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<p>Agricultural socialization services (ASS) are recognized as a key strategy for transitioning from smallholder farming to modern agriculture in developing countries. However, the environmental impacts of ASS remain unclear. This study investigates the impact of ASS on chemical fertilizer reduction drawing on survey data from 677 farmers in Hubei Province, China, collected in 2023. We apply the instrumental variable (IV) method and endogenous switching regression (ESR) model to address potential endogeneity issues. Mechanism tests are also conducted to explore the underlying pathways. Results show that ASS can reduce fertilizer consumption per unit of cultivated land&#xa0;by 6.9% and fertilizer expenditure by 36.1%. Mechanism analysis reveals three main pathways: First, ASS replace traditional manual fertilization with mechanized fertilization. This ensures a scientific fertilization process and improves fertilizer utilization through deep fertilization. Second, ASS apply professional fertilization technologies to field management, preventing over-fertilization. Third, ASS enhance farmers' environmental awareness, overcoming the technical barriers to green fertilization practices faced by smallholders. This promotes the chemical fertilizer reduction. The study also finds that the fertilizer-reducing effect of ASS varies with farmers' planting scale and fertilizer application type. These findings have important implications for promoting sustainable agricultural development globally.</p>

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The effect of agricultural social services on encouraging farmers to reduce fertilizer use: empirical insights from Jianghan Plain in China

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年6月4日

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  • Pujie Zhao,
  • Yumeng Huang,
  • Yang Bai,
  • Qiuyue Qi,
  • Qi Wang

摘要

Agricultural socialization services (ASS) are recognized as a key strategy for transitioning from smallholder farming to modern agriculture in developing countries. However, the environmental impacts of ASS remain unclear. This study investigates the impact of ASS on chemical fertilizer reduction drawing on survey data from 677 farmers in Hubei Province, China, collected in 2023. We apply the instrumental variable (IV) method and endogenous switching regression (ESR) model to address potential endogeneity issues. Mechanism tests are also conducted to explore the underlying pathways. Results show that ASS can reduce fertilizer consumption per unit of cultivated land by 6.9% and fertilizer expenditure by 36.1%. Mechanism analysis reveals three main pathways: First, ASS replace traditional manual fertilization with mechanized fertilization. This ensures a scientific fertilization process and improves fertilizer utilization through deep fertilization. Second, ASS apply professional fertilization technologies to field management, preventing over-fertilization. Third, ASS enhance farmers' environmental awareness, overcoming the technical barriers to green fertilization practices faced by smallholders. This promotes the chemical fertilizer reduction. The study also finds that the fertilizer-reducing effect of ASS varies with farmers' planting scale and fertilizer application type. These findings have important implications for promoting sustainable agricultural development globally.