Grain for green: cost-effectiveness and sustainability of China's conservation set-aside program.

摘要

Since 1999, China has pursued Grain for Green, a conservation set-aside programme to prevent soil erosion. This paper evaluates its cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Data were obtained in 2000 through a survey of 144 participating households from 16 randomly selected villages in Ningxia and Guizhou provinces. The results indicate that while the programme has made a clear attempt to retire plots that are susceptible to soil erosion, there is room for better targeting. The government may also be able to generate fiscal savings if the payments more accurately reflect the differences in the opportunity costs of each plot. The study finds that some farmers may reconvert the land back to cultivation after the programme ends..