Abstract
With the mobility and off-farm employment of rural villagers, agricultural production has been influenced by the absence of labor force in the past few years. In particular, the inadequate assignment of resources has threatened the sustainability of some Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems due to their low profit. In this paper, the influences of labor force and capital on agricultural heritage systems are analyzed, taking the Qingtian Rice-Fish Culture System (QRFCS) as an example, so as to maximize profit along with the sustainability of agricultural heritage. The Cobb-Douglas Production Function is applied to examine the impacts of these major factors on agricultural productivity based on a survey held among 32 households in Longxian Village, Qingtian County, China. Subsequently, the profit maximization problem can be solved by a marginal rate of technical substitution under production standard. We come to the conclusion that the output elasticity coefficients of labor and capital are 0.6 and 0.4. Our results also indicate that the maximum yield of rice and field-fish is 0.84 kg under the level of 9 Yuan RMB and 0.24 man-days per square meter. The net profit can hit 24.8 Yuan RMB regardless of human resource cost. In contrast, the demand of 218,800 m2 paddy fields exceeds the human resources available for the Rice-Fish system in QRFCS, thereby it is necessary to promote the refluence of skilled farmers.
Highlights
China is a large traditional agricultural country, and agriculture is an important pillar in the development of the national economy, comprising 11.3% of Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [1]
Based on the investment cost and product benefit data, the material costs are in need of 9 Yuan RMB, as well as 0.24 man-days priced at 36 Yuan RMB
Labor input has the highest contribution to the growth, and the availability of land resources restricts the total yields according to the Cobb-Douglas Production Function
Summary
China is a large traditional agricultural country, and agriculture is an important pillar in the development of the national economy, comprising 11.3% of Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [1]. Both natural and social factors are all crucial to agricultural production in the development process, such as farmland, farmer labor, and land-leveling work [2]. Agricultural non-point source pollution, caused by fertilizers and pesticides and the emission of animal waste from livestock breeding, have become the most important causes of water eutrophication and pollution in some regions [23]
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