A Study On Farmers’ Demands And Enterprises’ Supply Behaviors Of Soil Testing And Formulated Fertilization Technology

The development of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology is a critical way to solve the current problems of tightening agricultural resources and environmental constraints and the degradation of cultivated land quality in China.However,at this stage,the diffusion of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology in China is still slow.To be specific,although China began to promote the soil testing and formulated fertilization technology vigorously,as of April 2014,the area of the soil testing and formulated fertilization technology has reached 1.4 billion mu.Still the adoption rate of soil testing formulated fertilization technology is low,and the national technology adoption rate is less than 1/3.Analyzing the diffusion mechanism of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology,and analyzing the influencing factors of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology diffusion and adoption effect,are of considerable significance to promote the adoption of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology at the farmer level.Existing literature has carried out more research on the technology diffusion mechanism.Still,few works of literature have paid attention to the influence of the government’s technology extension kind on the diffusion and adoption of precision agricultural technology.Under different agricultural technology diffusion kinds,the speed of technology diffusion may vary.For example,in the survey sample of this article,the proportion of county that promotes one kind of formula fertilizer is different from that of county that promotes a variety of formula fertilizers.Moreover,the proportion of applying formula fertilizers is lower when a variety of formula fertilizers is promoted.Different government technology promotion kinds may have different impacts on the diffusion and adoption of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology.However,there have been few studies focusing on this.In the context of the differentiation of farmers and the acceleration of large-scale operations,motivating farmers to adopt soil testing and formulated fertilization techniques also needs to consider the differences of family endowments.Due to differences in family endowments such as capital and knowledge,different-scale farmers may show obvious heterogeneity in their decision-making on the adoption of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology.So why is there a difference in the spread of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology under different types of technology promotion?What is the theoretical mechanism behind this?Is it because different types of technology promotion have different effects on the effect of technology adoption?Or do different types of technology promotion have a differentiated impact on the needs of heterogeneous farmers of scale,which then affects the spread of precision fertilization technology?Or do different types of technology promotion have a differential impact on the production costs of enterprises,which then affects the adoption of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology at the farmer level?The answer to this series of questions requires in-depth systematic analysis and normative scientific demonstration.This paper builds a theoretical analysis framework for the diffusion of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology based on the cost and benefit theory and precise attributes of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology.This article uses different types of technology promotion as the entry point,starting from two aspects:benefit(ie,the effect of technology adoption,farmers’ willingness to pay)and cost(ie,enterprise supply)to study in-depth of the theoretical mechanism and constraints of diffusion soil testing and formulated fertilization technology.On this basis,this study will further use the soil fertility monitoring data,farmer survey data,and enterprise interview data to conduct empirical tests on the theoretical hypothesis and to sort out relevant policies and measures in countries with high rates of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology adoption.Besides,by calculating the costs and benefits of the soil test formulation technology,this paper is to further solve problems such as subsidies.This paper also summarizes policies and rules to provide a decision-making basis for promoting the diffusion of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology.The main research contents and conclusions of this article are as follows:Part 1:Describe the necessity of promoting soil testing and formulated fertilization technology in China and summarize relevant experience of developing soil testing and formulated fertilization technology in other countries.This chapter collects literature and data,and then finds,at present,the application of chemical fertilizers in China still has the problem of unreasonable application of chemical fertilizers,and compared with small-scale farms,the adoption rate of soil testing and formulated technology on large-scale farms is higher.Part 2:The impact of different technology extension kinds on the adoption effect of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology.This chapter uses the soil fertility monitoring data of Jiangsu Province for many years and cross-provincial farmer survey data,based on the dynamic panel model and Cobb Douglas production function model,to conduct an empirical analysis of the research content two.The results show that under different technology popularization modes,soil testing and formulated fertilization techniques have different effects on adoption effect.To be specific,this conclusion can be divided into two aspects as following.Firstly,compared with the application of traditional fertilizers,if the type of formula fertilizer promoted by the government is single,the use of formula fertilizer will not significantly improve soil fertility.Still,when the government advises more than one type of formula fertilizer,the application of formula fertilizer can balance soil nutrients and enhance the quality of the soil.As far as Jiangsu Province is concerned,the promotion of many formula fertilizers can significantly increase soil available potassium content and reduce soil total nitrogen content.Secondly,compared with the application of one type of formula fertilizer,when the government promotes a variety of formula fertilizers,the application of formula fertilizers can increase the yield of rice farmers and the income per mu of rice.Part 3:The demand,adoption and price impact of farmers on soil testing and formulated fertilization technology under different types of technology promotion.This chapter uses cross-provincial farmer survey data,and bases on the experimental economics,double hurdle model to conduct an empirical analysis of research content three.The research results show that for the sample area investigated in this article,compared with the promotion of one type of formula fertilizer,the farmers’ willingness to pay and the production cost both increase when a variety of formulated fertilizers is promoted.But the increase in the production cost of the company is even greater.And higher prices of formula fertilizers inhibited farmers’ adoption.Besides compared with small households,large-scale households have a higher willingness to pay for formula fertilizers with a more precise scope of application and a higher probability of adoption.Specifically,the conclusions of this study can be developed from the following two aspects.Firstly,under different technology promotion kinds,there are differences in the marginal willingness of farmers to adopt formula fertilizers.Compared with the government’s promotion of only one formula fertilizer throughout the county,respondents are willing to pay 0.653 yuan/kg to 4.461 yuan/kg for more accurate formula fertilizers.Farmers with larger land size have higher willingness to pay.Secondly,when promoting a variety of formula fertilizers,the main reason for the decline in the probability and degree of adoption of farm households is that the production costs of enterprises increase,and the price of formula fertilizers obtained by farmers increases,which has a significant negative impact on the adoption of farm households.Besides,when promoting a variety of formula fertilizers,there are differences in the decision-making between large-scale families and small households to adopt soil testing formulated fertilization technology.Compared with small families,large-scale households have a higher probability and degree of applying soil testing formulated fertilization technology.Part 4:Analysis of the reasons for the difference in the cost of soil testing and formula fertilization technology under different types of technology promotion.This article uses public statistical data,corporate interview data and related literature to analyze the fourth research content based on case analysis methods and cost-benefit methods.Research indicates:Firstly,in the survey sample area selected in this article,if the government promotes one type of formula fertilizer,the government does not need to subsidize the formula fertilizer price,but only needs to consider basic work costs,such as the cost of testing soil samples.If the government promotes multiple formula fertilizers,the government not only needs to consider the cost of basic work,but also needs to subsidize at least 1.308 yuan per mu to reduce the price of formula fertilizer,so that farmers can have incentives to apply formula fertilizer.Secondly,the production technoloy and policy are the reasons for the difference in production costs when a variety of formula fertilization is promoted.As far as the production technology is concerned.The characteristics of regional and small-batch demand for formula fertilizers make it difficult for large-scale fertilizer companies to achieve scale benefits,thereby increasing the production cost of formula fertilizers.In addition,the contradiction between the demand for diversified product formulations and the supply of singular products is also the main reason for the increase in production costs.As far as the policy is concerned.The current bidding model may cause a series of problems such as small government procurement,lack of suppliers and procurement experts,rent-seeking,and other problems,which will adversely affect the production cost of formula fertilizers.According to the above research conclusions,this paper obtains the following policy implications:First,when the agricultural sector promotes formula fertilizers,it is necessary to consider the characteristics of fertilizing according to local conditions,as well as the high cost of precise input and the negative impact of excessive varieties,and promote appropriate types of formula fertilizers.Second,in the process of granting subsidies,the government should focus on supporting large-scale households to enhance the directivity and effectiveness of the subsidy policy,but it also needs to consider the needs of small households to adopt soil testing formulated fertilization technology and handle the relationship between the two.Third,the government should increase financial subsidies to provide support for the research and development of precision farming technologies and related products.The high investment cost of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology is a critical factor that inhibits the adoption rate of this technology.With the advancement of technology,the cost of people adopting soil testing and formulated fertilization technology will gradually decrease,and the slow spread of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology will be eased.Fourth,promote land circulation and increase the scale of land.Fifth,regarding the formula fertilizer bidding policy,on the one hand,the bidding procedures should be strictly controlled to achieve transparency.On the other hand,to solve the current problems of small procurement scale,limited number of suppliers,and lack of professional talents,the tendering unit can be changed from the county level to a higher level.