Does farmland transfer promote green agricultural production? An empirical analysis of fertilizer and pesticide reduction

Abstract

Advancing green agricultural production is essential for achieving sustainable and ecologically responsible agricultural development. Farmland transfer offers a novel pathway for bolstering green agricultural production. Based on the theory of optimal resource allocation, this study theoretically analyzes the impact of farmland transfer on fertilizer and pesticide reduction and its transmission mechanisms. It also conducts empirical tests using multiple regression models with provincial-level balanced panel data from China for the period 2008–2021. The main results are as follows. First, farmland transfer can simultaneously reduce fertilizer and pesticide input intensities, indicating that it can promote green agricultural production. Specifically, for a 0.100 increase in the level of farmland transfer, fertilizer input intensity decreases by 3.30% on average, while pesticide input intensity decreases by 3.62%. Second, advancing large-scale management, facilitating agricultural mechanization, and promoting grain planting are the transmission mechanisms through which farmland transfer reduces fertilizer and pesticide input intensities. Specifically, for a 0.100 increase in the level of farmland transfer, the number of large-scale management subjects increases by 14.84%, while the levels of agricultural mechanization and grain planting increase by 0.001 and 0.024, respectively. Third, government environmental concern can have a positive moderating influence on the negative relationship between farmland transfer and fertilizer and pesticide input intensities. Fourth, the negative effect of farmland transfer on fertilizer and pesticide input intensities is stronger in major grain-producing areas and the Yangtze River Economic Belt than in other areas. Specifically, for a 0.100 increase in the level of farmland transfer, the reductions in fertilizer and pesticide input intensities in major grain-producing areas are 2.30 and 3.83 percentage points higher, respectively, than those in other areas. Similarly, in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the reductions in fertilizer and pesticide input intensities are 5.12 and 9.64 percentage points greater, respectively, than those in other areas. This study has valuable implications for adjusting farmland transfer policies to promote green agricultural production.