Contiguous cropping; Outsourcing; Plots of arable land; Technical efficiency; Agricultural productions; Arable land; Fertilisation; Moderating effect; Pesticide applications; Plot of arable land; Production outsourcing; Wheat production; Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment; Environmental Science (all); Strategy and Management; Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Abstract :
[en] Fertilizer and pesticide inputs (FPI) can provide the growth of wheat production while causing environmental pollution and agri-product quality decline. Agricultural production outsourcing has been introduced to solve the above-mentioned dilemmas. It is noteworthy whether agricultural production outsourcing can improve technical efficiency (TE) by optimizing resource allocation. The study aims to examine the effect of outsourcing of fertilization and pesticide application (OF and OPA) on TE. It also tests moderating effect of plot and contiguous cropping (CC) based on 1018 farmers from three provinces. The results demonstrated: (a) The cost OF and OPA had a negative and then positive impact on TE. (b) The moderating effects of plot and CC were tested. (c) Smaller-than-average groups were more sensitive to cost of the OF and OPA. The findings implied: (a) Negative effect of outsourcing can be mitigated by formulating a standard for application of fertilization and pesticide and developing an insurance market. Training should be provided so that farmers can choose the appropriate times of outsourcing. (b) High-standard farmland construction and CC are essential strategic orientation in agricultural development. (c) Farmers with different endowments should be guided to reasonably purchase OF and OPA, and subsidy should be provided.
Disciplines :
Sociology & social sciences
Author, co-author :
Zhang, Yingnan; State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Beijing, China
Yin, Yanshu ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Beijing, China
Li, Fuduo; State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Beijing, China
Duan, Wenjing ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Beijing, China
Xu, Ke; State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Beijing, China
Yin, Changbin; State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Beijing, China ; Research Center for Agricultural Green Development in China, Beijing, China
Language :
English
Title :
Can the outsourcing improve the technical efficiency of wheat production with fertilization and pesticide application? Evidence from China
We are very honored to be funded by Major Program of National Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of China (18ZDA048), and Green Farmland Construction and Agricultural High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin (TA-6626). Especially, the authors are grateful to editors and anonymous reviewers for their insightful and constructive comments.This study was funded by The National Social Science Fund on Major Program of China (18ZDA048).
Amuakwa-Mensah, S., Surry, Y., Association between rural electrification and agricultural output: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. World Dev. Perspect., 25, 2022.
Bandiera, O., Rasul, I., Social networks and technology adoption in northern Mozambique. Econ. J. 116:514 (2006), 869–902.
Benedetti, I., Branca, G., Zucaro, R., Evaluating input use efficiency in agriculture through a stochastic frontier production: an application on a case study in Apulia (Italy). J. Clean. Prod., 236, 2019.
Charnes, A., Cooper, W.W., Rhodes, E., Measuring efficiency of decision-making units. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 2 (1978), 429–444.
Deng, X., Xu, D.D., Zeng, M., Qi, Y.B., Does outsourcing affect agricultural productivity of farmer households? Evidence from China. China Agric. Econ. Rev. 12:4 (2020), 673–688.
Feng, Y.C., Wang, X.H., Liang, Z., Hu, S.L., Xie, Y., Wu, G.Y., Effects of emission trading system on green total factor productivity in China: empirical evidence from a quasi-natural experiment. J. Clean. Prod., 294, 2021.
Gailmard, S., Multiple principals and oversight of bureaucratic policy-making. J. Theor. Polit. 21:2 (2009), 161–186.
Guenter, S., Weber, M., Stimm, B., Mosandl, R., Linking tropical silviculture to sustainable forest management. Bois Forets Tropiques 314 (2012), 25–39.
Hallam, D., International investment in developing country agriculture-issues and challenges. Food Secur. 3 (2011), S91–S98.
Huang, W., Jiang, L., Efficiency performance of fertilizer use in arable agricultural production in China. China Agric. Econ. Rev. 11:1 (2019), 52–69.
Ji, C., Guo, H.D., Jin, S.Q., Yang, J., Outsourcing agricultural production: evidence from rice farmers in Zhejiang province. PLoS One, 12(1), 2017.
Khanal, U., Wilson, C., Lee, B., Hoang, V.N., Do climate change adaptation practices improve technical efficiency of smallholder farmers? Evidence from Nepal. Clim. Change 147:3–4 (2018), 507–521.
Kim, E.S., Deep learning and principal-agent problems of algorithmic governance: the new materialism perspective. Technol. Soc., 63, 2020.
Klasen, S., Meyer, K.M., Dislich, C., Euler, M., Faust, H., Gatto, M., Hettig, E., Melati, D.N., Jaya, N.S., Otten, F., Perez-Cruzado, C., Steinebach, S., Tarigan, S., Wiegand, K., Economic and ecological trade-offs of agricultural specialization at different spatial scales. Ecol. Econ. 122 (2016), 111–120.
Li, F.D., Yang, P., Zhang, K.J., Yin, Y.S., Zhang, Y.N., Yin, C.B., The influence of smartphone use on conservation agricultural practice: evidence from the extension of rice-green manure rotation system in China. Sci. Total Environ., 813, 2022.
Li, F.D., Zhang, K.J., Ren, J., Yin, C.B., Zhang, Y., Nie, J., Driving mechanism for farmers to adopt improved agricultural systems in China: the case of rice-green manure crops rotation system. Agric. Syst., 192, 2021.
Liu, Y., Ruiz-Menjivar, J., Zhang, L., Zhang, J.B., Swisher, M.E., Technical training and rice farmers' adoption of low-carbon management practices: the case of soil testing and formulated fertilization technologies in Hubei, China. J. Clean. Prod. 226 (2019), 454–462.
Lu, H., Hu, H., Geng, X., Impact of agricultural socialization service on agricultural technical efficiency: based on the perspective of land fragmentation. J. Zhongnan Univ. Econ. Law(6), 2020 69-77+159-160.
Lyne, M.C., Jonas, N., Ortmann, G.F., A quantitative assessment of an outsourced agricultural extension service in the Umzimkhulu District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 24:1 (2018), 51–64.
Ma, W.L., Renwick, A., Yuan, P., Ratna, N., Agricultural cooperative membership and technical efficiency of apple farmers in China: an analysis accounting for selectivity bias. Food Pol. 81 (2018), 122–132.
Mi, Q., Li, X., Gao, J., How to improve the welfare of smallholders through agricultural production outsourcing: evidence from cotton farmers in Xinjiang, Northwest China. J. Clean. Prod., 256, 2020.
Nakano, Y., Tsusaka, T.W., Aida, T., Pede, V.O., Is farmer-to-farmer extension effective? The impact of training on technology adoption and rice farming productivity in Tanzania. World Dev. 105 (2018), 336–351.
Picazo-Tadeo, A.J., Reig-Martinez, E., Outsourcing and efficiency: the case of Spanish citrus farming. Agric. Econ. 35:2 (2006), 213–222.
Prahalad, C.K., Hamel, G., The core competence of the corporation. Harv. Bus. Rev. 68:3 (1990), 79–91.
Qian, L., Lu, H., Gao, Q., Lu, H.L., Household-owned farm machinery vs. outsourced machinery services: the impact of agricultural mechanization on the land leasing behavior of relatively large-scale farmers in China. Land Use Pol., 115, 2022.
Qing, C., Zhou, W.F., Song, J.H., Deng, X., Xu, D.D., Impact of outsourced machinery services on farmers' green production behavior: evidence from Chinese rice farmers. J. Environ. Manag., 327, 2023.
Qiu, T.W., Shi, X.J., He, Q.Y., Luo, B.L., The paradox of developing agricultural mechanization services in China: supporting or kicking out smallholder farmers?. China Econ. Rev., 69, 2021.
Reerink, G., van Gelder, J.L., Land titling, perceived tenure security, and housing consolidation in the kampongs of Bandung, Indonesia. Habitat Int. 34:1 (2010), 78–85.
Ren, Y.J., Peng, Y.L., Campos, B.C., Li, H.J., The effect of contract farming on the environmentally sustainable production of rice in China. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 28 (2021), 1381–1395.
Sepehri, A., Sarrafzadeh, M.H., Effect of nitrifiers community on fouling mitigation and nitrification efficiency in a membrane bioreactor. Chem. Eng. Process.-Process Intensif. 128 (2018), 10–18.
Smith, A., The Wealth of Nations. 1776, Oxford University Press, New York.
Sun, D., Lu, Y., Tian, X., Impact of productive services on technical efficiency of paddy production in China. Chin. Rural Econ. 8 (2016), 70–81.
Tan, S.H., Heerink, N., Kruseman, G., Qu, F.T., Do fragmented landholdings have higher production costs? Evidence from rice farmers in Northeastern Jiangxi province, PR China. China Econ. Rev. 19:3 (2008), 347–358.
Tate, G., Mbzibain, A., Ali, S., A comparison of the drivers influencing farmers' adoption of enterprises associated with renewable energy. Energy Pol. 49 (2012), 400–409.
Tilman, D., Fargione, J., Wolff, B., D'Antonio, C., Dobson, A., Howarth, R., Schindler, D., Schlesinger, W.H., Simberloff, D., Swackhamer, D., Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change. Science 292:5515 (2001), 281–284.
Uphoff, N., Dazzo, F.B., Making rice production more environmentally-friendly. Environments, 3(2), 2016.
Wan, J., Zhong, Z., An empirical study on the impact of non-farm employment and agricultural productive services outsourcing on Farmers'Behavior of farmland transfer. Resour. Environ. Yangtze Basin 29:10 (2020), 2307–2322.
Wang, X.B., Huang, J.K., Rozelle, S., Off-farm employment and agricultural specialization in China. China Econ. Rev. 42 (2017), 155–165.
Wang, Y., Min, Q., Han, S., Understanding the effects of trust and risk on individual behavior toward social media platforms: a meta-analysis of the empirical evidence. Comput. Hum. Behav. 56 (2016), 34–44.
Watto, M.A., Mugera, A.W., Econometric estimation of groundwater irrigation efficiency of cotton cultivation farms in Pakistan. J. Hydrol.-Region. Stud. 4 (2015), 193–211.
Wauters, E., Bielders, C., Poesen, J., Govers, G., Mathijs, E., Adoption of soil conservation practices in Belgium: an examination of the theory of planned behaviour in the agri-environmental domain. Land Use Pol. 27:1 (2010), 86–94.
Yan, A., Luo, X., Huang, Y., Influence of socialized services on farmers' pesticide reduction behavior. J. Arid Land Resour. Environ. 35:10 (2021), 91–97.
Yang, C., Zeng, H., Zhang, Y., Are socialized services of agricultural green production conducive to the reduction in fertilizer input? Empirical evidence from rural China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Publ. Health, 19(22), 2022.
Yang, Q., Zhu, Y.J., Wang, J.W., Adoption of drip fertigation system and technical efficiency of cherry tomato farmers in Southern China. J. Clean. Prod., 275, 2020.
Yang, S., Cai, H., Impact of different links of agricultural machinery socialized services on the technical efficiency of grain production:Taking early rice as an example. J. China Agric. Univ. 25:11 (2020), 138–149.
Yang, X., Sang, Y.M., How does part-time farming affect farmers' adoption of conservation agriculture in Jianghan plain, China?. Int. J. Environ. Res. Publ. Health, 17(16), 2020.
Yin, Y.S., Zhang, Y.N., Li, F.D., Jiao, J., Lebailly, P., Zhang, Y., Yin, C.B., Driving mechanism for farmers' participation in improving farmland ecosystem: evidence from China. J. Clean. Prod., 380, 2022.
Zhan, J., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Z., Does land fragmentation hinder the implementation of agricultural production links outsourcing?. J. Nanjing Agric. Univ., 16(2), 2016 117-124+155-156.
Zhang, L., Luo, B., Agricultural chemical reduction: the logic and evidence based on farmland operation scale of households. China Rural Econ.(2), 2020.
Zhang, X., Yang, J., Thomas, R., Mechanization outsourcing clusters and division of labor in Chinese agriculture. China Econ. Rev. 43 (2017), 184–195.
Zhou, Y., Li, Y.M., Xu, C.C., Land consolidation and rural revitalization in China: mechanisms and paths. Land Use Pol., 91, 2020.
Zhu, L., Gu, D., Labor mobility,service outsourcing and grain technology efficiency: based on an empirical study of 2 058 farmers in Henan Province. Journal of China Agricultural University 26:8 (2021), 253–264.
