Rainfall and temperature are the important variables that are often used to trace climate variability and change. A Perception study and analysis of climatic data were conducted to assess the changes in rainfall and t...Rainfall and temperature are the important variables that are often used to trace climate variability and change. A Perception study and analysis of climatic data were conducted to assess the changes in rainfall and temperature and their impact on crop production in Moyamba district, Sierra Leone. For the perception study, 400 farmers were randomly selected from Farmer-Based Organizations (FBOs) in 4 chiefdoms and 30 Agricultural Extension Workers (AWEs) in the Moyamba district were purposely selected as respondents. Descriptive statistics and Kendall’s test of concordance was used to analyze the data collected from the farmers and AEWs. Data for the analysis of variability and trends of rainfall and temperature from 1991 to 2020 were obtained from the Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency and Njala University and grouped into monthly, seasonal and annual time series. Regression analyses were used to determine the statistical values and trend lines for the seasonal and annual time series data. The Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s Slope Estimator were used to analyze the significance and magnitude of the trends respectively. The results of both studies show evidence of climate change in the Moyamba district. A substantial number of farmers and AEWs perceived a decrease in the annual rainfall amount, length of the rainy season, a late start and end of the rainy season, an increase in the temperature during the day and night, and a shortened harmattan period over the last 30 years. Analysis of the meteorological data shows evidence of variability in the seasonal and annual distribution of rainfall and temperature, a decreasing and non-significant trend in the rainy season and annual rainfall and an increasing and significant trend in seasonal and annual temperature from 1991 to 2020. However, the observed changes in rainfall and temperature by the farmers and AEWs partially agree with the results of the analyzed meteorological data. The majority of the farmers perceived that;adverse weather conditions have negatively affected crop production in the district. Droughts, high temperatures, and irregular rainfall are the three major adverse weather events that farmers perceived to have contributed to a substantial loss in the yields of the major crops cultivated in the district. In response to the negative effects of adverse weather events, a substantial number of farmers take no action due to their lack of knowledge, technical or financial capacity to implement climate-sensitive agricultural (CSA) practices. Even though few farmers are practicing some CSA practices on their farms, there is an urgent need to build the capacity of farmers and AEWs to adapt to and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The most priority support needed by farmers is the provision of climate-resilient crop varieties whilst the AEWs need training on CSA practices.展开更多
Ecological transformation of production consumption is an effective channel of establishing ecological agriculture mechanism. In this paper,based on TPB( Theory of Planed Behavior),using factor analysis and regression...Ecological transformation of production consumption is an effective channel of establishing ecological agriculture mechanism. In this paper,based on TPB( Theory of Planed Behavior),using factor analysis and regression analysis,empirical test on formation mechanism of farmer production consumption ecologization behavior transformation is conducted. Research results show that behavior attitude,subjective norm and control cognition of farmer production consumption ecologization have significantly positive influences on behavior response of farmer production consumption ecologization. Among them,power of behavior attitude is farmer's economic rationality and ecological rationality; power of subjective norm is system norm,government guidance and social pressure; power of control cognition is policy judgment and ability perception. Finally,for the analyzed conclusions,policy suggestions are proposed from many aspects,which could provide reference effect for guiding farmer production consumption ecologization and establishing rural eco-civilization.展开更多
Known as the " food of grain",chemical fertilizer plays a very important role in increasing the output of agricultural products. In the meantime,its negative externalities such as soil and water environment ...Known as the " food of grain",chemical fertilizer plays a very important role in increasing the output of agricultural products. In the meantime,its negative externalities such as soil and water environment pollutions as well as the quality and safety hazards caused to agricultural products have been revealed gradually. Taking 126 farmer households in 5 counties( districts) of Anhui Province as samples,the fertilizer application behaviors of farmer households are analyzed. Research shows that farmers applying fertilizer are generally older in age with relatively lower degree of education,inveterate farming habits and small area of cultivation. Besides,the farmer households wish to receive training and guidance on techniques of fertilization,but very few of them have attended the trainings on agricultural technology. Moreover,the individual characteristics and family factors of farmer households have a significant impact on their fertilizer application behaviors. And the degrees of impact are also different for the fertilizer applying behaviors in different stages. Therefore,improving the educational level of farmer households,strengthening the training and promotion of agricultural techniques and accelerating land transfer among farmer households will play a fundamental role in regularizing the fertilizer application behaviors of farmer households and improving the quality and safety of agricultural products.展开更多
文摘Rainfall and temperature are the important variables that are often used to trace climate variability and change. A Perception study and analysis of climatic data were conducted to assess the changes in rainfall and temperature and their impact on crop production in Moyamba district, Sierra Leone. For the perception study, 400 farmers were randomly selected from Farmer-Based Organizations (FBOs) in 4 chiefdoms and 30 Agricultural Extension Workers (AWEs) in the Moyamba district were purposely selected as respondents. Descriptive statistics and Kendall’s test of concordance was used to analyze the data collected from the farmers and AEWs. Data for the analysis of variability and trends of rainfall and temperature from 1991 to 2020 were obtained from the Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency and Njala University and grouped into monthly, seasonal and annual time series. Regression analyses were used to determine the statistical values and trend lines for the seasonal and annual time series data. The Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s Slope Estimator were used to analyze the significance and magnitude of the trends respectively. The results of both studies show evidence of climate change in the Moyamba district. A substantial number of farmers and AEWs perceived a decrease in the annual rainfall amount, length of the rainy season, a late start and end of the rainy season, an increase in the temperature during the day and night, and a shortened harmattan period over the last 30 years. Analysis of the meteorological data shows evidence of variability in the seasonal and annual distribution of rainfall and temperature, a decreasing and non-significant trend in the rainy season and annual rainfall and an increasing and significant trend in seasonal and annual temperature from 1991 to 2020. However, the observed changes in rainfall and temperature by the farmers and AEWs partially agree with the results of the analyzed meteorological data. The majority of the farmers perceived that;adverse weather conditions have negatively affected crop production in the district. Droughts, high temperatures, and irregular rainfall are the three major adverse weather events that farmers perceived to have contributed to a substantial loss in the yields of the major crops cultivated in the district. In response to the negative effects of adverse weather events, a substantial number of farmers take no action due to their lack of knowledge, technical or financial capacity to implement climate-sensitive agricultural (CSA) practices. Even though few farmers are practicing some CSA practices on their farms, there is an urgent need to build the capacity of farmers and AEWs to adapt to and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The most priority support needed by farmers is the provision of climate-resilient crop varieties whilst the AEWs need training on CSA practices.
基金Supported by Major Project of National Social Science Fund(14AZD002)National Natural Science Foundation(41171436)
文摘Ecological transformation of production consumption is an effective channel of establishing ecological agriculture mechanism. In this paper,based on TPB( Theory of Planed Behavior),using factor analysis and regression analysis,empirical test on formation mechanism of farmer production consumption ecologization behavior transformation is conducted. Research results show that behavior attitude,subjective norm and control cognition of farmer production consumption ecologization have significantly positive influences on behavior response of farmer production consumption ecologization. Among them,power of behavior attitude is farmer's economic rationality and ecological rationality; power of subjective norm is system norm,government guidance and social pressure; power of control cognition is policy judgment and ability perception. Finally,for the analyzed conclusions,policy suggestions are proposed from many aspects,which could provide reference effect for guiding farmer production consumption ecologization and establishing rural eco-civilization.
基金Supported by the Youth Foundation Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education(11YJC790057)the General Research Project of Anhui Science and Technology University(SRC2014382)
文摘Known as the " food of grain",chemical fertilizer plays a very important role in increasing the output of agricultural products. In the meantime,its negative externalities such as soil and water environment pollutions as well as the quality and safety hazards caused to agricultural products have been revealed gradually. Taking 126 farmer households in 5 counties( districts) of Anhui Province as samples,the fertilizer application behaviors of farmer households are analyzed. Research shows that farmers applying fertilizer are generally older in age with relatively lower degree of education,inveterate farming habits and small area of cultivation. Besides,the farmer households wish to receive training and guidance on techniques of fertilization,but very few of them have attended the trainings on agricultural technology. Moreover,the individual characteristics and family factors of farmer households have a significant impact on their fertilizer application behaviors. And the degrees of impact are also different for the fertilizer applying behaviors in different stages. Therefore,improving the educational level of farmer households,strengthening the training and promotion of agricultural techniques and accelerating land transfer among farmer households will play a fundamental role in regularizing the fertilizer application behaviors of farmer households and improving the quality and safety of agricultural products.
