The Dual Impacts of Specialized Agricultural Services on Fertilizer Application Intensity

The development of specialized agricultural services has been a common trend of global agricultural modernization, and suppliers of specialized agricultural services are the core agents of fertilizer application. The impact of specialized agricultural services on fertilizer application intensity remains to be investigated. Based on panel data from 27 provinces in China from 2004 to 2018, this study empirically tested the impact of specialized agricultural services on fertilizer application intensity. Considering potential spatial spillover effects, a spatial lag model was employed. Results showed that specialized agricultural services effectively reduced fertilizer application intensity. Furthermore, there was a positive spatial spillover effect of specialized agricultural services on fertilizer application intensity, likely due to cross‐regional specialized agricultural services. Specifically, for every 1% increase in the level of specialized agricultural services, the fertilizer application intensity within a province decreased by 0.040%, while that in neighboring provinces increased by 0.009%, resulting in a negative net impact of specialized agricultural services on fertilizer application intensity. These findings suggested that specialized agricultural services could be promoted in regions with fertilizer overapplication, and service standards and specifications should be established to mitigate the positive spatial spillover effect of specialized agricultural services on fertilizer application intensity.