Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Short supply chain participation, and agrochemicals' use intensity and efficiency: evidence from vegetable farms in China

Short supply chain participation, and agrochemicals' use intensity and efficiency: evidence from... Overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is a major policy concern for many countries. Chinese government has adopted many technologies and management practices to reduce their use. However, little is known about the effects of social-economic method such as short supply chain (SSC) participation. SSC is an important organizational innovation in fresh food supply chains aiming at directly connecting farmers and consumers. Closer relationships between farmers and consumers may result in production behavioral changes. Thus the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of SSC participation on agrochemicals application.Design/methodology/approachBased on the household level data collected from Jiangsu province in China, this paper employs an instrumental variable (IV) method to address the self-selection bias when we evaluate the effects of SSC participation on use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. In addition, this paper also distinguishes between growth inputs and facilitating inputs in the production function when we calculate the marginal production values of chemical fertilizer and pesticides.FindingsThe empirical results show that SSC participation significantly reduces chemical fertilizer use by 351 kg and pesticides costs by 1659 Yuan (RMB) per hectare, accounting for 43.4% of the average chemical fertilizer use and 49.4% of the average pesticide costs, respectively for Chinese vegetable farms. However, SSC participation still cannot improve the use efficiency of agrochemicals.Originality/valueThis paper uses both application quantities and allocation efficiencies of chemical fertilizer and pesticides to comprehensively evaluate the effects of SSC participations. The results will reveal the core role of SSC played in promoting sustainable development of Chinese agricultural sector dominated by small-scale farmers. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png China Agricultural Economic Review Emerald Publishing

Short supply chain participation, and agrochemicals' use intensity and efficiency: evidence from vegetable farms in China

Zhang, Xiaoheng; Yu, Xiaohua
China Agricultural Economic Review , Volume 13 (4): 15 – Oct 19, 2021
Download PDF
15 pages
Read Article

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/short-supply-chain-participation-and-agrochemicals-use-intensity-and-JYvj6yDhTG
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1756-137X
DOI
10.1108/caer-05-2020-0108
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is a major policy concern for many countries. Chinese government has adopted many technologies and management practices to reduce their use. However, little is known about the effects of social-economic method such as short supply chain (SSC) participation. SSC is an important organizational innovation in fresh food supply chains aiming at directly connecting farmers and consumers. Closer relationships between farmers and consumers may result in production behavioral changes. Thus the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of SSC participation on agrochemicals application.Design/methodology/approachBased on the household level data collected from Jiangsu province in China, this paper employs an instrumental variable (IV) method to address the self-selection bias when we evaluate the effects of SSC participation on use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. In addition, this paper also distinguishes between growth inputs and facilitating inputs in the production function when we calculate the marginal production values of chemical fertilizer and pesticides.FindingsThe empirical results show that SSC participation significantly reduces chemical fertilizer use by 351 kg and pesticides costs by 1659 Yuan (RMB) per hectare, accounting for 43.4% of the average chemical fertilizer use and 49.4% of the average pesticide costs, respectively for Chinese vegetable farms. However, SSC participation still cannot improve the use efficiency of agrochemicals.Originality/valueThis paper uses both application quantities and allocation efficiencies of chemical fertilizer and pesticides to comprehensively evaluate the effects of SSC participations. The results will reveal the core role of SSC played in promoting sustainable development of Chinese agricultural sector dominated by small-scale farmers.

Journal

China Agricultural Economic Review – Emerald Publishing

Published: Oct 19, 2021

Keywords: Short supply chain participation; Agrochemicals; Use intensity; Allocative efficiency; Marginal production values; Vegetables farms

References

  • Small participation in contract farming: comparative evidence from five countries
    Barrett, C.B.; Bachke, M.E.; Bellemare, M.F.; Michelson, H.C.; Narayanan, S.; Walker, T.F.
  • Central American supermarkets' private standards of quality and safety in procurement of fresh fruits and vegetables
    Berdegue, J.A.; Balsevich, F.; Flores, L.; Reardon, T.
  • Reactive nitrogen requirements to feed the world in 2050 and potential to mitigate nitrogen pollution
    Bodirsky, B.L.; Popp, A.; Lotze-Campen, H.; Dietrich, J.P.; Rolinski, S.; Weindl, I.; Schmitz, C.; Muller, C.; Bonsch, M.; Humpenoder, F.; Biewald, A.; Stevanovic, M.
  • Food safety improvements underway in China
    Calvin, L.; Gale, F.; Hu, D.; Lohmar, B.
  • Simple econometrics of pesticide use
    Chambers, R.G.; Lichtenberg, E.
  • Farmers' knowledge on pest management and pesticide use in Bt cotton production in China
    Chen, R.; Huang, J.; Qiao, F.
  • Pursuing sustainable productivity with millions of smallholder farmers
    Cui, Z.; Zhang, H.; Chen, X.; Zhang, C.; Ma, W.; Huang, C.; Zhang, W.; Mi, G.; Miao, Y.; Li, X.; Gao, Q.; Yang, J.; Wang, Z.; Ye, Y.; Guo, S.; Lu, J.; Huang, J.; Lv, S.; Sun, Y.; Liu, Y.; Peng, X.; Ren, J.; Li, S.; Deng, X.; Shi, X.; Zhang, Q.; Yang, Z.; Tang, L.; Wei, C.; Jia, L.; Zhang, J.; He, M.; Tong, Y.; Tang, Q.; Zhong, X.; Liu, Z.; Cao, N.; Kou, C.; Ying, H.; Yin, Y.; Jiao, X.; Zhang, Q.; Fan, M.; Jiang, R.; Zhang, F.; Dou, Z.
  • Consumers' sense of farmers' markets: tasting sustainability or, just purchasing food?
    Giampietri, E.; Koemle, D.; Yu, X.; Finco, A.
  • Integrating agronomic principles into production function specification: a dichotomy of growth inputs and facilitating inputs
    Guan, Z.; Lansink, A.O.; Ittersum, M.V.; Wossink, A.
  • Opening spaces through relocalization: locating potential resistance in the weaknesses of the global food system
    Hendrickson, M.; Heffernan, W.
  • Allocation efficiency in a traditional Indian agriculture
    Hopper, W.D.
  • Study on farmer's application of chemical fertilizer from the perspective of factor substitution-based on the household data of national rural fixed observation point
    Hu, H.; Yang, Y.
  • Long-Term ozone exposure and mortality
    Jerrett, M.; Burnett, R.T.; Pope, C.A.; Ito, K.; Thurston, G.; Krewski, D.; Shi, Y.; Calle, E.; Thun, M.
  • Reducing China's fertilizer use by increasing farm size
    Ju, X.; Gu, B.; Wu, Y.; Galloway, J.N.
  • Do production contracts raise farm productivity an instrumental variables approach
    Key, N.; McBride, W.D.
  • Alternative strategies in the UK agro-food system: interrogating the alterity of farmers' markets
    Kirwan, J.
  • Short food supply chain and local food systems in the EU. A state of play of their socio-economic characteristics
    Kneafsey, M.; Venn, L.; Schmutz, U.; Balazs, B.; Trenchard, L.; Eyden-Wood, T.; Bos, E.; Sutton, G.; Blackett, M.
  • An analysis of China's fertilizer policies: impacts on the industry, food security, and the environment
    Li, Y.; Zhang, W.; Ma, L.; Huang, G.; Oenema, O.; Zhang, F.; Dou, Z.
  • The econometrics of damage control: why specification matters
    Lichtenberg, E.; Zilberman, D.
  • Protecting the environment and public health from pesticides
    Liu, Y.; Liu, F.; Pan, X.; Li, J.
  • Kenyan supermarkets, emerging middle-class horticultural farmers, and employment impacts on the rural poor
    Neven, D.; Odera, M.M.; Reardon, T.; Wang, H.
  • Environmental costs of China's food security
    Norse, D.; Ju, X.
  • The von Liebig hypothesis
    Paris, Q.
  • Farmer participation in supermarket channels, production technology, and efficiency: the case of vegetables in Kenya
    Rao, E.J.O.; Brummer, B.; Qaim, M.
  • Crop allocation and increasing returns to fertilizer use in China
    Sun, F.; Abler, D.; Yu, X.
  • Rising cost of labor and transformations in grain production in China
    Tian, X.; Yi, F.; Yu, X.
  • Use of direct marketing strategies by farmers and their impact on farm business income
    Uematsu, H.; Mishra, A.K.
  • Economic impact of direct marketing and contracts: the case of safe vegetable chains in northern Vietnam
    Wang, H.; Moustier, P.; Loc, N.T.T.
  • The transition to modern agriculture: contract farming in developing economies
    Wang, H.H.; Wang, Y.; Delgado, M.S.
  • Policy distortions, farm size, and the overuse of agricultural chemicals in China
    Wu, Y.; Xi, X.; Tang, X.; Luo, D.; Gu, B.; Lam, S.K.; Vitousek, P.M.; Chen, D.
  • Can willingness-to-pay values be manipulated? Evidences from an experiment on organic food in China
    Yu, X.; Yan, B.; Gao, Z.
  • Willingness to pay for the ‘green food’ in China
    Yu, X.; Gao, Z.; Zeng, Y.
  • Managing nitrogen for sustainable development
    Zhang, X.; Davidson, E.A.; Mauzerall, D.L.; Searchinger, T.D.; Dumas, P.; Shen, Y.
  • Changing structure and sustainable development for China's hog sector
    Zhang, X.; Chu, F.; Yu, X.; Zhou, Y.; Tian, X.; Geng, X.; Yang, J.
  • Short supply chain participation and market performance for vegetable farmers in China
    Zhang, X.; Qing, P.; Yu, X.
  • Farm size, inefficiency, and rice production cost in China
    Zhang, X.; Yu, X.; Tian, X.; Geng, X.; Zhou, Y.
  • Technical and environmental efficiency of hog production in China – a stochastic Frontier production function analysis
    Zhou, Y.; Zhang, X.; Tian, X.; Geng, X.; Zhang, P.; Yan, B.
  • Habit spillovers or induced awareness: willingness to pay for eco-labels of rice in China
    Zhou, J.; Liu, Q.; Mao, R.; Yu, X.
  • Direct intervention or indirect support? The effects of cooperative control measures on farmers' implementation of quality and safety standards
    Zhou, J.; Yang, Z.; Yu, X.; Li, K.