Abstract
In the highest soil erosion regions of arid and semiarid northwest China, water resource deficits and farmland misuse have further exacerbated soil degradation. Therefore, understanding how farmers in diverse agroclimatic zones perceive and respond to different conservation practices is important to the implementation of sustainable agriculture practices (SAPs). To this end, this study uses a best–worst scaling approach to examine the adoption preferences for nine SAPs among grain and cash crop farmers and investigates the influence of farm and climatic characteristics on adoption preferences based on a face to face survey of 554 households in Gansu province, which is classified as an arid and semiarid area in northwest China. Both grain and cash crop farmers had stronger preferences for the practices of using organic instead of chemical fertilizers and of improving irrigation practices. In addition, while cash crop farmers also had strong preferences for cover crop-related practices, they preferred long-term fallows least. Household income, livestock, and precipitation influence the potential perceived importance of SAPs. The different perceived importance of these practices suggests new possible combinations or packages for a sustainable agriculture program during the cropping structure adjustment in Gansu.
Highlights
Soil degradation causes the loss of the actual and potential productivity of soil, the deterioration of vegetative cover, and the decline of soil and water resources, which are major threats to agricultural sustainability and environmental quality [1]
For many arid or semiarid South and Central Asian and African countries, implementing sustainable agriculture practices (SAPs) to restore soil quality and mitigate degradation is essential for agricultural sustainability and food security
The results indicate that using more organic fertilizers to replace chemical fertilizers was the most preferred practice, with the highest shares of 26.7% and 26.2% for grain and cash crop farmers, respectively
Summary
Soil degradation causes the loss of the actual and potential productivity of soil, the deterioration of vegetative cover, and the decline of soil and water resources, which are major threats to agricultural sustainability and environmental quality [1]. As a result, according to the provincial census data, the wheat sown area decreased from 23.76% to 20.50% of the total arable land and the cash crops of vegetables, fruits, and traditional Chinese herbs were sown on 15.07% of the total arable land in 2017, as opposed to 10.55% in 2010 [7]. During these transitions, understanding how farmers in diverse agroclimatic zones perceive and respond to different conservation practices is important for policymakers to determine the favorable SAPs and what related policies should be designed
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