Does Non-Food Cultivation of Cropland Increase Farmers’ Income?

Wencai Yang, Caiyao Xu and Fanbin Kong
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Wencai Yang: College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Caiyao Xu: College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Fanbin Kong: College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: The production of cash crops is often regarded as an effective way to increase farmers’ income. This study evaluates the impact of non-food cultivation of cropland on farmers’ income by using the least-squares (OLS) model in Zhejiang Province, eastern China. Farmers are further divided into different groups according to their income levels to analyze the different impacts of non-food cultivation on their household income. The result shows that non-food cultivation has a significant negative effect on farmers’ income, with a more pronounced effect on farmers with a relatively low income. Accordingly, the increase in the proportion of cash crops that are grown does not increase the income of farmers in Zhejiang; instead, this harms their income. Therefore, farmers in Zhejiang should not rely on the cultivation of cash crops for their prosperity but must focus on participating in non-farm employment to increase their household income.

Keywords: non-food cultivation; cash crops; farmers’ income; Zhejiang; agricultural policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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