Ecological Awareness, Policy Perception, and Green Production Behaviors of Farmers Living in or near Protected Areas

Abstract

Research highlights: Ecological policies must balance ecosystem protection by promoting the sustainable livelihoods of farmers living in or near protected areas; however, the intrinsic motivations of farmers to adopt green production behaviors (GPBs) are poorly understood. Background and objectives: We explored how ecological policies affect the GPBs of farmers in agroforestry. Materials and methods: We conducted questionnaires of farmers in 11 counties of Sichuan Province, China, with abundant protected areas and large-scale agroforestry, after which a structural equation model of farmers’ ecological awareness, policy perception, and GPBs was constructed. Results: (1) Ecological policies can stimulate farmers’ GPBs by improving their ecological awareness, creating positive subjective norms, and inducing the “herd effect”. Increases in protection intensity and scope amplify the pressures on farmers to maintain more than long-term policy consistency. (2) Green production is more time-consuming, laborious, expensive, and difficult to learn compared with traditional production methods, which have somewhat limited GPBs adoption. (3) In the rural “acquaintance society”, information and communication from others have a substantial impact on farmers’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors; thus, positive subjective norms from formal and informal channels could promote GPB adoption. Conclusions: Future policies should prioritize environmental education over environmental publicity by helping farmers understand the long-term relationship between ecological protection and economic development, teaching individual environmental responsibility, enhancing positive feedback to farmers who adopt GPBs, actively exploring mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products, and improving farmers’ management skills and learning ability.

Determinants of Farmers’ Perceptions towards Socioecological Benefits of Agroforestry Practices in Northwestern Ethiopia

“…Te study also revealed that 32.2% of the farmers had access to tree conservation training, whereas 67.8% did not. Tis suggests the need for training initiatives for farmers [34]. Most farmers in the study area had land certifcation (92.2%), indicating secure tenure and willingness to adopt long-term agricultural practices such as agroforestry, despite a small portion lacking legal recognition [53].…”

“…Te study revealed that most farmers in the study area were illiterate, with only a quarter being literate. Tis low level of education afects their understanding of agroforestry concepts and associated benefts, suggesting the need for education and training programs [34]. Most farmers (55.6%) had access to electronic media, including radio, which showed that they could efectively disseminate information about agroforestry practices and their benefts.…”

“…(3) What are the factors that infuenced farmers' perceptions of the ecological and socioeconomic aspects of agroforestry practices? It is hypothesized that farmers have positive perceptions of the ecological and socioeconomic benefts of agroforestry practices in the local context [34][35][36].…”

How Does Information Acquisition Ability Affect Farmers’ Green Production Behaviors: Evidence from Chinese Apple Growers

“…The report to the 20th National Congress Agriculture 2024, 14, 680 2 of 17 of the Communist Party of China emphasized that China should continue to promote green development, promote the harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and accelerate green transformation. Therefore, it is necessary for farmers to adopt green production [8,9]. Existing research indicates that farmers exhibit limited enthusiasm and low adoption rates for green production technologies [10].…”