Shuyi Feng

Land rental, off-farm employment and technical efficiency of farm households in Jiangxi Province, China

Land rental market development and off-farm employment have important implications for agricultural production. This study examined the effects of land rental market participation, the resulting land tenure contracts, and off-farm employment on the technical efficiency in rice production in rural China, using the one-step stochastic frontier approach. Data from a survey held at household and plot level in three villages in north-east Jiangxi Province were used to estimate the stochastic frontier model. We found that the mean technical efficiency of rice production in north-east Jiangxi Province ranged from 0.36 to 0.97, with an average of 0.82. The determinants of technical efficiency show that households that rented land achieved higher technical efficiency than households that did not rent land. Rice production on rented plots was technically as efficient as on contracted plots. Additionally, participation in migration did not have an effect on technical efficiency.

Are farm households’ land renting and migration decisions inter-related in rural China?

Economic reforms in rural China have stimulated the development of land and labour markets. The increasing importance of these two markets suggests that they might be closely inter-related, but proper statistical tests are lacking. This paper examines the factors that determine the participation of farm households in land renting and migration, and investigates whether participation in land renting and migration influence each other, using a seemingly unrelated bivariate probit regression. Data from a household survey held in 2000 in three villages in the north-east of the Jiangxi Province were used to estimate the land renting and migration equations. Household characteristics, fixed factors, household land and labour endowments, institutional factors, and land and labour prices were used as explanatory variables in both equations. We found that the error terms of the land renting equation and the migration equation were strongly correlated, confirming that there is a negative relationship between land renting and migration.

Consumer preferences for micronutrient strategies in China. A comparison between folic acid supplementation and folate biofortification.

OBJECTIVE Despite public health efforts, folate deficiency is still largely prevalent in poor, rural populations and continues to cause a large burden of disease. The present paper determines and compares consumer preferences for two folate strategies: folic acid supplementation v. folate biofortification, i.e. the enhancement of the folate content in staple crops. DESIGN Experimental auctions with non-repeated information rounds are applied to rice in order to obtain willingness-to-pay for folate products. Thereby, GM or non-GM folate-biofortified rice (FBR) is auctioned together with rice that is supplemented with free folic acid pills (FAR). SETTING Shanxi Province (China) as a high-risk region of folate deficiency. SUBJECTS One hundred and twenty-six women of childbearing age, divided into a school (n 60) and market sample (n 66). RESULTS Despite differences according to the targeted sample, a general preference for folate biofortification is observed, regardless of the applied breeding technology. Premiums vary between 33·9 % (GM FBR), 36·5 % (non-GM FBR) and 19·0 % (FAR). Zero bidding behaviour as well as the product choice question, respectively, support and validate these findings. The targeted sample, the timing of the auction, the intention to consume GM food and the responsibility for rice purchases are considered key determinants of product choice. A novel ex-post negative valuation procedure shows low consistency in zero bidding. CONCLUSIONS While the low attractiveness of FAR provides an additional argument for the limited effectiveness of past folic acid supplementation programmes, the positive reactions towards GM FBR further support its potential as a possible complementary micronutrient intervention.

Cognitive biases and design effects in experimental auctions: An application to GM rice with health benefits

Purpose - – Experimental auctions are widely used as a non-hypothetical value elicitation method to examine consumer preferences for novel, controversial foods. However, despite its advantages over hypothetical methods, its practice might lead to a wide variety of biases. The purpose of this paper is to provide a list of key cognitive biases and design effects in food auction research and to deliver scientifically underpinned procedures in order to assess, control and reduce them. Its applicability and relevance is examined in auctions on willingness-to-pay for folate (GM) biofortified rice. Design/methodology/approach - – Based on auction literature, a list of 18 biases has been developed. Experimental auctions were conducted with 252 women from Shanxi Province, China to test the occurrence of eight biases, while demonstrating measures to reduce the risk of ten biases. Findings - – The results lend support for three information-related effects, i.e. confirmation bias, conflicting product information effects and a primacy bias, but not for a multiple-good valuation effect, a panel size effect, a trial winner effect and time-related sampling biases. Furthermore, there are no clear indications of social desirability bias, auction fever and a false consensus effect. Research limitations/implications - – This study emphasizes the need to take into account, and measure the risk of various biases when developing, organizing and interpreting experimental auctions. Future research should further extend the list of biases and validate the study findings. Originality/value - – By using a highly topical subject, this study is one of the first to address the potential risk of cognitive biases and design effects in experimental (food) auctions.

Network strength, transaction‐specific investments, inter‐personal trust, and relationship satisfaction in Chinese agri‐food SMEs

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of network strength, transaction-specific investments and inter-personal trust on business relationship satisfaction for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in agri-food processing and exporting in China. Design/methodology/approach - Survey data collected from 80 agri-food SMEs in Jiangsu Province were used for empirical testing. The authors applied an ordered logit regression approach for model estimation. Findings - The results demonstrate that strong Practical implications - Business relationships play a critical role in the modern market environment. Relational arrangements (based on Originality/value - The paper extends our understanding of relationship (

Influence of guanxi, trust and farmer-specific factors on participation in emerging vegetable markets in China

The fast development of market outlets (e.g., supermarkets, processing industries, international markets) in China provides rich opportunities for small-scale farmers to upgrade quality and increase income. However, the high level of transaction costs incurred in small-volume-based vegetable transactions hinders farmers from participating in these emerging markets. This article explores how personal relationships (called guanxi in China) and trust between farmers and their buyers influence transaction costs in vegetable transactions, and thereby also farmers’ participation in emerging markets. We interviewed 167 vegetable farmers in Jiangsu Province, which provided data for empirical testing using two-stage probit analysis with endogenous variables. The findings suggest that guanxi and trust effectively reduce transaction costs in vegetable marketing in China, which may help and encourage farmers to better participate in emerging markets. The results also reveal that farmers’ age, education, marketing experience, distance to the market, production scale and land quality influence transaction costs. The article ends with policy implications with respect to efficiently reducing transaction costs in vegetable supply chains in order to create a better environment for small-scale farmers in emerging markets in China.

Effect of household land management on cropland topsoil organic carbon storage at plot scale in a red earth soil area of South China

SUMMARY An inventory of topsoil soil organic carbon (SOC) content in household farms was performed in a village from a red earth region in Jiangxi Province, China in 2003. In this region, the farmland managed by each household is fragmented, consisting of several plots of land that are not necessarily adjacent to each other. A statistical analysis of SOC variation with land use and household management type, and with crop management practices was conducted. Plot size ranged from 0·007 to 0·630 ha with a mean of 0·1 ha, and SOC content ranged from 1·72 to 25·2 g/kg, varying widely with a variety of land management and agricultural practices, arising from individual household behaviours. The mean SOC content in plot size <0·1 ha was 20% lower than in plot size ⩾0·1 ha. SOC of dry crop plots was 70% lower than that in rice paddies, and SOC of plots contracted from the village was almost double that of plots leased from other householders. Moreover, a 30% increase in SOC was observed with green manure cultivation, and a 55% increase under triple cropping. The difference in SOC levels between the least and most favourable cases of household land management and agricultural practice was up to 150%. The results suggest that policies targeted at crop management alone may not deliver the expected SOC benefits if household land management is also not improved.

The Role of Guanxi Networks in Vegetable Supply Chains: Empirical Evidence from P.R. China

This study attempts to empirically investigate how the concepts of relationship marketing affect market performance in Chinese vegetable sector. We interviewed 167 vegetable farmers and 84 processing and exporting companies to test our conceptual relationship model. Results demonstrate that personal relationships (called guanxi in China) significantly improve interpersonal trust and transaction-specific investments, which eventually show a significant impact on market performance. Results imply that the impact of guanxi networks differ on farmers and on companies. The study also reveals that transaction-related attributes (such as risk, channel requirements, and transaction conditions) influence trust, investment behavior, and market performance together with guanxi networks. The article ends with several managerial implications regarding the development of relationship marketing in China.

Impacts of agricultural land-use changes on biodiversity in Taihu Lake Basin, China: a multi-scale cause–effect approach considering multiple land-use functions

This paper aims to assess the impacts of agricultural land-use changes on biodiversity in Taihu Lake Basin, China, and to identify possible conservation strategies. We used the mean species abundance (MSA) approach, building on simple cause–effect relationships between environmental drivers and biodiversity impacts at the global level. Our assessment estimated that 21% of the original species in the undisturbed ecosystem were present in 2000. We also analysed and reviewed agricultural pressures at different spatial scales to enable the development of conservation strategies at regional and farm levels. This analysis showed, first, that intensive crop management is reflected by the amount of fertilisers applied. Policies and technologies aiming to reduce environmental impacts have been ineffective. Second, the abundance of semi-natural elements was found to be low and the fragmentation high. To link agricultural pressures to the MSA approach, we propose a multi-scale cause–effect approach, which can be linked to other land uses. This approach is useful to provide a quick scan of biodiversity status and identify conservation strategies. Training farmers to use site-specific nutrient management should be stimulated. Furthermore, acknowledging multiple land-use functions will help to develop biodiversity conservation strategies that are acceptable to farmers and policymakers.

Sustainable land use under different institutional settings

This paper serves three purposes. First, it gives a short introduction to the concept of sustainability in relation to land use. Since the Brundtland report it has become clear that sustainability is a dynamic concept that changes when conditions in society change. Moreover, it is easier to assess what is ‘unsustainable’ than what is ‘sustainable’. But that will not suppress the demand for sustainable developments. Second, it elucidates a classification of different concepts developed within New Institutional Economics and applies these concepts to a number of typical problem areas in relation to landownership and land use. Institutions change slowly and that holds most for informal rules, which are classified by Williamson as ‘social embeddedness’. Land ownership and land use often function partly under informal rules. But formal rules and institutional arrangements are also crucial: together with the informal rules they go here under the name ‘institutional setting’. Because the landowner - or the present user of land - is often not the best user from the perspective of the society, the relationship between ‘owner’ and ‘user’ has raised a lot of attention. Efficient exchange at the land rental market, but also contracts that are adjusted to the characteristics of owners and renters or to the specifics of multifunctional land use contribute to sustainable land use. Third, this paper provides the connection between the different papers of this special issue and shows where they fit into the basic theoretical framework. Most attention goes to ownership (including property rights), the land rental market and contract choice. Different functions of land use, however, are also covered with a clear link to informal rules.