Factors Affecting Farmers’ Environment-Friendly Fertilization Behavior in China: Synthesizing the Evidence Using Meta-Analysis

Hao Li, Huina Liu, Wei-Yew Chang () and Chun Wang
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Hao Li: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Huina Liu: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Wei-Yew Chang: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Chun Wang: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Excess fertilization is a major cause of agricultural environmental pollution. However, different studies attribute farmers’ fertilization behavior to different factors, hindering theoretical and empirical development. Using a meta-analysis of 64 empirical studies on Chinese farmers’ fertilization behavior, this study first systematically collects, combines, and analyzes the existing studies to identify the key influencing factors that may affect farmers’ environment-friendly fertilization behavior (FEFB) in China. A meta-regression analysis is further applied to explore how the effects of the factors identified have changed over time. The results showed that the key factors include gender, health status, risk attitude, family size, farm size, environmental concern, social norms, cadre status, and policy propaganda. Over time, the influence of family size, environmental concern, cadre status, and policy propaganda is stable; the influence of social norms gradually strengthens; and the influence of risk attitude weakens. Although household income and the proportion of agricultural income have no significant effect, their influence gradually increases and changes positively and significantly over time; hence, they may become important factors in the future. Our results provide important policy implications for policymakers and agricultural managers to develop appropriate strategies to reduce the usage of chemical fertilizers in China.

Keywords: environment-friendly; farmers’ behavior; fertilizer consumption; influencing factors; meta-analysis; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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