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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Agricultural and Food Economics
Volume 8 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1369817

Sustainable Potato Farming in Shandong Province, China: A Comprehensive Analysis of Organic Fertilizer Applications

Provisionally accepted
Meiling Zhang Meiling Zhang 1Xuanguo Xu Xuanguo Xu 1*Fuhong Zhang Fuhong Zhang 1*Apurbo Sarkar Apurbo Sarkar 2
  • 1 Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong Province, China
  • 2 The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The potato holds the distinction of being the world's largest non-cereal food crop and ensuring its sustainable production is imperative for global food security. Notably, China leads in both the planting area and output of potatoes globally, cementing its crucial role in the nation's agricultural economy. A scientific assessment of the effectiveness of organic fertilizers on potato cultivation can significantly contribute to the promotion of sustainable agriculture. This study utilizes a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) model and introduces a novel cost-efficiency approach to analyze and evaluate the production efficiency and economic impact of organic fertilizer application among 546 potato growers in Shandong. The research findings reveal the following: Firstly, compared to the control group without organic fertilizer application, it is evident that the use of organic fertilizers enhances production technology efficiency, labour productivity, land productivity, and net profit per unit by 3.6%, 1588.47 kg/person, 16346.77 kg/ha, and 16135.32 yuan/ha, respectively. Secondly, an examination of cost efficiency among growers with different production scales indicates that those with a planting scale of 0.667-1.333 hectares demonstrate relatively high production efficiency across multiple factors. Additionally, there is an observable inverted U-shaped trend in the relationship between planting scale and production efficiency. Thirdly, the continuous application of organic fertilizers proves advantageous in mitigating inefficiencies in investment techniques, leading to cost savings and efficiency improvements in potato cultivation. Consequently, it is recommended that the government and relevant departments enhance technical support, elevate professional training programs, and optimize the allocation of input factors. These measures aim to encourage farmers to adopt organic fertilizers, thereby promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

    Keywords: economic effect, Organic fertilizer application, PSM model, Cost efficiency model, Potato growers

    Received: 13 Jan 2024; Accepted: 03 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Xu, Zhang and Sarkar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xuanguo Xu, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, Shandong Province, China
    Fuhong Zhang, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, Shandong Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.