背景介绍：当前，包括中国在内的转型经济体国家已出现了化肥过量使用的现象，这不仅引起了农业面源污染和环境退化等问题，而且带来了经济的损失并威胁着人类的健康。随着新型农业经营主体在我国农业现代化和农产品供给中发挥着越来越重要的作用，如何以新型农业经营主体为载体提高化肥使用效率、减少化肥施用，对于双碳背景下实现农业发展绿色转型具有重大的战略意义。
题目：Exploring the relationship between plot size and fertilizer use efficiency: evidence from large-scale farming in China
摘要：
Purpose
This paper investigates the relationship between plot size and fertilizer use efficiency (FE) in Chinese large-scale farming and searches for the underlying mechanisms that explain this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a household- and plot-level data set of large-scale production units (LSPUs) from Jiangsu and Jiangxi Provinces, the technical and fertilizer use efficiency of large-scale rice production is estimated by applying a translog stochastic frontier production function. The authors impose a monotonicity condition on the translog frontier using a three-step procedure to get theoretically consistent efficiency estimates. A beta regression model is then used to explore the association between plot size and LSPUs' efficiency in fertilizer application.
Findings
The average FE for the sampled plots is around 30%, which shows a large potential for LSPUs to reduce fertilizer use. A U-shaped relationship is observed between plot size and FE. The authors relate this non-linear pattern to the substitution of labour with capital-intensive technology and the efficiency differences in terms of farming performance between family and hired workers.
Originality/value
First, according to the authors’ knowledge, this paper is a first attempt to study the size–efficiency relationship focussing on fertilization practices of large-scale farming. The second contribution lies in the large-scale ranges of the plot-level data set. Third, efforts are made to reveal the mechanisms determining the plot size–FE relationship. Fourth, the authors provide guiding evidence for policymaking, as they show that the size of individual plots deserves equal attention in land consolidation decisions. Methodologically, this paper improves existing estimates of single-factor technical efficiency issued from a restricted production frontier model.
来源：China Agricultural Economic Review，日期 2022年2月10日
第一作者：李芳，上海社会科学院生态与可持续发展研究所博士