Land rental, off-farm employment and technical efficiency of farm households in Jiangxi Province, China

Abstract

Land rental market development and off-farm employment have important implications for agricultural production. This study examined the effects of land rental market participation, the resulting land tenure contracts, and off-farm employment on the technical efficiency in rice production in rural China, using the one-step stochastic frontier approach. Data from a survey held at household and plot level in three villages in north-east Jiangxi Province were used to estimate the stochastic frontier model. We found that the mean technical efficiency of rice production in north-east Jiangxi Province ranged from 0.36 to 0.97, with an average of 0.82. The determinants of technical efficiency show that households that rented land achieved higher technical efficiency than households that did not rent land. Rice production on rented plots was technically as efficient as on contracted plots. Additionally, participation in migration did not have an effect on technical efficiency.