The Effect of Off-farm Work on the Intensity of Agricultural Production

Abstract

Changes in agricultural production methods have been associated with environmental pressure and a loss of natural habitats. This paper explores the extent to which farmer participation in off-farm work (an increasing phenomenon in most developed countries) changes the intensity of agricultural input use focusing, in particular, on fertilizer and crop protection product use. A sample selection model that accounts for both unobserved heterogeneity between farms and the potential simultaneity between farm operations and hours worked off-farm is estimated for 2,419 farms in England and Wales. The econometric evidence indicates that the input intensity of products which have well-established links to environmental damage can increase as well as decrease. The results suggest that that fertilizer intensity may decline as off-farm labor increases while the use of crop protection per hectare increases as off-farm work increases. Copyright Springer 2006crop protection, farm household model, fertilizer, input intensity, multifunctionality, off-farm work, panel, Q53, Q12, Q24,

Urbanization and the Change of Fertilizer Use Intensity for Agricultural Production in Henan Province

“…Angelsen finds that in the open economy, better off-farm employment opportunity correlates with higher real wages and is the key driving force of longer fallow periods and less agricultural labor inputs. In fact, a widely accepted view is that with a higher degree of the openness of economy, the intensity of agricultural land use will be less related to population and demand, but more reliant on production factors including costs of land, off-farm opportunities, and market access, and is closely related to biophysical conditions [28][29][30].…”

Agricultural policy and its impact on fuel usage: Empirical evidence from farm household analysis

“…The literature suggests that the demand for inputs such as fuel could also be affected by farmers' participation in crop insurance programs [10,18,21]. Further, some studies have investigated the impact of off-farm work on the demand for farm inputs and on the intensity of production [16,22]. However, the inter-relationship between fuel demand and the decision to purchase crop insurance and off-farm work is not trivial.…”

“…In particular, Phimister and Roberts [16] in their study of England farmers conclude that fertilizer intensity may decline as off-farm labor increases while the use of crop protection per hectare increases with off-farm work. Although the impact of crop insurance on fertilizer or chemical uses has been documented, however, little is known about the extent to which participation in the crop insurance program may affect fuel consumption of farm households.…”

Decomposition of Fertilizer Use Intensity and Its Environmental Risk in China’s Grain Production Process

“…These studies have mainly analyzed the effects of endogenous factors and exogenous factors on fertilizer use behavior based on micro-survey data. All of the factors have consisted of individuals, families, policies, economy, technology, and systems [33][34][35][36][37]. Thirdly, some studies have researched the environmental pollution caused by fertilizer use intensity.…”