Local farmer demand for multifunctional agriculture along Jing-Cheng freeway

A survey was conducted on different demands from local farmers for multifunctional agriculture. 209 local participants in three townships along Jing-Cheng freeway were involved in the survey. Semi-structure interview method and participatory appraisal technique were used to collect data on different demands at different periods for multifunctional agriculture. The results show that social functions of agriculture are replacing traditional economics functions, and that farmers are generally losing interest in their farmlands. Different educational backgrounds of individual farmer impact demand for multifunctional agriculture. People who earn less tend to focus more on external control than their richer counterparts. Participatory appraisal techniques integrated with qualitative and quantitative methods is a suitable tool for multifunctional agriculture research.