An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China
In recent decades, pigs and pork have been the central elements of Chinese agricultural systems, food security, and diet. China’s rapid income growth has induced a significant change in food consumption patterns, and hog production has received utmost attention from both, the Chinese government and...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/10/972 |
| _version_ | 1797515623173980160 |
|---|---|
| author | Jinyang Cai Fengxiang Ding Yu Hong Ruifa Hu |
| author_facet | Jinyang Cai Fengxiang Ding Yu Hong Ruifa Hu |
| author_sort | Jinyang Cai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent decades, pigs and pork have been the central elements of Chinese agricultural systems, food security, and diet. China’s rapid income growth has induced a significant change in food consumption patterns, and hog production has received utmost attention from both, the Chinese government and the public. While the impact of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) on crop cultivation has been widely studied, few studies have examined the impact of FFS on hog production. This study uses data collected from 222 hog farmers in Beijing to examine the impact of FFS on the productivity of hog production, focusing on its three main indicators: feed conversion ratio and the mortality of sows and piglets. We found that farms that participated in FFS programs significantly improved the feed conversion ratio of hog production, particularly in small scale hog farms. On average, FFS reduced the feed conversion ratio for herd sizes of 1000, 500, and 200 by 6.8%, 10.7%, and 14.0%, respectively. We did not find evidence that farms that participated in FFS programs had a significant impact on minimizing the mortality of sows and piglets. This study suggests that the knowledge training model of the FFS program could also work in fields other than crop cultivation. Furthermore, we suggest that more attention could be paid to extension services diffusing knowledge of vaccination and disinfection in hog FFS programs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:48:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-61fc4a4c428e4544a3b897c03f57c6b5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:48:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-61fc4a4c428e4544a3b897c03f57c6b52023-11-22T17:05:06ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722021-10-01111097210.3390/agriculture11100972An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from ChinaJinyang Cai0Fengxiang Ding1Yu Hong2Ruifa Hu3School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, ChinaIn recent decades, pigs and pork have been the central elements of Chinese agricultural systems, food security, and diet. China’s rapid income growth has induced a significant change in food consumption patterns, and hog production has received utmost attention from both, the Chinese government and the public. While the impact of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) on crop cultivation has been widely studied, few studies have examined the impact of FFS on hog production. This study uses data collected from 222 hog farmers in Beijing to examine the impact of FFS on the productivity of hog production, focusing on its three main indicators: feed conversion ratio and the mortality of sows and piglets. We found that farms that participated in FFS programs significantly improved the feed conversion ratio of hog production, particularly in small scale hog farms. On average, FFS reduced the feed conversion ratio for herd sizes of 1000, 500, and 200 by 6.8%, 10.7%, and 14.0%, respectively. We did not find evidence that farms that participated in FFS programs had a significant impact on minimizing the mortality of sows and piglets. This study suggests that the knowledge training model of the FFS program could also work in fields other than crop cultivation. Furthermore, we suggest that more attention could be paid to extension services diffusing knowledge of vaccination and disinfection in hog FFS programs.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/10/972farmer field schoolshog productionfeed conversion ratiosow mortalitypiglet mortality |
| spellingShingle | Jinyang Cai Fengxiang Ding Yu Hong Ruifa Hu An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China Agriculture farmer field schools hog production feed conversion ratio sow mortality piglet mortality |
| title | An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China |
| title_full | An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China |
| title_fullStr | An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China |
| title_short | An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China |
| title_sort | impact analysis of farmer field schools on hog productivity evidence from china |
| topic | farmer field schools hog production feed conversion ratio sow mortality piglet mortality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/10/972 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jinyangcai animpactanalysisoffarmerfieldschoolsonhogproductivityevidencefromchina AT fengxiangding animpactanalysisoffarmerfieldschoolsonhogproductivityevidencefromchina AT yuhong animpactanalysisoffarmerfieldschoolsonhogproductivityevidencefromchina AT ruifahu animpactanalysisoffarmerfieldschoolsonhogproductivityevidencefromchina AT jinyangcai impactanalysisoffarmerfieldschoolsonhogproductivityevidencefromchina AT fengxiangding impactanalysisoffarmerfieldschoolsonhogproductivityevidencefromchina AT yuhong impactanalysisoffarmerfieldschoolsonhogproductivityevidencefromchina AT ruifahu impactanalysisoffarmerfieldschoolsonhogproductivityevidencefromchina |