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Does Fertilizer Education Program Increase the Technical Efficiency of Chemical Fertilizer Use? Evidence from Wheat Production in China

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  • Pingping Wang

    (College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Wendong Zhang

    (Department of Economics and Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, Ames 50010, USA)

  • Minghao Li

    (Department of Economics and Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University, Ames 50010, USA)

  • Yijun Han

    (College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China)

Abstract

Farmers in China and many other developing countries suffer from low technical efficiency of chemical fertilizer use, which leads to excessive nutrient runoff and other environmental problems. A major cause of the low efficiency is lack of science-based information and recommendations for nutrient application. In response, the Chinese government launched an ambitious nationwide program called the “Soil Testing and Fertilizer Recommendation Project” (STFRP) in 2005 to increase the efficiency of chemical fertilizer use. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of this program. Using data from a nationally representative household survey, and using wheat as an example, this paper first quantifies the technical efficiency of chemical fertilizer use (TEFU) by conducting stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), then evaluates the impact of STFRP on the TEFU using a generalized difference-in-difference approach. We found that STFRP, on average, increased TEFU in wheat production by about 4%, which was robust across various robustness checks. The lessons learned from STFRP will be valuable for China’s future outreach efforts, as well as for other countries considering similar nutrient management policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Pingping Wang & Wendong Zhang & Minghao Li & Yijun Han, 2019. "Does Fertilizer Education Program Increase the Technical Efficiency of Chemical Fertilizer Use? Evidence from Wheat Production in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:543-:d:199451
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    Cited by:

    1. Lin Xie & Zeyuan Qiu & Liangzhi You & Yang Kang, 2020. "A Macro Perspective on the Relationship between Farm Size and Agrochemicals Use in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, November.
    2. Danqi Luo & Gang Xu & Jiao Luo & Xia Cui & Shengping Shang & Haiyan Qian, 2022. "Integrated Carbon Footprint and Economic Performance of Five Types of Dominant Cropping Systems in China’s Semiarid Zone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Ma, Wanglin & Zheng, Hongyun, 2021. "Impacts of Smartphone Use on Agrochemical Use Among Wheat Farmers in China: A Heterogeneous Analysis," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314991, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Caixia Xue & Tingting Zhang & Shunbo Yao & Yajun Guo, 2020. "Effects of Households’ Fertilization Knowledge and Technologies on Over-Fertilization: A Case Study of Grape Growers in Shaanxi, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Zhilu Sun & Xiande Li, 2021. "Technical Efficiency of Chemical Fertilizer Use and Its Influencing Factors in China’s Rice Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, January.
    6. Dongdong Ge & Xiaolan Kang & Xian Liang & Fangting Xie, 2023. "The Impact of Rural Households’ Part-Time Farming on Grain Output: Promotion or Inhibition?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Wanglin Ma & Hongyun Zheng, 2022. "Heterogeneous impacts of information technology adoption on pesticide and fertiliser expenditures: Evidence from wheat farmers in China," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(1), pages 72-92, January.

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