Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China

The rural land rental market is playing an increasingly important role in the agricultural transformation period for developing countries, including China, where rural farmland rental is highly context-specific with the implementation of the collective-owned rural land system; thus, in turn, the acc...

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Main Authors: Wenjing Han, Zhengfeng Zhang, Xiaoling Zhang, Li He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
Series:Land
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/9/899
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author Wenjing Han
Zhengfeng Zhang
Xiaoling Zhang
Li He
author_facet Wenjing Han
Zhengfeng Zhang
Xiaoling Zhang
Li He
author_sort Wenjing Han
collection DOAJ
description The rural land rental market is playing an increasingly important role in the agricultural transformation period for developing countries, including China, where rural farmland rental is highly context-specific with the implementation of the collective-owned rural land system; thus, in turn, the access to farmland rental markets for rural households has profoundly influenced their livelihood strategies and income earnings. This paper investigates the income impact differences caused by rural households’ farmland rental participation activities and explores such impact mechanisms by further evaluating the income impacts caused by rental area and household agricultural productivity. Data from the Chinese national household survey were used for estimating the empirical models. Our results show that farmland renting has positively affected households’ on-farm and total income, but there is no significant effect upon off-farm income. According to income differences across quantiles, we find households with high on-farm income are more sensitive about enlarging their farm size by renting farmland, and households with middle and upper-middle off-income may benefit more from renting out their farmland. Furthermore, the joint effects of renting area and household agricultural productivity on lessee households’ farm income is significantly positive. For lessor households, our results indicate that renting out farmland did not improve their off-farm and total income as it may have a limited effect on farm household labor distribution. Our findings suggest that engaging in farmland rental activity can enhance farming productivity efficiency and poverty alleviation among rural households. Under the collective-owned rural land system, it is urgent and necessary to initiate and design incentive policies to encourage highly efficient large farms to expand the farm size and provide smallholders with equal opportunities to engage in farmland rental activities.
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spelling doaj.art-6a70ec7ed80d40c4b4bee2dfda7b94542023-11-22T13:52:42ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2021-08-0110989910.3390/land10090899Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural ChinaWenjing Han0Zhengfeng Zhang1Xiaoling Zhang2Li He3Department of Land & Real Estate Management, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, ChinaDepartment of Land & Real Estate Management, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, ChinaDepartment of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, ChinaThe rural land rental market is playing an increasingly important role in the agricultural transformation period for developing countries, including China, where rural farmland rental is highly context-specific with the implementation of the collective-owned rural land system; thus, in turn, the access to farmland rental markets for rural households has profoundly influenced their livelihood strategies and income earnings. This paper investigates the income impact differences caused by rural households’ farmland rental participation activities and explores such impact mechanisms by further evaluating the income impacts caused by rental area and household agricultural productivity. Data from the Chinese national household survey were used for estimating the empirical models. Our results show that farmland renting has positively affected households’ on-farm and total income, but there is no significant effect upon off-farm income. According to income differences across quantiles, we find households with high on-farm income are more sensitive about enlarging their farm size by renting farmland, and households with middle and upper-middle off-income may benefit more from renting out their farmland. Furthermore, the joint effects of renting area and household agricultural productivity on lessee households’ farm income is significantly positive. For lessor households, our results indicate that renting out farmland did not improve their off-farm and total income as it may have a limited effect on farm household labor distribution. Our findings suggest that engaging in farmland rental activity can enhance farming productivity efficiency and poverty alleviation among rural households. Under the collective-owned rural land system, it is urgent and necessary to initiate and design incentive policies to encourage highly efficient large farms to expand the farm size and provide smallholders with equal opportunities to engage in farmland rental activities.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/9/899farmland rental markethousehold incomeagricultural productivityrural land reform
spellingShingle Wenjing Han
Zhengfeng Zhang
Xiaoling Zhang
Li He
Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China
Land
farmland rental market
household income
agricultural productivity
rural land reform
title Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China
title_full Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China
title_fullStr Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China
title_full_unstemmed Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China
title_short Farmland Rental Participation, Agricultural Productivity, and Household Income: Evidence from Rural China
title_sort farmland rental participation agricultural productivity and household income evidence from rural china
topic farmland rental market
household income
agricultural productivity
rural land reform
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/9/899
work_keys_str_mv AT wenjinghan farmlandrentalparticipationagriculturalproductivityandhouseholdincomeevidencefromruralchina
AT zhengfengzhang farmlandrentalparticipationagriculturalproductivityandhouseholdincomeevidencefromruralchina
AT xiaolingzhang farmlandrentalparticipationagriculturalproductivityandhouseholdincomeevidencefromruralchina
AT lihe farmlandrentalparticipationagriculturalproductivityandhouseholdincomeevidencefromruralchina