Farm Household Pluriactivity, Factor Inputs, and Crop Structure Adjustment: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China

Jianqiang Li, Qing Feng, Ziyi Ye, Hongming Liu, Yandong Guo and Kun Zhou ()
Additional contact information
Jianqiang Li: College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Qing Feng: College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Ziyi Ye: College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Hongming Liu: College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Yandong Guo: College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Kun Zhou: Institute of Rural Development, Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, Chengdu 610071, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-20

Abstract: Farm household pluriactivity has become increasingly prevalent in China; however, its influence on crop structure remains insufficiently explored. This study examines the impact of farm household pluriactivity on crop structure in China, focusing on factor input mechanisms. Based on survey data from 473 farm households in Sichuan Province, this study employs ordinary least squares (OLS), two-stage least squares (2SLS), and mediation analyses to systematically assess the impact of pluriactivity on crop structure through factor input mechanisms. The analysis reveals three key findings. First, rather than reducing the grain planting area, an increase in part-time farming is associated with a significant rise in the proportion of grain cultivation. Second, factor inputs partially mediate this relationship: while pluriactivity tends to reduce staple crop cultivation through mechanisms such as cultivated land transfer-out, land abandonment, and increased non-agricultural labor input, it simultaneously promotes staple crop expansion via enhanced agricultural technical services. Third, heterogeneity tests indicate that the positive effect of pluriactivity on staple crop cultivation is especially pronounced among households in hilly areas and those that have adopted agricultural insurance. These findings provide valuable policy insights for fostering sustainable agricultural transitions and enhancing food security in developing regions.

Keywords: pluriactivity; factor inputs; staple crop cultivation behavior; topographical heterogeneity (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: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/13/1357/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/13/1357/ (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:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:13:p:1357-:d:1687114

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

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