Exploring the relationship between plot size and fertilizer use efficiency: evidence from large-scale farming in China
China Agricultural Economic Review
ISSN: 1756-137X
Article publication date: 10 February 2022
Issue publication date: 9 August 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the relationship between plot size and fertilizer use efficiency (FE) in Chinese large-scale farming and searches for the underlying mechanisms that explain this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a household- and plot-level data set of large-scale production units (LSPUs) from Jiangsu and Jiangxi Provinces, the technical and fertilizer use efficiency of large-scale rice production is estimated by applying a translog stochastic frontier production function. The authors impose a monotonicity condition on the translog frontier using a three-step procedure to get theoretically consistent efficiency estimates. A beta regression model is then used to explore the association between plot size and LSPUs' efficiency in fertilizer application.
Findings
The average FE for the sampled plots is around 30%, which shows a large potential for LSPUs to reduce fertilizer use. A U-shaped relationship is observed between plot size and FE. The authors relate this non-linear pattern to the substitution of labour with capital-intensive technology and the efficiency differences in terms of farming performance between family and hired workers.
Originality/value
First, according to the authors’ knowledge, this paper is a first attempt to study the size–efficiency relationship focussing on fertilization practices of large-scale farming. The second contribution lies in the large-scale ranges of the plot-level data set. Third, efforts are made to reveal the mechanisms determining the plot size–FE relationship. Fourth, the authors provide guiding evidence for policymaking, as they show that the size of individual plots deserves equal attention in land consolidation decisions. Methodologically, this paper improves existing estimates of single-factor technical efficiency issued from a restricted production frontier model.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 71673144 and 71773046], the Specialized Research Fund for the National Social Science Fund of China [grant number 18VSJ060], the National Key R&D Program of China [grant number 2016YFE0103100] and the 111 Project (B17024). Special thanks go to the China Scholarship Council for supporting this research project.
Citation
Li, F., Feng, S., Lu, H., Qu, F. and D'Haese, M. (2022), "Exploring the relationship between plot size and fertilizer use efficiency: evidence from large-scale farming in China", China Agricultural Economic Review, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 527-546. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-02-2021-0043
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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