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

Abstract

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.

The Impact of Environmental Regulations and Social Norms on Farmers’ Chemical Fertilizer Reduction Behaviors: An Investigation of Citrus Farmers in Southern China

“…Based on a study of European Union agri-environmental schemes, Niskanen et al [29] discovered that different farmers respond differently to environmental regulations. Pan [30] argued that policies such as technology regulation, sewage charges, media information provision, and biogas subsidies have different effects on livestock farmers of different sizes. According to mentioned literature, environmental regulations can facilitate farmers' adoption of cleaner production technologies, and the following hypotheses are formulated: Hypothesis 1a (H1a).…”

Economic valuation of attributes of Lake Tana: random parameter model

“…This study also faced by preference heterogeneity in some level of attributes like water quality with high quality (WQ_high), irrigation expansion with 10% expansion (IR_10), irrigation expansion with 15% expansion (IR_15), recreation facility expansion with 5% (Rec_5) and recreation facility expansion with 10% (Rec_10). Pan (2011), random parameter logit model cannot provide justification why preference heterogeneity is happened. Most of the time individual specific characteristics are source of preference heterogeneity.…”

Adoption of Multiple Sustainable Manure Treatment Technologies by Pig Farmers in Rural China: A Case Study of Poyang Lake Region

“…The adoption of manure treatment technologies in rural China is the dependent variable in our analysis. Five manure treatment approaches are mainly adopted in pig production in China, namely returning to the field, arbitrary discard, composting, producing biogas, and sale [5]. Table 1 shows the definition and impacts of different manure treatment technologies.…”

“…To stimulate sustainable manure management, a series of policies, including subsidy policies, rules, and regulations, are enforced in China [4,5]. For example, the Chinese government has provided financial subsidies to induce farmers to apply biogas technology for manure treatment since 2000.…”