Exploring the Role of Contiguous Farmland Cultivation and Adoption of No-Tillage Technology in Improving Transferees’ Income Structure: Evidence from China

Abstract

Seasonal alternations of extreme weather such as continuous drought and rare rainstorms significantly influence farmers’ adoption of agricultural technologies. Compared with traditional tillage, no-tillage technology has more advantages to cope with extreme weather. It is hypothesized that the cultivation of contiguous farmland is still minimal in spite of the transference of farmland on a large scale in China, which ultimately halts the adoption of no-tillage technology and influences the income of households. The current study used 793 farmland transferees’ data from Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia provinces of China to explore this phenomenon empirically. By employing the endogenous switching regression model, the study revealed that contiguous farmland significantly promotes the adoption of no-tillage technology and positively influences households’ agricultural and non-agricultural income. Meanwhile, the moderating effect of the stability of farmland rental contracts is explored. Further, it was also found that education level, organizational participation, relationship networks, and information acquisition channels influence the income of transferees who opt for no-tillage technology. The study further revealed that if a transferee who opts for no-tillage technology switches to traditional technology, their agricultural and non-agricultural income will decrease by 0.2893 and 1.6979 ten thousand yuan (RMB), respectively. In contrast, if a transferee who opts for traditional technology then switches to adopt no-tillage technology, their agricultural and non-agricultural income will increase by 0.1919 and 1.3044 ten thousand yuan (RMB), respectively. Conclusively, the current study’s empirical findings offer policymakers possible guidelines to devise strategies and encourage transferees to opt for no-tillage applications to increase their families’ income.