Process and driving factors of farmland marginalization in typical villages in mountainous areas

Abstract

[Objective] The purpose of the study was to explore the evolution process, development stages, and driving factors of farmland marginalization in typical villages in mountainous areas, to examine the characteristics and mechanisms of farmland marginalization and provide theoretical references and case studies for the sustainable development of agriculture and rural revitalization of a wide range of mountainous villages. [Methods] Based on the data of two typical villages in Liupanshui City of Guizhou Province from 2000 to 2020 and 641 survey questionnaires of farmers, this study constructed an evaluation index system for farmland marginalization from explicit and implicit perspectives, introduced the concepts of farmland marginalization intensity and marginalization contribution rate, to identify the process and stage characteristics of farmland marginalization. [Results] The results show that: (1) Farmland marginalization includes the transfer of land use at the explicit level and factor input changes at the implicit level, the complete development process is composed of the initial period, development period, gradual change period, and stabilization period, and the development rate and stage characteristics are affected by a combination of macro and micro factors. (2) Farmland marginalization in Shepeng Village and Houchang Village showed a trend of gradually increasing index values but gradually decreasing intensity, and the overall farmland marginalization index value of the former was lower than that of the latter during the study period, with implicit marginalization constituting the main part. (3) In terms of influencing factors, farmland transfer behavior and labor force characteristics played a dominant role in farmland marginalization in urban-rural integration-type villages, and farmland utilization conditions and resource endowment played an important role in farmland marginalization in traditional agricultural villages. [Conclusion] Farmland marginalization in mountainous areas experienced the inevitable impact of natural factors and socioeconomic changes, and the process of farmland marginalization in different types of villages had different characteristics. Urban-rural integration villages should establish a moderate balance between food and ecological securities through continuous innovation of agricultural land use systems and integration of village development factors; and traditional agricultural villages should respond reasonably to the trend of farmland marginalization by strengthening policy support and guidance, and optimizing the structure of agricultural production.

Keywords

• farmland marginalization|urban-rural integration|agricultural production|driving factors|mountainous areas|guizhou province