Assessing the Effectiveness for Achieving Policy Objectives of Land Consolidation in China: Evidence from Project Practices in Jiangsu Province from 2001 to 2017

Abstract

Land consolidation (LC) is an important measure taken to increase the quantity and productivity of farmland while reducing land fragmentation and ensuring food security. However, long-term land consolidation project (LCP) practices are rarely analyzed to assess the effectiveness for achieving current policy objectives of LC in China. Taking the practices of LCPs in Jiangsu Province from 2001 to 2017 as a case study, we used the spatial self-related analysis, the consistency analysis, and the redundant analysis (RDA), and found that the construction scale and the investment amount of LC in Jiangsu Province displayed varying trends, and that the newly increased farmland rate is clearly divided into three stages and gradually decreases. The newly increased farmland area, the investment funds, and reserved land resources for farmlands are not spatially synchronized in Jiangsu Province. Only the positive relationship between the LC rate and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) growth rate continue to rise. The earlier stage of land consolidation projects (LCPs)’s practices is mainly affected by natural and social factors, and the late stage is mainly affected by economic and strategic factors. Finally, a new implementation scheme framework of LC planning has been proposed. This framework provides reference for top-level design, planning, and management of LC policies at the national level in China and other developing countries.