Impact of Non-Agricultural Employment and Environmental Awareness on Farmers’ Willingness to Govern the Heavy Metal Pollution of Farmland: A Case Study of China

Abstract

Heavy metal pollution of farmland is a significant issue affecting the quality of agricultural products and human health. Farmers’ behaviors can have a direct impact on the level of heavy metal pollution affecting farmland in China. Whether the heavy metal pollution of farmland can be effectively governed at a low cost depends on the farmers. This paper analyzes the mechanism by which the extent of non-agricultural employment and environmental awareness influences farmers’ willingness to govern the heavy metal pollution of farmland using microdata for farmers in China and conducts an empirical analysis via a logit model. The results show that farmers in China display low willingness to govern the heavy metal pollution of farmland and that the increase in non-agricultural income will not significantly improve this willingness. Environmental awareness and farmers’ willingness to govern the heavy metal pollution of farmland are closely related: the higher the environmental awareness of farmers is, the stronger their willingness to govern heavy metal pollution, and the higher the probability of their participating in fallow land treatment. The government can introduce incentives to improve farmers’ environmental awareness of the heavy metal pollution of farmland. In addition, the government should strengthen publicity about the positive effects of fallow land treatment and encourage farmers to participate in the governance of heavy metal pollution of farmland. Given increasing non-agricultural employment opportunities and the transformation of agricultural production modes, agricultural technical training provided by governmental departments can enable them to be more scientific and rational in their agrochemical selection and application, thus reducing or avoiding the heavy metal pollution of farmland at the source. Attention should be paid to the differences between farmers to ultimately reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of treatment.

Impact of Value Perception on Farmers’ Willingness to Participate in Farmland Fallow: A Case-Study in Major Grain-Producing Areas of Hubei and Hunan, China

“…Related research has explored the influence of farmer cognition on fallow willingness from their fallow understanding, compensation satisfaction, environmental awareness, and awareness of fallow role in improving soil fertility [12,14,24,25]. This study explored the impact of farmer value perception on their fallow willingness, which was more consistent with the psychology of farmers who are rational people.…”

“…In ecologically vulnerable areas of Guizhou Province and the groundwater funnel areas of Hebei Province in China, farmers' willingness to participate in farmland fallow is high because of low agricultural income resulting from the ecological deterioration of farmland [12,14,23]. In the heavy metal pollution areas of Jiangxi Province and Hunan Province in China, farmers do not support the farmland fallow policy because of their limited awareness of environmental protection [13,24]. Concerning the influencing factors of farmers' fallow willingness, some believe that farmers' educational levels, family dependency ratio, per capita family farmland area, awareness of the fallow role in improving soil fertility, and degree of understanding of fallow policy have a significant impact on their fallow willingness [12,14,25].…”

“…Concerning the influencing factors of farmers' fallow willingness, some believe that farmers' educational levels, family dependency ratio, per capita family farmland area, awareness of the fallow role in improving soil fertility, and degree of understanding of fallow policy have a significant impact on their fallow willingness [12,14,25]. Lu Hua argues that the stronger the farmers' awareness of environmental protection and the clearer their awareness of heavy metal pollution hazards in farmland, the higher their enthusiasm for fallow will be [24]. Therefore, there is a consensus that farmer cognition of farmland fallow has an important impact on their fallow willingness.…”

“…Although there are many studies on farmers' willingness to participate in farmland fallow and its influencing factors in China, the specific influence of value perception on farmers' willingness to participate in farmland fallow remains to be scientifically studied. In addition, farmers' willingness to participate in farmland fallow refers only to the willingness to directly participate in fallow, the willingness to fallow their own farmland [12,14,24]. However, farmers' behavior toward indirectly participating in farmland fallow such as the publicizing of farmland fallow policy, cooperation with the management of farmland fallow, and prevention of damage to farmland fallow, can also promote the smooth implementation of fallow policy.…”

Priority planting area planning for cash crops under heavy metal pollution and climate change: A case study of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort

“…Hence, it is necessary to plan and manage planting areas based on a diversified approach under soil pollution by heavy metals and climate change ( Bytnerowicz et al., 2007 ; Sverdrup et al., 2007 ; Badrzadeh et al., 2022 ). The sources of soil pollution by heavy metals are diverse, and the soil remediation process is long; this affects the distribution of cash crops and further affect agricultural income and the planting of crops ( Dong et al., 2001 ; Dach and Starmans, 2005 ; Nabulo et al., 2010 ; Lu, 2019 ). We must obtain priority areas for cash crops to meet market demands while ensuring the health and safety of food, while formulating environmental conservation planning strategies ( Chen et al., 2014 ; Qin et al., 2021 ).…”