Sammanfattning

Relatively little research has been conducted to date on farmer attitudes towards the use of fertilisers from resource oriented sanitation systems. This study employed a psycho-sociological approach to identify factors that encourage, or discourage, negative and positive attitudes to human waste recycling among farmers in southern India. A survey involving face-to-face interviews was performed with 120 randomly sampled farmers, taking into account the following factors: gender, age, religion, caste, type of farming, farm size, annual income and farming history. Variations in variables (x(2) and ANOVA) were considered statistically significant if p-value was <0.05. When asked whether they thought human wastes could be used as fertiliser, of the farmers who expressed an opinion 59% were positive to re-use of urine and 46% to re-use of human faeces. Farmers in Vellore appeared to display what we term, a 'not-in-my-circle' syndrome, as they would prefer their neighbours to use human urine rather than their friends, family and colleagues. The main factors that motivated farmers to respond positively to re-use of urine Were improved soil quality and potential cost savings from reduced use of chemical fertilisers. Fear of crop die-off, fear of being ridiculed and uncertainty over consumer marketplace behaviour were significant factors among farmers with a negative attitude. Furthermore, the survey responses indicated that besides socio-demographic factors, other factors such as 'trust' might have to be taken into consideration when planning and implementing nutrient recycling programmes. Early dialogue, continuous interaction and integration of user stakeholders (producers and consumers) in conceptualisation, design and implementation of nutrient recycling programmes are essential to ensure future success and wider adoption. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nyckelord

Sustainable sanitation; Nutrient recycling; Survey; Faecophobia; Willingness-to-use; Psycho-sociological study

Publicerad i

Science of the Total Environment
2017, Volym: 581-582, sidor: 885-896

SLU författare

• Lalander, Cecilia

  • Institutionen för energi och teknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Vinnerås, Björn

  • Institutionen för energi och teknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Globala målen

SDG15 Skydda, återställa och främja ett hållbart nyttjande av landbaserade ekosystem, hållbart bruka skogar, bekämpa ökenspridning, hejda och vrida tillbaka markförstöringen samt hejda förlusten av biologisk mångfald
SDG12 Säkerställa hållbara konsumtions- och produktionsmönster


UKÄ forskningsämne

Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.044

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/82731