those with children to provide labor, and limited resource farms). This supports the notion that technology development and dissemination need to be sensitive not only to the characteristics of the biophysical environment but also to the socioeconomic environment, which is often neglected. The study also demonstrates that in the poorer parts of the world where land is very limited, a strategy for improving ecological sustainability can be linked closely to one for increasing agricultural productivity.     

Adoption and diffusion of improved technologies and production practices in agriculture: Insights from a donor-led intervention in Nepal

Adoptions of improved technologies and production practices are important drivers of agricultural development in low-income countries like Nepal. Adopting a broad class of such technologies and practices is often critical for meeting the multifaceted goals of efficiency, profitability, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. This study aims to address the knowledge gaps that still exist concerning what determines the adoption of improved technologies and production practices, the factors affecting their diffusion, the impact of interventions on productivity and crops grown, and the variability of impact within a particular country context. In this paper we address these questions using data collected as part of the USAID-led Knowledge-Based Integrated Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal (KISAN) project. We adopted a multistage sampling technique and surveyed 988 beneficiary households and 997 non-beneficiary households in KISAN intervention districts and non-intervention districts. Our findings suggest that, in Nepal, adoption of improved technologies and practices is significantly increased by improved access to markets, private sector involvement in selling improved seeds and disseminating information, membership in progressive farmers groups and cooperative societies, participation in agricultural training and farm visits, provision of subsidies for seeds, and access to credit. We also found the probability of the adoption of improved practices to be affected by farmers’ sources of information; for instance, the adoption of improved practices was increased when farmers obtained information from informal sources, cooperatives/farmers organizations, and public and private extension programs. The effects of KISAN projects vary significantly across the different crops grown, based on the evaluation models that address self-selection of both project participation and crop choices. These implications may also apply to other parts of the world facing similar challenges as Nepal, where limited market access, insufficient knowledge and resource capacity of farmers constrain their adoption of improved technologies and practices in agriculture.     

矿农复合区农户耕地利用集约度影响因素分析——以晋城市泽州县22个村为例

[目的]矿农复合区耕地利用方式关系区域生态经济可持续发展,分析不同生计类型农户耕地集约利用水平及影响因素对协调区域人—地矛盾、提高耕地资源利用率和推进土地有序流转具有现实意义。[方法]以晋城市泽州县长河流域22个村为研究区,基于385份有效农户问卷,选用mlogit多值选择模型分析影响矿农复合区农户耕地集约度的因素。[结果]矿农复合区不同农户类型的耕地利用集约度及其内部结构存在较大差异,基本呈现人力资产型矿农复合型自然资产型基本型缺失型的规律。制约耕地利用集约度的因素包括农户家庭土地资源禀赋、劳动力状况和采煤土地损毁情况,政策因素对其影响不显著。[结论]应加大对缺失型和基础型农户的土地修复补偿费,加快健全土地流转市场,形成以发展型农户为主体的家庭农场,进而提高农民农业生产积极性和耕地利用集约度。     

林农生计资本对林地利用方式的影响研究

基于陕西省500户农户的调查数据,在可持续生计分析框架基础上,构建林农生计资本指标体系,运用多元Logit模型实证分析了林农生计资本对林地利用方式的影响。研究表明:第一,不同类型的林农生计资本结构差异会影响其对林地利用方式的选择;第二,在林农林地利用方式的选择上,各生计资本要素的影响存在显著差异,其中金融资本要素是改善林农生计的关键。在此基础上,从林农生计资本要素出发,提出了鼓励林地流转、发展规模经营、加快林业社会化服务体系建设等政策建议。     

Land titling policy and soil conservation in the northern uplands of Vietnam

In Vietnam, a quasi-private property regime has been established in 1993 with the issuance of exchangeable and mortgageable long-term land use right certificates. Using primary qualitative and quantitative data collected in a mountainous district of Northern Vietnam, this paper investigates the role of the land policy in the adoption of soil conservation technologies by farmers. This issue is of crucial importance in the region where population growth and growing market demands have induced farmers to intensify agricultural production. While poverty has been reduced, environmental problems such as soil erosion, landslides, and declining soil fertility have become more severe over the past years. Our findings suggest that despite farmers’ awareness of erosion, soil conservation technologies are perceived as being economically unattractive; therefore, most upland farmers continue to practice the prevailing erosion-prone cultivation system. Focusing on agroforestry as one major soil conservation option, we estimate household and plot-level econometric models to empirically assess the determinants of adoption. We find that the possession of a formal land title positively influences adoption, but that the threat of land reallocations in villages discourages adoption by creating uncertainty and tenure insecurity. The analyses reveal that these two effects interact with each other but are of small magnitude. We conclude that the issuance of land titles is a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite to encouraging the adoption of soil conservation practices. However, current practices remain economically unattractive to farmers. This deficiency needs to be addressed by interdisciplinary research and complemented by strong efforts by local authorities to promote sustainable land use.     

Analyzing the deviation between farmers' Land transfer intention and behavior in China's impoverished mountainous Area: A Logistic-ISM model approach

China’s land transfer is an inevitable requirement for implementing the rural revitalization strategy in the new era. The speed and extent of land transfer are related to the sustainable development of China's agriculture and the process of realizing rural agricultural modernization. In practice, due to the imperfect land transfer market and related systems, the property income of the transfer farmers is insufficient, which leads to inconsistency between the intention and behavior of the farmers. Based on a field survey of rural households in Gansu Province's impoverished mountainous area, we first employ cross-analysis to qualitatively assess the deviation between farmers' land transfer intention and behavior. Second, we use a logistic-interpretative-structural model to empirically analyze the factors influencing such a deviation and the internal logical relationships of these factors. We find that a substantial deviation exists between farmers' land transfer intention and behavior, with 57.64 % of respondents having the intention to transfer, but no actual transfer behavior. Moreover, among the 12 factors identified that significantly affect this deviation, agricultural production enthusiasm is superficially the main direct factor, while agricultural production scale, non-agricultural income, satisfaction in agricultural subsidy policy, and the impact of disasters are the secondary, indirect factors. Meanwhile, the deep-rooted factors are the head of household's age, the presence of village cadres in the household, non-farm working hours, the size of the household's labor force, and difficulty in obtaining land transfer information, land types, and property rights intervention. Therefore, we conclude that in the process of land transfer, the leading role of village cadres should be strengthened, a transfer information exchange platform should be established, land policy should be strictly implemented, land adjustment should be reduced, the rural land exit guarantee mechanism should be improved, and the doubts of farmers regarding land transfer should be eliminated. These steps would make sure that the deviation between farmers’ land transfer intention and actual behavior is minimized.     

基于Logit模型的农户土地流转意愿及其影响因素研究——以南京市浦口区为例

规模经营是农业发展的必然趋势,而其又必须以农地流转为前提。以农户个体及家庭特征为对象,采用Logit模型分析农户土地流转意愿及其影响因素。结果表明:①农户文化水平、搬迁意愿、家庭劳动力数量、土地细碎化程度及土地流转经历对农户土地流转具有显著影响。其中,农户文化水平越高、搬迁意愿越强烈、家庭劳动数量越多,农户土地流转的意愿越强烈:土地细碎化程度是农地流转的一个限制因素;已有过农地流转经历的农户,越愿意进行农地流转;②研究区农地流转意愿较强,有52%的农户期待农地流转,需建立完善的农地流转市场,加强农村社会保障体系建设,进一步促进农地合理流转。     

西部地区农村流动人口土地流转行为的决策逻辑基于推拉理论视角

目的 分析农村流动人口土地流转行为的决策逻辑，对于促进土地流转、提高土地利用率、加速农业现代化、加快流动人口市民化、推动城乡一体化具有重要意义。方法 文章基于推拉理论视角，利用2017年中国流动人口动态监测调查数据，运用Logistic模型并综合实证调研，分析城乡融合发展背景下西部地区农村流动人口土地流转行为的决策因子及决策逻辑。结果 （1）西部地区农村流动人口土地流转比例偏低，仅30.6%的农户发生土地流转行为。未发生土地流转的农户中，将土地闲置或种植林木的比例达21.1%，土地抛荒、非粮化问题较为突出。（2）西部地区农村流动人口兼具“农民”和“市民”双重身份特征，其土地流转行为决策逻辑契合推拉理论，受个人自身特征、流动范围以及流出地、流入地特征“二维四要素”影响。（3）男性、年迈、重视老家风俗习惯、流动空间跨度大、在流出地存在家人照料问题、在流入地面临歧视或存在买房问题的农户，土地流转意愿偏低，而在流入地拥有高收入的农户，土地流转意愿则较高。结论 在诸多决策因子的影响下，农户遵循“乡土情怀维系、基本生存保障和流转风险规避”决策逻辑，对于离土离乡卷入城市化浪潮的农户而言，土地财产功能弱化，情感功能、保障功能凸显。