Agrochemical Input Behavior and Cleaner Production Adoption Willingness of Farmers in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, China

Abstract

Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei is an important agricultural production area in China, and farmers’ agrochemical input behavior directly affects the risk of agricultural non-point source pollution and the effect of green agricultural development. Based on a questionnaire survey and field interview data, this study investigated the agrochemical input behavior of farmers in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, and analyzed its influencing factors. Using the Probit model, we carried out an empirical study on farmers’ willingness to invest in cleaner production of agrochemicals from four aspects: farmers’ characteristics, agricultural input, environmental awareness and technical cognition. The results showed that the kinds of fertilizer were mainly compound fertilizer, urea and organic fertilizer, and the fertilization method was mainly surface spreading, accounting for 50.6% of the total surveys; the number of agrochemicals was determined chiefly by agricultural sellers, accounting for 55.5%. The proportion of the guidance from technical departments in Beijing was higher than that of Tianjin and Hebei. The first influencing factor for farmers’ behavior towards agrochemical input was the pursuit of high yield and high profit, accounting for 24.9%, 22.6% and 26.0%, respectively. The guidance of relevant technical departments still did not fully cover the use of agrochemicals. The study also found that factors such as the price of farming materials, the price of agricultural products, family income, farmland facilities, government propaganda, technical training and subsidies all impacted the agrochemical input behavior. Pre-production technical guidance and farmers’ awareness significantly affected the willingness to adopt cleaner production. Technical training was helpful to improve farmers’ willingness to participate actively, and enhancing the pertinence of training played an important role in the adoption of cleaner production technology. In conclusion, the influencing factors of farmers’ agrochemical input in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei were complex, and the scientific application level still needs to be improved. This paper finally discusses and puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions for agrochemical reduction and efficiency improvement.