The role of pesticides and fertilizers in Czech cereal output and TFP growth: A flexible production function with endogenous inputs

IF 6 1区经济学 Q1 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS & POLICY

Food Policy Pub Date : 2025-09-25 DOI:10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102955

Lukáš Čechura , Subal C. Kumbhakar , Zdeňka Žáková Kroupová

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Through a comprehensive analysis of the effects of fertilizers and pesticides on both output and total factor productivity (TFP) growth, this study contributes to the discussion on the impacts of agrochemical use in sustainable cereal production systems. Using FADN data from Czech cereal farmers from 2008 to 2020, the study employs a flexible translog (TL) production function alongside a proxy-variable approach that treats pesticides and fertilizers as endogenous inputs. This approach generates robust results that strengthen the evidence base essential for data-driven agricultural policy formulation. The findings highlight the critical role of fertilizers and pesticides as key inputs driving both output and TFP growth. Simulations suggest that reducing these inputs would lead to a decline in agricultural output; however, this outcome is not inevitable. The study finds that technological advancements, which also serve as important drivers of both output and TFP growth, can mitigate potential declines in agricultural output, ensuring a more sustainable transition.

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农药和化肥在捷克谷物产量和全要素生产率增长中的作用：具有内生投入的灵活生产函数

通过对化肥和农药对产量和全要素生产率（TFP）增长的影响的综合分析，本研究有助于讨论农用化学品对可持续谷物生产系统的影响。该研究利用捷克谷物农民2008年至2020年的FADN数据，采用灵活的超对数（TL）生产函数和代理变量方法，将农药和肥料视为内生投入。这种方法产生了强有力的结果，加强了数据驱动农业政策制定所必需的证据基础。研究结果强调了化肥和农药作为推动产出和全要素生产率增长的关键投入的关键作用。模拟表明，减少这些投入将导致农业产出下降；然而，这一结果并非不可避免。研究发现，技术进步也是产出和全要素生产率增长的重要驱动因素，可以缓解农业产出的潜在下降，确保实现更可持续的转型。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Food Policy 管理科学-农业经济与政策

CiteScore

11.40

自引率

4.60%

发文量

128

审稿时长

62 days

期刊介绍： Food Policy is a multidisciplinary journal publishing original research and novel evidence on issues in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies for the food sector in developing, transition, and advanced economies. Our main focus is on the economic and social aspect of food policy, and we prioritize empirical studies informing international food policy debates. Provided that articles make a clear and explicit contribution to food policy debates of international interest, we consider papers from any of the social sciences. Papers from other disciplines (e.g., law) will be considered only if they provide a key policy contribution, and are written in a style which is accessible to a social science readership.