Structural change of agricultural land use intensity and its regional disparity in China

Chen, Yuqi; Li, Xiubin; Tian, Yuan; Tan, Minghong

doi:10.1007/s11442-009-0545-7

Cited by 76 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…On one hand, this study is consistent with previous case studies that peasants substitute capital and technology for labor (Taylor et al, 1999;Zhang et al, 2008;Chen et al, 2009a;Hao et al, 2013;Li et al, 2013). Apart from the substituting of capital and technology for labor, we find more measures adopted by the peasants to offset labor shortage, including labor ex-change in busy seasons, flexible crop arrangement and land transfer between households.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Apart from the substituting of capital and technology for labor, we find more measures adopted by the peasants to offset labor shortage, including labor ex-change in busy seasons, flexible crop arrangement and land transfer between households. On the other hand, this study confirms that labor migration results in arable land abandonment and decrease in labor intensity (Liu and Li, 2006;Chen et al, 2009a;Tian et al, 2009;Xin and Li, 2009;Tian et al, 2010). As both phenomena appears in this case, an reasonable explanation is that labor shortage in some households and surplus labors in the villages coexist.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Several empirical analyses in China find that participation in labor migration fosters household ability to invest on the farm (Rozelle et al, 1999;Taylor et al, 1999Taylor et al, , 2003De Janvry et al, 2005), and case studies on the plain provinces of China show continuous increase of grain output as well as rapid increase of labor productivity (Hao et al, 2013). However, other case studies find that emigration of agricultural laborers has caused the marginalization of agricultural land, which has resulted in arable land abandonment and decrease in labor intensity, thus posing the additional challenge of ensuring food security (Liu and Li, 2006;Chen et al, 2009a;Tian et al, 2009;Xin and Li, 2009;Tian et al, 2010). A few studies have reported measures adopted to deal with labor shortage, such as substituting capital and technology for labor (Zhang et al, 2008;Chen et al, 2009a;Hao et al, 2013) and land transfer between households to mitigate land abandonment (Yao, 2000;Kung, 2002;Jin and Deininger, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, other case studies find that emigration of agricultural laborers has caused the marginalization of agricultural land, which has resulted in arable land abandonment and decrease in labor intensity, thus posing the additional challenge of ensuring food security (Liu and Li, 2006;Chen et al, 2009a;Tian et al, 2009;Xin and Li, 2009;Tian et al, 2010). A few studies have reported measures adopted to deal with labor shortage, such as substituting capital and technology for labor (Zhang et al, 2008;Chen et al, 2009a;Hao et al, 2013) and land transfer between households to mitigate land abandonment (Yao, 2000;Kung, 2002;Jin and Deininger, 2007). However, as of date, there remains a lack of comprehensive research which quantitatively examines the relationship between labor migration and grain output growth on household scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An explanation of labor migration and grain output growth: Findings of a case study in eastern Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2016

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Abstract:Although there has been rapid rural-urban migration in rural China since the 1980s, the total grain production of China saw a continuous increase. As of today, the relationship between labor migration and grain output growth remains partial and contradictory. The main aim of this empirical study is to examine some specific measures adopted by peasants to deal with labor shortage and maintain grain output growth. Using tracking survey, participatory rural appraisal methods, and land plot investigation, we investigate 274 households and 1405 arable land plots in four villages in two stages in Jinchuan county, southwestern China. The results show that continuous emigration of labor from the four villages caused the abandonment of a small amount of land, decreased labor intensity, and reduced multiple cropping index, shifting from "corn-wheat" multiple cropping pattern to the "corn" cropping pattern, which means labor shortage in some households. At the same time, owing to surplus labor in the villages, the peasants utilize a series of means to offset the negative impacts of labor migration on grain output, such as cropland transfer, labor exchange in the busy seasons, and the substitution of capital and technology for labor. The econometric analysis also shows that labor migration boosts grain production. This study provides a reasonable explanation of grain output growth under rural-urban migration.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

An explanation of labor migration and grain output growth: Findings of a case study in eastern Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2016

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“…On this basis, LUD was calculated and used to indicate land-use intensity. The detailed method was explained as follows [41].…”

Section: Land-use Degree (Lud)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-Temporal Variation of Land-Use Intensity from a Multi-Perspective—Taking the Middle and Lower Reaches of Shule River Basin in China as an Example

Cheng

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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Abstract:The long-term human activities could influence land use/cover change and sustainability. As the global climate changes, humans are using more land resources to develop economy and create material wealth, which causes a tremendous influence on the structure of natural resources, ecology, and environment. Interference from human activities has facilitated land utilization and land coverage change, resulting in changes in land-use intensity. Land-use intensity can indicate the degree of the interference of human activities on lands, and is an important indicator of the sustainability of land use. Taking the middle and lower reaches of Shule River Basin as study region, this paper used "land-use degree (LUD)" and "human activity intensity (HAI)" models for land-use intensity, and analyzed the spatio-temporal variation of land-use intensity in this region from a multi-perspective. The results were as follows: (1) From 1987 to 2015, the land use structure in the study region changed little. Natural land was always the main land type, followed by semi-natural land and then artificial land. (2) The LUD in the study region increased by 35.36 over the 29 years. It increased the most rapidly from 1996 to 2007, and after 2007, it still increased, but more slowly. A spatial distribution pattern of "low land-use degree in east and west regions and high land-use degree in middle region" changed to "high land-use degree in east and middle regions and low land-use degree in west region". (3) The human activity intensity of artificial lands (HAI-AL) in the study region decreased from 1987 to 1996, and then increased from 1996 to 2015. The human activity intensity of semi-artificial lands (HAL-SAL) in the study region increased over the 29 years, and more rapidly after 1996.

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An estimation of the extent of cropland abandonment in mountainous regions of China

Sun

et al. 2018

Land Degrad Dev

Self Cite

128

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With the wages for migrant workers increasing dramatically in China since 2003, the size of the agricultural labour forces has been shrinking rapidly. Intensively substituting agricultural machinery for the shrinking farm labour force is hardly possible for croplands in the mountainous regions of China where mechanization is difficult to achieve due to small field size and rough terrain. This has eventually led to cropland abandonment in these regions. Considering the high pressure for food security in China, cropland abandonment in the mountainous regions should not be ignored. By employing a novel method, this study estimates the extent of recently abandoned croplands (period 2000–2010) and the changes that can be expected in the future in China's mountainous areas. The results show that the total extent of abandoned croplands in Chinese mountainous counties during the period 2000 to 2010 is estimated at 147 million mu (1 mu = 666.67 m2); in total, about 28% of croplands in mountainous counties was abandoned, including croplands converted in the Grain for Green Programme. With 3 scenario assumptions, a sizeable extent, 114 to 203 million mu, of croplands may be abandoned from 2010 to 2030 with the rapid decrease and ageing of projected farm labour forces. This could exacerbate the future challenges of maintaining China's food security. A substantial increase in agricultural project investments, including land consolidation and agricultural productive fixed assets, especially microtillage machines, could help mitigate the risk of cropland abandonment. Additionally, land‐use and environmental policymaking should take into account the expanding cropland abandonment in mountainous regions.

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Structural change of agricultural land use intensity and its regional disparity in China

Cited by 76 publications

References 9 publications

An explanation of labor migration and grain output growth: Findings of a case study in eastern Tibetan Plateau

An explanation of labor migration and grain output growth: Findings of a case study in eastern Tibetan Plateau

Spatio-Temporal Variation of Land-Use Intensity from a Multi-Perspective—Taking the Middle and Lower Reaches of Shule River Basin in China as an Example

An estimation of the extent of cropland abandonment in mountainous regions of China

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