Do farmers' social networks aggravate cultivated land abandonment? A case study in Ganzhou, China

Abstract

To clarify the influence mechanism and action path of social networks on farmland abandonment, taking the hilly and mountainous areas of Ganzhou, China as the study area, this paper first explores the influence of farmers' social networks on abandonment; furthermore, a mediation effect model is introduced to test the inhibiting effect of farmland transfer on abandonment under the scenario of expanding farmers' social networks. The results show that the expansion of farmers' social networks directly aggravates farmland abandonment, but with the development of land transfer market, farmers' social networks help to reduce the transaction cost of farmland transfer, thus promoting land circulation and restraining abandonment. Considering the double‐edged effect of farmers' social networks on abandonment, this paper recommends that policies aimed at curbing abandonment should be channeled through local farmers‐based social networks, and encourage land transfer among farmers' relatives, friends, or neighbors, and so forth to reduce transaction cost in rural society.

The Effect of Industrial Agglomeration on Agricultural Green Production Efficiency: Evidence from China

“…On the other hand, for a long time, due to the uncertainty of the policy, some farmers have been worried about the loss of land rights and interests after the expiration of their land contracts. Thus, they have adopted such methods as abandonment or sloppy management to protect their land rights and interests [32]. According to the land property rights theory, land transfer is a behavior based on the premise of clear land tenure.…”

“…At the same time, land transfer may simultaneously affect the original, refined production model while increasing the scale of operation due to the disparities in resource endowment between each location. Frequent land transfers are ineffective in stabilizing agricultural output considering the long-cycle characteristics of agricultural production, which ultimately prevents an increase in agricultural green production efficiency [32]. Therefore, industrial agglomeration may have varied effects on agricultural green production efficiency due to the rising amount of land transfer.…”