Factors influencing farmers’ decisions on nitrogen fertilizer application in the Liangzihu Lake basin, Central China

• Published in: Environment, development and sustainability Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 791 - 805
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jin, Manske, Günther, Zhou, Pi Qi, Tischbein, Bernhard, Becker, Mathias, Li, Zhao Hua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.06.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agriculture; Agrochemicals; Application; Cereal crops; Coefficients; Corn; Crops; Data processing; Decision makers; Decisions; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Economic Geology; Economic Growth; Environment; Environmental Economics; Environmental Management; Farm income; Farmers; Fertilizers; Households; Infrastructure; Lake basins; Markets; Nitrogen; Off-farm; Polls & surveys; Productivity; Regression analysis; Regression models; Rice; Sustainable Development; Water pollution; Wheat; China; Chemical fertilizer; Farmers’ behaviour; Nitrate pollution; Fertilizer management; Overuse
• ISSN: 1387-585X; 1573-2975
• DOI: 10.1007/s10668-016-9765-z

Overuse of nitrogen (N) fertilizers in agriculture activities has caused severe water pollution in China. The lack of data at producer level hampers decision makers in the development and implementation of efficient policies to curb excessive N-fertilizer use. In a survey of 300 farm households in the Liangzihu Lake basin, we identified factors associated with farmers’ decisions on N-fertilizer use and application rate. Household survey and multiple linear regression models indicate that the average application rate in the study region is 229 kg N ha −1 , which exceeds the recommended rate for maximum profit for cereal crops (maize, wheat, and rice) in China of 150–180 kg N ha −1 . High N-application rates are associated with low farmland productivity (coefficient = −15.66, p  = 0.02), a high share of off-farm income (coefficient = 27.14, p  = 0.003), and a low education level of the household head (coefficient = −10.83, p  = 0.039). Neither physical infrastructure nor access to input markets appears to be related to N-application rates. It may be concluded that excessive use of N in agriculture of Central China is mainly a problem of insufficient awareness and high share of off-farm income.