Land Tenure and Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Tea Producers: The Case of Ya’An City, China
Abstract
70 percent of the world and 80 percent of China’s tea production produced by smallholder farmers. However, the tea production per unit area significantly unchanged in the past decades. Understanding factors affecting the technical efficiency of smallholder tea producers is very important to maximize tea production. Aimed at examining the impact of land tenure security and land certification on smallholder tea producers’ technical efficiency, this paper employs the Cobb- Douglas Stochastic Production Frontier (CD-SPF) and Translog Stochastic Production Frontier (TL- SPF) methods for Maximum Likelihood Estimate (MLE) with cross-sectional data collected from 161 randomly selected tea farm plot households in Ya’an city, China. We found that an 1 mu (0.067 ha) increase in the tea farm size will produce a 1.086 tea yield advantage for smallholder tea farmers. We also found that the values of input-output elasticity of land size, household income and labor decrease in turn with 0.144, 0.105 and 0.010 respectively. The results show that farm size is a more crucial input for tea production than income and labor. Moreover, we identify the determinations which enhance the technical efficiency of smallholder tea producers such as land certification, land tenure security age, education, farming experience, total farm size holding, chemical fertilizer, plot steepness and plot distance from home and find that the elimination of land tenure insecurity through land registration and certification makes a clear difference in that. We therefore recommend that tea farmland need to expand and enlarge for better production through comprehensive land consolidation program. We also suggest endorsing the land certificates of all land holders as this will help improve land tenure security, enhance technical efficiency and promote the tea production of smallholder producers.
Full text
21
2, XXIV, 2021
Economics
10.15240/ ul/001/2021-2-002
LAND TENURE AND TECHNICAL
EFFICIENCY OF SMALLHOLDER TEA
PRODUCERS: THE CASE OF YA’AN CITY,
CHINA
Ab ham Teze a Gessesse1, Ge He2
1 Sichuan Ag icul u al Uni e si y, College o Managemen , Depa men o Ag icul u al Economy, China, ORCID:
0000-0002-2464-2978, [email p o ec ed];
2 Sichuan Ag icul u al Uni e si y, College o Managemen , Depa men o Ag icul u al Economy, China, [email p o ec ed]
(co esponding au ho ).
Abs ac : 70 pe cen o he wo ld and 80 pe cen o China’s ea p oduc ion p oduced by smallholde
a me s. Howe e , he ea p oduc ion pe uni a ea signi ican ly unchanged in he pas decades.
Unde s anding ac o s a ec ing he echnical e iciency o smallholde ea p oduce s is e y
impo an o maximize ea p oduc ion. Aimed a examining he impac o land enu e secu i y and
land ce i ica ion on smallholde ea p oduce s’ echnical e iciency, his pape employs he Cobb-
Douglas S ochas ic P oduc ion F on ie (CD-SPF) and T anslog S ochas ic P oduc ion F on ie (TL-
SPF) me hods o Maximum Likelihood Es ima e (MLE) wi h c oss-sec ional da a collec ed om 161
andomly selec ed ea a m plo households in Ya’an ci y, China. We ound ha an 1 mu (0.067 ha)
inc ease in he ea a m size will p oduce a 1.086 ea yield ad an age o smallholde ea a me s.
We also ound ha he alues o inpu -ou pu elas ici y o land size, household income and labo
dec ease in u n wi h 0.144, 0.105 and 0.010 espec i ely. The esul s show ha a m size is a mo e
c ucial inpu o ea p oduc ion han income and labo . Mo eo e , we iden i y he de e mina ions
which enhance he echnical e iciency o smallholde ea p oduce s such as land ce i ica ion,
land enu e secu i y age, educa ion, a ming expe ience, o al a m size holding, chemical e ilize ,
plo s eepness and plo dis ance om home and ind ha he elimina ion o land enu e insecu i y
h ough land egis a ion and ce i ica ion makes a clea di e ence in ha . We he e o e ecommend
ha ea a mland need o expand and enla ge o be e p oduc ion h ough comp ehensi e land
consolida ion p og am. We also sugges endo sing he land ce i ica es o all land holde s as his
will help imp o e land enu e secu i y, enhance echnical e iciency and p omo e he ea p oduc ion
o smallholde p oduce s.
Keywo ds: China, land enu e, echnical e iciency, SFA, smallholde .
JEL Classi ica ion: Q15, D13.
APA S yle Ci a ion: Gessesse, A. T., & He, G. (2021). Land Tenu e and Technical E iciency o
Smallholde Tea P oduce s: The Case o Ya’an Ci y, China. E&M Economics and Managemen ,
24(2), 21–34. h ps://doi.o g/10.15240/ ul/001/2021-2-002
In oduc ion
Has been enjoyed o millennia, ea has a long
and complex his o y in China. In ecen imes,
mo e han 1,500 ypes o p opaga ed clones o
ea plan s ha e been de eloped and cul i a ed
in mo e han 36 coun ies as a cash c op
plan a ion (Ligh on e al., 2014). Smallholde
a me s accoun o mo e han 70% o he
wo ld’s ea and 80% o China’s ea p oduc ion
(Chang, 2015). Al hough ea plan a ion and
p oduc ion has inc eased o e he pas h ee
decades, i s p oduc i i y pe uni a ea has no
signi ican ly changed, which con as s wi h
o he ag icul u al p oduc s ac oss he globe
and China in pa icula (Basu e al., 2010).
This may be because smallholde a me s a e
EM_2_2021.indd 21 31.5.2021 10:33:17
22 2021, XXIV, 2
Economics
con on ed by many challenges ha a ec he
quali y and quan i y o ea p oduc ion. A numbe
o con ibu ions (Tan e al., 2006; Wang e al.,
2010, 2014; Zhao, 2010,) iden i y he common
challenges ha con on smallholde a me s
in China, which include a lack o mode n
ag icul u al machine y, agmen ed and small
a m plo s, a lack o access o an i iga ion and
d ainage sys em, labo sho ages, poo soil
quali y, pes s, diseases, d ough and clima e
change.
The Chinese go e nmen sough o
o e come he challenges o smallholde
a me s and main ain u al ag icul u al
p oduc ion and li elihoods by es ablishing he
Land Consolida ion and Rehabili a ion Cen e
in he 1990s and also by launching he Na ional
Land Consolida ion Plan ha inco po a ed
he coun y’s Na ional Fi e Yea S a egic
Plan. China has in es ed la ge amoun s o
manpowe and ma e ial and inancial esou ces
and his has enabled i o achie e ema kable
esul s in eclaiming poo -quali y soils by
ans o ming hem in o medium and high-
quali y soils; small and agmen ed pa cels
ha e also been enla ged and eshaped. New
ag icul u al in as uc u es, including i iga ion
and d ainage sys ems, ha e also been added,
and oad ne wo ks ha e also been es ablished
in many p ojec a eas. These imp o emen s
ha e been pa icula ly p onounced in many
u al a eas o Sichuan p o ince (Wang e al.,
2014; Li e al., 2014). Land consolida ion does
no only seek o main ain ag icul u al land and
he eby p omo e imp o ed p oduc ion; o he
same ex en , i also seeks o enhance p i a e
p ope y igh s ela ed o con ac ed land use
by enabling he ce i ica ion and egis a ion o
land and he es ablishmen o a legisla i e body
(FAO, 2003; Thomas, 2006).
China’s Cons i u ion and Land Resou ce
Managemen Law es ablishes ha , in
acco dance wi h he legal egula ion, land
esou ces in he u al egion a e owned by
he collec i e economic o ganiza ion. The
law es ablishes ha indi idual u al a m
households can only ob ain con ac ed land-
use igh s o 30 yea s bu canno sell and
ans e (lease, assign o mo gage) hei
land-use igh s (Benjamin & B and , 2002).
The igh o lease, assign, exchange and ca y
ou o he con ac ed land ansac ions a e
ou lined, and his could imp o e and acili a e
land ma ke ans e s ha a e s ill unce ain in
he coun y. This could cause enu e insecu i y
and a ec long- e m in es men in land quali y
imp o emen and ag icul u al in as uc u es
such as oad, i iga ion and d ainage sys ems
and p omo e he use o new ag icul u al
echnologies ( e ilize , machine y, pes icides
and a ie y) ha could help o p omo e
sus ainable ag icul u e and u al de elopmen
(Ma e al., 2013).
P ope y Righ Theo y deals wi h
ela ionships, bo h be ween indi iduals o
g oups ha ela e o land and na u al esou ces.
I es ablishes a se o ules ha de e mine how
he land igh is used, alloca ed, ans e ed,
con olled, le e aged, sold, and disposed o
wi hin he socie ies, and i is associa ed wi h
esponsibili ies and es ain s (Gheb u & Holden,
2015). These ules migh be es ablished by he
s a e, cus om o socie ies and he igh s migh
be acc edi ed o indi iduals, communi ies o
o ganiza ions (B uce e al., 2010). These igh s
a e also an engine o ag icul u al de elopmen
ha encou age di e en posi i e beha io s
owa d land de elopmen (e.g. in es men ) and
ha p omo e dispu e esolu ion be ween o he s.
The es ablishmen o implici p ope y igh and
he imp o emen o exis ing land enu e secu i y
le els can enhance land in es men (Deininge
& Jin, 2005) and he land use ’s p oduc ion
e iciency. The Cen al Go e nmen ’s ma ke -
o ien ed land enu e e o ms in he la e 1990s
enhanced he coun y’s legal enu e secu i y
(Ma e al., 2013).
The land igh s wi h high secu i y and long-
e m a e among he undamen al p econdi ions
o gua an eeing basic u al li elihood,
encou aging he commi men o smallholde
a me s o sus ainable in es men s in land,
p omo ing he o de ly de elopmen and smoo h
he unc ioning o u al land ans e ma ke and
ensu ing a con inui y o u al income g ow h.
Land egis a ion and ce i ica ion a e impo an
ways o implemen ing and con i ming secu e
and long- e m land igh s. Land ce i ica ion
(o icially documen ed land use igh s ha
a e e i ied by land ce i ica es) does no only
enhance enu e secu i y and owne ship o he
land bu also p omo es sho - e m o long-
e m in es men in land. I also encou ages
he main enance and p o ec ion o land, he
adop ion o mode n ag icul u al echnology
and he use o a me s’ land as colla e al o
ob ain loans o in es men pu poses ha
could inc ease a m p oduc i i y and echnical
EM_2_2021.indd 22 31.5.2021 10:33:17
23
2, XXIV, 2021
Economics
e iciency (Deininge & Jin, 2005; Gheb u &
Holden, 2015).
The Chinese go e nmen is cu en ly es ing
me hods ha could quickly and accu a ely
egis e he land o u al households. Land
egis a ion and ce i ica ion was in oduced in
2008 be o e being pilo ed in many u al a eas
o China. The u al land egis a ion sys em
was ini ia ed wi h he aim o solidi ying China’s
land sys em and helping o es ablish ully-
ledged economic ins i u ions. I also sough
o p o ide e ec i e legal p o ec ion ha would
help a me s ob ain secu e and s able e u ns
om land and p omo e ood p oduc ion and
income gene a ion. O he goals included
no malizing u al land ans e s in a way
ha would acili a e he es ablishmen o he
sound u al land ans e ma ke ; educing
land dispu es and empowe ing a me s in he
p ocess o land- aking; p o ec ing ag icul u al
lands om apid indus ial, e ail and esiden ial
land de elopmen p og ams; deli e ing de ailed
u al land in o ma ion; and helping go e nmen
ex end and deepen a o able policies on
ag icul u al and u al de elopmen (Ch is ophe ,
2011). Bu land egis a ion and ce i ica ion
ha e no ye inished and i is expensi e and
ime-consuming.
Many ac o s can po en ially a ec he
echnical e iciency o smallholde ag icul u e.
The p o ound ela ionship be ween land
enu e secu i y and echnical e iciency is
no well documen ed, and his is especially
ue o China. Michle and Shi ely (2012)
s udied enu e and echnical e iciency among
Philippine ice a me s by applying he SFA
app oach. They ound ha land enu e has
a posi i e and signi ican e ec on e iciency and
also no ed ha smallholde a mland is mo e
e icien han la ge coun e pa s. Kolawole
and Ti us (2016) iden i y he e ec o land
enu e secu i y on echnical e iciency by using
c oss-sec ional a m-le el da a aken om 252
ice a me s in Thailand, and ind ha land
owne ship enhances he echnical e iciency
o he coun y’s smallholde ice a me s.
Abdulai and Hu man (2000) engage non- a m
employmen , educa ion, c edi a ailabili y, age
o household head, ice sha e o o al a ea,
dis ance o ma ke , and egional dummies and
conside hem as explana o y a iables o
p o i ine iciencies. Tan e al. (2010) examine
he impac o land agmen a ion on he
echnical e iciency o 339 ice p oduce s om
h ee illages in China’s No h-Eas Jiangxi
p o ince. They ind ha land agmen a ion,
plo size and numbe o plo s a e impo an
de e minan s o he echnical e iciency o
ea ly ice p oduce s. Howe e , plo s ha a e
loca ed a away om he homes ead can lead
o echnical ine iciency.
In addi ion o engaging po en ial
smallholde a me ’s ea p oduc i i y
di e en ials ha ela e o echnology inpu
use di e ences, his s udy seeks o examine
he e o ha smallholde ea p oduce ’s land
ce i ica ion and enu e secu i y ha e on hei
echnical e iciency. I achie es his by d awing
on a u al household c oss-sec ion da ase
and applying S ochas ic F on ie Analysis. I
also es s ele an de e minan s ha a ec
he echnical e iciency o smallholde a me s,
and ocuses in pa icula on a eas whe e
land consolida ion and ehabili a ion p og am
a e implemen ed. The indings will p o ide
insigh in o ac o s ha a ec smallholde
ea p oduce s’ TE and ea yield ou pu s.
These con ibu ions can hen be used by
policymake s, ex ension and de elopmen
agen s, ea coope a i es and social sec o s
who wo k wi h ea plan a ion and p oduc ion,
and his will help o enhance smallholde s’
li elihoods. Sec ion 1 will now discuss he
ma e ial and me hodology; Sec ion 2 will
discuss he empi ical esul s and discussions;
and Sec ion 3 will ou line he main conclusions
and p o ide sugges ions.
1. Ma e ial and Me hod
1.1 Desc ip ion o he S udy A ea
Ya’an is an adminis a i e di ision in Sichuan
p o ince ha is a leading ea p oduce . I is
loca ed a he wes e n edge o he Sichuan
Basin and on he uppe eaches o he Yang ze,
and co e s he ansi ion be ween he Chengdu
Plain and he Tibe an Pla eau. I is 120 km away
om Chengdu Ci y, he capi al o Sichuan. I is
si ua ed on a 29°58’ N la i ude and a 103°00’
E longi ude ha co e s an a ea o 15,300
squa e kilome e s. I is in a highly moun ainous
a ea wi h an ele a ion ange o be ween 500
and 5,793 me e s (abo e sea le el). I has
a sub opical humid monsoon clima e and is
la gely mild and humid. I s a e age mon hly
maximum empe a u es ange be ween 25.5 °C
and 26 °C, and i s a e age mon hly minimum
empe a u es be ween 6.1 °C and 7.1 °C. I
equen ly ains h oughou he yea and annual
EM_2_2021.indd 23 31.5.2021 10:33:17
24 2021, XXIV, 2
Economics
ain all is 1,567 mm (SPSB, 2016). Va ious
in as uc u es (including b idges, d ainage
canals, i iga ion, u al oads and wa e
ha es ing dams) ha e been implemen ed
h ough land consolida ion and ehabili a ion
p og ams o e he pas decade.
1.2 Da a Collec ion and Sampling
Me hods
C oss-sec ional da a was collec ed om 161
andomly selec ed smallholde a me ea
p oduce s. Face- o- ace in e iews we e, wi h
he help o local ag icul u al o ice s, conduc ed
be ween May and June 2016. A household
socioeconomic and a ming sys em
ques ionnai e sough o collec quali a i e and
quan i a i e p ima y da a and pe cep ions o
ce i ica ion, land egis a ion and land enu e
secu i y, along wi h o he ele an da a.
1.3 ModelSpeci ica ion
The S ochas ic F on ie App oach (SFA), which
was o iginally de eloped by Aigne e al. (1977),
was adop ed. I is pa icula ly well-sui ed o
hypo hesis es ing because i uses s a is ical
echniques o es ima e he pa ame e s. I has
also been widely applied by s udies o cos ,
p oduc ion, p o i , e enue and o he models o
goal a ainmen (Abdulai & Hu man, 2000; Tan
e al., 2010; Michle & Shi ely, 2012; Kolawole
& Ti us, 2016).
The Cobb-Douglas S ochas ic P oduc ion
F on ie Func ion (CD-SPF) and T anslog
S ochas ic P oduc ion F on ie Func ion
(TL-SPF) a e he wo SFA me hodologies
ha a e mos equen ly used o de ec he
Maximum Likelihood Es ima e (MLE) and
echnical (in)e iciency (Ba ese & Coelli, 1995).
The TL-SFP has a highe o de and a mo e
lexible unc ional o m and i is he e o e o
be expec ed ha i will i he da a mo e igh ly
and will he e o e p oduce highe e iciency
es ima es han he CD-SPF assump ion (which
consis en ly gene a es lowe e iciencies).
Howe e , his s udy does no depend on his
choice o me hods o model speci ica ion, and
he collec ed c oss-sec ion da a we e he e o e
es ima ed by applying he F on ie 4.1 so wa e
package de eloped by Coelli (1996).
Ou SFA model assumes ha he amoun o
ea yield ou pu (Qi) ha a me s p oduce only
a ies in acco dance wi h di e ences in he
le el o household esou ce endowmen (Xij)
and he le el o e o s ha hey exe in o de o
op imally u ilize inpu ac o s such as ea a m
size (A), household income (K) and household
labo (L), in addi ion o ex e nal ac o s ha
do no a y ac oss a me s (e.g. clima e).
The Cobb-Douglas S ochas ic P oduc ion
F on ie (CD-SPF) can be es ima ed as:
0
1
(V U )
j
j
i ij i i
i
QX
ββ
=
=+ +−
∑
(1)
We can ew i e o mula (1) as:
01 2 3
lnQ ln ln ln (V U )
i i i i ii
AKL
ββ β β
=+ + + +−
01 2 3
lnQ ln ln ln (V U )
i i i i ii
AKL
ββ β β
=+ + + +−
(2)
The S ochas ic P oduc ion F on ie ,
T anslog p oduc ion on ie (TL-SPF) can be
es ima ed as:
0
1 11
1(V U )
2
jj
d
i j ij jd ij id i i
i ii
Q X XX
ββ β
= = =
=+ + +−
∑ ∑∑
0
1 11
1
(V U )
2
jj
d
i j ij jd ij id i i
i ii
Q X XX
ββ β
= = =
=+ + +−
∑ ∑∑
(3)
We ew i e o mula (3) as:
2 22
01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9
ln ln ln ln ln ln ln lnA ln lnA ln
lnK lnL (V )
i i i i i i i i i ii
i i ii
Q AKLA K L K L
U
ββ β β β β β β β
β
=++ ++ + ++ +
+ +−
2 22
01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9
ln ln ln ln ln ln ln lnA ln lnA ln
lnK lnL (V )
i i i i i i i i i ii
i i ii
Q AKLA K L K L
U
ββ β β β β β β β
β
=++ ++ + ++ +
+ +−
2 22
01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9
ln ln ln ln ln ln ln lnA ln lnA ln
lnK lnL (V )
i i i i i i i i i ii
i i ii
Q AKLA K L K L
U
ββ β β β β β β β
β
=++ ++ + ++ +
+ +−
2 22
01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9
ln ln ln ln ln ln ln lnA ln lnA ln
lnK lnL (V )
i i i i i i i i i ii
i i ii
Q AKLA K L K L
U
ββ β β β β β β β
β
=++ ++ + ++ +
+ +−
2 22
01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9
ln ln ln ln ln ln ln lnA ln lnA ln
lnK lnL (V )
i i i i i i i i i ii
i i ii
Q AKLA K L K L
U
ββ β β β β β β β
β
=++ ++ + ++ +
+ +−
(4)
whe e Qi is he quan i y o ea yield ob ained
om a pa icula ea a m o he i- h a me s
in kg; Ai is he size o he ea a m o he i- h
a me in mu (whe e, 1 mu is equi alen o
0.067 ha); Ki is he cumula i e (on- a m and o -
a m) annual income o he i- h a me in Yuan
(1 Yuan is equi alen o 0.145 USD du ing he
s udy pe iod); and Li is he household labo
sha e o he i- h a me who ac i ely pa icipa es
in he ea a m. β0 is he in e cep and βj a e
he maximum likelihood es ima es coe icien s
(MLE) o he inpu a iables. Vi is he andom
a iable ha is assumed o be independen
and iden ically dis ibu ed (iid) N (0, σ
2), and
independen o he Ui, which is a non-nega i e
andom a iable assumed o accoun o
echnical (in)e iciency in p oduc ion and which
(Vi – Ui)
(Vi – Ui)
lnQi
(Vi – Ui)
(Vi – Ui)
ln Ai
ln Ki ln Li
ln Ai
EM_2_2021.indd 24 31.5.2021 10:33:18
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2, XXIV, 2021
Economics
is assumed o be independen ly dis ibu ed as
unca ions a ze o o he N (mi, σu2) dis ibu ion;
and mi is echnical (in)e iciency. All o he
s ochas ic on ie a iables we e ans o med
in o na u al loga i hms (ln).
The ela ionship be ween a m size
and p oduc i i y is e y ambiguous. Some
econome ic s udies iden i y an in e se
ela ionship be ween plo size and p oduc i i y,
which sugges s ha small a m plo s a e,
when compa ed agains la ge a m plo s, mo e
p oduc i e. This is explained by he ela i e
ad an age o using mo e amily labo ha may
educe he moni o ing and supe ision cos s o
hi ed labo (Fede , 1985). Bu o he schola s
sugges ha he adop ion o new echnologies
by la ge a me s may yield mo e o an
ad an age han smallholde a me s (Fan &
Chan-Kang, 2005). Bu his s udy hypo hesizes
ha he MLE sign o ea a m size (A) will, when
conside ed in ela ion o ea yield ou pu (Q), be
ound o be posi i e.
Households wi h a high annual income
(K) a e expec ed o ha e highe p oduc i i y
han low income households because high
income smallholde a me s can buy and
use ag icul u al inpu s ha enable a be e
s anda d o p oduc ion han he one achie ed
by low income smallholde a me s. This
s udy he e o e hypo hesizes ha he MLE o
household income will, in ela ion o ea yield
ou pu s, be ound o be posi i e. Labo (L) o ce
plays a signi ican ole in ag icul u al p oduc ion
in ins ances whe e ag icul u al machine y is
sca ce. In he s udy a ea labo is sca ce and
expensi e and ea a ming equi es high labo .
All smallholde ea p oduce s in he s udy a ea
used amily labo plan ing, weeding, picking
and anspo ing. On his basis, his s udy
an icipa es ha amily labo may play a posi i e
ole in ea p oduc ion.
TE is de ined as he abili y o minimize inpu
use while main aining a gi en ou pu le el, o
as he abili y o maximize ou pu p oduc ion
while ixing he amoun o inpu use. Inpu and
ou pu -o ien a ed a e he wo ways ha TE is
measu ed (Chen e al., 2003). This s udy uses
he la e because o i s widesp ead applica ion
in many empi ical s udies. The pa ame e s o
he s ochas ic on ie and he (in)e iciency
model we e simul aneously es ima ed. In
acco dance wi h Ba ese and Coelli (1995), his
was based on he ( espec i e) applica ion o
o mulas (3) and (4) o CD-SPF and TL-SPF. In
o de o iden i y he de e minan s o smallholde
ea p oduce s’ echnical e iciency (TE), his
s udy applies he ollowing o mulas:
0
1
j
i j ij
i
TE Z
δδ
=
= + ∑,
0
1
j
i j ij
i
TE Z
δδ
=
= + ∑
(5)
whe e TEi indica es he e iciency sco e o he
i- h a me and Zij a e he j- h a iables ha
migh in luence he e iciency o he i- h a me ;
δ0 is he in e cep and δj is he de e minan
pa ame e o be es ima ed.
Educa ion, gende , expe ience, a m size
and o he en i onmen al and illage le el
dummy a iables ha e p e iously been used as
de e minan s o smallholde a me s’ echnical
e iciency by many empi ical s udies (Chen e
al., 2003, 2009; Tan e al., 2010).
This s udy assesses wel e a m household
TE de e minan s, including he a me ’s age
(AGE), gende (GND), educa ion (EDU) and
a ming expe ience (EXP); o he de e minan s
include a m land size (FS), plo dis ance om
home (DFH), numbe o plo s owned (PN),
plo s eepness (ST), i iga ion access (IRR),
chemical e ilize use (CF), land enu e secu i y
(LTS) and land ce i ica ion (LC). De ini ions
and expec ed signs a e p esen ed in Tab. 1.
In adi ional a ming, olde a me s may
be mo e expe ienced and ha e accumula ed
mo e capi al, and his can be ex ac ed om
esul s ha show hey a e mo e likely o
in es in inno a ion and demons a e g ea e
e iciency (Hu man, 2001). Olde a me s
end o be mo e conse a i e and a e less
able o use new echnologies while young
a me s end o be mo e inno a i e and isk
a e se (Adesina e al., 2000; Zhang e al.,
2012). Bu he ela ionship be ween aging
and p oduc ion is ambiguous, and his s udy
hypo hesizes ha aging will be nega i ely
ela ed o echnical e iciency as mo e han
hal o he esponden s a e mo e han 50 yea s
old. Gende is an explana o y dummy a iable
ha he model uses o cap u e he e ec o
emale- and male-headed households on ea
p oduc ion. In he smallholde a ming sys em
emale-headed households a e likely o ha e
lowe esou ce endowmen and ag icul u al
p oduc i i y (in compa ison o male-headed
households) because a ming ac i i ies equi e
esou ce, labo and ime and his a ec s
hei a m e iciency. On his basis, his s udy
EM_2_2021.indd 25 31.5.2021 10:33:18
26 2021, XXIV, 2
Economics
hypo hesizes ha emale-headed households
will be less e ec i e.
Fa ming expe ience enhances skills and
abili ies and his inc eases he capaci y o
add ess echnical and/o p ac ical p oblems
ela ed o ag onomic ac i i ies. As he a me
gains mo e expe ience, he/she may be able o
make c i ical decisions on he adop ion and use
o new echnology (Hu man, 2001; Namwa a
e al., 2010). We he e o e expec ed ha
a ming expe ience could enhance echnical
e iciency. Educa ion imp o es he echnical
knowledge and skills o hose who wo k in he
a ming sys em and also enhances ag icul u al
p oduc ion. An indi idual’s educa ion a ec s
his/he abili y o alloca e inpu s e icien ly. Bu
he abili y o households o e icien ly espond
o he ma ke depends on how in o ma ion
sys ems wo k (Chen e al., 2003). I was on his
basis ha he s udy an icipa ed ha educa ion
would enhance a me s’ echnical e iciency.
The e ec ha land holding size and he
numbe o plo s ha e on echnical e iciency
depends on he le el o echnology use and
labo and managemen ac i i ies. Wang e
al. (1996) ob ain a posi i e and signi ican
coe icien o he dummy o la ge a ms in
he p o i e iciency es ima ion and, on his
basis, his s udy hypo hesizes ha small and
agmen ed a m lands can cause echnical
S ochas ic p oduc ion on ie (SPF)
Fac o s Va iable Desc ip ion Expec ed
sign
Code De ini ions Type
Dependen
a iable QThe amoun o ea yield
ob ained pe plo Con inuous Kilog am
Independen
a iables
ASize o he ea plo Con inuous Mu +
KThe annual household
income Con inuous Yuan (RMB) +
LSha e o household labo Con inuous Pe cen +
Technical e iciency (TE)
De e minan s
AGE Age o he household head Con inuous Yea s −
GND Household gende Dummy 1 i male headed,
o he wise 0 +
EXP Fa ming expe ience
o he household head Con inuous Yea s +
EDU Educa ional s a us
o he household head Dummy
1 i seconda y
school and abo e,
o he wise 0
+
FS To al size o owned a m Con inues Mu +
STP Plo s eepness
(slope g adien ) Dummy 1 i <5% slope,
o he wise 0 −
DFH Plo dis ance om home Con inuous Kilome e −
IRR Plo access o i iga ion Dummy 1 i yes, o he wise 0 +
CHF Chemical e ilize use Dummy 1 i yes, o he wise 0 +
NP Numbe o plo s Con inues Numbe −
LT Land enu e secu i y le el Dummy 1 i yes, o he wise 0 +
LC Land ce i ica e Dummy 1 i yes, o he wise 0 +
Sou ce: own
Tab. 1: Va iable de ini ions and expec ed sign
EM_2_2021.indd 26 31.5.2021 10:33:18
27
2, XXIV, 2021
Economics
ine iciency. Sloppy a m lands a e in mos
cases ecommended o pe ennial cash c ops
(such as ea and apples) a he han annual
ce eal o pulse c ops, and his is because
hey a e suscep ible o land deg ada ion,
equi e huge land managemen ac i i ies
and ha e a s onge e ec on a m e iciency
han la o gen le slope a ms. Bu we expec
ha sloppy ea a ms can enhance echnical
e iciency. Fa m plo s ha a e a away om he
homes ead can inc ease he ansac ion cos ,
which includes he losses a me s incu om
a eling, low in es men in land (such as inpu
and managemen ) and ollow-up. Fa m plo s
ha a e a emo ed om he homes ead can
cause mo e echnical ine iciency han a m
plo s ha a e loca ed nea o he homes ead.
I iga ion plays a signi ican ole and assis s
he g owing o ag icul u al c ops in d y a eas
and is also impo an in pe iods o inadequa e
ain all. Bu i he e is no a unc ioning d ainage
sys em, hen he applica ion o i iga ion may
no be e ec i e and wa e logging and yield
educ ion may esul . On his basis, we expec
ha a m plo access o i iga ion may enhance
he echnical e iciency o smallholde a me s.
Chemical e ilize can make poo quali y
soils high quali y, and his can imp o e
p oduc i i y and e iciency. Bu ca e should
be aken wi h he quan i y and applica ion o
chemical e ilize because i may bu n he soil
as well as he plan when he soil mois u e is
below he h eshold. We hypo hesize ha
chemical e ilize can enhance he TE o
smallholde a me s.
Land ce i ica ion is he documen o he i le
o land egis a ion ha he go e nmen issues o
he land use . Land egis a ion and ce i ica ion
p o ide he eliable p ope y in o ma ion o
he con ac ed land use and gi e p ima acie
e idence o land owne ship. Land ce i ica ion
enhances land enu e secu i y, long- e m
in es men , managemen and land u iliza ion.
We expec ha indi idual land holde s WHO
issued land ce i ica es will be mo e echnical and
e icien han unce i ied land holde coun e pa s.
The land enu e sys em ha upholds land
p ope y igh s can a ec land in es men ,
managemen , he u iliza ion le el o he land
holde and he p oduc ion sys em. Bu China’s
cu en land laws es ablish ha indi idual land
holde s a e only en i led o exe cise his igh in
he scope o he laws and canno sell, mo gage
o ans e hei land use igh . This also makes
i impossible o use land as colla e al when
seeking o ob ain loans o long- e m in es men
in land (Ma e al., 2013). We hypo hesize ha
smallholde a me s who ha e land enu e
secu i y will be mo e echnically e icien han
hei land enu e insecu e coun e pa s.
2. Resul s and Discussion
2.1 Desc ip i e S a is ics Analysis
Resul
The snapsho desc ip i e s a is ics o
smallholde ea a me s in he s udy a ea a e
p esen ed in Tab. 2. Close conside a ion
o gende shows ha he pe cen o emale
headed smallholde a me s in ol ed in ea
a ming is no signi ican ly di e en om
male-headed smallholdings ( espec i ely
46.58% and 53.42%). This indica es ha
emale-headed households and male-headed
coun e pa s ac i ely pa icipa e in ea a ming
in he s udy a ea o he same ex en in o de
o sus ain hei li elihood. The esponden s
all each a basic educa ion le el and can a
leas ead and w i e. The esul s show THAT
57.15% had a p ima y school educa ion and
he emainde had been educa ed o seconda y
school le el and abo e. Mo e han hal (52%)
o esponden s we e aged be ween 51 and 77
yea s o age. This mean ha almos wo- hi ds
(64%) o esponden s had mo e han 30 yea s’
ea a ming expe ience. The e was an a e age
o i e pe sons o each household, wi h 5.52
mu a mland and an annual income o 44,700
Yuan (6,840 USD). The esul s indica e ha he
pe capi a a mland in he s udy a ea is 0.079
ha, which is highe han he a e age pe capi a
a mland o Sichuan p o ince (0.049 ha) (SPSB,
2016). Bu he sha e o household labo e s who
ac i ely pa icipa ed in ea a ming was only
54% and he sha e o ea plo o o al a mland
was 46.5%. Almos all (95%) main esponden
li elihoods we e p o ided by ag icul u e ( ea
a ming); less han 5% de i ed hei seconda y
income om i and used a leas hal o hei
o al a mland o ea a ming.
The a e age ea a m size pe household
we e 2.52 mu (0.17 ha) and a e age ea plo s
we e 1.04 a e age ea plo s. The ea a ms we e
spa ially dis ibu ed a an a e age dis ance o
430 me e om he homes ead, which indica ed
ha 40% o esponden s a elled mo e han
500 m om hei ea a m o hei homes ead;
meanwhile, 17% a elled u he han 1 km;
EM_2_2021.indd 27 31.5.2021 10:33:18
28 2021, XXIV, 2
Economics
75.54% o ea a ms we e si ua ed on la
(gen le slope) land wi h a slope g adien o
less han 5% and only 13.66% o ea a ms
had access o i iga ion and d ainage sys ems.
The da e o ield su eying showed ha 79% o
smallholde ea a me s in he s udy a ea had
ce i ied land ce i ica es and 82% el hey had
land enu e secu i y. This could help hem o
in es and implemen ag icul u al echnologies
in land use such as chemical e ilize , compos ,
imp o ed ea clones manu e and hose
essen ial o chemical managemen (he bicides,
ungicides and pes icides). The s udy’s su eys
o smallholde ea a me s showed ha 86%,
85%, 83% and 69% ( espec i ely) used
chemical e ilize , na u al e ilize , chemical
managemen and imp o ed ea clones.
2.2 Resul o S ochas ic P oduc ion
F on ie
This s udy applies he Cobb-Douglas (CD-SPF)
and T anslog (TL-SPF) S ochas ic P oduc ion
Func ions, which a e he mos equen ly
used S ochas ic F on ie Analysis (SFA)
me hods. The s ochas ic p oduc ion on ie
esul is p esen ed in Tab. 3. Es ima es o he
a iance pa ame e s σ2 and g we e signi ican ly
di e en a he P < 0.000 signi icance le el o
bo h me hods. This implies ha he le el o
(in)e iciency migh signi ican ly a ec he ou pu
o smallholde a me ea yields and esul in
conside able a ia ion (Chen e al., 2009).
The maximum likelihood es ima e (MLE) o
he CD-SPF and TL-SPF esul indica es ha
he ea yield ou pu and ea a m size (A) ha e
a signi ican posi i e ela ionship a a P < 0.000
signi icance le el. The esul s show ha an
inc ease in ea a m size o 1 mu (0.067 ha)
will p oduce a ea yield ad an age o 1.086 o
smallholde ea a me s. Kip on e al. (2011)
e e o Kenyan smallholde ea a me s and
ind ha ea a m size a e posi i ely ela ed o
ea p oduc ion. While income capi al (K) and
household labo (L) a e posi i ely ela ed o ea
S ochas ic p oduc ion unc ion (SPF) a iables
Minimum Maximum Mean S d. e o S d. de .
Q4.0 346.67 86.69 6.080 77.15
A0.3 10 2.52 0.153 1.945
K1,000 210,000 44,701.89 2,623.88 33,293.31
L0.25 100 53.62 1.735 22.015
Technical e iciency (TE) de e minan a iables
SX 0.000 1.000 0.534 0.039 0.500
AG 28.000 77.000 51.429 0.771 9.786
ED 0.000 1.000 0.429 0.039 0.496
EX 7.000 60.000 32.466 0.842 10.687
ST 0.000 2.000 0.267 0.037 0.471
DH 0.005 3.000 0.430 0.039 0.493
IRR 0.000 1.000 0.137 0.027 0.345
CF 0.000 1.000 0.857 0.028 0.351
FL 0.800 27.000 5.416 0.344 4.359
NP 1.000 3.000 1.043 0.018 0.233
LT 0.000 1.000 0.832 0.030 0.375
LC 0.000 1.000 0.789 0.032 0.409
Sou ce: own
Tab. 2: Desc ip i e s a is ics o cons uc ed a iables
EM_2_2021.indd 28 31.5.2021 10:33:18
29
2, XXIV, 2021
Economics
yield ou pu , al hough no signi ican ly. When
he TL-SPF me hod is applied, he p oduc o
ea a m size (A) and household labo (L) has
a posi i e and signi ican impac on ea yield
ou pu a he P < 0.0001 signi icance le el.
This demons a es ha an 1% inc ease in he
p oduc o ea a m size and labo will p oduce
a ea yield inc ease o 0.193%.
2.3 Elas ici y Scale and Ma ginal E ec
The co esponding inpu -ou pu elas ici y and
ma ginal e ec a e also assessed and p esen ed
in Tab. 4. The esul e eals ha he la ges and
mos signi ican scale o elas ici ies is p o ided by
a mland size (0.144 alue), household income
(0.105 alue) and labo elas ici ies (0.01 alue).
This demons a es ha a m size is a mo e
c ucial inpu in o ea p oduc ion han income
S ochas ic
p oduc ion
on ie s
Maximum likelihood es ima e me hods
TL-SPF CD-SPF
Coe . S d. e o T-s a . Sig. Coe . S d. e o T-s a . Sig.
Cons . 5.527 2.76 2.00 ** 3.544 0.302 11.74 ***
lnA 1.003 0.434 2.31 *** 1.086 0.034 31.49 ***
lnK −0.408 0.382 −1.07 0.028 0.022 1.241
lnL 0.010 0.639 1.54 0.009 0.036 0.241
lnA2−0.065 0.041 −1.59
lnK20.027 0.016 1.66
lnL20.010 0.022 0.44
lnA×lnK −0.057 0.035 −1.62
lnA×lnL 0.193 0.078 2.47 ***
lnK×lnL −0.013 0.051 −0.26
σ2 = (σ 2 + σu
2)0.362 0.054 6.68 *** 0.395 0.057 6.854 ***
γ = σu
2/(σ 2 + σu
2)0.957 0.024 40.1 *** 0.956 0.024 39.74 ***
Log likelihood unc ion −58.14 −65.36
LR es o he one-sided e o 39.94 38.92
Sou ce: own
No e: ***, **, * a e signi ican a 1%, 5% and 10% signi icance le els.
Tab. 3: S ochas ic p oduc ion on ie esul
Va iables Elas ici y Ma ginal e ec
ey/ex S d. e o ZP>|Z| dy/dx S d. e o ZP>|Z|
lnA 0.144 0.005 31.69 *** 1.090 0.045 24.23 ***
lnK 0.105 0.090 1.16 0.039 0.034 1.16
lnL 0.010 0.056 0.18 0.010 0.057 0.18
Scale o elas ici y 0.259
Sou ce: own
No e: ***, **, * a e signi ican a 1%, 5% and 10% signi icance le els. They a e e alua ed a he geome ic means o he
inpu s and ou pu ; da a a e calcula ed using he Del a me hod.
Tab. 4: Inpu -ou pu elas ici ies and ma ginal e ec s
EM_2_2021.indd 29 31.5.2021 10:33:18