Farmers' Perception of Sustainability for Crop Production on the North China Plain

A set of sustainability indicators for intensive cropping production is proposed, based on international experience. The set includes 12 indicators, categorized into production, security, protection, viability and acceptability-considered to be the five pillars of sustainability. A survey of farmers showed that their perceptions of protection were the weakest. Analysis of survey data with regression models showed that education level of household head, farm size and off-farm income are the significant factors influencing the farmers' perceptions. Promoting of education and extension services, also improving farmers' non-farm income and economic measures such as removal of subsidies, realistic water pricing and selective input taxes are recommended as the tools of policy intervention.