The Design of Policy Instruments towards Sustainable Livestock Production in China: An Application of the Choice Experiment Method

Dan Pan

doi:10.3390/su8070611

Abstract

In face of gradual ecological deterioration, the Chinese government has been in search of more efficient and effective mitigation policies, aiming to promote the sustainability of livestock production. However, researchers and policy makers seem to neglect a key issue: pinpoint policies are the most important, which means niche targeting is the premise before any policy design, such that better knowing of the livestock farmers preference is prerequisite. This paper then analyzes this question using a method of choice experiment to elicit the farmers’ preference and valuation of livestock pollution control policy instruments at household-scale, medium-scale and large-scale farms. Five attributes (technology regulation, pollution charge, biogas subsidy, manure price, and information provisioning) were set as livestock pollution control policy instruments. In total, 754 pigs farmers from five representative provinces in China were surveyed, and the collected data were analyzed using random parameter logit models. The marginal substitution rates for attributes are estimated both with preference space approach and willingness to pay space approach. The results show significant heterogeneities in farmers’ preferences and valuations for livestock pollution control policy instruments within the three scales. All policy instruments effectively increased the manure eco-friendly treatment ratio for medium-scale farms, and household-scale farms showed little change in the manure eco-friendly treatment ratio under all policy instruments. Household-scale farms and medium-scale farms suggested the highest preference for the biogas subsidy policy, while large-scale farms suggested the highest preference for the manure price policy.

Highlights

Livestock production in China, which has been ignored for decades, was the main source of point source pollution and accounted for more than 90% of chemical oxygen demand, 38% of total agricultural nitrogen and 56% of total agricultural phosphorus discharges to surface water systems [1]
We found a general trend toward higher knowledge on livestock pollution control policy instruments with an increasing farming scale
It is obvious that the marginal substitution rate (MSR) mean values estimated with preference space approach are much higher than the values estimated with WTP space approach

Summary

Introduction

Livestock production in China, which has been ignored for decades, was the main source of point source pollution and accounted for more than 90% of chemical oxygen demand, 38% of total agricultural nitrogen and 56% of total agricultural phosphorus discharges to surface water systems [1]. Ecological damages associated with livestock production have been intensively investigated worldwide because onsite nutrient release, nitrous oxide emissions from animal wastes such as manure, threats to biodiversity, and soil acidification, among others are important sources influencing our environment [2]. To deal with such serious ecological problems, several policies such as direct regulation, subsidy, pollution charges and rewards have been launched by the Chinese government to ensure the production of livestock can be sustainable. A biogas subsidy program introduced by the Chinese government in 2005 has become the most important instrument in rural China. A report from SAIN [5] showed that nearly 20% of generated livestock manure was dumped, 66% was directly utilized as fertilizer without treatment, and only 8% was used to produce biogas

Methods

Results

Conclusion