Farm size and pesticide use: evidence from agricultural production in China
China Agricultural Economic Review
ISSN: 1756-137X
Article publication date: 31 August 2021
Issue publication date: 19 October 2021
Abstract
Purpose
China is the world's largest consumer of pesticides. To increase the use efficiency and achieve more sustainable and environmentally friendly use of pesticides in China, it is crucial to understand why Chinese farmers use such a large amount of pesticides.
Design/methodology/approach
The relationship between farm size and pesticide use was investigated by using national household-level panel data from 1995 to 2016.
Finding
Farms that are small and fragmented lead to the use of large amounts of pesticides in China. For a given crop type, three factors contribute to a negative relationship between farm size and pesticide use: the spillover effect from the use of pesticides by other farmers in the same village, the level of mechanization and the management ability of farmers. The first two factors play important roles in the cultivation of grain crops, while the last factor is the main reason why farmers with larger plots of land use fewer pesticides in the cultivation of vegetables. In addition, the effect of agricultural machinery services on reducing the use of pesticides is currently limited, and the service system in China is still insufficient, which has been pointed out that it is also due to the prevalence of small and fragmented farms.
Originality/value
The authors investigate and compare the farm size–pesticide use relationship in both grain and cash crop production. Moreover, the authors systematically explore and explain how farm size is related to a reduction in pesticide use in the cultivation of grain crops and cash crops. These results can help to better understand the role of land scale in pesticide use, lay a foundation for the formulation of policies to reduce pesticide use and provide valuable knowledge about pesticide use for other developing countries around the world.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study is sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71603154, 71773076, 71973094, 72073087 and 72173085) and the 2019–2020 Doctoral Dissertation Scholarship for Rural Studies of Tsinghua University (201909). The authors would like to thank Huanguang Qiu from Renmin University of China, Zuomin Wen from Nanjing Forestry University, Xi Zhu and Xi Qu from Shanghai Jiao Tong University for their valuable comments and suggestions. The authors also thank the editor and the anonymous referees for valuable comments.
Citation
Gao, J., Gai, Q., Liu, B. and Shi, Q. (2021), "Farm size and pesticide use: evidence from agricultural production in China", China Agricultural Economic Review, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 912-929. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-11-2020-0279
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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