Does E-Commerce Participation among Farming Households Affect Farmland Abandonment? Evidence from a Large-Scale Survey in China

Abstract

Reducing farmland abandonment is crucial for food security. While the association between e-commerce proliferation and farmland abandonment at the village level has been discussed, the correlation at the farming household level remains unexplored. Utilizing 2020 survey data from 3831 rural households across 10 Chinese provinces, this study develops an “e-commerce–household–farmland abandonment” framework to explore the co-occurrence of e-commerce engagement with farmland abandonment, using econometric models. The findings reveal that e-commerce engagement significantly increases farmland abandonment, with implicit and explicit rates rising by 10.3% and 28.5%, respectively. It also shifts household incomes from planting to forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries, leading households to reallocate labor away from agriculture, thereby intensifying abandonment. However, land transfer can alleviate this co-occurrence. This study also explores the variation in the association between e-commerce participation and farmland abandonment in relation to agricultural subsidies, economic development, and the presence of family farms. By elucidating the dynamics at the household level, this research offers fresh perspectives for developing countries to safeguard food security by curbing farmland abandonment.