An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China

Jinyang Cai, Fengxiang Ding, Yu Hong and Ruifa Hu
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Jinyang Cai: School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Fengxiang Ding: School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Yu Hong: School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Ruifa Hu: School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: In recent decades, pigs and pork have been the central elements of Chinese agricultural systems, food security, and diet. China’s rapid income growth has induced a significant change in food consumption patterns, and hog production has received utmost attention from both, the Chinese government and the public. While the impact of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) on crop cultivation has been widely studied, few studies have examined the impact of FFS on hog production. This study uses data collected from 222 hog farmers in Beijing to examine the impact of FFS on the productivity of hog production, focusing on its three main indicators: feed conversion ratio and the mortality of sows and piglets. We found that farms that participated in FFS programs significantly improved the feed conversion ratio of hog production, particularly in small scale hog farms. On average, FFS reduced the feed conversion ratio for herd sizes of 1000, 500, and 200 by 6.8%, 10.7%, and 14.0%, respectively. We did not find evidence that farms that participated in FFS programs had a significant impact on minimizing the mortality of sows and piglets. This study suggests that the knowledge training model of the FFS program could also work in fields other than crop cultivation. Furthermore, we suggest that more attention could be paid to extension services diffusing knowledge of vaccination and disinfection in hog FFS programs.

Keywords: farmer field schools; hog production; feed conversion ratio; sow mortality; piglet mortality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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