Can Collecting Water Fees Really Promote Agricultural Water-Saving? Evidence from Seasonal Water Shortage Areas in South China

Abstract

Under the influence of the extreme climate, South China frequently experiences a seasonally arid climate, resulting in seasonal water shortages, and threatening local food and water security. To cope with climate change, agricultural water-saving is inevitable. However, compared with the North, South China is rich in water resources, farmers’ water-saving awareness is weak, and most areas do not charge water fees, so it is difficult to promote agricultural water-saving; therefore, farmers’ agricultural water-saving behavior is worth discussing. Based on a survey and empirical analysis, this study identifies the key determinants of farmers’ agricultural water-saving behavior, particularly to verify whether collecting water fees helps to promote agricultural water-saving. A structured questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 660 farmers in South China with seasonal water shortage. A binary logistic regression model was used to examine the determinants. The results revealed that 15.30% (101) of farmers paid agricultural water fees, 26.97% (178) of farmers had agricultural water-saving behavior, and among these, 43.82% (78) of farmers paid agricultural water fees. The results indicated that water fee collecting, water resource dependence, agricultural water service satisfaction, and water-saving policy publicity positively and significantly influenced farmers’ agricultural water-saving behavior, while farm size and age of household head showed a negative influence. Results also revealed that collecting water fees can indeed promote agricultural water-saving in seasonal water shortage areas of South China. This study recommends that policy makers take measures to improve agricultural water charges policies, strengthen irrigation services, and increase the publicity of agricultural water-saving policies.