Abstract
Many arable land areas have been converted to residential or business uses by Taiwan government authorities, because the low farmland value is associated with the low value of agricultural products. However, agriculture is multifunctional. This study investigates farmland value through Total Economic Value (TEV) for Tianwei Township, which is Taiwan’s largest floral farmland region. Direct use value measures the floral products’ output value and recreational benefit. Recreational benefit from visitors’ flower sightseeing was measured by the travel cost method (TCM). Option value and non-use value, including bequest value and existence value, measure the residents’ willingness to pay through the double-bounded dichotomous contingent valuation method (CVM). The results show that the total floral products’ output is NT$1.441 billion in 2007, recreational benefit is roughly NT$17.757 billion. The intangible value of option value and non-use values are approximately between NT$5 million to 15 million. Therefore, ignoring various values of farmland might lead to an underestimation of farmland value.
Highlights
Due to low production value, fewer and fewer farmers in Taiwan are engaging in the agricultural business, and more and more arable land areas have been converted to residential or business landSustainability 2015, 7 areas by Taiwan government authorities
travel cost method (TCM) is based on the revealed preference approach to measure recreational benefits, and contingent valuation method (CVM) is based on the stated preference approach to measure option and non-use values (Figure 1)
The analytical results demonstrate that the coefficients of MARITAL, AGE, EDU, LINCOME, and HOLIDAY are significant in the estimation model
Summary
Due to low production value, fewer and fewer farmers in Taiwan are engaging in the agricultural business, and more and more arable land areas have been converted to residential or business landSustainability 2015, 7 areas by Taiwan government authorities. Farmland provides positive externalities, such as the amenity value of the landscape, biological diversity, cultural heritage, food security, rural lifestyle, and economic activity, which all contribute to social welfare. Even the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has suggested that “beyond its primary function of the supply of food and fiber, agricultural activity can shape the landscape, provide environmental benefits such as land conservation, sustainable management of renewable natural resources and preservation of biodiversity, and can contribute to the socio-economic viability of many rural areas” [2,3]. Agriculture is multifunctional in the form of a production function (producing food), environmental function (preserving the rural environment and landscape for various use), and socio-economic function (contributing to the viability of rural areas and having a balanced territorial development for the future) [4]. This study proposes to use the Total Economic Value (TEV)
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