On The Agricultural Intensification Development In Mountain Zones Of Southern Sichuan

Agricultural intensification development is an important direction of modern agriculture development, is the basic path of transforming the agricultural development mode, and the inherent requirements to precede agricultural modernization with in-depth development of industrialization and urbanization. Intensive management of agriculture is the basis for the agricultural intensification development. While agriculture intensive management includes labor intensive, capital-intensive and technology-intensive and other forms, but the technology-intensive is the key to achieve agricultural intensification. Thus, the development process of agricultural intensification in this article is based on the technology-intensive management of agriculture. It enhances the level of agricultural intensification through the spreading of agricultural intensive management and the improvement of agricultural intensive management efficiency.China is a mountainous country; the land area of895mountain county-level administrative is4.24million square kilometers, accounting for44%of the entire land area. In recent years, the rising of industrialization and urbanization in mountain zones crowded out a large number of high-quality arable land and agricultural labor resources. This makes the factors of modern agricultural production in mountain zones are scarcer. Therefore, in the new situation enhancing the intensive use of limited agricultural factors of production, thus contributing to the development of mountainous agricultural intensification, not only is the inherent need to mountain zones for the development of modern agriculture, but also is the inevitable choice to proceed mountain agricultural modernization with in-depth development of industrialization and urbanization.Based on the above background, this paper will perfect the neoclassical economics analysis framework of agricultural intensification development from the perspective of agricultural labor division evolution, and use it to analyze the effect of agricultural labor division evolution and transaction efficiency on the agricultural intensification development in the mountain zones of southern Sichuan (hereinafter referred to as MZSS). Thus, on this basis, proposed the suggestions of agricultural intensification development in MZSS.1. Main contents of the study(1) The theoretical analysis of agricultural intensification development based on the perspective of agricultural labor division evolution. First, according to the neoclassical economic thought reveal the internal mechanism of agricultural intensification development from agricultural intensification management behaviors and the enhancement of agricultural intensification level. Secondly, comprehensively study the effect mechanism of agricultural labor division evolution on agricultural intensification development from labor division between agriculture and industry、 labor division in agricultural products types and agricultural production processes. Finally, based on the idea of new classical economics analyze the effect mechanism of transaction efficiency on the agricultural labor division evolution and agricultural intensification development.(2) Analyze the status quo of agricultural intensification development in MZSS. First, briefly descript the agricultural development of twelve county-level administrative regions in MZSS use relevant statistical data. Secondly, analyze the degree of agricultural intensification operating in the county-level administrative regions of MZSS from the mechanization and chemicalization of agriculture, according to the theory of induced agricultural technological change. Finally, analyze the level of agricultural intensification in the county-level administrative regions of MZSS, through measuring the agricultural total factor productivity, the rate of technological advances and agricultural technology efficiency indicators using the super-efficiency SBM-DEA model.(3) Analyze the effect of agricultural labor division evolution on the agricultural intensification development in MZSS. First, measure the level of agricultural labor division in MZSS from2000to2011through establishing relevant indicators about labor division between agriculture and industry、 labor division in agricultural products types and agricultural production processes of the county-level. Secondly, analyze the effect of labor division between agriculture and industry、labor division in agricultural products types and agricultural production processes on the degree of agricultural intensification operating in MZSS using space panel data analysis methods from the county level. Finally, analyze the effect of labor division between agriculture and industry、labor division in agricultural products types and agricultural production processes on the level of agricultural intensification in MZSS using space panel data analysis methods from the county level.(4) Analyze the restrictions of the confining transaction efficiency to the agricultural labor division evolution and the agricultural intensification development in MZSS. First, analyze the reasons of confining transaction efficiency in MZSS from the six aspects of the natural and geographical conditions, transport infrastructure, information infrastructure, social and cultural environment, grass-roots government acts, transactions subject qualities, using transaction cost theory and combined with the geographical characteristics of mountain zone. Second, analyze the restrictions of the confining transaction efficiency to labor division between agriculture and industry、 labor division in agricultural products types and agricultural production processes in MZSS. Finally, analyze the restrictions of the confining transaction efficiency to the agricultural intensification development in MZSS from direct and indirect aspects.(5) The suggestions of agricultural intensification development in MZSS. First, by revealing the relationship between the agricultural labor division evolution and new agricultural business entities, analyze the new agricultural intensification business model relying on new agricultural business entities in MZSS. Second, propose the path of agricultural intensification development in MZSS from promoting labor division between agriculture and industry、 labor division in agricultural products types and agricultural production processes. Finally, propose the policy recommendations of improving transaction efficiency and thus promoting agricultural intensification development in MZSS from building trading platform, improving trading hardware environment, optimizing transaction administrative environment, enhancing transaction subject qualities.2. Main results of the study(1) The development process of agricultural intensification is based on intensive management of agriculture, and has the main feature of raising the level of agricultural intensification. According to neoclassical economics point of view, the changes of agricultural market demand and agricultural production factors scarcity will generate induced effect on the process of agricultural intensification operating through the market price mechanism; the interactive collaboration of agricultural public research departments, agricultural producers and farmers provides support and protection for the realization of agricultural intensification operating eventually. To enhance the level of agricultural intensification is required necessary conditions as the diffusion of agricultural intensification operating activities and improving of agricultural intensification operating efficiency. (2) The agricultural labor division evolution will promote the agricultural intensification development, but is restricted by trading efficiency. The labor division between agriculture and industry will expand the size of the agricultural market demand, cause changes in the degree of agricultural production factors scarcity, thereby produce inducing effect on agricultural intensification operating; labor division in agricultural products types will promote agricultural product specialization and industrial agglomeration, and reduce the diffusion costs of agricultural intensification operating activities; labor division in agricultural production processes will reduce the time consuming of farmers to learn and master modern agricultural technology, thereby accelerate the accumulation of human capital, and promote the improvements of agricultural intensification operational efficiency. However, the agricultural labor division evolution will expand the size of products or services transactions between different regions, different departments and different farmers, and thus enhance the transaction costs. Only reduce the transaction costs, improve the efficiency of their transactions, are able to promote the agricultural labor division evolution.(3) In recent years, the degree of agricultural intensification operating and the level of agricultural intensification in MZSS are all improved, but the degree of agricultural intensification operating continues to lag in the hills and plains regions. Among which, the degree of agricultural mechanization is significantly lower than non-mountain counties, and the degree of agricultural schematization is gradually close to the non-mountain counties. In addition, the enhancement of agricultural intensification level in MZSS is on the one hand due to the diffusion of agricultural intensification activities, on the other hand due to continuous improvement of agricultural intensification operational efficiency.(4) The agricultural labor division evolution has overall promoted the agricultural intensification development in MZSS. First, the labor division between agriculture and industry and the labor division of agricultural production chain can promote the development of agricultural intensification in MZSS, while the role of labor division between agriculture and industry is relatively significant. This may be because, under the part-time operating conditions, the labor division between agriculture and industry is not conducive to promote the growth of agricultural products market demand, can not completely change the scarcity degree of agricultural labor force factor, and thus would undermine its role in the development of agricultural intensification. Second, the labor division in agricultural products types of county-level division can contribute to agricultural intensification operating in MZSS, but did not improve the level of agricultural intensification. This may be because in terms of mountainous areas the labor division in agricultural products types of county-level is still difficult to promote agricultural geographic concentration, and thus will weaken its positive role in the spread of agricultural intensification operating activities.(5) The agricultural intensification development has significant spatial correlation overall in MZSS. The agricultural mechanization in MZSS shows a negative spatial correlation in different counties. A possible explanation is that the agricultural machinery equipment can flow between adjacent areas. However, the spatial correlation of agricultural intensification operating efficiency in MZSS is not strong. This may be because that the geographic segmentation and barriers of cultural concepts are not conducive to the exchange of agricultural producers in different regions, so as to enhance the efficiency of agricultural technology.(6) The confining transaction efficiency is the limited factor of agricultural labor division evolution and agricultural intensification development in MZSS. The enhancement of trading efficiency in MZSS is multiply restricted by geographic natural conditions, transportation infrastructure, information infrastructure, social and cultural environment, grass-roots government action and the quality of trade subject. The confining transaction efficiency will not only directly the agricultural intensification development in MZSS through affecting the realization of agricultural intensification activities, the diffusion of agricultural intensification operating activities and the improvements of agricultural intensification operating efficiency; but also can indirectly restrict it through affecting the labor division between agriculture and industry、labor division in agricultural products types and agricultural production processes.(7) The generation and development of new agricultural business entities are important manifestation and internal requirements of agricultural labor division evolution. MZSS should learn from the advanced experience of developed areas to foster and develop the new agricultural business entities, and build the new model of agricultural intensification operating which is based on the traditional farmers, supplemented by the big professional farmers and family farm, and supported by the social services of farmer professional cooperatives and agricultural industrialization leading enterprises. And the agricultural intensification development path is promoting the labor division between agriculture and industry、 labor division in agricultural products types and agricultural production processes in MZSS; Improving the transaction efficiency is an important measure to promote agricultural labor division evolution and agricultural intensification development in MZSS.3. Possible innovations of the studyFrom the perspective of agricultural labor division evolution this article has perfected the analytical framework of agricultural intensification development. Inherited the neoclassical economics connotation of agricultural intensification development, and perfected the neoclassical economics analytical framework of it from the following three aspects:First, from the perspective of agricultural labor division evolution present that the growth of agricultural products markets demand and the change in the scarcity degree of production factors depend primarily on the level of labor division between agriculture and industry, not just the exogenous factors such as population size, resource endowment;Second, further analyze the effect of labor division in agricultural products types in different regions on promoting agricultural intensification operating to achieve, reducing the cost of the diffusion;Third, further demonstrate the effect of labor division in agricultural production processes on promoting agricultural intensification operating to achieve, accelerating farmer’s human capital accumulation and thus enhancing the efficiency of it.