Factors affecting farmers’ acceptance and perception of a potential incentive scheme in grassland areas

Abstract

Incentive-based natural resource management can increase the ecological and economic efficiency of resource utilization. An incentive-based fee scheme was proposed as an effective management scheme for grasslands in northwestern China, where grazing has been banned for ten years. The scheme combines grazing fees and payment by results (GFPBR). The aims of this case study were to assess farmers’ acceptance and perception of a potential GFPBR scheme, using Yanchi County as an example, and to evaluate the driving factors. Face-to-face surveys were conducted with 128 farmers. A semi-standardized questionnaire, which included farmers’ willingness to accept the GFPBR scheme, their perception and preferred characteristics, individual characteristics, family characteristics and behavioral characteristics, was developed. The results showed that the majority of farmers in this case study accepted the GFPBR scheme. The willingness of farmers to pay a fee for grazing was significantly influenced by the proportion of stockbreeding income to total income, whether grassland was independently contracted, whether non-agricultural investments were made in the past five years, and farmers’ perception of ecological protection and economic development. Climate change and government executive capacity were the main risk factors considered by farmers who were unwilling to enroll in the GFPBR scheme. The farmer’s perception of grassland management indicated they were more inclined to value short-term economic interest over ecological protection. We suggest that the implementation of the GFPBR scheme must take into account the grazing fee amount, the design of the scheme, the length of implementation, and property ownership.