Cost Changes and Technical Efficiency of Grain Production in China against a Background of Rising Factor Prices

Abstract

Based on panel data for the inputs and outputs of the three major staple grains (rice, wheat and corn) in China from 2000 to 2020, we calculated the cost efficiency using the stochastic frontier cost function model and examined the effects of cost changes for the three major grains to explore the sources of cost increases for grain production. On this basis, the impact of the input factor structures on the technical efficiency of the three food grains was further analyzed under the conditions of price increases. We found that the labor prices and production costs showed the same trends of changes. Compared to 2000, the labor prices in 2020 increased 7.33-fold and the technical efficiency values for the three grains were all close to 0.9 (0.8689, 0.8912 and 0.8451). An efficiency decomposition showed that the adjustment effect of labor prices was the main factor in cost increases, but the effects of technological progress and efficiency improvement could effectively reduce the costs of grain production (the largest average value for technological progress was for rice at 0.4569). In comparison, the effects of technological progress on cost reduction were more obvious. By analyzing the influence of input factor structures on technical efficiency, it was found that the influence of different input factor structures on technical efficiency was heterogeneous among the different grains. This paper puts forward the following policy recommendations: first, improve the level of mechanization by developing social services to reduce the dependence on labor; secondly, promote the construction of agricultural informatization, such as accelerating the research and development of intelligent agricultural machinery and promoting the transformation of traditional agriculture to intelligent agriculture; finally, promote the marketization of land element price through land trusteeship to reduce the land transfer price.

Research on Strategy Optimization of Green Agricultural Production Trusteeship to Promote Black Land Protection

“…This study finds that the slow development of green agriculture is mainly due to the relatively high cost of green production trusteeship, which is consistent with the research of Ma [70]. Zhu et al indicates that the adjustment effect of labor prices was the main factor in cost increases, but the effects of technological progress and efficiency improvement could effectively reduce the costs of production [80]. Therefore, in order to reduce the cost of production trusteeship, it is necessary to improve the level of mechanization and reduce the dependence on labor, such as accelerating the research and development of intelligent agricultural machinery.…”

Evaluation, Regional Disparities and Driving Mechanisms of High-Quality Agricultural Development in China

“…The primary driving force of agricultural economic development comes from the development of agricultural production and the factors of production (people, land, money, technology, information, infrastructure, etc.). The authors of [26] lay out the essential foundations which determine the performance and speed of HQAD. Specifically, agriculture is highly reliant on geographical location, climatic environment, and factor endowments.…”

Analysis of Characteristics and Driving Mechanisms of Non-Grain Production of Cropland in Mountainous Areas at the Plot Scale—A Case Study of Lechang City

“…On the one hand, to meet the demand for construction land due to urban development, a large amount of cropland has been converted into construction land [9]. On the other hand, due to further increased profitability of other agricultural production activities, as well as the continuous increase in input costs and labor costs for grain production, an increasing number of farmers are withdrawing from grain production [10,11], leading to the emergence of non-grain production on cropland (NGPCL). NGPCL primarily refers to all activities conducted on cropland that do not involve the production of grain.…”