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

Authors :
Jinyang Cai
Fengxiang Ding
Yu Hong
Ruifa Hu
Source :
Agriculture, Vol 11, Iss 10, p 972 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

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.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20770472
Volume :
11
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Agriculture
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.61fc4a4c428e4544a3b897c03f57c6b5
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11100972