Fertilizer Utilization Efficiency in China, 2001-2015

This study employs the biennial-weight-modified Russell model to measure the efficiency of China's fertilizer utilization during 2001-2015 while investigating the temporal and spatial characteristics. The empirical results showed that fertilizer utilization efficiency (FUE) in the eastern region was the highest, followed by the central region during the sample period. FUE in China and its three regions had only slight fluctuations without an obvious trend. But FUE varied greatly in some provinces. The provinces having higher FUEs mainly included Shanghai and Hainan, whereas those with lower FUEs mainly included Anhui, Shanxi, and Hubei. Therefore, the governments should pay attention to both the improvement of FUE and the inter-regional balance for the coordinated development of agricultural regions.