“…The problem has aroused the attention of both the Chinese government and researchers in an attempt to understand its root causes and find solutions to slow down the pace of abandonment (Liu et al, 2016; Qin & Liao, 2016; Xu, Deng, Huang, et al, 2019). Farmland abandonment is common in both developed and developing countries and regions, including parts of Europe (Baumann et al, 2011; Dolton‐Thornton, 2021; Price et al, 2015; San Roman Sanz et al, 2013; Zavalloni et al, 2021), Southeast Asia (Fox et al, 2009), Brazil (Castro et al, 2019), and Ecuador (Caulfield et al, 2019). A number of organisations, including the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), the European Union (EU), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), have taken measures to avoid further farmland abandonment (Levers et al, 2018).…”