Technical Efficiency of Chemical Fertilizer Use and Its Influencing Factors in China’s Rice Production

Zhilu Sun and Xiande Li
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Zhilu Sun: Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Xiande Li: Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Low technical efficiency and excessive usage of chemical fertilizer in grain production is a problem commonly faced by China and many other developing countries, which leads to serious environment pollution and high environmental governance cost. China is the largest rice producing and consuming country, and several kinds of rice are grown in China and all of which are important edible grain. However, there has been no systematic research on kind difference and provincial difference of technical efficiency of chemical fertilizer use (TEFU) for rice production. Using the data of China’s 22 rice production provinces from the China Agricultural Product Cost-Benefit Compilation and the China Statistical Yearbook, this study measures the TEFU for early indica rice, intermediary indica rice, late indica rice, and japonica rice production by using a stochastic frontier production function (SFPF) model, and then analyzes TEFU’s influencing factors using a Tobit model and conducts the robustness check using a panel data fixed effect model. We found that, on average, TEFU for four kinds of rice production were improved significantly during 1997–2018, increasing by 67.70%, 39.93%, 14.76%, and 21.88%, respectively. TEFU for China’s rice production have significant differences among different kinds and production provinces, and still have large improvement potential. Government’s fiscal support to agriculture, agricultural labor productivity, agricultural mechanization, effective irrigation, and implementation of the “Soil Testing and Formulated Fertilization Program” (STFFP) have significant positive impact on TEFU; and natural disaster and fertilizer price have significant negative impact on TEFU.

Keywords: rice production; technical efficiency of chemical fertilizer use (TEFU); stochastic frontier production function (SFPF) model; Tobit model; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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