Land Tenure, Loans, and Farmers’ Cropland Conservation Behavior: Evidence from Rural Northwest China

Guoren Long, Xiaoyan Zhou and Jun Li ()
Additional contact information
Guoren Long: Institute of Central Asia, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Xiaoyan Zhou: Northwest Institute of Historical Environment and Socio-Economic Development, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Jun Li: Northwest Institute of Historical Environment and Socio-Economic Development, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: The pivotal role of farmers’ cropland conservation behavior (CCB) in advancing green agricultural practices is well-recognized. This paper underscores the critical role of stable land tenure in enhancing farmers’ CCB, exemplified by the practice of mulch recycling. Drawing on a survey of 349 cotton farmers in Xinjiang, Northwest China, it offers a systematic examination of how land tenure stability influences CCB and its underlying mechanisms. The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between land tenure stability and CCB. Notably, this relationship is mediated by the facilitation of land mortgages, wherein written contracts and extended land tenure durations enhance farmers’ participation in land mortgages, thereby bolstering CCB. Furthermore, the stabilizing effect of land tenure on CCB also mitigates the negative impacts of risk aversion and time preference. The study additionally highlights the differential effects of land tenure stability based on farm size and technical training; its facilitative role in CCB is more pronounced among larger-scale farmers and those engaged in technical training.

Keywords: land tenure; loans; cropland conservation; farm scale; technical training (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/413/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/4/413/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:4:p:413-:d:1362687

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().