Sustainability of farming practices in Ningjin county of Shandong Province, P.R. China | |
| Author | Lin, Zhen |
| Call Number | AIT DISS. no. RD-03-03 |
| Subject(s) | Sustainable development--China--Shandong Sustainable agriculture--China--Shandong |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Phi losophy |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The North China Plain (NCP) is a foodgrain bowl of the country. To feed the growing population, farmers in the area have been using high inputs to increase crop production. Sustainability of such input intensive farming practices is being debated by researchers, planners and decision-makers. This case study in Ningjin county, Shandong province of the NCP attempts to provide an insight into this less studied dimension of agriculture by assessing local farming practices from three aspects: environmental, economic and socioinstitutional sustainability. Data were collected from both secondary and primary sources. Secondary data from statistical yearbooks and documents were collected from relevant government agents. Primary data were collected through household survey, focus group discussion, and interview of key informants and field observations. Altogether 270 households in four selected villages were surveyed. To assess sustainability of the farming practices, 20 location specific indicators covering all three aspects of sustainability were selected. Locally defined threshold levels for respective indicators are used to assess the performance of the indicators. Analytical tools employed include statistical tests, descriptive analysis, financial analysis, weighted average index construction, correlation and multiple regression analysis, and sensitivity analysis. Assessment of environmental sustainability: groundwater management, soil fertility and pests/diseases management were assessed. The study found that irrigation consumed most of groundwater resource. All of the farmers have adopted surface irrigation method by lifting groundwater from shallow wells. Amount of groundwater applied per irrigation frequency is significantly higher than recommended amount for all the major crops. Majority of farmers agreed with conservation of groundwater, but they have not realized the scarcity of groundwater resources. Several negative environmental effects have been found as perceived and graded by local farmers and supported by research results. These effects in prioritized orders are declining groundwater levels, declining groundwater quality, increasing irrigation cost, increasing soil salinity, compaction of soil, and increased land subsidence. Major source of nutrients in the farming system is chemical fertilizers followed by farmyard manure (FYM) and crop residues. In order to sustain high yield on a small landholding, application of both organic and chemical fertilizers has been increasing over the years, which led to improved soil fertility status. The gap between recommended amount and actual use of fertilizers is surprisingly high. Organic fertilizers are insufficiently used, while chemical fertilizers are overused. Particularly, nitrogen fertilizer is heavily overused for all the crops irrespective of landholding size. As a result, excess nitrate concentration was detected in groundwater resources and chives. This call for increased use of organic fertilizers and reduced use of nitrogen fertilizers. Main varieties of pesticides used are rated as extremely hazardous. Pesticide use over crops is not uniform. Chive received highest dosage of pesticides. The gap between recommended dose and actual use of pesticide is very large. In addition, pesticides are not properly handled by the farmers. These practices cause various human health hazards and environmental problems. The problems are more serious in the villages where higher rate of pesticides is adopted. Farmers prefer to use high dosage of pesticides because of greater beneficial effects of pesticide use than harmful effects. Assessment of economic sustainability: productivity of major crops and per capita foodgrain production has been increasing over the past 48 years. All of the households perceived that they produce surplus foodgrains. Benefit-cost analysis shows that all major crops are financially viable. Cultivation of cash crops is more beneficial than foodgrains. However, high inputs use for cash crop production cause higher environmental cost compared to foodgrains. Therefore, crop production is not economically viable in a strict sense, particularly for cash crops. Four variables (total groundwater irrigated, FYM used, total labor used and off-farm income) are significantly related to wheat yield, while three variables (total groundwater irrigated, total labor used and cost of pesticides) are significantly related to maize yield. Two variables (FYM use, groundwater irrigated) and three variables (P20 5 used, groundwater irrigated and FYM used) determine cotton and chive yield, respectively. Nitrogen fertilizer that was heavily used did not always give an increased yield. Sensitivity analysis shows that increase in input costs or decrease in output price or crop yield in the future, financial return from crop production will be declining in comparison with current situation. If farmers adopt recommended amount of groundwater, fertilizers and pesticides, it is estimated that input costs can be reduced and net return and BCR can be increased. Assessment of socio-institutional sustainability: the study reveals that the area has already achieved food self-sufficiency. Highly dependence on off-farm income reduces risks and uncertainties of crop production. It is found that government extension agents are responsible for the dissemination of knowledge and technologies to farmers. However, the contact between extension workers and farmers is very weak. Vegetable farmers tend to have more contact with extension services than the others. Farmers are dissatisfied with extension services. Majority of farmers, especially vegetable farmers, has fundamental knowledge about input use and crop production that was obtained from other sources rather than extension agents. Farmers are still expecting improved extension services so that their farming practices can be guided in a sustainable manner. Based on location specific indicators and their locally defined threshold values, as well as farmers' perceptions and attitudes, it is evident from the overall analysis that with the increase in both inputs and outputs, farming practices in the area are not sustainable. The suggested recommendations include adjustment and formulation of government plans and policies governing soil and water resources; adoption of water-saving agriculture for groundwater use; balanced use of fertilizers for soil fertility management; integrated pest management; provision of effective and adequate extension services and training to farmers. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Routray, Jayant K. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Thapa, Gopal Bahadur;Soparth Pongquan;Zoebi sch, Michael A. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Katholischer Akademischer Auslander-Dienst (KAAD) |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003 |