Toward Cleaner Production: Can Mobile Phone Technology Help Reduce Inorganic Fertilizer Application? Evidence Using a National Level Dataset

Research on the impact of internet use on fertilizer and pesticide inputs: Empirical evidence from China

Fertilizers and pesticides are important agricultural production materials. Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides can cause negative impacts such as decline in the quality of farm products and damage to the ecological environment. Increasing the efficiency of fertilizers and pesticides is an important step to accelerate the green transformation of agriculture. Using data from the 2015 China Household Finance Survey, this paper analyzes the impacts of Internet use on fertilizers and pesticides by farmers, and the mechanism behind the action with the help of the propensity score matching method and the instrumental variable method. The findings are: (1) Farmers who use the Internet have greater inputs of fertilizers and pesticides compared to farmers who do not use the Internet. (2) Farmers who do not use the Internet would have their inputs of fertilizers and pesticides increased by 21.9% and 47.7%, respectively, if they had used the Internet under the counterfactual hypothesis. (3) In the heterogeneity analysis, Internet use plays a positive and significant role in the inputs of fertilizer and pesticide in the eastern part of China, and Internet use has greater impact on pesticide inputs than on fertilizer in central and western regions. (4) Internet use has a positive and significant effect on fertilizer and pesticide inputs in both lower scale and higher scale operations, and a positive but not significant effect in moderate-scale operations.

Multidimensional poverty of persons with disabilities in China: An analysis of poverty reduction effect of employment services

Introduction

Disability is a global public health problem, and poverty due to illness and disability has always been a major problem and challenge for global poverty governance. In order to eradicate poverty, China has carried out a series of welfare reforms and employment interventions for people with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to examine the levels of multidimensional poverty of persons with disabilities aged 16-59 in China and the poverty reduction effect of employment services.

Methods

The Alkire-Foster (AF) method is applied to measure and decompose the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) of people with disabilities in this study. In order to make the results more robust, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and the combination of propensity score matching and difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) are used to study the effect of employment services on multidimensional poverty of the disabled.

Results

The results show that among persons with disabilities aged 16-59, about 90% are deprived in at least one dimension, and about 30% are in a state of severe multidimensional poverty until 2019. The contributions of deprivation in the dimensions of education and social participation are remarkably higher than dimensions of economy, health and insurance. In addition, employment services have a significant improvement effect on multidimensional poverty, which is reflected not only in the economic dimension, but also in the dimensions of education, insurance and social participation.

Conclusion

People with disabilities are generally in multidimensional poverty in China, and their abilities in learning and social integration are seriously inadequate. Employment services have played a great role in improving poverty, but the improvement has been different in different dimensions and different disability categories. These findings provide important evidence for recognizing multidimensional poverty of persons with disabilities and the poverty reduction effect of employment services, which will help to formulate more reasonable public policies to eradicate poverty.

Environmental effects of rural e-commerce: A case study of chemical fertilizer reduction in China

The economic effects of rural e-commerce have been fully discussed by scholars, but few studies focus on the environmental effects of rural e-commerce. This study takes the reduced application of chemical fertilizer in China as an example. On the basis of constructing the corresponding theoretical framework, we take the promotion of Rural E-Commerce Demonstration County (REDC) policy as a quasi-natural experiment, using the county panel data from 2000 to 2020 and the multi-period difference-in-difference method to excavate the influence of rural e-commerce on the fertilizer reduction. Our results show that REDC policy reduces the amount of chemical fertilizer applied in the county by 21%, which is unexpected. Our findings passed a series of robustness tests, including dealing with selective bias, eliminating other policy interference in the same period and placebo test. Based on the heterogeneity analysis of grain production and marketing regions and informatization level, it is found that the effect of fertilizer reduction by rural e-commerce is more impressive in the major grain production areas and counties with low informatization level. According to the theoretical framework, we use the mediating effect model to verify the transmission mechanism of marginal income improvement, mechanization and labor transfer. Therefore, we believe that policy designers can use e-commerce to promote farmers to adopt the production strategies of reducing fertilizer application. The findings and recommendations of this study may be relevant to other countries with free trading markets and e-commerce platforms.

Does Adoption of Honeybee Pollination Promote the Economic Value of Kiwifruit Farmers? Evidence from China

Honeybee pollination plays a significant role in sustaining the balance and biodiversity of sustainable rural development, agricultural production, and environments. However, little research has been carried out on the agricultural and economic benefits of pollination, especially for small farmers. This study investigated the adoption of honeybee pollination and its impact on farmers’ economic value using primary data from 186 kiwifruit farmers in three major producing districts, such as Pujiang, Cangxi, and Dujiangyan, in the Sichuan province of China. This study was conducted in two different steps: first, we used a bivariate probit model to estimate factors influencing honeybee pollination and artificial pollination adoption; second, we further used the Dynamic Research Assessment Management (DREAM) approach to analyze the influence of the adopted honeybee pollination economic impact. The results showed that: (1) growers with higher social capital, proxied by political affiliation, are more aware of quality-oriented products, and older growers tend to choose less labor-intensive pollination technology; (2) with the increase in labor costs, more kiwifruit growers would choose honeybee pollination, and more educated growers, measured by the number of training certificates, are more likely to adopt honeybee pollination; (3) the lack of awareness and access to commercial pollinating swarms hinders the adoption of honeybee pollination; (4) in addition to the economic benefit to producers, honey pollination also brings an even larger consumer surplus. This study suggests some policy recommendations for promoting bee pollination in China: raising farmers’ awareness and understanding of bee pollination through training, promoting supply and demand in the pollination market, and optimizing the external environment through product standardization and certification.

Does the Adoption of Mobile Internet Technology Promote Wheat Productivity? Evidence from Rural Farmers

The adoption of mobile Internet technology (MIT) in organizational systems is rapidly increasing. MIT has developed agricultural structures and dramatically altered farming activities to improve agricultural systems. MIT is considered one of the most essential technologies because of its huge impact on agriculture, economy, and our daily lives. In this study, we utilized sample data from 460 wheat growers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan to analyze the adoption of MIT and its impact on the promotion of wheat productivity. This study used the propensity score matching (PSM) technique to address probable self-selection bias. Existing research outcomes show that decision making, education, farm size, cooperative membership, gender, extension services, access to credit, weather forecast information, risk perception, market distance, and other factors significantly affect productivity and subsidy awareness agendas. However, outcomes signify that MIT adoption will have a significant positive impact on wheat productivity. This research concludes with a policy impact, emphasizing that it is essential to accelerate MIT adoption by wheat growers as a policy to enhance Pakistan’s agriculture or wheat productivity and food security.

Mobile Internet Technology Adoption for Sustainable Agriculture: Evidence from Wheat Farmers

Mobile internet technology (MIT) is considered a significant advancement in information and communication technology (ICT), due to its crucial impact on the financial system and social life. In addition, it is an essential technology to overcome the digital divide between urban and rural areas. In terms of agricultural advancement, MIT can play a key role in data collection and the implementation of smart agricultural technologies. The main objectives of this study were to (i) investigate MIT adoption and use in sustainable agriculture development among selected wheat farmers of Pakistan and (ii) examine the crucial factors influencing MIT adoption. This study selected 628 wheat farmers from four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK), Pakistan, for sampling. This study used a bivariate probit method for sampling wheat farmers. The analysis of wheat farmer’s data showed farmer’s age, farm size, farm location, and knowledge about Internet technology (IT) are strongly correlated with MIT adoption in sustainable agriculture development. Results showed on average, 65% of wheat farmers have mobile devices supporting these Internet technologies, and 55% use MIT in agricultural environments. Since the extant research on MIT adoption for agriculture production in Pakistan is sparse, this study helps advance MIT adoption-based studies. These outcomes may draw the attention of decision-makers dealing with IT infrastructure and agricultural equipment who can support farmers adopting MIT.

Can Cooperative Supports and Adoption of Improved Technologies Help Increase Agricultural Income? Evidence from a Recent Study

Global climate change may result in major environmental issues that have already affected and will continue to affect agricultural sector in the future. A continuing effort to utilize and adopt new agricultural technologies is necessary to mitigate climate change and increase agricultural income. Agricultural cooperatives are gradually being used in emerging countries to encourage improved technology and reduce food insecurity and poverty. This research analyses the influence of cooperative supports (CS) and technology adoption (TA) on agricultural income in Pakistan. It applied the propensity score matching (PSM) technique to evaluate the productivity on survey data from 498 wheat growers to conduct counterfactual analysis for farmers in Pakistan. In addition, a dual selection model (DSM) was applied to resolve the bias in sample selection caused by observed and unobserved aspects of survey data. The results showed that, contrasted with non-membership and non-adopters, growers who joined CS and TA could boost agricultural income by 2.78% and 2.35%, respectively. Stimulatingly, the influence of less-revenue farmers on agricultural income was more substantial than that of high-income farmers. Agricultural income of growers who attached cooperatives and adopted improved agricultural technology enhanced by 5.45% and 4.51%, respectively. These results, among others, emphasize the optimistic role of growing CS and TA in boosting wheat farmer’s income. The findings of the study showed strong relationships among education, age, skill, training, gender with CS and TA, and agricultural income. Overall, this study can be helpful in conducting similar studies in other emerging/developing countries for wheat or any other crop growers.