EFFECTS OF OPERATION SCALE AND DEEPENING OF LABOR DIVISION ON THE REDUCTION OF CHEMICAL FERTILIZER APPLICATION BY SMALL FARMERS——TAKING CORN FARMERS IN THE YELLOW RIVER BASIN AS AN EXAMPLE
By analyzing the intensity and reduction of fertilizer application among corn growers in three provinces of the Yellow River Basin,this research explores the nonlinear relationship between operation scale and chemical fertilizer application intensity,as well as the intermediary role of deepening vertical division of labor.Based on the extended regression model and the questionnaire survey data of corn growers in Gansu,Ningxia,and Shaanxi provinces in the Yellow River Basin in 2020,this study analyzed the impact and mechanism of the deepening of business scale and division of labor on the amount of fertilizer used by farmers.The results were listed as follows.(1)Expanding the scale of operation could significantly inhibit the excessive application of chemical fertilizers by farmers,but when it reached a certain scale,this inhibitory effect would disappear,and continuing to expand the scale of operation would no longer reduce the intensity of chemical fertilizers used by farmers.(2)There was also a"U-shaped"nonlinear relationship between the scale of operation and the degree of involvement in the vertical division of labor.Before reaching a certain scale,the expansion of the scale of operation would significantly increase the degree of service outsourcing by farmers.(3)Expanding the scale of operation could reduce the intensity of chemical fertilizer application by increasing the degree of vertical division of labor.In summary,there is a"U-shaped"nonlinear relationship between the operation scale of corn farmers and the intensity of chemical fertilizer application,and the degree of vertical division of labor had a complete mediation effect between the operation scale and the intensity of chemical fertilizer use.
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