The environmental efficiency of non-certified organic farming in China: A case study of paddy rice production |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Science et Ingénierie des Matériaux et Procédés, Grenoble INP, UJF, CNRS, 38402 Saint Martin d’Hères Cedex, France;2. Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux I.C.G., UMR-CNRS 5253, Université Montpellier II, Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France;1. State Kay Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China;3. School of Geography, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia;1. Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture/Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, PR China;2. School of Environment and Sustainability, Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X4, Canada;3. Institute of Plant Protection, Soil and Fertilizer Sciences, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430064, China |
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| Abstract: | This case study compares the environmental efficiency of non-certified organic and conventional rice production in southern China. Using plot-season level survey data, we test the existence of a “technology gap” between the two types of production, and calculate their environmental efficiency scores based on the level of pure nitrogen use, which is considered as an environmentally detrimental input within the framework of the stochastic frontier analysis. Our analysis reveals that organic farming loses its environmental performance at high nitrogen levels and that during the initial conversion period to organic farming newly converted organic farmers increase the use of external nutrients such as nitrogen to compensate for potential yield losses. These results highlight the uncertainty with which conventional farmers initially tend to view organic farming. However, we find that the experience gained by organic farmers over time helps them increase and maintain the environmental efficiency. We warn against the rapid expansion of organic farming and recommend more technical support and strict nutrient regulation to foster the environmental efficiency of organic farming. |
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