How to Evaluate the Green Utilization Efficiency of Cultivated Land in a Farming Household? A Case Study of Shandong Province, China

Abstract

The behavior of farming households is the most direct factor involved in the transition of cultivated land utilization from high-input/high-output to green and sustainable utilization mode. Improving farming households’ green utilization efficiency of cultivated land (GUECL) is of great significance in facilitating agricultural green development in China. However, there are few studies on GUECL based on the micro-perspective of farming households that cover the comprehensive benefits to the economy, ecology, and society. This paper builds a theoretical analysis framework of farming households’ green utilization of cultivated land and uses the super-efficiency EBM model and a questionnaire to conduct an empirical analysis of 952 farming households in Shandong Province to evaluate the green utilization efficiency of cultivated land. The results show that the GUECL of the farming households is generally not high, with an average value of 0.67, and can be further improved. The higher the GUECL, the lower the input and undesired output per unit yield and per unit output value. Tobit regression results show that a farming household’s per capita income is significantly positively correlated with the GUECL, while agricultural insurance, agricultural subsidies, cultivated land scale, cultivated land fragmentation, and regional economic level are significantly negatively correlated with the GUECL. In addition, recommendations can be made on promoting and innovating agricultural green development technology, popularizing and publicizing farming households’ thoughts on the green utilization of cultivated land, and ensuring and improving rural green life so as to provide a reference for promoting green transition of cultivated land utilization with diversified coordination and multiple measures.