Data from: Farmer preferences for conservation incentives that promote voluntary phosphorus abatement in agricultural watersheds

Financial incentives are commonly used to promote voluntary adoption of agricultural best management practices (BMPs), but little is known about farmer preferences among alternative incentives. Using experimental procurement auctions, we evaluate how different conservation incentives affect farmer willingness to adopt BMPs that reduce phosphorus (P) runoff, a major driver of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. We rank incentives (e.g., payment, BMP insurance, tax credit, and certification price premium) by the cost per pound of P runoff reduction. Payments and tax credits that target high impact areas of the watershed are more cost-effective than untargeted price premiums for product certification. Farmers demand higher payments for contracts offering BMP insurance (i.e., protection against yield loss from BMP use) due to uncertainty about how the program will be implemented and the reliability of indemnities, as well as anticipated transaction costs associated with the program. Understanding farmer preferences for different types of conservation incentives is critical to design agri-environmental programs that engage more farmers and cost-effectively enhance ecosystem services.

财政激励（Financial incentives）通常被用于推动农业最佳管理措施（Best Management Practices，BMPs）的自愿采纳，但学界对农户在各类备选激励方案间的偏好却知之甚少。本研究采用实验采购拍卖方法，评估不同生态保护激励方案对农户采纳磷流失减排型BMPs的意愿影响——磷流失是伊利湖有害藻华暴发的主要驱动因素之一。本研究以单位磅磷流失减排量对应的成本为依据，对各类激励方案（如补贴、BMP保险、税收抵免以及产品认证溢价）进行排序。针对流域高影响区域的补贴与税收抵免方案，其成本效益优于无针对性的产品认证溢价方案。相较于其他方案，提供BMP保险（即针对因采用BMPs导致的产量损失提供保障）的合约，农户要求更高的补贴金额：这是因为农户对项目实施方式、赔偿可靠性存在不确定性，同时还需承担预期的项目相关交易成本。厘清农户对各类生态保护激励方案的偏好，对于设计能够吸引更多农户参与、并以更高成本效益提升生态系统服务的农业环境项目至关重要。