Livelihood Capital and Land Transfer of Different Types of Farmers: Evidence from Panel Data in Sichuan Province, China

Farmers’ livelihood and land have been the focus of academic and political attention for a long time. In the process of rapid urbanization in China, as farmers change their livelihood strategies and livelihood capital allocation driven by economic interests, farmland abandonment increases, which is not conducive to the guarantee of food security. This study aims to explore the characteristics of livelihood capital and land transfer of farmers under different livelihood strategies and the effect of livelihood capital on land transfer. Based on the data obtained from Sichuan Province in 2012, 2016 and 2019 by the China Rural Development Survey Group, this paper divides farmers into pure farmers, part-time farmers and non-farmers according to the proportion of non-agricultural income in total income, and constructed the panel binary Logit model and panel Tobit model. The analysis points to the following results: (1) pure farmers tend to shift other capitals toward natural capital, so their livelihood capital total index value decreased. The part-time farmers have different shift characteristics but their livelihood capital total index value both increased first and then decreased. Non-farmers tend to shift natural capital towards other livelihood capitals, so their livelihood capital total index value increased. (2) The higher the natural capital and human capital, the higher the probability of land transfers in. The higher the natural capital, the larger the area of land transfers in. The higher the financial capital, the higher the probability of land transfers out. The higher the financial capital and social capital, the larger the area of land transfers out. It is expected to provide suggestions for the policy of farmers’ land transfer under different livelihood capital endowments.

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Livelihood Adaptation of Rural Households under Livelihood Stress: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11060506 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 506

Author(s):

Xue Yang ◽

Shili Guo ◽

Xin Deng ◽

Dingde Xu

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Rural Households ◽

Earthquake Hazard ◽

Physical Capital ◽

Sichuan Province ◽

Livelihood Strategies ◽

Financial Capital ◽

Economic Pressure ◽

Livelihood Strategy ◽

Adaptation Capacity

The welfare of many poor and low-income rural households is vulnerable to earthquakes and secondary geological disasters. The academic literature, however, pays little attention to the livelihood pressure, adaptability, and livelihood strategies of these households. Based on the survey data of 327 rural households in the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquake-stricken areas in the Sichuan Province, the livelihood pressure, adaptability, and livelihood strategy characteristics of rural households were analyzed, and the disordered multi-classification logistic regression model was constructed to explore the correlation between the above-mentioned variables. The results show that: (1) Rural households face the greatest economic pressure and the least social pressure; rural households have the strongest adaptability in social capital and the lowest adaptability in financial capital. The proportion of rural households that chose the aid livelihood strategy was the highest, while the proportion of rural households that chose the adjustment livelihood strategy was the lowest. (2) Compared with the expanded livelihood strategy, (a) When the health pressure is higher, the rural households are more inclined to choose the expanded livelihood strategy, followed by the contractive livelihood strategy and, finally, the aid livelihood strategies; (b), the higher the physical capital, the more often the rural households tend to choose the expanded livelihood strategy compared to the adjustment livelihood strategy; (c), The higher the financial capital of farm households, the more they prefer contractive livelihood strategies compared to the expanded livelihood strategy and (d), compared with the aid livelihood strategy, rural households with greater economic pressure are more inclined to choose the expanded livelihood strategy.This study can provide a reference for the establishment of relevant policies related to the adaptation capacity of rural households in the earthquake hazard zone.

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Household Livelihood Strategy Based on Capital Assets in Fire-Prone Areas, Ogan Komering Ilir Regency, South Sumatra

Jurnal Sylva Lestari ◽

10.23960/jsl1945-63 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 45

Author(s):

Ari Nurlia ◽

Dadang Hikmah Purnama ◽

Sabaruddin Kadir

Keyword(s):

Human Capital ◽

Data Collection ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Physical Capital ◽

Livelihood Strategies ◽

Financial Capital ◽

Livelihood Strategy ◽

Livelihood Assets ◽

Household Livelihood

Forest and land fires are problems that have not been resolved and occur almost every year. Various policies related to forest and land fires began to be promoted nationally and have restricted communities in managing their land. This causes a vulnerability in society. Farmers are required to carry out various methods and strategies to overcome economic problems. This research aims to analyze the livelihood assets and livelihood strategies of farmer households. The study was conducted from February to June 2020 in Pulu Beruang Village, Tulung Selapan Sub-District, and Kayu Labu Village, Pedamaran Timur Sub-District, Ogan Komering Ilir Regency. This research is a survey research using a mixed sequential explanatory approach by using the triangulation principle.The quantitative data collection is done through a household survey using a questionnaire to 75 respondents in Pulu Beruang Village and 70 respondents in Kayu Labu Village.Qualitative data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and field observation. The results showed that Pulu Beruang Village had a greater asset score in human capital and financial capital. In comparison, Kayu Labu Village had a greater score in natural capital. Physical capital and social capital in both villages had scores that were not distinctly different. Hence, they did not have a different effect on community resilience. Livelihood assets owned by the community influence their household livelihood strategies. The household livelihood strategy in Pulu Beruang Village uses human capital and financial capital, agricultural sector and non-agriculture, especially trading, and swallow’s nest business. Meanwhile, the livelihood strategies of farmers’ households in Kayu Labu Village rely on their natural capital and agricultural sectors, such as fisheries and purun crafts.Keywords: forest and land fires, livelihood asset, livelihood strategies

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Do Agricultural Machinery Services Facilitate Land Transfer? Evidence from Rice Farmers in Sichuan Province, China

Land ◽

10.3390/land10050466 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 466

Author(s):

Xi Yu ◽

Xiyang Yin ◽

Yuying Liu ◽

Dongmei Li

Keyword(s):

Negative Impact ◽

Sichuan Province ◽

Impact Factors ◽

Farm Labor ◽

Agricultural Machinery ◽

Rice Farmers ◽

Land Transfer ◽

Land Rental ◽

Rental Markets ◽

The Impact

Agricultural machinery services play an increasingly important role in the land transfer market, especially in developing countries. Prior studies have explored the impact factors of machinery use on agricultural production and land transfer, respectively. However, little research has focused on the relationship between the adoption of agricultural machinery services and the land transfer of rice farmers. To bridge this gap, this study investigated the correlation between machinery services and land transfer, using unique survey data of 810 rice farmers collected from Sichuan province in China. Additionally, this study further explored the impact mechanism on land transfer of rural households with IV-Probit and IV-Tobit models. The empirical results show the following: (i) Agricultural machinery services have a significantly positive and robust effect on both the incidence and area of rice farmers’ land transfer-in, while the impact degree is different. Specifically, with other conditions remaining unchanged, and with a 1% increase in the proportion of machinery services, the average probability of land transfer-in of rice farmers increased by 2.4%, and the area of land transfer-in increased by 13.4 mu, on average. (ii) For control variables, head education, agricultural certificates and whether the majority of land, are in a flat area have positive impacts on land transfer-in behavior. Yet, age and off-farm labor have a negative impact on land transfer-in area. Moreover, our findings highlight the importance of agricultural machinery services in stimulating the development of rural land rental markets.

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The Nexus between Rural Household Livelihoods and Agricultural Functions: Evidence from China

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11030241 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 241

Author(s):

Bencheng Liu ◽

Yangang Fang

Keyword(s):

Social Security ◽

Household Survey ◽

Livelihood Strategies ◽

Agricultural Product ◽

Full Time ◽

Cultural Function ◽

Livelihood Assets ◽

Part Time ◽

The Relationship ◽

Farming Households

Understanding the relationship between households’ livelihoods and agricultural functions is important for regulating and balancing households’ and macrosocieties’ agricultural functional needs and formulating better agricultural policies and rural revitalization strategies. This paper uses peasant household survey data obtained from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and statistical analysis methods, to analyze the differences in livelihood assets and agricultural functions of households with different livelihood strategies and the relationship between livelihood assets and agricultural functions. Households are categorized based on their livelihood strategies as full-time farming households, part-time farming I households, part-time farming II households, and non-farming households. The agricultural product supply and negative effects of the ecological service function of full-time farming households are higher than those of part-time farming and non-farming households. Part-time farming I households have the strongest social security function, while non-farming households have the weakest social security function. Non-farming households have the strongest leisure and cultural function, while part-time farming I households have the weakest leisure and cultural function. Households’ demand for agricultural functions is affected by livelihood assets. Effective measures should be taken to address contradictions in the agricultural functional demands of households and macrosocieties.

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Livelihood Improvement through Agroforestry Compared to Conventional Farming System: Evidence from Northern Irrigated Plain, Pakistan

Land ◽

10.3390/land10060645 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 645

Author(s):

Shahzad Ahmad ◽

Zhang Caihong ◽

E. M. B. P. Ekanayake

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

International Development ◽

Natural Capital ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Physical Capital ◽

Financial Capital ◽

Sustainable Livelihood ◽

Conventional Farming ◽

Fuel Wood ◽

Livelihood Improvement

The concept of sustainable livelihood garnered a prominent status in humanitarian and international development organizations that aim to calculate and build a livelihood for agroforestry farmers. However, it is difficult to measure and analyze as well as visualize the data of livelihood improvement from agroforestry (AF). This paper comparatively assessed 400 smallholder farmers’ livelihood through AF and conventional farming (CF) systems in the Northern Irrigated Plain of Pakistan. The findings showed that AF has a mixed impact on farmers’ livelihood capital, including human, physical, natural, financial and social capital. Specifically, AF significantly improved financial capital in terms of timber, non-timber and fuel wood income. Furthermore, the physical capital (buffalo plough, generators and sprinklers), natural capital (the extent of cultivated land and land ownership; the number of households (HHs) growing vegetables, fruit crops and medicinal crops) and social capital (the number of social groups that HHs involved and number of HHs sharing crop seeds) of AF farmer HHs were significantly improved compared to those of CF farmers. However, the results show that financial capital gain through crop income, HHs owning high-value vehicles (tractors) and farmers trust and collective activities were significantly higher in CF farmers than AF ones. Therefore, to enhance the contribution of AF to rural livelihood, advanced extension services and government involvement on research planning and implementing are needed.

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Rural-Urban Migration and its Effect on Land Transfer in Rural China

Land ◽

10.3390/land9030081 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 81 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Dingde Xu ◽

Zhuolin Yong ◽

Xin Deng ◽

Linmei Zhuang ◽

Chen Qing

Keyword(s):

Labor Force ◽

Rural China ◽

Urban Migration ◽

Land Area ◽

Land Use Patterns ◽

Land Transfer ◽

Average Probability ◽

Part Time ◽

Rural Urban Migration ◽

The Impact

Labor force rural-urban migration will lead to changes to the land use patterns of farmers. Using the survey data on dynamic migration of the Chinese labor force in 2014, iv-probit and iv-tobit models were used to analyze the impact of labor migration on the land transfer of farmers. The results show that: (1) Off-farm employment would significantly impact land transfer of farmers and the results are robust. With every 10% increase in the proportion of off-farm employment of farmers, the average probability of rent-in land of farmers decreases by 1.55%, and the average transfer in land area of farmers decreased by 1.04%. Similarly, with every 10% increase in the proportion of off-farm employment of farmers, the average probability of rent-out land of farmers increases by 4.77%, and the average transfer out land area of farmers increases by 3.98%. (2) Part-time employment also has a significant impact on land transfer of farmers, but the impact of part-time employment on land transfer in is not robust. Specifically, with every 10% increase in part-farm employment, the average probability of rent-out land of farmers increases by 7.64%, and the average transfer out land area of farmers increases by 6.85%.

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The Challenges and Strategies of Food Security under Rapid Urbanization in China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11020542 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 542 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Yong-sheng Wang

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Consumption ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Southern China ◽

Northern China ◽

Northern Region ◽

Grain Production ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Agricultural Income ◽

The Impact

Food security has received wide attention in China for a long time due to the challenges of a huge population and limited farmland area. Under conditions of rapid urbanization, the food scenario has changed, creating major challenges for massive populations in China. This paper intends to reveal the impact of urbanization on food security and to propose strategies for mitigating the threats to it. Total grain production has continuously increased, but most of the grain production has been distributed in the northern region since 2006. Although the per capita rural income has increased significantly since 1980, the agricultural income ratio has consistently declined from 56.13% in 1983 to 26.61% in 2012. A dramatic shift in food consumption away from grain towards meat, poultry, eggs, milk and liquor has been found in both rural and urban areas. The faster agricultural water consumption growth in northern China over southern China helped close the gap. There has been net increase of cultivated land in northern China, whereas southern China has seen a net decrease. The medium- and low-level cultivation ratios of land were 52.84% and 17.69%, respectively, in 2015. This paper concluded that food security in China could be ensured by increasing production and optimizing consumption. It suggested that enhanced grain production capacity, strict water management, and land consolidation engineering as well as agricultural industrialization could be used for maintaining grain production. Food consumption itself can be managed by optimizing resident dietary pattern, reducing food waste, adjusting grain consumption structure and moderating food imports policy.

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Rural Households’ Livelihood Strategy Choice and Livelihood Diversity of Main Ethnic Minorities in Chongqing, China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12198166 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (19) ◽

pp. 8166

Author(s):

Shuxin Mao ◽

Sha Qiu ◽

Tao Li ◽

Mingfang Tang

Keyword(s):

Ethnic Minorities ◽

Rural Households ◽

Rural Household ◽

Livelihood Strategies ◽

Full Time ◽

Sustainable Livelihood ◽

Livelihood Strategy ◽

Part Time ◽

Household Livelihood ◽

Livelihood Capitals

Rural household livelihood research of ethnic minorities is urgent to the development of ethnic areas in China and achieve the world poverty reduction goal. To improve ethnic rural household livelihood, it is fundamental to figure out what are the types, characteristics as well as impact factors of their livelihood strategies. In the study, we explored the household livelihood strategy choices and livelihood diversity of the main ethnic minorities (Tujia and Miao) in Chongqing, as well as how livelihood capitals impact livelihood strategy through methods of clustering, livelihood diversity index and multiple logistic regression under the framework of sustainable livelihood approach. The results show that: (1) Full-time job, both full-time and part-time job, part-time agriculture, part-time job and subsidized livelihood strategy are livelihood strategies adopted by Tujia and Miao rural households in Chongqing, China. (2) The characteristics of the identified livelihood strategies are diversified and various in natural, financial, human and finance capital. (3) A number of livelihood capitals impact the way that household choose their livelihood strategies, but the livelihood capitals have no significant impact on the livelihood diversity. By detailed analysis of the characteristic of rural ethnic household livelihood strategy, especial livelihood diversity, the research enriched sustainable livelihood literature and provided useful information for policymakers and practitioners in designing effective programs for regional sustainable development and ecological protection.

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Factors Affecting Farm Succession and Occupational Choices of Nominated Farm Successors in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11121203 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 1203

Author(s):

Muhammad Abid Shahzad ◽

Syed Abubakr ◽

Christian Fischer

Keyword(s):

Regression Model ◽

Farm Size ◽

Agricultural Activity ◽

Infrastructure Development ◽

Occupational Choices ◽

Agricultural Income ◽

Logit Regression ◽

Part Time ◽

Logit Regression Model ◽

Gilgit Baltistan

Mountain farming communities in Pakistan are exhibiting an increased rate of rural-to-urban migration and a rapid growth in the non-farm sector, which has threatened the sustenance of agricultural activity. This study examined the determinants of farm succession using a logit regression model and employed a multinomial logit regression model to study the factors influencing the future occupational choices of the potential farm successors. The study was based on quantitative survey data obtained from 421 farm managers and 155 potential farm successors and qualitative data from 12 key informants from two different districts in Gilgit-Baltistan. The survey results show that around 67% of the farmers had a potential successor. Farm succession was mainly explained by farmer characteristics (e.g., farmer age, gender and education), farm characteristics (e.g., farm size, specialization in horticulture, etc.) and agricultural income. Regarding the occupational choices, part-time farming (66%) was the most commonly reported choice. The results indicate that it was mainly farm successors’ personal characteristics (such as age, education and marital status) and agricultural income that led to the choices “undecided” and “exit”, whilst farm characteristics (e.g., farm size) and the main farm operators’ non-farm activity were significantly associated with the choice “part-time”. Policies aimed at improving the local income situation and investments in skill-building and infrastructure development can assist in farm sustenance.

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Migrant Community of Nijhum Dwip: Comparative Importance of Livelihood Capitals to Adapt in This Island

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Science ◽

10.3329/jasbs.v44i2.46555 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 127-136

Author(s):

Amit Kumar ◽

Sabnam Sarmin Luna

Keyword(s):

Natural Capital ◽

Physical Capital ◽

Study Data ◽

Financial Capital ◽

Relative Importance ◽

River Bank ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Secondary Sources ◽

Migrant Community ◽

Livelihood Capitals

The study attempts to explore the factors behind selecting Nijhum Dwip for migration and perceive the relative importance of livelihood capitals (Human, physical, natural, financial and social) for the climate change adaptation of migrant community. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are followed in this study. Data are collected from primary and secondary sources. The study recognizes, people are moving to Nijhum Dwip rather shifting to main land despite facing numerous disasters like cyclone, river bank erosion, flood, storm surge, sea level rise, salinity intrusion and so on. This is mainly due to low price of land and no alternative place to shift. They consider physical capital as the strongest livelihood capital to adapt in this island followed by human capital, natural capital, financial capital as well as social capital are also suitable option for enhancing the adaptation of migrant community to settle there. Asiat. Soc. Bangladesh, Sci. 44(2): 127-136, December 2018

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