Characterizing Rural Household Differentiation from the Perspective of Farmland Transfer in Eastern China Using an Agent Based Model
Authored by Liming Liu, Xiao Chang
Date Published: 2018
DOI: 10.1007/s10745-018-0035-6
Sponsors:
Chinese National Natural Science Foundation
Platforms:
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Abstract
Over the past several decades in China there has been a large amount of
rural labor flow to non-farm industries as well as an increase in
farmland transfers that have resulted in significant differentiation of
farmer households and changes in agricultural land use pattern. For this
study we developed an agent-based model to explore this process and the
resulting concentration of agricultural production by characterizing the
households' decision-making behavior with respect to farmland transfer
in Jinze Town, located in the developed eastern region in China. The
model simulated the household agents' farmland transfer behavior,
reproduced the evolution and differentiation of household agents, and
explored changes of farm area distribution across household types from
2005 to 2020. Small households, the dominant demographic as well the
main agricultural producers at the beginning of the simulation,
decreased radically and cultivated the smallest area of farmland by the
end. In contrast, large-scale farming households increased rapidly and
became the main agricultural producers. The majority of households
entirely exited farming in favor of urban employment. We examine how
farm households' attributes influence their farmland transfer behavior
and subsequent livelihood choices in the specific socioeconomic and
political context in the research region. We conclude with policy
suggestions for the provision of a favorable environment for both
large-scale farm households and those who leave farming altogether. Our
findings can provide references for land use policies in other
transitional rural areas.
Tags
Agent-based model
Simulation
differentiation
behavior
Market
Decision-Making
Ecosystem services
systems
typology
Employment
land-cover change
Use dynamics
Farm households
Farmland transfers
Rural china
Jinze town