Restructuring grain production in China: regional heterogeneity and its causality
China Agricultural Economic Review
ISSN: 1756-137X
Article publication date: 6 August 2018
Issue publication date: 17 October 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the heterogeneity of regional grain production distribution in China, by examining the regional heterogeneity of absolute and relative changes in grain planting acreage, and explain it in terms of increasing labor costs and difficulties in agricultural inputs adjustment.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses data from official statistical yearbooks and the satellite remote sensing image data of Landsat TM 30 m. Multivariate analysis is conducted to examine the effect of labor cost, difficulty in replacing agricultural input factors and other factors underpinning changes in grain acreage and grain structure adjustment.
Findings
The heterogeneity of changes in grain acreage and proportion of arable area for grain production are mainly determined using the labor cost and difficulties in the replacement of agricultural input factors.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to systematically analyze the heterogeneity in restructuring grain production at provincial level and its causes. The results not only provide evidence of grain production restructuring at regional level, but also contribute to the understanding of the law of structural change in agricultural production.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from National Social Science Foundation of China (Nos 13&ZD160; 14ZDA038), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos 71573133; 71603053), Outstanding Youth Science Foundation of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (No. xjq201734), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD), China Center for Food Security Studies in Nanjing Agricultural University, the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (No. ASTIP-IAED-2015-03), Center for Food Security Studies in Jiangsu and Center for Modern Grain Circulation and Security Collaborative Innovation in Nanjing University of Finance and Economics.
Citation
Zheng, X., Liu, W., Xu, Z., Ying, R. and Ye, C. (2018), "Restructuring grain production in China: regional heterogeneity and its causality", China Agricultural Economic Review, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 647-665. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-01-2017-0008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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