More Land, Less Pollution? How Land Transfer Affects Fertilizer Application.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Economics
• Environmental Science
• Agronomy

Background:

• Reducing chemical fertilizer use is crucial for mitigating agricultural pollution and enhancing food safety.
• The impact of land transfer on fertilizer application intensity remains theoretically uncertain, with potential for both reduction and increase.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically elucidate the mechanisms linking land transfer and fertilizer application intensity.
• To empirically verify this relationship using Chinese rural data.

Main Methods:

• Utilized fixed-effects and mediating effect models.
• Analyzed data from fixed rural observation sites in China (2011-2014).

Main Results:

• Land transfer significantly reduces fertilizer use intensity.
• Increased farm size, a consequence of land transfer, further decreases fertilizer intensity.
• The effect is significant for food crops but not cash crops.
• Impact is strongest in western China and negligible in eastern China.

Conclusions:

• Land transfer is an effective policy for reducing fertilizer intensity, especially in fragmented agricultural landscapes.
• Promoting land transfer can contribute to sustainable agriculture and improved food safety.
• Targeted interventions may be needed for cash crops and in more modernized agricultural regions.