Cognition of agriculture waste and payments for a circular agriculture model in Central China

An integrated model combining multi-layer cradle to cradle approach: cost effective, technically sound, and bioenvironmental cutting-edge agricultural waste assessment technologies are lacking; to address this gap, the study proposes circular agriculture model (CAM) to support an integrated, bio-based, sustainable and broadly applicable rural society. CAM is an innovative, quasi-public product, bio-commodity, and concept. This study uses survey data on the Chinese province of Hubei to consider the returning of crop residues to the soil and manure for compost or biogas production (first-generation biorefinery). It explores farmers' environmental understanding and their willingness to pay (WTP) under a “polluter pays” principle. Factors, including education, infrastructure, trust in family-neighbors, and environmental attitudes, have a significant effect on WTP. Moreover, income, sustainability-recycling behavior, environmental perception, perceived usefulness-easiness, and trust-in-government positively affect farmers’ WTP, whereas environmental attitude, intention, and selfishness have a negative effect. It, therefore, calls for the integration and cooperation of private, government, business, R&D and public welfare to value the combined rural traditions, religion, philosophy and belief, socio-psychological and altruistic values of local communities, which are essential for building trust and providing ecological security, tech spill-over, thereby indirectly helping farmers to restore their livelihoods.