Agricultural Subsidy Policies Research Articles

The impact of agricultural insurance on consumer food safety: empirical evidence from provincial-level data in China

In the exploration of the efficacy of agricultural subsidy policies, agricultural insurance, as a key element of this policy system, has garnered widespread attention for its potential impact on consumer food safety. This paper delves into the influence of agricultural insurance on the safety of food consumed by individuals, based on provincial panel data in China from 2011 to 2021. The findings indicate that agricultural insurance significantly reduces the incidence of foodborne disease and enhances food safety. Mediating effect tests reveal that agricultural insurance effectively boosts food safety through two key pathways: promoting innovation in agricultural technology and reducing environmental pollution. Moreover, the analysis of moderating effects highlights that increased consumer confidence positively enhances the impact of agricultural insurance. Heterogeneity tests further show that in the provinces with higher levels of agricultural development and stronger government support for agriculture, the role of agricultural insurance in improving food safety is more pronounced. This research not only empirically verifies the effectiveness of agricultural insurance in enhancing food safety but also provides robust theoretical support and practical guidance for the precise formulation and effective implementation of agricultural subsidy policies, particularly agricultural insurance policies, offering significant reference value for policy-makers.

Unravelling the bidirectional impact of Chinese agricultural subsidy policy on agricultural efficiency and farmers' income through panel data analysis

Unravelling the bidirectional impact of Chinese agricultural subsidy policy on agricultural efficiency and farmers' income through panel data analysis

Adoption mode of agricultural machinery and food productivity: evidence from China

Many researchers argue that the adoption of agricultural mechanization services (AMSs) is an important way for smallholder farmers in China to engage in modern agricultural production. However, the impact of the adoption mode of agricultural machinery on food productivity remains under-analyzed. We investigate the links between the adoption mode of agricultural machinery and food productivity using data on 795 grain farmers collected from the North China Plain. The results indicate that, compared with service outsourcing (SO), self-purchase (SP) improves the technical efficiency of farms; however, it reduces the input efficiency of agricultural machinery. The channel of the effect is that, although SO can reduce the redundancy of agricultural machinery's input, the opportunistic behavior of AMS suppliers and labor supervision problems lead to a decline in agricultural machinery's operation quality. The impact of the adoption mode of agricultural machinery on food productivity is asymmetrical among different types of farmers. Large-scale and professional farmers benefit more from SP, whereas small-scale and part-time farmers benefit more from SO. The AMS is not perfect, and the Chinese government should pay close attention to the loss of technical efficiency in agricultural production caused by the opportunistic behavior of AMS suppliers. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the agricultural machinery subsidy policy and reduce the transaction cost of AMS.

Agricultural subsidies on common prosperity: Evidence from the Chinese social survey

Based on the data from the Chinese Social Survey (CSS) of 13,359 interviewed farm households, the paper systematically evaluates the impact of agricultural subsidies on the farmers' common prosperity by measuring the development of common prosperity from the aspects of “comprehensive” prosperity and “universal” affluence. The research draws the following conclusions: (1) Agricultural subsidies significantly raises the per capita income level of rural households, reduces income inequality between households, contributes to “comprehensive” prosperity and “universal” affluence, and realizes the goal of common prosperity. Also, this paper uses 2SLS, LIML, GMM, replacement and combination of variables, simultaneous quantile regression, and exclusion of outliers to test the robustness of the baseline regression results, which remains robust after a series of tests. (2) The effect of agricultural subsidies on the farmers' common prosperity will show obvious heterogeneity phenomenon due to the differences in the natural conditions, economic development level, policy environment and agricultural business scale of the region, which need to be treated differently. (3) The transfer of agricultural land plays a mediating role. Agricultural subsidies will encourage farmers to enhance the transfer of agricultural land, thereby raising incomes and reducing income inequality, which will help farmers to realize common prosperity. Part-time farming plays a moderating role. The lower the degree of part-time farming, the stronger the effect of agricultural subsidies in promoting the common prosperity of farmers. Our study gives innovative experience and ideas for improving the agricultural subsidy policy system, optimizing the structure of agricultural subsidies, and then using agricultural subsidies to more comprehensively promote common prosperity in rural areas.

Does the Agricultural Subsidy Policy Affect Chinese Grain Production?—Evidence from DID Model

Agricultural development in China has commanded much attention in the new era. This paper uses the DID model to analysis the relationship between agricultural subsidy policy and grain planting structure in China from two perspectives of macro and micro. The novelty of this paper is that we have developed a theoretical model to estimate effect of agricultural subsidy policy on the grain planting structure and explore its path of action. The empirical results of this paper show that the agricultural subsidy policy mainly changes the input of grain production of farmers from the aspects of technology and cost, which greatly motivates the farmers to increase the land input in grain production, and its grain planting area and its proportion will both increase.

How does internet use promote joint adoption of sustainable agricultural practices? Evidence from rice farmers in China

ABSTRACTClimate change and public health emergencies have severely threatened world food security. In response, the Chinese government has actively promoted sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) and emphasized the importance of integrated packages to enhance the development of high-quality agriculture. However, due to information failure, farmers’ adoption rate of SAPs is still very low. Meanwhile, internet use can effectively reduce the cost of information barriers and catalyze farmers to promote the joint adoption of SAPs. This paper aims to theoretically elucidate the logic of how internet use impacts farmers’ joint adoption of SAPs. Empirical analysis based on data from 844 rice farmers in southern China reveals that internet use can significantly promote the joint adoption of SAPs, and adoption behaviours are complementary across multiple technologies. Furthermore, internet use in the group of rice farmers with more farmlands or those receiving subsidies is more inclined to adopt SAPs jointly. These findings suggest that developing countries should prioritize public investment in rural internet infrastructure to facilitate joint adoption of SAPs through farmers’ internet use. The moderate scale of farmland usage and targeted agricultural subsidy policies can further enhance the effectiveness of ICT-based joint adoption of SAPs.

Impact of agricultural input subsidy policy on market participation and income distribution in Africa: A bottom-up/top-down approach

Previous literature on the effects of agricultural input subsidy programs on smallholder market participation has only focused on partial equilibrium analysis, while ignoring important general equilibrium effects. Therefore, this study fills this gap by highlighting the critical role of targeting in the implementation of the agricultural input policy in the Malawian context. Specifically, we establish a bi-directional link between a farm household model and a general equilibrium model in order to explore the spillover effects of the input policy on market orientation and income distribution. Based on the findings, the partial equilibrium analysis underestimates the effect of the input policy and neglects important heterogeneities between farmers. More importantly, we find that extending the program to farmers who are excluded from the cereal and/or labor markets can lead to higher market participation, economic growth, and a reduction in poverty. Our findings suggest better targeting to increase the impact of agricultural input policy on market participation.

Effects of direct grain subsidies on food consumption of rural residents in China

AbstractThe agricultural subsidy is an important policy instrument that aims to maintain food security and promote agricultural development in several countries. China introduced its first nationwide agricultural subsidy (i.e., the direct grain subsidy) for farmers in 2004. This study examines the impacts of direct grain subsidies on rural residents' food consumption patterns and nutritional intake on an individual basis. Based on a nationally representative sample of rural households from the National Rural Fixed Observation Points Survey data collected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China between 2003 and 2015, high‐dimensional fixed‐effects estimates show that the direct grain subsidy has boosted rural residents' grain consumption but reduced aquatic products, eggs, and dairy consumption in China. Specifically, an increase of 100 Chinese Yuan in per capita subsidies is associated with a rise of 14.94 g in daily grain consumption but a decrease of 0.57, 0.46, and 0.90 g in aquatic products, eggs, and dairy consumption, respectively. Furthermore, direct grain subsidies intensified rural residents' dietary imbalance and declined their dietary diversity. Observed dietary imbalance can be primarily attributed to the subsidy encouraging households' self‐sufficient grain consumption, leading to excessive cereal consumption and relatively lower consumption of meat, eggs, and milk. Our findings suggest that direct grain subsidies emphasizing the production of staple grains may inadvertently skew farmers' food consumption and nutritional intake, which may require consideration when evaluating the overall costs and benefits of agricultural subsidy policies. [EconLit Citations: D12, H20, I12, Q18].

Does the Policy of Decoupled Subsidies Improve the Agricultural Economic Resilience?—Evidence from China’s Main Corn Producing Regions

Various forms of agricultural subsidy policies often have a significant impact on the development of the agricultural economy and also shape the differentiated spatial pattern of regional agricultural economic resilience, while research on the evolution process of agricultural economic resilience and its influencing mechanisms is still very scarce. This study is based on the impact of China’s cancellation of the temporary corn storage policy on corn prices in 2016. By using an economic resilience analysis framework, we selected the indicators of total agricultural output value and disposable income of farmers to measure the agricultural economic resilience of various cities in Jilin Province and analyzed the characteristics and causes of the spatio-temporal change in agricultural economic resilience in Jilin Province from 2008 to 2021. The results show the following: (1) The transition from price and subsidy integration policy to decoupled subsidy policy helps to shape stronger regional agricultural economic resilience, but due to factors such as farmer policy dependence, low international corn prices, severe oversupply in the domestic corn market, and the suddenness of policy changes, there was a short-term decline in agricultural economic resilience in Jilin Province in the early stage of the decoupled subsidy policy (2016–2017), which rapidly increased after 2017. (2) The agricultural economic resilience levels of cities in Jilin Province showed different spatial differentiation characteristics at different stages within the study period, and the central region, as an important corn production area in Jilin Province, had significant changes in agricultural economic resilience. (3) During the execution of the price and subsidy integration policy, the enhancement of agricultural input capacity and agricultural output capacity helped to improve regional agricultural economic resilience; during the execution of the decoupled subsidy policy, the government’s support for agriculture and the potential of rural markets had a significant impact on the improvement of agricultural economic resilience. At the same time, the interaction and enhancement effect between influencing factors also had a profound impact on agricultural economic resilience.

Analysis of the Agricultural Subsidy Policy to Be Conducive to Food Security

China formulated a systematic and comprehensive agricultural subsidy policy at the beginning of the 21st century. Under the guidance of the policy, China's grain production has significantly improved. Nevertheless, with the emergence of factors such as the irrational supply structure of staple crops, the rise in importing cost of agricultural products, the chemicalization of grain production, and the degradation of agricultural resource carrying capacity, China's food security is under potential threat. Previous studies show several main factors, among which agricultural subsidy policy is vital for solving food security issues. Therefore, this study will analyse the current policy situation from the perspective of food security and policy suggestions. In terms of subsidy innovation, it is suggested to adjust the focus on subsidies based on a comprehensive concept of food security and increasing support for sustainable agricultural development and technology. The policy recommendations proposed in this paper are also consistent with agricultural development trends.

Can Farmers’ Satisfaction with Green Production Policies Be Explained by Policy Structure and Policy Implementation? Evidence from China

The implementation of green production policies (GPPs) is an important guarantee to improve the utilization of agricultural resources and adapt to climate change and plays an important role in supporting and guiding farmers. The overall goal of this study is to explore the mechanisms of the impacts of policy structure and implementation on the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs. Data analysis was based on 1180 observations collected from a field survey in Anhui Province, China, in 2021. The results revealed that the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs is not high. Policy structure affects the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs, and there are differences in the impacts of agricultural service, financial, technical, subsidy, and supervision policies. The results also showed that a positive evaluation of policy implementation by farmers can significantly improve their satisfaction with GPPs, and there are differences in the effectiveness of evaluating the support intensity, degree of promotion, policy sustainability, and implementation effect. Further analysis revealed that the impact of policy structure on the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs is transmitted through policy implementation evaluation. The impacts of policy structure and policy implementation on the satisfaction of farmers with GPPs are heterogeneous in terms of gender, age, and education. Finally, some policy recommendations are proposed to construct GPPs for farmers across the entire industrial chain, increase policy promotion efforts, ensure the sustainability of policy formulation and implementation, and consider farmers’ subjective evaluations of policy implementation effects. The results of this study and the related policy recommendations can provide support for the formulation and optimization of agricultural GPPs in China and other countries.

The impact of China’s new agricultural subsidy policy on grain crop acreage

As China is the world’s largest producer, importer, and consumer of agricultural products, the new agricultural subsidy policy has significant implications for the global agricultural market. We assess the impact of the new agricultural subsidy on the grain crops acreage by applying difference-in-difference estimation to the China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS) data. Results indicate that the new agricultural subsidy increases grain crop acreage. The results remain robust even after controlling for the effects from other policy measures. The study also identified the mechanism behind the subsidy’s effect. Namely, the new program encourages operators to increase their grain crop acreage by renting more land and increasing the share of grain crops grown. Regarding heterogeneity of the results, the subsidy policy has a more positive impact on grain crop growers than on mixed crop growers, it does not affect large farms (>100 Mu) and its influence is greater among operators in the Northern regions of China. Our findings are relevant for understanding the effect of China’s new agricultural subsidy policies and agrarian market reforms.

The impact of government subsidy and weather on environmentally sustainable investment decision for agricultural supply chain.

This paper studies the environmentally sustainable investment of an agricultural supply chain composed of a farmer and a company, under three subsidy policies which are the non-subsidy policy, the fixed subsidy policy, and the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) subsidy policy. Then, we analyse the impact of different subsidy policy and adverse weather on the costs of the government and profits of the farmer and the company. By comparing with the non-subsidy policy, we find that both the fixed subsidy policy and the ARC policy encourage the farmer to improve the environmentally sustainable investment level and increase the profit of the farmer and the company. We also find that both the fixed subsidy policy and the ARC subsidy policy lead to an increase in government spending. Our results show that the ARC subsidy policy has a significate advantage in encouraging the farmer's environmentally sustainable investment if the adverse weather is relatively serious, comparing with the fixed subsidy policy. In turn, our results also show that the ARC subsidy policy is more beneficial for both the farmer and the company than the fixed subsidy policy if the adverse weather is relatively serious, which then leads to a higher expenditure of the government. Therefore, our conclusion serves as a theoretical basis for governments to formulate agricultural subsidy policies and promote sustainable development of the agricultural environment.

The efficacy of a forward market for the agricultural sector in mitigating climate risk: A potential alternative to agricultural subsidies?

This study evaluates the viability of forward markets as an alternative to agricultural subsidy policies under climate risks. We assessed the impact of three distinct strategies, cost subsidy, minimum price subsidy, and forward contracts on farmers, consumers, and society. The findings reveal that cost subsidies generate superior advantages for farmers and society when crop yield uncertainty is minimal. Conversely, farmers accrue greater benefits by leveraging forward contracts instead of relying on government subsidies. These results underscore the need for policymakers to design subsidy policies tailored to specific agricultural contexts to ensure optimal benefits for all stakeholders.

The sensitivity of food security to agricultural input subsidies in Uganda

The agricultural sector plays a crucial role in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in developing countries, and smallholder farmers are significant contributors to food production. In Uganda, the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) program was initiated in 2001 to provide extension services and agricultural input subsidies to farmers. However, the program has faced criticism for its high levels of corruption, militarization, and political influence, as well as for its failure to reach its intended beneficiaries, and smallholder farmers. This paper aims to examine the contribution of smallholder farmers to food security and its sensitivity to agricultural input subsidies in Uganda, with a focus on the NAADS program. Additionally, it covers the evolution of agricultural input subsidy policy in Uganda from 1987 to the present and analyses the findings on the impact of these subsidies on smallholder farmer productivity and food security. The findings conclude that the NAADS program contributes less to the target beneficiaries, and its priorities do not align with the set goals. The study further suggests several recommendations for improving the program and addressing the issues facing smallholder farmers in Uganda.

The Effectiveness Assessment of Agricultural Subsidy Policies on Food Security: Evidence from China's Poverty-Stricken Villages.

This paper builds a theoretical model based on a representative peasant household in the neoclassical model, comprehensively considers three types of farmer households in China, and evaluates the effects of the agricultural subsidy policy under equilibrium conditions. Based on the two bottom lines of guaranteeing China's grain security and ensuring no large-scale return to poverty, this paper uses 2010, 2012, and 2014 tracking survey data from the Mutual Aid Fund for Poverty-Stricken Villages in China to construct an econometric model to evaluate agricultural subsidy effectiveness from the three aspects of farmers' total sown area, total grain output, and total income. The research draws the following conclusions: (1) Agricultural subsidies can significantly increase the sown area, grain production, and total income of farmers in poverty-stricken areas, which is conducive to improving the farmers' comprehensive capacity for grain production as well as income, and this conclusion remains valid after performing a series of robustness tests and solving endogeneity problems. (2) The effects of the agricultural subsidy policy are affected by natural conditions, economic development levels, and functional orientation of grain production in different regions, and they have divergent influences on farmers' total sown area, total output, and total income. (3) Agricultural subsidies boost farmers' willingness to cultivate grain, reduce land abandonment, and increase the total sown area, total output, and total grain income. The willingness to cultivate grain is an important mechanism that affects the effectiveness of the agricultural subsidy policy.

Spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of agricultural low-carbon economic efficiency in china

Developing low-carbon agriculture can effectively avoid the waste of natural resources, thus contributing to the long-term sustainability of agriculture. This study uses the Super-SBM model to measure agricultural low-carbon economic efficiency (ALEE) in China from 2000 to 2018, then analyzes the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics. Simultaneously, the influencing factors of ALEE are investigated using spatial econometric model. The results show that: (1) In terms of temporal evolution, the ALEE in most provinces is declined over time, with only a few provinces improving. The ALEE in China and the three regions all show an obvious “L” trend of decline first and then stability. (2) From the perspective of spatial differentiation, provinces in eastern region have higher ALEE, while those in central and western regions have lower ALEE. Hainan’s ALEE has an absolute advantage, while Shanxi is the worst. (3) China’s ALEE shows obvious spatial agglomeration characteristics of H-H and L-L agglomeration, which are further enhanced over time. The number of L-L agglomeration provinces gradually increases, indicating that China’s ALEE has not been improved significantly. (4) Economic growth level and Agricultural scientific and Technological progress have effectively improved the ALEE. However, Capital deepening, Government fiscal expenditure, Agricultural planting structure, and Agricultural disaster all have negative impacts. Rural electricity consumption also has a negative impact, but the impact is not significant. To accelerate the development of low-carbon agriculture, all regions must not only pursue a differentiated low-carbon agriculture development path, but also accelerate agricultural transformation, strengthen research and development, and popularize low-carbon agricultural technologies, reduce the input of traditional agricultural means of production, optimize the agricultural industrial structure, and adjust agricultural subsidy policies.

A Study on the Effects and Influencing Factors of Agricultural Support and Subsidy Policies from Big Data Computing and Analysis

Agriculture is the backbone of any country in any given situation. Without agriculture, it will be very difficult for any living being to survive. To increase productivity in agriculture, the farmers are dependent on government policies and subsidiaries provided to them. The policies and subsidiaries should support and encourage farmers to work hard and do some innovations in agriculture. In this research work, an agriculture dataset concerning the policies and subsidiaries of China is considered. The research proposed a subsidy distribution algorithm for evaluating the policies. The proposed model provided an accuracy of 98% in determining the research objectives. The study results revealed that procedural support for government subsidy policies and agricultural support is low. It is recommended to increase domestic policy to support agriculture.

Current Situation and Optimization Countermeasures of Cotton Subsidy in China Based on WTO Rules

Cotton plays an important role in China’s agricultural production structure and international trade; therefore, China has implemented a variety of cotton subsidy policies. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, WTO rules have become substantive constraints on its agricultural subsidy policy. Therefore, in order to prevent appeal cases of China’s cotton subsidy, in this article, we investigate the current situation and optimization countermeasures with respect to China’s cotton subsidies based on WTO rules. According to calculation of the level of China’s cotton subsidy support under WTO rules, it currently exceeds 8.5% of the cotton production value. Secondly, we estimate the change in cotton subsidy effect when the support level of China’s cotton subsidy policy is directly reduced to 8.5%; the results show that such a reduction would have a considerable impact on the production scale. However, due to the constraints of the political and economic goals of cotton subsidies, the Chinese government can only “box shift” subsidies by changing the subsidy method and object in order to comply with WTO rules. Finally, from the perspective of how to use cotton subsidies to improve the efficiency of production factors, the Chinese government should focus on optimizing the cotton subsidy policy according to three aspects: improving the Amber Box subsidies, expanding the Green Box subsidies and increasing the Blue Box subsidies so as to maintain the existing level of cotton subsidy support.

Research and Implementation of Association Analysis of Agricultural Insurance Based on Data Mining Algorithm

In order to establish the comprehensive competitive intelligence system of agricultural insurance companies, the process model of agricultural insurance competitive intelligence is constructed by combining data mining and process mining. The model is based on the relationship between data mining, process mining, and competitive intelligence based on analytic hierarchy process, and combines the current agricultural insurance subsidy policy, and the demand characteristics of competitive intelligence of agricultural insurance companies. Experimental results show that, among 11 secondary indicators, 6 indicators are rated above 4.0, that is, good grade or above, and 5 indicators score below 4.0, and still need to be improved. Prove data mining and the AHP algorithm can effectively improve the sustainability of agricultural insurance.