Socioeconomic Factors Determining Fertilizer Use in China for Different Crops: Same Factors, Different Effects

Abstract

This study examines if the determinants of fertilizer use are the same across crops. Previous socioeconomic studies usually focus on all crops in total or one major crop. Only data from farmers on wheat–maize rotation are used to ensure identical sample. Results indicate differences in factors affecting fertilizer use between two crops. Design of fertilizer policy should take crop differences into consideration. Studies on the socioeconomic determinants of fertilizer use intensity usually analyze the total fertilizer use for all crops as a whole or focus only on fertilizer use for the main crop in the region. This article examines if the determinants of fertilizer use are consistent across different crops. Four years of panel data were collected from annual household surveys in Hebei province, China. The data include only households who practice wheat–maize rotation to generate an identical sample for comparing the determinants of fertilizer use in wheat and maize production (N = 1467). A fixed‐effects regression is used to estimate the effects of socioeconomic factors on the intensity of fertilizer use for wheat and maize, respectively, while controlling for unobserved effects. The results indicate that there is inconsistency in the determinants of fertilizer use intensity between the two crops. Labor availability, crop share in food consumption, and farming diversity affect fertilizer use intensity for wheat and maize differently. These findings suggest that crop type matters when examining the socioeconomic determinants of fertilizer use and that current and future fertilizer policies should take crop differences into consideration, for example when identifying potential target groups in fertilizer subsidy programs and development projects where fertilizer is distributed.