Research on the Compensation Standard and Influencing Factors of Conservation Tillage Based on Farmers′ Willingness to Accept

Conservation tillage is the important initiative to guarantee national food security and realize the strategy of "Storing Grain in Land and Technology". Based on the micro-survey of 427 grain-growing farmers in the suitable area of conservation tillage, the compensation standard of conservation tillage was measured by using the contingent valuation method and the constructed equivalent utility function, then the factors affecting farmers′ willingness to accept was analyzed with the binary Logistic model. The results show: (1) The compensation standard for conservation tillage calculated by the contingent valuation method is 735.98 yuan·hm^-2, and the one after being corrected by the equivalent utility function is 410.07 yuan·hm^-2, with a significant difference between them. (2) The farmers′ willingness to accept measured by the contingent valuation method tends to be higher, and after considering the influence of the individual farmers and socio-economic characteristics, the farmers′ willingness to accept measured by the equivalent utility function is more appropriate to the reality, thus, it could be considered as the minimum compensation standard for implementing conservation tillage in the sample areas. (3) The farmers′ willingness to accept in the main grain-producing areas measured by both methods is higher than the overall willingness of farmers in the sample areas. Therefore, the emphasis of carrying out conservation tillage compensation should be concentrated on the main grain-producing areas. (4) The overall sample of farmers′ willingness to accept is affected by the individual characteristics and cognitive characteristics of farmers. In addition to the above factors, the farmers′ willingness to accept is significantly affected by the number of agricultural laborers and aggregate household income in the main grain-producing areas. The findings of the study have theoretical and practical contribution for local governments to scientifically formulate conservation tillage compensation standards and promote farmers to carry out conservation tillage.