The role of agricultural mechanization services in reducing pesticide input: promoting sustainable agriculture and public health

Abstract

An increasing amount of pesticide input is posing a serious threat to the environment and public health. However, the quantitative analysis of the impact of agricultural mechanization services (AMS) on reducing pesticide input is not yet clear. In this study, the impact of AMS on pesticide input was estimated by using the Chinese Family Database and the endogenous switching regression model. Subsequently, testing the robustness of the model using the substitution variable method. The impact of AMS on different types of pesticides and the influence of farmers' choices of AMS on pesticide input under different terrain conditions and farm sizes were analyzed as well. The results demonstrate that AMS has a significant and negative impact on pesticide input, reducing pesticide expenditures by 56.08% for farmers who adopt AMS. For farmers who do not adopt AMS, adopting such services is assumed to reduce pesticide input by 14.97%. AMS can also reduce the use of insecticides and herbicides by over 54%. Compared to mountainous and hilly areas, AMS in plain areas increase the effectiveness of pesticide input reduction by 30.40%. Furthermore, small-scale farmers who adopt AMS can increase pesticide input reduction by 90 yuan/mu compared with large-scale farmers. Therefore, promoting the development of socialized AMS, strengthening AMS in mountainous and hilly areas, and expanding the scale of operation for small-scale farmers can help improve the effectiveness of pesticide input reduction. The results of this study can inform the development of strategies to reduce chemical pesticide use in agricultural soil.