Attribution and causal mechanism of farmers’ willingness to prevent pollution from livestock and poultry breeding in coastal areas

Farmers’ willingness to prevent pollution is a fundamental factor in taking measures to improve the operation and management of smallholder livestock and poultry breeding (LPB) in coastal areas. Multi-dimensional measurement and attribution of farmers’ willingness will play a key role in promoting the sustainable development of LPB and related policy-making. In this study, a total of 121 survey questionnaires of the LPB farmers in coastal areas were distributed and collected. Additionally, a structural equation model was adopted to analyse the driving factors and causal mechanism of farmers’ willingness to prevent LPB pollution. The results showed that: (1) individual characteristics, environmental risk perception, health risk perception and government policy perception overall have significant and positive influences on farmers’ willingness; (2) health risk perception is over the economic factors, being the most important factor influencing the level of farmers’ willingness to prevent LPB pollution overall: it will be increased by 0.46% if health risk perception is increased by 1%; (3) two main causal paths influencing farmers’ willingness have been determined: (1) the perception of farmers’ changes in own body health and daily life caused by the LPB → health risk perception → farmers’ willingness to prevent the LPB pollution; (2) the perception of water pollution caused by the LPB → environmental risk perception → health risk perception → farmers’ willingness to prevent the LPB pollution. Therefore, acquisition of health and environmental knowledge via social training plays a dominant role in rising the LPB farmers’ willingness.