The Impact of Rural Population Aging on Agricultural Cropping Structure: Evidence from China’s Provinces

Tingting Li, Hongwei Lu, Qiyou Luo, Guojing Li and Mingjie Gao ()
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Tingting Li: Institute of Agricultural Economy and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Hongwei Lu: State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-Arid Arable Land in Northern China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Qiyou Luo: State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-Arid Arable Land in Northern China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Guojing Li: State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-Arid Arable Land in Northern China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Mingjie Gao: State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-Arid Arable Land in Northern China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-19

Abstract: Agricultural cropping structure is related to the quality of the agricultural supply system and is a key element of the structural reform of the agricultural supply side. Based on China’s provincial panel data from 2000 to 2021, this paper empirically examines the impact and mechanism of rural population aging on the planting structure of food and cash crops by using a two-way fixed-effects model, which fills the gap in the research on the impact mechanism of the rural population aging on agricultural planting structure. The conclusions of the study show that: as the aging of the rural population deepens, the proportion of food crops planted will further increase, while the proportion of cash crops planted will decrease; agricultural mechanization will promote the further increase of the proportion of food crops planted while the proportion of cash crops planted will decrease in the deepening of the aging of rural population; the aging of the rural population has a more significant impact on the structure of agricultural planting in the eastern region and does not have a significant impact on the central and western provinces. The aging of the rural population has a significant impact on the agricultural planting structure in the eastern region, but not in the central and western provinces. This paper argues that we should fully respect the willingness of agricultural management subjects to choose planting varieties, increase the research, development, and promotion of agricultural machinery, continuously improve the level of farmers’ human capital, and further enhance the degree of organization, scale, and specialization of agricultural production.

Keywords: rural population aging; agricultural mechanization; agricultural cropping structure; rural China (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: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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