The Differentiation in Cultivated Land Quality between Modern Agricultural Areas and Traditional Agricultural Areas: Evidence from Northeast China

Quanfeng Li, Wenhao Guo, Xiaobing Sun, Aizheng Yang, Shijin Qu and Wenfeng Chi
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Quanfeng Li: School of Public Administration and Law, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Wenhao Guo: School of Public Administration and Law, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Xiaobing Sun: School of Public Administration and Law, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Aizheng Yang: School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
Shijin Qu: School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Wenfeng Chi: College of Resources and Environmental Economics, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, Hohhot 010070, China

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Many studies of cultivated land use have focused on evaluating land quality. However, these studies rarely compare cultivated land quality (CLQ) between modern agricultural areas (MA) and traditional agricultural areas (TA). Thus, policymakers sometimes experience difficulties utilizing existing CLQ theories in CLQ improvement, especially in developing countries experiencing the transformation from traditional to modern agriculture. The objective of this study was to build a comprehensive hierarchical framework to compare the CLQ in MA and TA from the multidimensional perspectives of fertility, project, landscape, and ecology. An empirical analysis was conducted in Fujin City, Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China. The results showed that comprehensive CLQ in MA is better than that in TA, but individual cultivated land quality results are not the same as comprehensive quality. Specifically, project, landscape, and ecology quality in MA are better than in TA. However, fertility quality in MA is still worse. Moreover, the CLQ in MA tends to be more consistent in a small range, while the spatial pattern of CLQ in TA is disordered. We then argue that these results should be associated with different management modes and agrarian property systems between MA and TA. Based on our findings, four suggestions were generated to improve CLQ. Overall, this study provides a new comprehensive insight for understanding CLQ, and the framework, method, and findings of this study can help increase the effectiveness of CLQ improvements.

Keywords: cultivated land quality; multidimensional; comparative analysis; Northeast China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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