Land leasing-in, farm machinery, and pesticide use: A plot-analysis for Jiangsu Province, China

Abstract

This study analyses the joint impacts of land leasing-in and farm machinery use on rice farmers’ pesticide usage in China based on a plot-level data set. Land leasing-in is found to have a positive ‘temporary rental effect’ and a negative ‘land size effect’ on total pesticide expenses per unit land, with the positive effect dominating over the negative effect when the size of the leasing-in is smaller than ca. 2.62 ha. Written lease contracts and longer lease periods are found to have negative effects on total pesticide expenses per unit of land, and can partially offset the positive ‘temporary rental effect’ of land leasing-in on the use of pesticides. We also find that machinery use has a positive effect on pesticide use per unit land. This study contributes to the literature on the impacts of land leasing-in and machinery use on pesticide use by distinguishing between the land size effect and the temporary land rental effects of land leasing-in, examining different attributes of rental contracts, and considering potential interrelationships between land leasing-in and machinery use.