Determinants of Sick and Dead Pig Waste Recycling—A Case Study of Hebei, Shandong, and Henan Provinces in China

Abstract

Improper handling of sick and dead pigs may seriously affect public health, socio-economic conditions, and eventually cause environmental pollution. However, effective promotion of sick and dead pig (SDP) waste recycling has become the prime focus of current rural governance. Therefore, the study explores the impact of commitment, rewards, and punishments to capture the recycling behavior of farmers’ sick and dead pig waste management. The study employs factor analysis, the probit model, and the moderating effect model to craft the findings. The study’s empirical setup comprises the survey data collected from the Hebei, Shandong, and Henan provinces, representing the major pig-producing provinces in China. The study found that the commitment, reward, and punishment mechanisms are essential factors affecting the farmers’ decision-making on recycling sick and dead pig waste. The marginal effect analysis found that the reward and punishment mechanism is more effective than the farmers’ commitment. The study confirmed that in the recycling treatment of sick and dead pig waste, the farmers’ commitment and the government’s reward and punishment policy are the main factors that influence farmers to manage sick and dead pig waste properly. Therefore, the government should highlight the importance of effective waste management, and training facilities should also be extended firmly. The government should impose strict rules and regulations to restrict the irresponsible dumping of farm waste. Monitoring mechanisms should be put in place promptly.

Impacts of Incentive and Disincentive Mechanisms for Ensuring Environmentally Friendly Livestock Waste Management

“…However, some studies, for example Knockaert et al [ 30 ] and Zhang et al [ 31 ], suggest that these mechanisms may impact farmer’s attitudes and subjective norms as mediators. Interestingly, among the various studies of the Chinese livestock industry, most researchers (e.g., Ge et al [ 32 ], Si et al [ 33 ], and Wang and Tao [ 34 ]) have observed that enabling an environmentally friendly waste management revolution is likely to be primarily influenced by governmental disincentive and incentive mechanisms. The present study adopts the variables and core model presented by Ge et al [ 32 ] and modifies these in relation to the context of the study.…”

“…Interestingly, among the various studies of the Chinese livestock industry, most researchers (e.g., Ge et al [ 32 ], Si et al [ 33 ], and Wang and Tao [ 34 ]) have observed that enabling an environmentally friendly waste management revolution is likely to be primarily influenced by governmental disincentive and incentive mechanisms. The present study adopts the variables and core model presented by Ge et al [ 32 ] and modifies these in relation to the context of the study. In the following section, we outline the theoretical perspective and major components of the framework.…”

“…First, a rise in living conditions and dietary alterations has contributed to the rapid expansion of the global livestock industry, which has caused significant environmental harm owing to the improper management of animal waste [ 35 ]. Thus, governments have often adopted strict policies and provided significant policy supports, popularly known as incentive and disincentive mechanisms [ 32 ]. In the current livestock market conditions, the use of incentive-based policies is becoming more widespread worldwide because economic instruments offer a more flexible and cost-effective form of regulation than conventional measures [ 36 ].…”

“…In agricultural economics, an incentive can be in the form of either monetary or cognitive support [ 38 ]. There has been extensive investigation in the literature of the impacts of governmental incentive mechanisms on fostering positive behavioral change (e.g., Ge et al [ 32 ], Adelodun et al [ 39 ], and Siegford et al [ 40 ]).…”

“…After reviewing relevant literature, Reza and Chen [ 42 ] suggested that government can play a pivotal role in enabling the transfer of technology and provision of technical support to positively influence the selection of appropriate waste management methods by farmers. With respect to incentive mechanisms, previous investigations have largely evaluated variables including: whether there are subsidies or not [ 43 ]; whether subsidies for technology and machines and materials improve the adoption of environmentally safe livestock manure management or not [ 44 ]; whether or not ecological quality incentive schemes are applicable [ 45 ]; whether linking insurance policy to incentives has any impact [ 46 ]; whether community service bonuses have any impacts on farmers’ behavior regarding environmentally friendly manure management [ 32 ]; whether governments provide technical training or not [ 26 , 47 ]; and what the impacts of loan interest discount policy might be [ 48 ].…”