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<p>Sustained farmer participation is fundamental to the success of soil conservation initiatives in erosion-prone mountainous agricultural regions. The Three Gorges Reservoir area of China, characterized by steep terrain, ecological fragility, and a sensitive human–land interface, offers an instructive context for examining the drivers of farmer engagement in such programs. This study draws on two waves of repeated cross-sectional questionnaire surveys conducted in 2015 and 2022 to compare aggregate-level changes in farmers’ attitudes, involvement, and conservation practices. A random forest model was employed to identify key determinants of participation. Over the study period, farmers’ awareness of soil conservation, supportive attitudes, and perceived importance of the issue increased by 32.69%, 8.03%, and 2.19%, respectively. The proportions of farmers exhibiting moderate and high participation levels rose by 21.16% and 23.12% in the 2022 sample relative to 2015. The most pronounced increase in participation (49.9%) occurred during the planning and design stages of conservation programs. Farmers demonstrated a growing willingness to adopt soil conservation measures, with behavioral uptake following a distinct sequence: reverse-slope tillage, crop rotation or intercropping, slope-to-terrace conversion, hedgerow planting, and contour tillage. The random forest model achieved strong predictive performance, with a test-set accuracy of 0.825, weighted precision of 0.838, weighted recall of 0.825, and weighted F<sub>1</sub>-score of 0.82. Results indicate that having benefited from conservation programs, awareness of soil conservation, support for program implementation, and perceived importance of soil conservation were the most influential factors associated with participation. Despite gains in perceived importance, substantial scope remains for enhancing engagement. Accordingly, strengthening extension and training efforts, while tailoring program design to local natural, social, and economic conditions, is essential for further progress.</p>

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Farmers’ participation in soil conservation programs and its influencing factors:Evidence from the Three Gorges Reservoir area

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月29日

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  • Jie Wei,
  • Chengcheng Xia,
  • Min Wang,
  • Qiang Tang,
  • Minxin Song,
  • Xiubin He

摘要

Sustained farmer participation is fundamental to the success of soil conservation initiatives in erosion-prone mountainous agricultural regions. The Three Gorges Reservoir area of China, characterized by steep terrain, ecological fragility, and a sensitive human–land interface, offers an instructive context for examining the drivers of farmer engagement in such programs. This study draws on two waves of repeated cross-sectional questionnaire surveys conducted in 2015 and 2022 to compare aggregate-level changes in farmers’ attitudes, involvement, and conservation practices. A random forest model was employed to identify key determinants of participation. Over the study period, farmers’ awareness of soil conservation, supportive attitudes, and perceived importance of the issue increased by 32.69%, 8.03%, and 2.19%, respectively. The proportions of farmers exhibiting moderate and high participation levels rose by 21.16% and 23.12% in the 2022 sample relative to 2015. The most pronounced increase in participation (49.9%) occurred during the planning and design stages of conservation programs. Farmers demonstrated a growing willingness to adopt soil conservation measures, with behavioral uptake following a distinct sequence: reverse-slope tillage, crop rotation or intercropping, slope-to-terrace conversion, hedgerow planting, and contour tillage. The random forest model achieved strong predictive performance, with a test-set accuracy of 0.825, weighted precision of 0.838, weighted recall of 0.825, and weighted F1-score of 0.82. Results indicate that having benefited from conservation programs, awareness of soil conservation, support for program implementation, and perceived importance of soil conservation were the most influential factors associated with participation. Despite gains in perceived importance, substantial scope remains for enhancing engagement. Accordingly, strengthening extension and training efforts, while tailoring program design to local natural, social, and economic conditions, is essential for further progress.