A Simulation-Based Study on the Coupling Coordination of Farmers’ Livelihood Efficiency and Land Use: A Pathway towards Promoting and Implementing the Rural Development and Rural Revitalization Strategy

Abstract

The interaction process between farmers’ livelihood and land use is a core link between the interaction and the coupling of the human–land system. It is a complex evolutionary process that involves several issues such as resource-intensive utilization and economic development. This study first constructs a dynamic model of the coupling system of farmers’ livelihood efficiency and land use and designs two types of 31 scenarios based on the farmer’s livelihood mode and land use. This study further simulates the coupling coordination relationship in different scenarios and then proposes suggestions for sustainable development. The findings of our study show that with the development of time, the livelihood capital, livelihood output, and land use level first showed a decline and then an increase. The results also reveal that livelihood efficiency and coordination degree are related to the livelihood mode and land use mode of farmers, while the land use level is not significantly associated with the livelihood mode of farmers. Pure-agriculture farmers have the lowest livelihood efficiency and coordination degree when they have no planting and breeding poultry, while part-time farmers have the highest land use level and coordination degree when they plant cash crops and breeding livestock. Besides, non-agriculture farmers have the highest livelihood efficiency and the lowest land use level when they neither plant crops nor breed livestock. To improve the level of coupling coordination, it is necessary not only to flexibly adjust the farmer’s livelihood and land use mode but also to optimize the allocation of various resources to promote the coordinated and sustainable development of farmers.