Abstract: Quality and safety ethics is an important governance mechanism in the quality and safety control of small farmers' agricultural products. However, the agricultural commercialization during the transformation era and the changing social structures make the ethical governance of quality and safety of small farmers face a dilemma, and whether morality and ethics can effectively constrain their quality and safety control behaviors has become unknown. Based on the survey data of 226 small farmers of mutton sheep in Wuwei City, Gansu Province, this paper employs a double scenario comparative analysis method to empirically study the governance effect of quality and safety ethics on the ethical behavior of sales of sick sheep by the farmers, the causes of governance failure and the influencing factors. It is found that quality and safety ethics have a relatively limited effect on the ethical behavior of selling sick sheep by the mutton sheep farmers. Farmers with loans and farmers in hollow villages are more likely to sell sick sheep contrary to quality and safety ethics. There exists a reverse relationship between the age and the quality and safety ethical perception of the farmers; and there exists a positive relationship between neighborhood evaluation, technical training, policy content publicity, high-quality-high-price belief of the farmers and their quality and safety ethical perception. And there exists a positive relationship between farmers' risk preference, income level, Party member status, participation in technical training and their actual quality and safety ethical behaviors.

Key words: small farmers, morality and ethics, quality safety, sick sheep for sale