Can Farmers’ Satisfaction with Green Production Policies Be Explained by Policy Structure and Policy Implementation? Evidence from China

Abstract

The implementation of green production policies (GPPs) is an important guarantee to improve the utilization of agricultural resources and adapt to climate change and plays an important role in supporting and guiding farmers. The overall goal of this study is to explore the mechanisms of the impacts of policy structure and implementation on the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs. Data analysis was based on 1180 observations collected from a field survey in Anhui Province, China, in 2021. The results revealed that the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs is not high. Policy structure affects the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs, and there are differences in the impacts of agricultural service, financial, technical, subsidy, and supervision policies. The results also showed that a positive evaluation of policy implementation by farmers can significantly improve their satisfaction with GPPs, and there are differences in the effectiveness of evaluating the support intensity, degree of promotion, policy sustainability, and implementation effect. Further analysis revealed that the impact of policy structure on the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs is transmitted through policy implementation evaluation. The impacts of policy structure and policy implementation on the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs are heterogeneous in terms of gender, age, and education. Finally, some policy recommendations are proposed to construct GPPs for farmers across the entire industrial chain, increase policy promotion efforts, ensure the sustainability of policy formulation and implementation, and consider farmers’ subjective evaluations of policy implementation effects. The results of this study and the related policy recommendations can provide support for the formulation and optimization of agricultural GPPs in China and other countries.