The Impact of Farmland Tenure Security on China’s Agricultural Production Efficiency: A Perspective of Agricultural Production Factors

Abstract

Improving agricultural production efficiency is an effective means to ensure food security and promote agricultural sustainable development in China. Stable agricultural land property rights help optimize the allocation of production factors and improve production efficiency, and it is of great practical significance to study the influence of farmland tenure security on agricultural production efficiency. Therefore, this research utilizes the 2018 data of the China Labor Dynamics Survey (CLDS) to analyze the influence of farmland tenure security on agricultural production efficiency and its internal transmission mechanism under the background of agricultural land ownership confirmation. The results show that the enhancement of farmland tenure security not only directly improves agricultural production efficiency, but also indirectly affects agricultural production efficiency through the intermediary variable of agricultural investment. Moreover, it also shows that farmland tenure security has heterogeneity effects on different farmer regions and production modes and can significantly improve the production efficiency of farmers in plain and hilly areas who adopt fully mechanized and partially mechanized farming. We suggest that policymakers should also deepen the reform of the rural factor market, develop diversified rural financial institutions, actively promote the involvement of small farmers in the public sector economy, and improve the service level of agricultural machinery in order to guide the development of the tertiary industry in non-plain areas and to reduce the land endowment effect of farmers.