IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v153y2017icp181-189.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Preliminary analysis on economic and environmental consequences of grain production on different farm sizes in North China Plain

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Xiaolong
  • Chen, Yuanquan
  • Sui, Peng
  • Yan, Peng
  • Yang, Xiaolei
  • Gao, Wangsheng

Abstract

Due to rapid economic growth and dramatic urbanization in China in the recent 30years, the traditional model for grain production dominated by small-size household farms is gradually being broken, while large-scale farming is becoming increasingly common. However, the information on relationships of environmental and economic consequences of grain production on different farm size has been lacking. In this study, life cycle assessment and economic analysis are used to compare environmental and economic performance of wheat-maize double-cropping system on small, medium and large farm size in North China Plain (NCP). The life cycle assessment indicates that, compared to the small-farm, area-based environmental impact index (EIA) is decreased by 2.4% and 3.4% for the medium-farm and large-farm, yield-based environmental impact index (EIY) is increased by 14.3% for the medium-farm while decreased by 3.4% for the large-farm. The economic analysis shows that the yield-based profits (EPY) for the medium-farm and large-farm are 83.4% and 71.7% lower than that for the small-size farms but the expansion of farm size contributes to the improvement of incomes of workers and owners of the farms together. Generally, the potential environmental impacts of grain production on the same area farmland will possibly change due to the difference of farm size, but expanding farm size will not directly and obviously improve the potential environmental consequences of grain production in the NCP. The larger size farm earns the more net income annually, but the conventional small-farm has the better revenue at the point of yield-based profit. Moreover, a scenario analysis represented that the EIY and EPY for the medium-farm and large-farm would be improved by 1.1%–47.1% and by 11.1–267.3%, respectively, by improved fertilization, irrigation and machines practices. Clearly, the advanced agricultural practice is the key point to improve the environmental and economic consequences for grain production in the NCP. Therefore, it is not scientific to only emphasize the expansion of farm size but, meanwhile, not to promote the implementation of advanced agricultural practices for the environmental and economic consequences of grain production in the NCP.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Xiaolong & Chen, Yuanquan & Sui, Peng & Yan, Peng & Yang, Xiaolei & Gao, Wangsheng, 2017. "Preliminary analysis on economic and environmental consequences of grain production on different farm sizes in North China Plain," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 181-189.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:153:y:2017:i:c:p:181-189
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2017.02.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X16302372
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.02.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gucheng Li & Zhongchao Feng & Liangzhi You & Lixia Fan, 2013. "Re-examining the inverse relationship between farm size and efficiency," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(4), pages 473-488, November.
    2. van Calker, K. J. & Berentsen, P. B. M. & de Boer, I. M. J. & Giesen, G. W. J. & Huirne, R. B. M., 2004. "An LP-model to analyse economic and ecological sustainability on Dutch dairy farms: model presentation and application for experimental farm "de Marke"," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 139-160, November.
    3. Xuejun Liu & Ying Zhang & Wenxuan Han & Aohan Tang & Jianlin Shen & Zhenling Cui & Peter Vitousek & Jan Willem Erisman & Keith Goulding & Peter Christie & Andreas Fangmeier & Fusuo Zhang, 2013. "Enhanced nitrogen deposition over China," Nature, Nature, vol. 494(7438), pages 459-462, February.
    4. Jonathan A. Foley & Navin Ramankutty & Kate A. Brauman & Emily S. Cassidy & James S. Gerber & Matt Johnston & Nathaniel D. Mueller & Christine O’Connell & Deepak K. Ray & Paul C. West & Christian Balz, 2011. "Solutions for a cultivated planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 478(7369), pages 337-342, October.
    5. Xinping Chen & Zhenling Cui & Mingsheng Fan & Peter Vitousek & Ming Zhao & Wenqi Ma & Zhenlin Wang & Weijian Zhang & Xiaoyuan Yan & Jianchang Yang & Xiping Deng & Qiang Gao & Qiang Zhang & Shiwei Guo , 2014. "Producing more grain with lower environmental costs," Nature, Nature, vol. 514(7523), pages 486-489, October.
    6. Hu, Zhiyuan & Pu, Gengqiang & Fang, Fang & Wang, Chengtao, 2004. "Economics, environment, and energy life cycle assessment of automobiles fueled by bio-ethanol blends in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(14), pages 2183-2192.
    7. Zhuo Chen & Wallace E. Huffman & Scott Rozelle, 2011. "Inverse Relationship Between Productivity And Farm Size: The Case Of China," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 29(4), pages 580-592, October.
    8. Van den Berg, M. Marrit & Hengsdijk, Huib & Wolf, Joost & Van Ittersum, Martin K. & Guanghuo, Wang & Roetter, Reimund P., 2007. "The impact of increasing farm size and mechanization on rural income and rice production in Zhejiang province, China," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(3), pages 841-850, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xu, Zhan & Liang, Zhengyuan & Cheng, Jiali & Groot, Jeroen C.J. & Zhang, Chaochun & Cong, Wen-Feng & Zhang, Fusuo & van der Werf, Wopke, 2024. "Comparing the sustainability of smallholder and business farms in the North China Plain; a case study in Quzhou," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    2. Lin Xie & Zeyuan Qiu & Liangzhi You & Yang Kang, 2020. "A Macro Perspective on the Relationship between Farm Size and Agrochemicals Use in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, November.
    3. Zhai, Yijie & Zhang, Tianzuo & Ma, Xiaotian & Shen, Xiaoxu & Ji, Changxing & Bai, Yueyang & Hong, Jinglan, 2021. "Life cycle water footprint analysis of crop production in China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    4. Danqi Luo & Gang Xu & Jiao Luo & Xia Cui & Shengping Shang & Haiyan Qian, 2022. "Integrated Carbon Footprint and Economic Performance of Five Types of Dominant Cropping Systems in China’s Semiarid Zone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    5. Juanjuan Cheng & Qian Wang & Huanmin Zhang & Toyohiko Matsubara & Naoki Yoshikawa & Jin Yu, 2022. "Does Farm Size Expansion Improve the Agricultural Environment? Evidence from Apple Farmers in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-23, October.
    6. Guangcheng Wei & Xiangzhi Kong & Yumeng Wang, 2022. "Will Joining Cooperative Promote Farmers to Replace Chemical Fertilizers with Organic Fertilizers?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Thapa, Bhawna & Chapagain, Binod P. & McMurry, Scott T. & Smith, Loren M. & Joshi, Omkar, 2024. "Understanding landowner participation in the Conservation Reserve Program in the U.S. High Plains region," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    8. Ying Liu & Chenggang Wang & Zeng Tang & Zhibiao Nan, 2019. "Does Farmland Rental Contribute to Reduction of Agrochemical Use? A Case of Grain Production in Gansu Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, April.
    9. Javad Zare Derakhshan & Saeed Firouzi & Armaghan Kosari-Moghaddam, 2022. "Energy audit of tobacco production agro-system based on different farm size levels in northern Iran," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2715-2735, February.
    10. Ying Liu & Chenggang Wang & Zeng Tang & Zhibiao Nan, 2017. "Farmland Rental and Productivity of Wheat and Maize: An Empirical Study in Gansu, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-18, September.
    11. Cheng, Qingyue & Li, Liangyu & Liao, Qin & Fu, Hao & Nie, Jiangxia & Luo, Yongheng & Wang, Zhonglin & Yin, Huilai & Shu, Chuanhai & Chen, Zongkui & Sun, Yongjian & Ma, Jun & Li, Na & Yang, Zhiyuan, 2023. "Is scale production more advantageous than smallholders for Chinese rice production?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Bangbang & Li, Xian & Chen, Haibin & Niu, Wenhao & Kong, Xiangbin & Yu, Qiang & Zhao, Minjuan & Xia, Xianli, 2022. "Identifying opportunities to close yield gaps in China by use of certificated cultivars to estimate potential productivity," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    2. Zhuang, Minghao & Liu, Yize & Yang, Yi & Zhang, Qingsong & Ying, Hao & Yin, Yulong & Cui, Zhenling, 2022. "The sustainability of staple crops in China can be substantially improved through localized strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    3. van Boxmeer, Emma & Modernel, Pablo & Viets, Theo, 2021. "Environmental and economic performance of Dutch dairy farms on peat soil," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    4. Xu, Zhan & Liang, Zhengyuan & Cheng, Jiali & Groot, Jeroen C.J. & Zhang, Chaochun & Cong, Wen-Feng & Zhang, Fusuo & van der Werf, Wopke, 2024. "Comparing the sustainability of smallholder and business farms in the North China Plain; a case study in Quzhou," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    5. Zhang, Jian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Hirsch, Stefan & Li, Xiaoshun, 2020. "Factors affecting farmland rental in rural China: Evidence of capitalization of grain subsidy payments," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Jian Zhang & Ashok K. Mishra & Peixin Zhu, 2021. "Land rental markets and labor productivity: Evidence from rural China," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 69(1), pages 93-115, March.
    7. Wang, Yingxin & Guo, Qin & Xu, Yirui & Zhang, Peng & Cai, Tie & Jia, Zhikuan, 2022. "Optimizing urea deep placement to rainfall can maximize crop water-nitrogen productivity and decrease nitrate leaching in winter wheat," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    8. Lingling Hou & Pengfei Liu & Jikun Huang & Xiangzheng Deng, 2020. "The influence of risk preferences, knowledge, land consolidation, and landscape diversification on pesticide use," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(5), pages 759-776, September.
    9. Xu, Zhuo & He, Ping & Yin, Xinyou & Huang, Qiuhong & Ding, Wencheng & Xu, Xinpeng & Struik, Paul C., 2023. "Can the advisory system Nutrient Expert® balance productivity, profitability and sustainability for rice production systems in China?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    10. Wang, Hongzhang & Ren, Hao & Zhang, Lihua & Zhao, Yali & Liu, Yuee & He, Qijin & Li, Geng & Han, Kun & Zhang, Jiwang & Zhao, Bin & Ren, Baizhao & Liu, Peng, 2023. "A sustainable approach to narrowing the summer maize yield gap experienced by smallholders in the North China Plain," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    11. Zhang, Jian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Hirsch, Stefan, 2021. "Market-oriented agriculture and farm performance: Evidence from rural China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    12. Cheng, Shen & Bravo-Ureta, Boris E. & Zheng, Zhihao & Sun, Hao, 2017. "Land Consolidation, Productivity and Technical Efficiency: Evidence from a Cross Section of Farm Households in China," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258533, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. van Wesenbeeck, C.F.A. & Keyzer, M.A. & van Veen, W.C.M. & Qiu, H., 2021. "Can China's overuse of fertilizer be reduced without threatening food security and farm incomes?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    14. Rommel, Jens & Anggraini, Eva, 2018. "Spatially explicit framed field experiments on ecosystem services governance," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(PB), pages 201-205.
    15. Ascui, Francisco & Ball, Alex & Kahn, Lewis & Rowe, James, 2021. "Is operationalising natural capital risk assessment practicable?," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    16. Blasi, E. & Passeri, N. & Franco, S. & Galli, A., 2016. "An ecological footprint approach to environmental–economic evaluation of farm results," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 76-82.
    17. van Calker, Klaas Jan & Antink, Rudi H.J. Hooch & Beldman, Alfons C.G. & Mauser, Anniek, 2005. "Caring Dairy: A Sustainable Dairy Farming Initiative in Europe," 15th Congress, Campinas SP, Brazil, August 14-19, 2005 24234, International Farm Management Association.
    18. Shen Yuan & Shaobing Peng, 2017. "Exploring the Trends in Nitrogen Input and Nitrogen Use Efficiency for Agricultural Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-15, October.
    19. Meike Weltin & Silke Hüttel, 2023. "Sustainable Intensification Farming as an Enabler for Farm Eco-Efficiency?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(1), pages 315-342, January.
    20. Law, Elizabeth A. & Macchi, Leandro & Baumann, Matthias & Decarre, Julieta & Gavier-Pizarro, Gregorio & Levers, Christian & Mastrangelo, Matías E. & Murray, Francisco & Müller, Daniel & Piquer-Rodrígu, 2021. "Fading opportunities for mitigating agriculture-environment trade-offs in a south American deforestation hotspot," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 262.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:153:y:2017:i:c:p:181-189. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.