Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT), TH Köln-University of Applied Sciences, BetzdorferStraße 2, 50679, Köln, Germany.
Institute of Environmental and Water Studies (IEWS), Birzeit University, P.O. Box 14, Birzeit, West Bank, Palestine.
Environ Monit Assess. 2019 Mar 8;191(4):209. doi: 10.1007/s10661-019-7350-2.
In Palestine, open dumping and/or burning the waste, including agricultural waste, are prevalent practices resulting in emitting leachate and acidifying greenhouse gases. Composting the agricultural waste can reduce emissions and provide 'compost' as an organic fertilizer and soil amendment; yet, it has not been implemented at the national level. To develop a local marketing strategy for compost, this study views a need to identify farmers' perceptions and willingness of compost production and use in agriculture and examine various socioeconomic, agricultural, and individual factors shaping them. The case of Wadi al-Far'a watershed (WFW) is investigated, where farmers practice inappropriate waste disposal and overuse of agrochemicals. A semi-structured questionnaire is administered to 409 farmers through face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, Chi-square test, and binary logistic regression are used for data analysis. High acceptance level (84%) is disclosed among farmers in WFW for the hypothetical idea of producing and using compost. Farmers also have high, yet lower, willingness level (63.6%) of the more salient option of producing compost themselves and using it in agriculture. Tenure systems, large cultivated areas, rainfed irrigation, and lack of access to training sessions inhibit farmers' acceptance of the idea of compost production (overall p value = 0.000). Large cultivated areas and rainfed irrigation is also associated with farmers' unwillingness to produce compost, besides high household monthly income, animal or mixed animal-plant farming, experience in compost production, and use of pesticides (overall p value = 0.000).
在巴勒斯坦，露天倾倒和/或焚烧废物（包括农业废物）是普遍做法，导致渗滤液和酸化温室气体排放。堆肥农业废物可以减少排放，并提供“堆肥”作为有机肥料和土壤改良剂；然而，它尚未在国家层面实施。为了制定堆肥的本地营销策略，本研究认为有必要确定农民对农业中堆肥生产和使用的看法和意愿，并研究各种塑造这些看法和意愿的社会经济、农业和个人因素。调查了 Wadi al-Far'a 流域（WFW）的情况，那里的农民存在不当废物处理和过度使用农用化学品的问题。通过面对面访谈向 409 名农民发放了半结构化问卷。描述性统计、双变量分析、卡方检验和二元逻辑回归用于数据分析。在 WFW 的农民中，对生产和使用堆肥的假设想法表现出很高的接受度（84%）。农民对自己生产堆肥并将其用于农业的更突出选择也有较高但较低的意愿水平（63.6%）。土地保有权制度、大面积耕种、雨养灌溉以及缺乏培训机会抑制了农民对堆肥生产想法的接受度（总体 p 值=0.000）。大面积耕种和雨养灌溉也与农民不愿意生产堆肥有关，此外，高家庭月收入、动物或动植物混合养殖、堆肥生产经验和农药使用也与农民不愿意生产堆肥有关（总体 p 值=0.000）。
