Do small farms prefer agricultural mechanization services? Evidence from wheat production in China

Qiu, Tongwei; Luo, Biliang

doi:10.1080/00036846.2020.1870656

Cited by 42 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This may effectively reduce cropland abandonment. In particular, harvesting is the most time-consuming and labor-intensive step in agricultural production (i.e., the "heaviest" of the agricultural production links) [30,34], which is more likely to lead farmers to abandon cropland. Therefore, this paper mainly focuses on agricultural machinery harvesting services (AMHSs).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Agricultural Machinery Harvesting Services Reduce Cropland Abandonment? Evidence from Rural China

et al. 2022

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Ending hunger, achieving food security, and promoting sustainable agriculture are the main targets of sustainable development goals. It is well known that cropland resources are the most essential factor in achieving sustainable development goals. However, China has been facing the problem of a continuous reduction in cropland resources. Reducing the abandonment of cropland has become an important way to curb the reduction in cropland resources. Can agricultural machinery harvesting services reduce cropland abandonment in rural China? To answer this scientific question, this study employs the Survey for Agriculture and Village Economy data from 8345 samples of 12 provinces in rural China. The extended regression models (i.e., the extended probit regression model and the extended interval regression model) are used to empirically analyze the relationship between agricultural machinery harvesting services accessed by farmers and cropland abandonment. The results are as follows. Agricultural machinery harvesting services accessed by farmers significantly reduced the probability of cropland abandonment and the proportion of the area of abandoned cropland in farmers’ contracted cropland area decreased by 18.5% and 20.3%, respectively. Moreover, the heterogeneity analysis results showed that farmers’ access to agricultural machinery harvesting services significantly reduced cropland abandonment in small-scale groups, without elderly households, with nonagricultural income groups, and in the eastern region. This study also provides some policy implications for policymakers to reduce cropland abandonment in rural China.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Agricultural Machinery Harvesting Services Reduce Cropland Abandonment? Evidence from Rural China

et al. 2022

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“…A close relationship was observed between the less technified SSDPU and the family, with a higher percentage of FL use in clusters 3 and 4 (1.27 ± 0.76 and 1.18 ± 0.8, respectively) in relation to cluster 1 (0.67 ± 0.82) ( Table 5 ). The family labour provides these units with greater resilience in the face of diverse socioeconomic situations, since the use of family labour generally represents a low or null opportunity cost, due to not receiving a fixed salary [ 52 , 53 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, the implementation of technologies by producers depends on the relative costs between the adoption of such tools, the number of animals and the size of the SSDPU, since they could substitute these technologies with the use of family labour when the land size and production are small [ 53 ]. However, when production increases, FL will be not enough and producers will look for technological alternatives to face these changes [ 60 , 61 ]; in other words, the implementation of more technologies corresponds to a greater intensification of SSDPU [ 60 ], because it is more profitable [ 53 , 62 ] and the investment is justified [ 52 , 60 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The above is confirmed by the results of the study, where the clusters that least implemented technologies (clusters 3 and 4), have lower numbers of cattle (13.03 ± 5.52 and 13.45 ± 11.48, respectively) with respect to clusters 1 and 2 (33.16 ± 4.3 and 21.95 ± 6.25, respectively) ( Table 6 ) and, as mentioned above, family labour was also higher in clusters 3 and 4. Consequently, producers in these clusters, having lower production, may also employ higher FL for other agricultural or non-agricultural activities [ 53 ] inside or outside the SSDPU.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does Small-Scale Livestock Production Use a High Technological Level to Survive? Evidence from Dairy Production in Northeast-ern Michoacán, Mexico

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Soriano-Robles

Ortiz

et al. 2021

Animals

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The objective of this study was to identify the technological level used by dairy farmers in the northeastern region of Michoacán, Mexico, through a characterisation of small-scale dairy production units, as well as to learn about the socioeconomic conditions that have enabled them to survive in the current context. A semi-structured interview was applied to 114 production units, chosen by stratified random sampling. The interview included technological, production and socioeconomic aspects. Twenty-eight variables were initially explored and 12 were used for multivariate analysis, which included Principal Component Analysis, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and K-means Cluster. The characterisation carried out showed that the production units that predominate in northeastern Michoacán have survived with a low technological level, having as strengths the diversification of their activities and the use of family labour. On the contrary, production units with a high technological level and high productivity are few and less diversified. This shows the need to generate differentiated public policies for each cluster, aimed at strengthening the aspects that have allowed them to survive and guaranteeing a market for their production, before promoting the use of technologies.

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“…ASSs are generally regarded as a bridge to shifting smallholder farmers into operating moderate and large-scale agriculture. They can effectively promote farmland transfer and coordination to achieve large-scale farmland management [27][28][29]. Farmland-scale and service-scale operations promote each other.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Agricultural Socialized Services to Promote the Farmland Scale Management Behavior of Smallholder Farmers: Empirical Evidence from the Rice-Growing Region of Southern China

et al. 2021

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Farmland scale management (FSM) is an essential strategy to establish an appropriate management scale for agricultural production, enhance smallholder farmer production efficiency, and improve the utilization rate of farmland. The Chinese government promotes farmland transfer as a tool to establish modern and moderate-scale agriculture. However, farmers remain unable to afford agricultural services and inputs required for appropriate FSM after farmland is transferred-in. This paper aims to examine the impact of agricultural socialized services (ASSs) on the FSM behavior of smallholder farmers through farmland transfer. A theoretical framework for the farmer household production aspect of this relationship is developed. A weighted least squares (WLS) model is applied to empirically examine smallholder farmers’ decisions to expand the scale of farmland induced by the promotion of ASSs based on data collected from 741 households in 2020 in the rice-growing region of southern China. The findings reveal that ASSs have a positive and significant impact on small farmers’ FSM. Small farmers’ behavior regarding farmland transfer is affected positively by the promotion of ASSs. The increase of ASSs encourages small farmers to transfer-in more farmland. However, the impact of ASSs on various steps of agricultural practice varied according to the FSM of smallholder farmers. Our findings imply that the government should take the development of ASSs as one of the main methods for promoting the establishment of moderate and large-scale agriculture and rural revitalization. Strengthening policies and financial support for both private and public ASS providers through financial innovation subsidies and preferential tax policies will help smallholder farmers reduce input costs and increase the scale of production and profits. The findings of this paper will provide a scientific basis and reference for the development of moderate-scale agriculture and rural revitalization.

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Do small farms prefer agricultural mechanization services? Evidence from wheat production in China

Cited by 42 publications

References 18 publications

Can Agricultural Machinery Harvesting Services Reduce Cropland Abandonment? Evidence from Rural China

Can Agricultural Machinery Harvesting Services Reduce Cropland Abandonment? Evidence from Rural China

Does Small-Scale Livestock Production Use a High Technological Level to Survive? Evidence from Dairy Production in Northeast-ern Michoacán, Mexico

The Impact of Agricultural Socialized Services to Promote the Farmland Scale Management Behavior of Smallholder Farmers: Empirical Evidence from the Rice-Growing Region of Southern China

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