Effect of socioeconomic and institutional factors and sustainable land management practices on soil fertility in smallholder farms in the Mahottari District, Nepal
Effect of socioeconomic and institutional factors and sustainable land management practices on soil fertility in smallholder farms in the Mahottari District, Nepal
复制标题
DOI：
10.1002/ldr.4143
复制
发表时间：
2021-11-18
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Burton, Michael
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Chaudhary, Ashok Kumar;Pandit, Ram;Burton, Michael
土壤肥力下降是一个严重的全球性问题，导致作物产量下降，危及家庭粮食安全，特别是在发展中国家。本文研究了2002年至2018年尼泊尔Mahottari地区社会经济和制度因素以及采用可持续土地管理实践对农场土壤肥力变化的影响。2018年对184名小农进行了入户调查，以补充2002年收集的土壤调查数据。采用一个看似不相关的回归模型估计影响两个时期土壤肥力变化的因素。结果表明，土壤有机质（SOM）、磷(P)、钾(K)和pH值平均分别增加0.2%、97 kg/ha、4 kg/ha和0.5个尺度。回归结果表明，推广访问和政府支持（免费种苗）对土壤肥力变化有正向影响，而合作成员对土壤肥力变化有负向影响。此外，休耕改善了农田土壤肥力变化，而传统的动物耕作则恶化了土壤肥力变化。采用农林业措施对磷、钾的变化有积极影响，对土壤有机质有消极影响。总的来说，这项研究强调了制度特征和可持续土地管理实践对提高土壤肥力的重要性。这些研究结果对提高小农土壤肥力的政策意义在于：(1)增加外访频率，与农民分享相关信息；(2)鼓励农民在他们的农场采用农林业和以下做法。
Soil fertility decline is a serious global problem, leading to a decline in crop yields and jeopardizing household food security, particularly in developing countries. This paper examines the impact of socioeconomic and institutional factors and the adoption of sustainable land management practices on soil fertility changes on farms between 2002 and 2018 in the Mahottari District of Nepal. A household survey among 184 smallholder farmers was conducted in 2018 to complement soil survey data collected in 2002. A seemingly unrelated regression model was used to estimate factors influencing soil fertility changes between the two periods. The results showed that soil organic matter (SOM), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and soil pH increased, on average, by about 0.2%, 97 kg/ha, 4 kg/ha, and 0.5 scales, respectively, on the studied farms. The regression results indicated that extension visits and government support (free seedlings) had positive effects, while cooperative membership negatively affected soil fertility changes. Moreover, practicing fallow land use improved soil fertility changes on farms, while practicing conventional tillage using animals deteriorated soil fertility changes. The adoption of agroforestry practices positively affected changes in P and K and negatively affected SOM. Overall, this study highlighted the importance of institutional characteristics and sustainable land management practices to improve soil fertility. The policy implications of these findings for enhancing soil fertility on smallholder farms are: (1) increase the frequency of extension visits to share relevant information with farmers; and (2) incentivize farmers to adopt agroforestry and fallowing practices on their farms.