A Questionnaire Case Study of Opinions of Chinese Agricultural Workers on the Coordinated Control of Emissions of Ammonia

Muxue Liang, Hong Liao, Yue Huang, Zifang Qiao, Chenchen Tan and Ruoxin Liu
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Muxue Liang: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Hong Liao: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Yue Huang: School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Zifang Qiao: School of Business, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Chenchen Tan: Energy and Environment Research Group, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Ruoxin Liu: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: So far, China’s particulate pollution control is principally focused on primary particles and sulfur dioxide from coal combustion. The contribution of ammonia emissions to particulate matter with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 microns (PM2.5) has been increasingly emphasized. As a world-famous agricultural country with 523 million farmers (2017, National Bureau of Statistics of China), approximately 70.0–90.0% of China’s ammonia emissions come from agriculture. With such a huge population, agriculture industrialization (socioeconomic policies and technology upgrades to reduce ammonia emissions from fertilizers and livestock) has a large potential but is more vulnerable to costs compared to other industries. We need a solution involving both economic benefits and environmental protection. For this purpose, we sent out an anonymous questionnaire consisting of 16 questions to 420 farmers and conducted a field visit survey in a rural area of Jiangsu Province. Through statistical analysis, we found that the use of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture, which are an important source of ammonia through volatilization, is normal (200/420 × 100% = 47.62% of farmers use such fertilizers). Among the 420 farmers surveyed, 90.71% of them have knowledge of air pollution from agricultural activities and 92.15% of them have certain understanding of agricultural industrialization policies, indicating that coordinated control of ammonia emissions can be achieved together with policy propaganda. Through factor analysis and correlation analysis, we find that the early propaganda of policies can help farmers to be more willing to accept the policies. The correlation coefficient between awareness of pollution and policy approval is 0.94, and that between policy publicity and policy approval is 0.95. Generally speaking, the promotion of policies is worth carrying out during the implementation process.

Keywords: particulate pollution; ammonia; agriculture; industrialization; emission reduction; factor analysis; correlation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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