The moderating effect of training, subsidies and propaganda on the relationship between psychological factors and farmers' willingness to reduce chemical fertilizer application: Evidence from dryland farming areas of China

IF 6.1 1区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Agricultural Systems Pub Date : 2025-01-09 DOI:10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104257

Xinxing Wang, Xueyan Zhao

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

CONTEXT

Excessive use of chemical fertilizer severely impacts the ecological environment and presents considerable challenges to food security and agricultural sustainability. To address this issue, governments worldwide have implemented incentive measures, such as technical training, agricultural subsidies, and propaganda guidance. However, the effectiveness of these measures in enhancing farmers' willingness to reduce fertilizer application remains uncertain. Additional clarity is needed on whether the moderating effect of different incentive measures varies across crop types.

OBJECTIVE

Using a case-study approach, the moderating effect of incentive measures on farmers' willingness to reduce chemical fertilizer usage is evaluated.

METHODS

Qin'an County, located in the dryland farming region of the Loess Plateau, China, was selected as the case-study area. We analyzed 566 valid questionnaires by constructing structural equation and hierarchical regression models.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The results show that attitude (p < 0.05), perceived behavior control (p < 0.05), and moral norm (p < 0.05) were the crucial psychological factors affecting farmers' willingness to reduce fertilizer application. Incentive measures played an important role in moderating farmers' willingness to reduce chemical fertilizer usage. Among these measures, technical training positively regulated the relationship between moral norm and farmers' willingness to reduce fertilizer usage (increased by 33.2 % for each unit), but had the opposite effect on attitude and the willingness to reduce fertilizer application (decreased by 29.3 % for each unit). Propaganda positively moderated the relationship between moral norm and farmers' willingness to reduce fertilizer application (increased by 22.4 % for each unit). In addition, the moderating effects of the incentive measures differed among grain, fruit, and vegetable cultivation, with the most strongly significant moderation impact observed on grain cultivation.

SIGNIFICANCE

The findings will assist policymakers to understand and develop improved incentive measures to promote a comprehensive transition from dryland agriculture to sustainable agriculture in China and globally.

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来源期刊

Agricultural Systems 农林科学-农业综合

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

7.60%

发文量

174

审稿时长

30 days

期刊介绍： Agricultural Systems is an international journal that deals with interactions - among the components of agricultural systems, among hierarchical levels of agricultural systems, between agricultural and other land use systems, and between agricultural systems and their natural, social and economic environments. The scope includes the development and application of systems analysis methodologies in the following areas: Systems approaches in the sustainable intensification of agriculture; pathways for sustainable intensification; crop-livestock integration; farm-level resource allocation; quantification of benefits and trade-offs at farm to landscape levels; integrative, participatory and dynamic modelling approaches for qualitative and quantitative assessments of agricultural systems and decision making; The interactions between agricultural and non-agricultural landscapes; the multiple services of agricultural systems; food security and the environment; Global change and adaptation science; transformational adaptations as driven by changes in climate, policy, values and attitudes influencing the design of farming systems; Development and application of farming systems design tools and methods for impact, scenario and case study analysis; managing the complexities of dynamic agricultural systems; innovation systems and multi stakeholder arrangements that support or promote change and (or) inform policy decisions.