The relationship between farm size and fertilizer use efficiency:Evidence from China

Low fertilizer use efficiency is commonly found in China’s agriculture sector. It is critical to understand the drivers of fertilizer use in order to increase fertilizer use efficiency(FUE). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between farm size and FUE based on farm-level data in China. The results suggest a positive farm size–FUE relationship. The estimated elasticities of farm size for rice, maize, wheat–maize, and rice–maize are similar, and the average elasticity of farm size is around 0.2. Statistically, a 1% increase in farm size is associated with a 0.2%increase in FUE. The positive effect of farm size on FUE is not due to the increase in yield, but the reduction in fertilizer use while keeping yield largely unchanged. The findings suggest that promoting the expansion of farm size may increase FUE, and thus reduce environmental pollution caused by fertilizer overuse.

Farm size and fertilizer sustainable use: An empirical study in Jiangsu, China

Inefficient use of fertilizer has caused serious environmental problems and unsustainable development of agriculture in China.To meet the increasing food demand in the future without damaging the ecological environment,Chinese government officially launched the Action Plan for the Zero Growth of Fertilizer Use in 2015.At the same time,China released a series of policies aiming explicitly at expanding farm size and a great number of large scale farmers emerged recently.However,whether the expansion of farm size will be beneficial for the increase of fertilizer use efficiency still remains to be investigated.In this study,we comprehensively explored the relationship between fertilizer use efficiency and farm size.Based on the 4281 farm households’survey data collected by the National Development and Reform Commission(NDRC)of China from 2004 to 2016 in Jiangsu Province,China,this paper applies a stochastic frontier production function to estimate fertilizer use efficiency across farm size and uses a regression model to analyze the influence of farm size on fertilizer use efficiency.The results show that:(1)the average fertilizer use efficiency of whole samples was only 0.60,much lower than the average technical efficiency,indicating that on average half of the fertilizer utilized are excessive in China;and(2)the smallest farm size group get the highest fertilizer use efficiency score.We also provide some possible explanations for the inverse relationship between farm size and fertilizer use efficiency.

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Farm Size in China in Context of Rapid Urbanization

During the last 30 years,China has witnessed rapid economic growth and dramatic urbanization,with about 1.2 × 107rural people migrating annually into urban areas.Meanwhile,especially since 1995,the rural population has been declining,which is closely linked to land circulation and the increase in farm size in many villages.Increasing scale of farming operations is often regarded as a key to avoiding the abandonment of farmland and to increasing the income of rural farmers.However,until now,there has been little research on the spatial and temporal variability of farm size at the national level in China.Using data from the national agricultural census and rural household surveys,this study examines the characteristics of land use circulation and the consequent changes in the area of farmland per household.The results show that: 1) 12.2% of rural households were involved in land circulation at the national level.The highest amounts of land circulation have occurred in those provinces where the farmland per capita is more than 0.2 ha or less than 0.1 ha;2) over 80% of households operate less than 0.6 ha of farmland;3) the proportion of mid-sized farms(between 0.2 ha and 0.6 ha per household) has decreased while the smallest and the largest farms have increased.This bears some similarity with the phenomenon known as the ′disappearing middle′,referring to the changes in farm size.This study establishes a framework for interpreting the factors affecting the changes in farm size in China,which include two promoting factors(urbanization and agriculture) and four hindering factors(agricultual land system,household registration,stable clan system,and farmland loss).

Factors affecting the adoption of on-farm milk safety measures in Northern China-An examination from the perspective of farm size and production type

The cow stock of smallholder farmers with less than 100 cows still accounted for nearly 50% of total cows in China. Since the milk scandal occurred in 2008, raw milk safety has become focus for the sound development of the Chinese dairy industry. Adoption of on-farm milk safety measures by smallholders is a key for ensuring milk safety, and these measures are largely voluntary in nature. The recent survey conducted in northern China reveals that an overall adoption rate of various milk safety measures by smallholders is close to 48% with wide variations across the dairy farmers. We employ the Poisson regression model to study the determinants of farmers' adoption of voluntary milk safety measures. Compared with backyard dairy farmers, dairy complex and scaled dairy farms adopted more milk safety measures. Moreover, the empirical result indicates that farmers' adoption of raw milk safety measures is positively affected by farm size. These findings suggest that the changing dairy production structure towards larger farms and away from backyard dairy farming prompts smallholder dairy farmers to adopt more raw milk safety measures. This lends some support to the role of recent policy initiatives towards larger farms and away from backyard dairy farming on increasing the farmers' milk safety practices and reducing on-farm incidence of milk safety.

The Effect of Land Degradation on Farm Size Dynamics and Crop-Livestock Farming System in Ethiopia: A Review

Ethiopia is among the poorest countries in which poverty, land and resource degradation appear to feed off each other. The irony is that Ethiopia is a country with high biodiversity and distinctive ecosystems and the natural resource base is critical to the economy and the livelihood of a high percentage of the population. Being the owner of varying agro ecology, the country’s agricultural production system had practiced for decades with a maximum potential. However, because of the presence of interrelated problems, the productivity had not sustained as its potential. From the interrelated problems, land degradation takes the first and challengeable problem in many countries. Land degradation refers to a temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land, or its potential for environmental management as a result;the long-term biological and environmental potential of the land has been compromised. Land degradation in the Ethiopian highlands (i.e. areas above 1500 m.a.s.l.) has been a concern for many years and is a great threat for the future that requires great effort and resources to ameliorate. It had adverse effect on lowering of livestock production by shrinking grazing land, the fertile soil types were washed and the grazing land was dominantly covered by unpalatable pastures and grasses which had low nutritive value and fertility for crop-livestock production system. In other cases, degradation induces farmers to convert land to lower-value uses;for instance, cropland converted to grazing land, or grazing lands converted to shrubs or forests. Equitable and secure access to land is a critical factor for the rural poor, especially livestock owners, who depend on agriculture and animal-related activities for their livelihood. Having secure access to land for agriculture and pastoral activities reduces their vulnerability and enhances their opportunities to invest in land for agriculture and livestock activities. Historical patterns of feudal ownership of land followed by government ownership and despite policy change uncertain status of land ownership. These land distribution and ownership patterns coupled with continuous fragmentations and degradation disrupt the balance between crop, livestock, and forest production. These things nowadays enforce Ethiopian farmers to put more land into crop production than working on livestock sector. Livelihoods are complex, dependent on animal and crop production based on land and water resources, with emerging market opportunities. And from year to year, the size of farms is getting minimized because of land degradation and segmentations, and these make a change in farm size dynamics and farming shift. Currently, there is a great scenario towards the land policy pattern and agricultural production system, which is the backbone of the country’s economy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review the effect of land degradation on farm size dynamics and crop-livestock production since the impact of these things is not well measured.

The Impacts and Causes of Land Fragmentation on Farm Productivity: Case Review of East African Countries

This report provides an overall assessment of land fragmentation problems in East Africa. Many parts of East Africa have become highly fragmented, putting development systems and activities in these areas at risk of complete collapse. Land fragmentation occurs when land gets converted for agriculture, industrialization, or urbanization, invaded by non-local plants, or enclosed for individual use and by subdividing farmlands into subsequent smaller units called parcels with varying average farm sizes. Fragmentation results from inappropriate agricultural development processes and ineffective land use planning that fails to recognize how farmland is used, and the importance of its interconnected areas. Insecurity of tenure and resource rights are key factors in making this possible. Land fragmentation is one of the key reasons why the ability of most resources in East Africa becomes scarcer, and those remaining become “privatized” by more powerful community members—keen to maintain their access to them. Such individualistic attitudes are new and disadvantage the poorest even further by affecting the traditional customary safety nets and agricultural outputs. Neither the government nor customary governance systems effectively protect resource access for the poorest. This review summary report identifies the key causes, measures, and implications, government interventions, and the common remedies to land fragmentation problems in the East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania including neighboring Ethiopia, and the Sudan. The findings indicated from 2005 to 2015, the population kept increasing for all the named countries in East Africa with Rwanda and Uganda having a substantial increase in population density. The study review further explores the trend in the performance of agriculture by average farm sizes within the intervals of five years by highlighting their strong linkages and found that the average farm size has declined drastically, especially for Kenya. This can only mean that small farms kept becoming smaller and smaller and that there were more small-scale farmers. The results further depicted that the major and commonly cultivated food crops among the East African countries include maize, sorghum, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, Irish potatoes, beans, peas, etc., with maize yields (Mt/ha) in 2003 for Uganda being the highest (1.79 Mt/ha) and the lowest in Rwanda (0.77 Mt/ha) respectively. Therefore, from the review results, recommendations are being made as to how the negative impacts of land fragmentation on agricultural productivity can be reduced or mitigated. One way is by community sensitization and awareness about the importance of land consolidation and its proposition on farm productivity.

Influences of large-scale farming on carbon emissions from cropping:Evidence from China

Reducing agricultural carbon emissions is important to enable carbon emission peaking by 2030 in China.However,China's transformation towards large-scale farming brings uncertainties to carbon emission reduction.This study quantifies the carbon emissions from cropping based on life cycle assessment and estimates the effects of farm size on carbon emissions using a fixed effects model.Furthermore,the variations of the carbon emissions from cropping driven by the changes in farm size in future years are projected through scenario analysis.Results demonstrate an inverted U-shaped change in total carbon emission from cropping as farm size increases,which is dominated by the changes in the carbon emission from fertilizer.Projections illustrate that large-scale farming transformation will postpone the peak year of total carbon emission from cropping until 2048 if the change in farm size follows a historical trend,although it is conducive to reducing total carbon emission in the long run.The findings indicate that environmental regulations to reduce fertilizer usages should be strengthened for carbon emission abatement in the early stage of large-scale farming transformation,which are also informative to other developing countries with small farm size.

The mechanism and heterogeneity of environmental regulations'impact on the technological progress of dairy farming

The study analyses the theoretical mechanism through which environmental regulation affects the dairy industry’s technological progress,with a particular focus on how the effect is conditional on farm size.Using the input–output data of dairy farms of different sizes from 2009 to 2019 in 10 Chinese provinces/autonomous regions in China and the quantitative measurement index of environmental regulation,the study estimates environmental regulation’s heterogeneous influences on the dairy industry’s technological progress by dynamic panel data models.The empirical results suggest that,first,environmental regulation has a U-type influence on the technological progress of dairy farming.The U-type influence means moving from pollution control’s high cost and low technology progress to the high profit and high innovation input generated by optimizing the breeding structure.Second,the promotion of dairy farming technology depends on farm size.The effect of environmental regulation on technological progress in moderately large-farms showed a U-type relationship.In contrast,the effect in free-range and large-size dairy farms showed a linear and positive relationship.The government should further strengthen environmental regulation based on advancing moderately large-farms in compliance with market mechanisms in the long run.Particular attention should be paid to the forms of environmental regulation so that dairy cattle breeding technology can break through the inflection point of the“U”curve as soon as possible and ensure the significance of the rising stage.Along the way,technical support should be provided for realizing environmental protection and economic growth.

Characterization of Farming Systems Using Land as a Driver of Production and Sustainability in the Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa

South African agricultural farming systems are characterised by a duality in which there exists large-scale commercial farmers and small-scale farmers. Large-scale commercial farmers, historically identified as capital intensive and characterized by the size of the landholdings, are considered as the main drivers of national food security. Small-scale farmers on the other hand are viewed as important drivers of food security at the household level. These two main farming systems can be found within the Vhembe district municipality of the Limpopo Province and are characterised differently according to land descriptors. The study used an analysis of primary data obtained from in-depth interviews and secondary data obtained from an agricultural database to identify and characterize large- and small-scale farming systems within the Vhembe district. The study examined the land resource namely farm size and land ownership, topography and soil description, rainfall and its variability and threats and hazards used under three different high value crop (HVC) commodities, macadamia nuts, mangos and avocado pears. The study further examined yield and income from farming as drivers of production that would ensure the sustainability of long-term food security at both national and household level. The study revealed that gender of farmers within the farming systems was predominantly (79%) male across all commodities. Age distribution results showed an aging population of farmers mostly (90%) above the age of 51. Communal land ownership was the dominant (74%) land ownership amongst participants. Yield is not solely dependent on farm size and requires consideration of a broader array of land management aspects. There was a strong, significant correlation between income and farm size. These factors have implications for sustainability of the two farming systems and illustrate how certain aspects of land as a driver of production such as land ownership, rainfall variability, yield and income from farming can impact sustainability.

经营规模、土地转入与化肥减量增效——基于全国4745个农户的调查数据

【目的】探索经营规模、土地转入与化肥减量增效的关系。【方法】基于2017年全国4 745个农户的调查数据,利用普通最小二乘和工具变量回归方法实证检验经营规模、土地转入对化肥施用强度和化肥利用效率的影响。【结果】经营规模对化肥施用强度有显著的负向影响,对化肥利用效率有显著的正向影响;平均来看,经营规模每扩大1倍将引致化肥施用强度降低30%、化肥利用效率提高14%。土地转入对化肥施用强度有显著的正向影响,对化肥利用效率无显著影响;转入土地农户的化肥施用强度较未转入土地农户高出14%。【结论】推动土地流转实现适度规模经营可以有效促进化肥减量增效;进一步保障土地流转的规范性和土地经营权益的稳定性将有助于促进转入土地农户降低化肥施用强度。

养殖地域和商品规格划分对大菱鲆营养及风味品质的影响

目的:以养殖大菱鲆为试验原料,研究养殖地域和商品规格划分对其营养及风味品质的影响。方法:以乳山(山东威海)、海阳(山东烟台)和绥中(辽宁葫芦岛)3个主产区及450~750,750~1250 g两种典型市售规格的养殖大菱鲆营养成分和风味物质为主要指标,采用主成分分析、正交偏最小二乘判别分析等方法,找出不同组别差异及用于区分养殖地域和商品规格的营养指标。结果:乳山和海阳地区养殖大菱鲆蛋白质和胶原蛋白含量显著高于绥中地区,绥中大规格组DHA含量占总脂肪酸含量的20.97%,显著高于其他组别;绥中地区养殖大菱鲆的肌肉苦味、咸味和甜味显著高于乳山与海阳地区,海阳地区的挥发性化合物种类较多,乳山地区次之,绥中地区最少。而对商品规格而言,大规格组胶原蛋白含量均显著高于小规格组;小规格组含量较高的挥发性物质有异戊醛和异丙醇等,大规格组含量较高的挥发性物质有异丁醇、2-蒎烯和四氢呋喃等。结论:可用脂肪、胶原蛋白、水分含量、总不饱和脂肪酸和灰分5个指标来区分不同养殖地域的大菱鲆。

稻田养殖扣蟹搭配不同品种鱼虾模式试验

为探究稻田养殖扣蟹(Eriocheir sinensis)过程中搭配不同品种对扣蟹、搭养品种及最终效益的影响,分别选择草鱼(Ctenopharyngodon idella)、南美白对虾(Penaeus vannamei)、泥鳅(Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)和黄颡鱼(Pelteobagrus fulvidraco)进行搭养试验。结果表明:扣蟹搭养草鱼模式下,扣蟹产量和草鱼产量均达到了所有模式下最高,分别为51.23 kg/667 m^(2)和19.29 kg/667 m^(2),但经济效益偏低,仅为292.1元/667 m^(2);扣蟹搭养泥鳅模式下,扣蟹产量处于较高水平,为49.97 kg/667 m^(2),同扣蟹搭配草鱼模式下的最高扣蟹产量无显著差异,同时泥鳅产量达到12.38 kg/667 m^(2),经济效益达到所有模式下最高,为358.5元/667 m^(2)。其次为扣蟹搭养黄颡鱼模式,最次为扣蟹搭养南美白对虾模式。该研究结论表明,稻田种养结合模式下以扣蟹搭养泥鳅所获得的经济效益最高。

中小规模牛场粪污无害化处理及资源化利用的探讨

当前,我国养牛业呈现出中小规模牛场和大规模牛场并存的格局。相对于大规模牛场,中小规模牛场的特点是粪污产量小且不稳定、缺少统一处理方式以及对粪污处理受经济条件限制,但中小规模牛场粪污对环境的污染问题同样不可忽视。现阶段牛粪污处理方法有堆肥系统、产品化系统、基质系统和沼气系统,需要根据当地的经济和市场条件,因地制宜地选择最适宜的粪污处理方法,并由政府进行技术的指导,从而充分解决中小规范牛场的粪污处理问题。

盘州市中小型生猪养殖场存在的问题与思考

近年,我国人民收入不断增长,国家也对于生猪养殖产业大力扶持,但中小型养猪场相比散养养殖场的猪更为密集,中小型养猪场相比于大型规模化养猪场在管理体系方面缺乏健全性。该文从盘州市中小型生猪养殖场的工作开展情况出发,探讨养殖场存在的问题,论述相关养殖技术运用及养殖场经营对策,希望为有关部门提供参考。

农地经营规模与农业生产率研究综述

农地经营规模与农业生产率之间的关系一直受到农业经济学领域的关注,在中国关注该问题具有很强的政策含义。本文通过综述和比较国内外关于农地经营规模与农业生产率关系的研究进展发现,由于学者对农地规模概念的理解存在差异,且在研究中选取了不同的指标衡量农业生产率,得到的研究结论不一致。此外,还发现已有研究往往从要素市场不完善、遗漏变量问题等角度对农地经营规模与农业生产率之间的经典的"反向关系"进行解释,但对于两者之间呈现的其他关系,学者的研究相对较少。对上述结论的解释意味着目前中国推行规模经营仍然需要考虑地区条件、市场发育特征等条件的差异而适度开展。进一步的研究还需要分析农村要素市场完善程度与开展农地适度规模经营的关系等方面展开。

土地经营规模对粮食生产的影响——基于中国十三个粮食主产区农户调查数据的分析

本文构建规模经营与粮食单产、"非粮化"之间的分析模型,利用国家统计局农村住户调查面板数据进行实证分析。结果表明,水稻和小麦的经营规模与单产之间呈U形曲线,但曲线拐点超过绝大多数农户的实际经营面积,样本位于拐点左侧,达不到最优规模,因此单产是随经营规模增加而递减的。玉米的经营规模和单产之间呈倒U形曲线,存在最优规模,而且最优面积为400亩左右。从经营规模与"非粮化"的关系来看,播种面积与种粮比例虽然呈倒U曲线关系,但是样本点位于曲线顶点左侧,即规模越大越倾向种粮。

栽培措施对烟田前期烟蚜和烟蚜茧蜂种群数量的影响

通过设置 5种类型烟田 ,研究了栽培措施对烟田前期烟蚜Myzuspersicae(Sulzer)和烟蚜茧蜂Aphidiusgifuehsis(Ashmead)种群数量的影响。地膜和耕作方式对烟田前期烟蚜种群数量均有显著影响。不同类型烟田烟蚜种群数量大小依次为桃园附近、纯作未覆膜、间作未覆膜、纯作覆膜、间作覆膜烟田。其中 ,桃园附近烟田烟蚜种群数量显著高于其它烟田 ,未覆膜烟田高于覆膜烟田 ,纯作烟田又高于间作烟田。地膜对烟田前期烟蚜茧蜂种群数量有显著影响。覆膜烟田烟蚜茧蜂种群数量高于未覆膜烟田。因此 ,烟田覆膜有利于降低烟蚜种群数量、增大烟蚜茧蜂种群数量 ;间作也能在一定程度上抑制烟蚜种群增长。

奶牛规模化养殖的可持续性评价

三聚氰胺事件发生后,社会各界开始认识到发展奶牛规模化养殖是提高原料奶质量,促进奶业可持续发展的重要手段。然而发展多大规模的奶牛养殖才是最具可持续性的这一问题仍具有争议。本文首先对我国奶牛规模化养殖基本情况进行分析,然后运用MESMIS方法从生产率、稳定性、适应性、公平性和自控力五个属性分别选取指标,构建了适用于奶牛规模化养殖可持续性评价的指标体系,最后将该可持续性指标体系应用于内蒙古地区18个奶牛养殖场,得出大规模养殖场的可持续性最高,小规模养殖场的可持续性居中,中等规模养殖场的可持续性最低的结论。据此提出两点政策建议:鼓励牧场模式的发展,促进养殖小区向牧场模式的转变;继续加大力度建设大型牧场,对中小型牧场提供管理、技术方面的支持。

返乡农户与长期农户的农业生产差异:生产规模与技术培训参与

基于7省2 293个农户的调查数据,分析长期农户、有务农经验的返乡农户和无务农经验的返乡农户在农业生产规模和参与技术培训方面的差异。结果发现,三种类型农户在务农年限、年龄、受教育水平及富裕程度等实际农业生产决策人特征和家庭特征上均存在明显差异。无务农经验的返乡农户的耕地规模显著大于其他两类农户,且该差异主要体现在适合大规模种植的农作物面积上。同时,无务农经验的返乡农户参与技术培训的积极性更高,但是不同类型农户的技术需求存在差异。

考虑风电场可调度性的储能容量配置方法

风电场出力的不可调度性给大量风电场接入后系统安全运行形成了巨大挑战。配套储能系统实现风电场可调度性是解决风电场接入问题的有效方法,基于风电场可调度性规划合理的配套储能容量成为必须解决的问题。本文对满足特定风电场可调度性置信度水平下储能系统规划方法进行了研究。首先采用持续预测方法获取全年风电场小时前预测出力数据,并依据风电场预测出力考虑配套储能容量最小化原则提出了一种调度策略。基于风电场可调度性和储能容量折中,定义风电场可调度性作为约束并利用非参数估计和曲线拟合方法生成储能功率和容量约束函数,以计入储能使用寿命的投资成本模型作为目标函数,利用遗传算法进行求解。最后,以风电场锂电池储能规划为例进行说明。