Farmer Differentiation, Inter-Generational Differences and Chemical Fertilizer Reduction Behavior of Farmers in Rural China

Farmer Differentiation, Inter-Generational Differences and Chemical Fertilizer Reduction Behavior of Farmers in Rural China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Farmer Differentiation, Inter-Generational Differences and Chemical Fertilizer Reduction Behavior of Farmers in Rural China Mengling Zhang, Xu Zhang, Yuhan Zhang, Fangting Xie This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7218057/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The unsustainable and excessive application of chemical fertilizers constitutes a critical constraint to global agricultural sustainability, with China facing particularly acute challenges. Farmers' decisions concerning chemical fertilizer use are shaped by both intra-group heterogeneity and inter-generational attributes. Clarifying how these factors influence chemical fertilizer reduction behavior holds substantial theoretical and practical implications. Utilizing the 1,345 rice farmers data set collected Jiangxi Province, China, this study examines the influence of farmer differentiation on their chemical fertilizer reduction practices. And then evaluates the moderating role of inter-generational differences. Results show that merely 19.85% of respondents have adopted chemical fertilizer reduction behaviors, underscoring the persistence of this issue. Higher levels of differentiation among farmers were negatively associated with the likelihood of chemical fertilizer reduction. Moreover, new-generation farmers exhibited a greater propensity toward adopting reduction strategies compared to their older counterparts. The relationship between farmer differentiation and chemical fertilizer reduction behavior is significantly moderated by inter-generational differences. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences farmer differentiation inter-generational differences chemical fertilizer reduction farmer behavior China Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files CFRDATA.dta Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7218057","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":522001020,"identity":"dbef7e19-a0ee-4bc3-8f96-fc1789c32f0d","order_by":0,"name":"Mengling Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Zhejiang A\u0026F University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mengling","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":522001021,"identity":"b141b8a3-41ac-4f18-a399-eb347aa66cc2","order_by":1,"name":"Xu Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jiangxi Agricultural 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