The inhibition effect of agricultural services on cropland abandonment: Theoretical analysis and empirical tests

Abstract

[Objective] No conclusions can yet be drawn from previous studies on the effect of agricultural services on cropland abandonment. Therefore, there is an urgent need to clarify the relationship between agricultural services and cropland abandonment. This will provide valuable insights for effectively mitigating the issue of cropland abandonment in the future. [Methods] This study constructed a theoretical model to examine the impact of agricultural services on cropland abandonment. The analysis was based on data from the China Labor-force Dynamic Survey from 2014 to 2018. Fixed effect model and difference-in-differences model were employed to test the effect of agricultural services on both visible and invisible cropland abandonments at the village and farming household levels and mechanism. [Results] The study found that: (1) Agricultural services had a significant negative impact on the visible cropland abandonment; agricultural services had a significant positive impact on the intensive use, thus alleviating the invisible cropland abandonment. (2) Compared with non-grain producing areas, the inhibition effect of agricultural services on cropland abandonment is more obvious in grain producing areas; and compared with agricultural services with a low degree of substitution of agricultural labor, agricultural services with a high degree of substitution of agricultural labor had a stronger inhibition effect on cropland abandonment, which led to the inconsistency between theory and reality. (3) Increasing labor productivity was the main mechanism of agricultural services to inhibit cropland abandonment. After farmers purchased agricultural services, labor productivity increased by 17.9%. [Conclusion] Agricultural services had significant inhibition effect on cropland abandonment and exhibited heterogeneity regionally and in terms of service content; Agricultural services discouraged cropland abandonment by increasing labor productivity. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the design of the cropland protection system, enforce stricter control over cropland use, and encourage and support land consolidation projects. Efforts should be made to accelerate the development of specialized agricultural service organizations, enhance their service capacity, and expand their service coverage. It is also important to consider regional differences and implement targeted measures that are tailored to local conditions in order to effectively address the problem of abandoned cropland.

Keywords

• agricultural services|cropland abandonment|inhibition effect|fixed effect model|heterogeneity|mechanism|china