Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to build a theoretical model of the impact of farmers’ adoption behavior of soil and water conservation measures on the agricultural output to analyze the impact of farmers’ adoption behavior of soil and water conservation measures on agricultural output. Design/methodology/approach Based on the field survey data of 808 farmers households in three provinces (regions) of the Loess Plateau, this paper using the endogenous switching regression model to analyze the effect of farmers’ adoption behavior of soil and water conservation measures on agricultural output. Findings Soil erosion has a significant negative impact on agricultural output, and soil erosion has a significant positive impact on farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation measures. Farmers adopt soil and water conservation measures such as engineering measures, biological measures and tillage measures to cope with soil erosion, which can increase agricultural output. Based on the counterfactual hypothesis, if farmers who adopt soil and water conservation measures do not adopt the corresponding soil and water conservation measures, their average output per ha output will decrease by 2.01%. Then, if farmers who do not adopt soil and water conservation measures adopt the corresponding soil and water conservation measures, their average output per ha output will increase by 12.12%. Government support and cultivated land area have a significant positive impact on farmers’ adoption behavior of soil and water conservation measures. Research limitations/implications The research limitation is the lack of panel data. Practical implications Soil erosion has a significant negative impact on agricultural output, and soil erosion has a significant positive impact on farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation measures. Farmers adopt soil and water conservation measures such as engineering measures, biological measures and tillage measures to cope with soil erosion, which can increase agricultural output. Social implications The conclusion provides a reliable empirical basis for the government to formulate and implement relevant policies. Originality/value The contributions of this paper are as follows: the adoption behavior of soil and water conservation measures and agricultural output are included into the same analytical framework for empirical analysis, revealing the influencing factors of farmers’ adoption behavior of soil and water conservation measures and their output effects, enriching existing research. Using endogenous switching regression model and introducing instrumental variables to overcome the endogenous problem between the adoption behavior of soil and water conservation measures and agricultural output, and to analyze the influencing factors of farmers’ adoption behavior of soil and water conservation measures and its impact on agricultural output. Using the counter-factual idea to ensure that the two matched individuals have the same or similar attributes, to evaluate the average treatment effect of the behavior of soil and water conservation measures, to estimate the real impact of adaptation measures on agricultural output as accurately as possible and to avoid misleading policy recommendations.
Highlights
Soil erosion has become a public hazard in the world, it is a serious threat to the human living environment
Farmers adopt soil and water conservation measures such as engineering measures, biological measures and tillage measures to cope with soil erosion, which can increase agricultural output
Risk-averse farmers will adopt a series of soil and water conservation measures to reduce the adverse impact of soil erosion on agricultural output, so as to reduce the potential production loss and risk of soil erosion (Di Falco and Chavas, 2009)
Summary
Soil erosion has become a public hazard in the world, it is a serious threat to the human living environment. This paper investigates the relationship between farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation measures and agricultural output in the Loess Plateau area where soil erosion is serious. As a rational economic man, farmers usually adopt engineering measures such as soil and water conservation projects, biological measures such as grain for green and grass and conservation tillage such as less tillage and no-tillage to reduce the potential impact of soil erosion These adaptation measures mainly affect agricultural output through water conservation, soil conservation and fertilizer conservation (Figure 1). Based on the survey data of peasant households in areas with serious soil erosion, this paper uses the endogenous transformation model to analyze the impact of farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation measures on agricultural output.
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