Willingness of Farmers to Transform Vacant Rural Residential Land into Cultivated Land in a Major Grain-Producing Area of Central China

Abstract

Abstract:A large amount of cultivated lands in China is occupied by vacant residential areas, thereby wasting land resources and placing local food security at risk. Therefore, transforming vacant rural residential land back to its previous form is urgently required to maintain the amount of cultivated land and guarantee food security. We comprehensively analyzed the willingness of farmers to participate in vacant residential land transformation and determine the factors that influence such willingness, including the awareness of farmers about their rural residential environment, their knowledge of residential land-use policies and their awareness of the consequences of such transformation. A detailed survey was conducted amongst 252 farmers owning vacant residential lands in central China. Amongst these farmers, 75, 87 and 90 were entirely, partly and not living on farming, respectively. Only half of these farmers were willing to transform the vacant residential land, whilst those farmers who were partly living on farming were less willing to participate in the transformation than those who were entirely and were not living on farming. The factors that influence the willingness to transform varied across different types of farmers. Farmers who were not and were partly living on farming were significantly affected by their awareness of their rural residential environment, their knowledge of residential land-use policies, the length of residential land vacant time and their household income. Those farmers who were partly living on farming were also influenced by the number of vacant residential plots they possessed. Farmers who were entirely living on farming were significantly affected by their knowledge of the residential land-use policies, the number of vacant residential plots they possessed, their awareness of the consequences of land transformation and their family size. Results indicate that farmers are anxious about vacant residential land loss and that a communication gap is observed between them. Therefore, along with the communication between farmers and the government, the publicity and transparency of the rural residential land-use policies must be improved to eliminate the communication gap, relieve the anxiety of farmers, and increase the willingness to transform their vacant residential lands.

Farmers’ Satisfaction and its Influencing Factors in the Policy of Economic Compensation for Cultivated Land Protection: A Case Study in Chengdu, China

“…Our aim was to study the significant impact of the related factors on farmers' satisfaction and analyze whether a significant interdependence exists between the related factors. To further quantify the strength of the interaction between the variables, path analysis was set aside for measuring the direct and indirect effects [11,38,39] by using DPS 7.05 software. The preceding analysis, which had enabled us to understand the impact of the relevant factors on the CLPF, was conducive in laying the foundation for further policy recommendations.…”

Green Manure Planting Incentive Measures of Local Authorities and Farmers’ Perceptions of the Utilization of Rotation Fallow for Sustainable Agriculture in Guangxi, China

“…Acceptance/adoption: This concept is a psychological process that starts when a person or an operation finds something novel and finishes with adoption of the final stage [14]. The acceptance/adoption of a policy is influenced by many factors, such as the socioeconomic characteristics of the household, people's knowledge, and their awareness of the benefits or opportunities to receive benefits [15].…”

“…Therefore, the proper rotation of crops has been neglected [19]. The National Planting Green Manure Policy could supplement existing policies on farmland supply for sustainable development such as the Land Law of the Administration of the People's Republic of China , with the objective of increasing the cultivated land supply to 16,000 km 2 , the Law of Property of the People's Republic of China (2007), the Consolidation of National Land and Plan of Rehabilitation (2012), with the objective of guaranteeing cultivated land [15].…”

“…Household income based on farming: Household income is a significant factor in farmers' willingness to convert unoccupied rural residential property into cultivated land, especially growers who do not make their living or partly make their living from farming [15].…”

“…Family management and land fragmentation are also major factors [24] affecting farmers' decision-making process. The knowledge of farmers who make their living entirely on farming may be affected by the policies of residential land use, awareness of the consequences of land conversion, and the size of the household [15].…”