Explaining farmers’ reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in Northwest China
Green manure cover crops (GMCCs) planting has a potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in agroecosystems and provides important ecosystem services, thereby achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stipulated by the United Nations. However, the advantages of cultivating GMC...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Integrative Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209531192200212X |
| _version_ | 1811246420501463040 |
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| author | Sheng-Han-Erin CHANG Xiao-yan YI Johannes SAUER Chang-bin YIN Fu-duo LI |
| author_facet | Sheng-Han-Erin CHANG Xiao-yan YI Johannes SAUER Chang-bin YIN Fu-duo LI |
| author_sort | Sheng-Han-Erin CHANG |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Green manure cover crops (GMCCs) planting has a potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in agroecosystems and provides important ecosystem services, thereby achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stipulated by the United Nations. However, the advantages of cultivating GMCCs on arable land are not widely recognized. For example, in the whole of China, the GMCCs planting area is less than 3.5% of total arable land. The aim of this study is to explore reasons for the low adoption rate of GMCCs planting. Using best–worst scaling (BWS) approach, farmers ranked their preferred conservation practices including three types of GMCC cropping systems. Taking Gansu Province in Northwest China as a case study, a survey with 276 farmers was conducted. The findings indicated that three factors are related to the low adoption rate of GMCCs: 1) farmers preferred improving farmland irrigation facilities and substituting chemical fertilizers with organic rather than planting GMCCs; 2) lack of awareness and understanding of government policy on GMCCs and limited access to training courses; 3) financial support and subsidies from the government are insufficient. This study provides insights and strategic implications for policymakers on how to further promote GMCCs in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:53:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-54ee43dd570c40b1a021a21dc729a1e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2095-3119 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T14:53:18Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Integrative Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-54ee43dd570c40b1a021a21dc729a1e82022-12-22T03:28:20ZengElsevierJournal of Integrative Agriculture2095-31192022-01-01211133823394Explaining farmers’ reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in Northwest ChinaSheng-Han-Erin CHANG0Xiao-yan YI1Johannes SAUER2Chang-bin YIN3Fu-duo LI4Agricultural Production and Resource Economics, Technical University of Munich, Freising 85354, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. China; Correspondence YI Xiao-yan, Tel: +86-10-82106731Agricultural Production and Resource Economics, Technical University of Munich, Freising 85354, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. ChinaInstitute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. China; Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R. ChinaGreen manure cover crops (GMCCs) planting has a potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in agroecosystems and provides important ecosystem services, thereby achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stipulated by the United Nations. However, the advantages of cultivating GMCCs on arable land are not widely recognized. For example, in the whole of China, the GMCCs planting area is less than 3.5% of total arable land. The aim of this study is to explore reasons for the low adoption rate of GMCCs planting. Using best–worst scaling (BWS) approach, farmers ranked their preferred conservation practices including three types of GMCC cropping systems. Taking Gansu Province in Northwest China as a case study, a survey with 276 farmers was conducted. The findings indicated that three factors are related to the low adoption rate of GMCCs: 1) farmers preferred improving farmland irrigation facilities and substituting chemical fertilizers with organic rather than planting GMCCs; 2) lack of awareness and understanding of government policy on GMCCs and limited access to training courses; 3) financial support and subsidies from the government are insufficient. This study provides insights and strategic implications for policymakers on how to further promote GMCCs in the future.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209531192200212Xbest–worst scalingfarmers’ preferencesgreen manure cover cropssustainable agricultureNorthwest China |
| spellingShingle | Sheng-Han-Erin CHANG Xiao-yan YI Johannes SAUER Chang-bin YIN Fu-duo LI Explaining farmers’ reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in Northwest China Journal of Integrative Agriculture best–worst scaling farmers’ preferences green manure cover crops sustainable agriculture Northwest China |
| title | Explaining farmers’ reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in Northwest China |
| title_full | Explaining farmers’ reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in Northwest China |
| title_fullStr | Explaining farmers’ reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in Northwest China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Explaining farmers’ reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in Northwest China |
| title_short | Explaining farmers’ reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in Northwest China |
| title_sort | explaining farmers reluctance to adopt green manure cover crops planting for sustainable agriculture in northwest china |
| topic | best–worst scaling farmers’ preferences green manure cover crops sustainable agriculture Northwest China |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209531192200212X |
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