Large-Scale Grain Producers’ Application of Land Conservation Technologies in China: Correlation Effects and Determinants

The quality of cultivated land has been seriously degraded due to the overuse of chemical fertilizer in China. Land conservation technologies (LCTs) have been proven to effectively address land degradation and improve land productivity. In this study, a multivariate probit model is applied to empirically analyze the correlation effects and determinants of the application of LCTs application using cross-sectional data collected on 690 large-scale grain producers from the Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The sample farmers were individually investigated by face-to-face questionnaires in the field that included around 400 questions. The results revealed that there are significant complementary relationships among farm manure application, commercial organic fertilizer use, and green manure plantation, and between formula fertilization and straw returning. Regarding the determinants, highly educated farmers and farmers with a large farm size and high incomes are more likely to adopt LCTs. The land size variable shows an inverted U-shaped relationship with formula fertilization, with an inflection point at 153 mu (10.20 ha), while showing an U-shaped relationship with commodity organic fertilizer use and green manure plantation technologies, with the turning points at 207 mu (13.80 ha) and 124 mu (8.27 ha), respectively. The results also indicate that extension services from agricultural technicians, agricultural technical information, and policy knowledge variables have positive effects on the application of LCTs, while the subsidy policy variable does not appear to have the expected effect. To promote the application of LCTs, suggestions include improving the extension system, selecting targeted farmers for extension training, expanding environmental policy advocacy to increase farmers’ knowledge about land degradation, and adjusting subsidies