Management and Control of Agricultural Production Space in the Yanhe River Basin Based on Peasant Household Behavior

Abstract

With increases in urbanization, agricultural production space is facing a series of problems, such as limited spatial development, loss of development entities, and difficulties in transformation, posing a huge challenge to national food security and sustainable rural development. The peasant household, as the main body in agricultural production space, plays a key role in solving human–land conflicts and achieving revitalization. In this article, we analyze the evolution characteristics of agricultural production space under the influence of peasant household behavior in the Yanhe River Basin from 1995 to 2018, and construct a spatial control system for agricultural production based on peasant household behavior guidance. Our conclusions are: (1) the agricultural production space in the Yanhe River Basin presents three major evolutionary characteristics, namely a reduction in spatial scale, a shift in the center of gravity of spatial distribution to the downstream, and a transformation of the spatial form from fragmented to regular; (2) the production input and production management behaviors of peasant households dominate the evolution of agricultural production space, while resource utilization behavior is an indirect influencing factor; moreover, peasant household behaviors are also influenced by conditions such as soil and location in agricultural production space; and (3) a control method system of “management and control basis + management and control implementation + management and control guarantee” has been formed through research, and targeted guidance has been given to peasant household behavior based on three levels of agricultural production zones and four types of rural areas. The research on zoning classification results can provide scientific guidance for the precise management of agricultural production space in the Yanhe River Basin, and the management and control method system can also provide a theoretical reference for the sustainable development path of agricultural production space.

The Influence Mechanism of Farmer Behavior on the Spatial Pattern Evolution of Agricultural Production in the Yanhe River Basin

“…After 2010, the regional cultivated land was gradually evenly distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yanhe River Basin; woodland and grassland increased significantly, which were mainly influenced by the two major policies of "Great Western Development" and the ecological restoration project of "returning farmland to woodland and grassland", implemented by the country in 2000. According to Table 3, from 1995 to 2018, the rural agricultural production space area of the Yanhe River Basin presented a fluctuant decreasing trend, from 3330.07 km 2 to 2403.05 km 2 , decreasing the cultivated land area by 927.02 km 2 . From 2005 to 2010, the cultivated land area sharply decreased by 651.93 km 2 , from 3094.37 km 2 to 2442.39 km 2 , with a change degree of 21.07%.…”

“…Consisting of the most typical landform category of the Loess plateau, the Loess hilly and gully regions suffer severe vegetation degradation due to the long-term unreasonable exploitation of resources, as well as serious soil and water loss, significant decline in land productivity, and a fragile ecological environment [1,2]. As the main carrier and Land 2023, 12, 1281 2 of 18 vital position of agricultural development, production space is also the basis for ensuring food security and achieving high-quality development [3].…”