Harvesting environmental sustainability—the fertilizer use efficiency gains of China’s high-standard farmland initiative

This study rigorously assesses the influence of China’s high-standard farmland construction policy on fertilizer use efficiency by utilizing a continuous difference-in-difference model. The analysis, covering 30 provinces, reveals a persistently low, yet gradually improving, level of fertilizer use efficiency, with an average annual growth rate of 2.26%. The policy’s positive impact on fertilizer use efficiency becomes discernible starting from the third year following its implementation and continues to improve steadily with a rate of 2.02% per year. Results of the mediation analysis show that the enhancement in fertilizer use efficiency is primarily attributed to improved land quality and expanded agricultural production scales. Furthermore, the empirical evidence highlights the policy’s differential impact, demonstrating stronger effectiveness in the eastern region, principal grain-producing areas, and provinces that already exhibit higher levels of fertilizer use efficiency. These findings underscore the importance of region-specific models for the continued promotion of the high-standard farmland construction policy, advocating for tailored approaches to optimize fertilizer use efficiency and promote sustainable agricultural development.