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

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 15;19(12):7329. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127329.

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: Zhejiang; agricultural policy; cash crops; farmers’ income; non-food cultivation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agriculture*
  • China
  • Crops, Agricultural
  • Farmers*
  • Humans
  • Income

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. Z22D010686), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42071283), Zhejiang Soft Science Research Program of China (Grant No. 2022C35104), Research Development Fund of Zhejiang A&F University (Grant No. 2020FR066), and the Special Project of Cultivating Leading Talents in Philosophy and Social Science of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. 21YJRC12-2YB and 21YJRC2ZD).