Ways to Improve the Productivity of Oasis Agriculture: Increasing the Scale of Household Production and Human Capital? A Case Study on Seed Maize Production in Northwest China

Yao Wei, Fanglei Zhong, Xijing Luo, Penglong Wang and Xiaoyu Song
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Yao Wei: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Fanglei Zhong: School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Xijing Luo: School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
Penglong Wang: Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Xiaoyu Song: Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Oasis agriculture in arid areas faces the constraints of scarce resources and a fragile ecological environment. Improving agricultural production efficiency is the key solution. However, there are few studies analyzing the relationship between farmers’ production efficiency and planting scale from a micro-empirical perspective. Herein, we study the seed-producing corn growers in Zhangye city, and supplement special survey data with national input–output survey data. We use data envelopment analysis to measure agricultural production efficiency, and tobit regression to calculate the marginal effects of factors affecting production efficiency on farms of different scales. The results show that production efficiency is greater for large-scale farmers than for small-scale farmers. Duration of technical training, education time of laborers, planting income, and productive expenditure are significantly positively correlated with production efficiency. Average age of farmers and the amount of pesticide and fertilizer use are significantly negatively correlated with production efficiency. Off-farm activities improve the production efficiency of small-scale farmers but inhibit it for medium- and large-scale farmers. Differences exist in marginal impacts for different scales of farmland. We conclude that expanding the scale of family farms and optimizing human capital are effective for improving agricultural production efficiency in arid oasis areas.

Keywords: arid oasis agriculture; production efficiency; household farmland; human capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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