从事有机农业对农民福祉的影响

从事有机农业的农民福祉得到改善是有机农业发展的前提条件。采用Narayan等提出的福祉框架,回顾了有关有机农业行为和支持该行为的公共部门措施对农民福祉影响研究的文献,以厘清从事有机农业与农民福祉间的关系。研究表明,农民有机农业行为对其收入、健康、社会关系、安全和自由与选择等福祉要素产生影响。收入是农民福祉的首要构成要素,但农民有机农业行为究竟是增加还是降低其收入,需要考察具体情境中产量、成本和价格的综合作用,没有一致性结论。农民有机农业行为对其社会关系的影响具有双向性,但它对他们的健康、安全和选择机会的影响是积极的。公共部门通过财政支付、支持合作、建立与完善有机认证制度和采购绿色化等措施支持有机农业,有助于改善有机农民的福祉。其中,财政支付是最重要的支持措施。研究认为不同情境的农民有机农业行为对其福祉影响的综合评价、农民有机农业行为与其福祉间因果关系的检验和公共部门有机农业政策对有机农民福祉贡献的检验,是今后研究的重要选题。

Impacts of farmers engaging in organic farming on their well-being

Improving the well-being of farmers is a prerequisite for the development of organic farming. Although some studies have discussed the relationship between farmers engaging in organic farming and their well-being in specific situations, the overall outline of their relationship is not clear. Based on the well-being framework proposed by Narayan et al., this article reviews the relevant literature on the impact of engaging in organic farming and public sector measures supporting it on the well-being of organic farmers, to clarify the existing acknowledge of the relationship between engaging in organic farming and farmers'' well-being. This research indicates that engaging in organic farming has an impact on farmers'' income, health, social relations, security, freedom and choice. Income is the primary component of farmers'' well-being, whereas whether engaging in organic farming increases or decreases their income needs to be examined by the comprehensive effects of yield, cost, and price. Thereby, there is no consistent conclusion. The impact of engaging in organic farming on farmers'' social relations is bi-directional, but its impact on their health, safety and choice is positive. The public sector supports organic agriculture through financial payment, supporting cooperation, establishment and improvement of organic certification systems and green procurement, which helps to improve organic farmers'' well-being. Among them, financial payment is the most critical support measure. Finally, the comprehensive evaluation of farmers engaging in organic farming in different situations on their well-being, the inspection of the causal relationship between farmers'' organic farming behaviors and their well-being, and the test of the contribution of public sector organic farming policies to the well-being of organic farmers are critical topics for future research.