Does land renting-in reduce grain production? Evidence from rural China

Abstract

China’s grain security is an increasing global concern. Most researchers argue that land renting-in leads to the cultivation of non-grain products in rural China. We use household-level data collected in China to assess the relationship between land renting-in and grain production. Our results indicate that land renting-in positively affects rice acreage, especially when there is less labor available for agriculture. The channel of the effect is that lessees tend to increase the use of machinery in rice production, but not in the production of cash crops because the production of grain crops can be more easily mechanized in rural China. The Chinese government should still pay close attention to the cultivation of non-grain products caused by land renting-in because workers in the production of cash crops may also be easily replaced by new agricultural technologies.