The Willingness to Accept Compensations for Reduction of Chemical Usage in Rice Production: A Choice Experiment Study

Abstract

This research investigates the factors influencing rice farmers’ willingness to accept compensations (WTAC) and estimates their preferences for reducing chemical usage by applying the choice experiment method (CEM) and a conditional logit model. Data were collected from 220 rice farmer households in Phrao district, Chiang Mai province. Included in the results are attribute and socio-economic factors that affect the farmers’ willingness to accept compensations. The attribute factors embrace an attribute of substituting organic fertilizers for chemical fertilizers, two attributes of substituting organic herbicides for chemical herbicides used, and two attributes
of substituting organic insecticides for chemical insecticides and a money support. Included in socio-economic factors are age of farmers, education level, farming experience, number of household labors, farm size, cost of chemical fertilizers and annual income. The empirical results relating farmers’ preferences for reducing chemical usage include that farmers will decrease 50% of chemical fertilizers used and increase 50% of organic fertilizers used if they receive 81.88 baht per Rai; they will decrease 50% of chemical herbicides used and increase 50% of organic herbicides used if they receive 69.00 baht per Rai; and they will decrease 75% of chemical insecticides used and increase 25% of organic insecticides used if they receive 95.00 baht per Rai.