Economic Analysis of Low-Input Agriculture as a Groundwater Protection Strategy

摘要

The objectives of the research were to: (1) identify technical, institutional,and financial barriers to the adoption of low-input agriculture as a groundwater protection strategy; (2) design alternative strategies to reduce barriers to the adoption of low-input agricultural methods; (3) estimate the effectiveness of the adoption of low-input agriculture in protecting groundwater quality in a case study context; and (4) estimate the first-round impacts on farm income, land and water uses, government revenues, sales of purchased inputs, and pollution resulting from widespread adoption of low-input agriculture. The work was conducted in Richmond County, VA. The results should be applicable to the grain producing areas of the mid-Atlantic coastal plain. Individual penalties on labor requirements, yields, and variable costs were not found to be substantial barriers to the adoption of low-input agriculture.