Fertilizer Use, Value, and Knowledge Capital: A Case of Indian Farming

Abstract

Using the recently released microdata covering input use in Indian agriculture, this study analyzes the relation between value and fertilizer consumption along with four layers of explanation. These layers include factors of production, knowledge capital, social identity, and human capital for both agricultural seasons. Subsequently, the study also examines the propensity to use diverse channels of information. This study uses both regression and machine learning methods for analysis. The main finding of the study is that fertilizer use is directly associated with the value of production. However, the propensity to use fertilizer is the highest for the lowest quantile. Moreover, fertilizer use is a positive covariant of select information sources. Further, similar to tangible resources, the study observes that information plays a crucial role in fertilizer use. Information channels such as extension services have a pivotal role in promoting sustainable farming, especially among marginal farms.

Sustainability transition for Indian agriculture

“…It implies that large farmers are more inclined towards green inputs than smaller ones. An intuitive explanation is that large farmers have more proximity to knowledge channels like formal and informal extension services 30 . The labour share is increasing from the lowest to the highest decile.…”

“…It implies that marginal farmers rely more on chemical fertilizer in production, which is the reverse for large farmers. A plausible explanation is that the knowledge of soil health through channels like formal and informal extension may not reach marginal farmers 30 . The Government of India's recently launched soil health card scheme aimed to cover all sections of the farming category.…”

“…And large farming units may resort to it, contributing to efficiency gains 43 . It is crucial that knowledge capital, especially extension services, may go along with the propensity to adopt sustainable practices 30 . A major variant of this behaviour is the adoption of bio inputs over chemical inputs 44 .…”

“…In India, the formal channel of knowledge consisting of government agencies and universities is less efficacious in impacting the decision to reduce chemical fertilizer. On the other hand, the private channel, including progressive farmers, commercial agents, and non-governmental organizations, are impactful in decisions to reduce the use of chemical fertilizer 30 . Without understanding the heterogeneity of transition, a policy favouring wide adoption as a standard template may trigger undesirable outcomes, especially food security 55 .…”

Design and Experiment of Cam-Linkage Self-Cleaning Fertilizer Apparatus

“…Studies show that the deep fertilization is a great method of increasing efficiency and decreasing cost (Jelle et al, 2018;Kakar et al, 2019). Compared with the scattering fertilization on the soil surface, (Alameen et al, 2019;Siddique et al, 2020), it can also reduce the environmental pollution (Jabbar et al, 2022;Paul et al, 2022), promote the utilization rate and rice product (Rebecca et al, 2022;Tang et al, 2019), and reduce the volatilization and loss. Deep fertilization is achieved by fertilization equipment (Liu et al, 2022).…”