A Research On The Moderate Scale Development Of Family Farm: Theory,comparison And Empirical Study

Since the internal and external environment of agricultural development have profound change,the shortcomings of highly dispersed small-scale farmers 'production-mode are more prominent.On the other hand,it is very important for the development of modern agriculture to expand new agricultural management subjects,construct new agricultural management system and promote the agricultural scale management.Since 2013,along with the proposal of central document No.1 for the first time to support the development of family farms,it expand rapidly,and has attracted great attention from the policy and academic circles.By 2017,the number of family farms in China had exceeded 877,000.But at the same time,a series of problems have arisen in the process of family farm development,such as Pan-family farming,blindly pursuing scale,over-reliance on employing labor force and so on.The root cause is that neither policy-making nor some family farmers really grasp the concept and characteristics of family farm.They also do not correctly understand the theory of moderate scale development of family farm.On the basis of reviewing the domestic and foreign studies on the moderate scale development of family farms,this paper first defines the concept and characteristics of family farms,then analyses the theoretical connotation and influencing factors of the moderate scale development of family farms.Secondly,on the basis of comparative analysis of the changes in the quantity and scale structure of family farms in different regions from developed countries,the paper empirically analyzed the impact of different macro-external factors on the scale of family farms.Thirdly,based on the micro-data obtained from the special survey of family farms conducted by Wuhan University in 2017,the actual characteristics of family farms in central China are analyzed,and the influence of different factors on their scale of operation is empirically analyzed.Fourthly,according to the concept of family farm,the sample of family farm which accords with the development direction of moderate scale is screened,and the influencing factors of its scale operation intention are empirically analyzed,and the moderate scale scope of family farm of planting industry is defined.Finally,after all the conclusions summarized,the paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions in view of the realistic problems faced by the moderate scale development of family farms in ChinaThe details of this paper are as follows:Chapter 1: Introduction.It‘s mainly introduces the background,research methods and research significance of the topic selection,including the elaboration of the research objectives and main research contents of the paper.Chapter 2: Literature review and theoretical basis.In the part of literature review,the relevant research literatures on the moderate scale development of family farms at home and abroad are sorted out.The theoretical basis and related concepts of this study are elaborated.Chapter 3: Theoretical analysis of moderate scale development of family farms.By sorting out the relevant research results,this part defines the concept and basic characteristics of family farm,clarifies the theoretical connotation of moderate scale development of family farm,and analyses the influencing factors of moderate scale development of family farm.Chapter 4: International comparative study on moderate scale development of family farms.With the data of the quantity and scale changes of family farms in 11 developed countries since 1990,this part makes a comparative analysis of the process of moderate scale development and structural changes of family farms.On this basis,panel data are constructed,and individual fixed effect model are used.The effects of economic development level,natural resource endowment and agricultural science and technology level on the moderate scale of family farms are empirically analyzed.Finally,it summarizes the policies and measures of different developed countries to support agricultural scale management,and analyses its enlightenment to promote the moderate scale development of agriculture in China.Chapter 5: Empirical research on moderate scale development of family farms in China.This part starts with the analysis of origin and characteristics of the concept of family farm in China.Then the policy environment of moderate scale development of family farm in China is researched by sorting out the relevant documents of provincial government on the selection of provincial demonstration farm.Finally,using the actual survey data and the ordered selection model,this chapter empirically studies the influencing factors of moderate scale development of family farms in central China.Chapter 6: Empirical measurement of moderate scale development of family farms in China.Firstly,this chapter analyses the criteria for measuring the appropriate scale of family farms in China.Then,we use the data of family farm to survey applicable data of the development direction of family farm,to we empirically measure the appropriate scale of family farm of planting type.Chapter 7: Basic conclusions and policy recommendations.This chapter summarizes the basic conclusions of the whole study,and puts forward relevant suggestions on how to further promote the moderate scale development of family farms in China,on the premise of analyzing the problems faced by the moderate scale development of family farms in China.Through the above research,it is found that with the continuous improvement of the level of economic development,the large-scale management of agriculture is the main trend of agricultural development,but family farms are still in the leading position in agricultural production.Since the 1990 s,the number of family farms in major developed countries has decreased rapidly,while their average scale has shown a trend of expansion.This situation is evident in the major developed countries in Europe.At that time,farmland continued to concentrate on large-scale farms,which showed that the proportion of land in large-scale farms increased significantly in planting production.Small-scale family farms,though declining in number and land proportion,do not disappear completely,but coexist with large-scale farms for a long time.This phenomenon is particularly evident in the United States.By using the short panel data,it is found that the natural resource endowment expressed by per capita agricultural land area and the level of agricultural science and technology expressed by per capita agricultural machinery ownership have a significant impact on the average scale change of family farms in different developed countries.The level of economic development expressed by per capita GNP has a significant impact on the average change of family farms,but its coefficient is negative.This shows that the average scale of family farms in a country will not expand indefinitely,but when the economic development reaches a certain level,small farmers will not disappear completely,thus slowing down the growth trend of the average scale of family farms,which also confirms the existence of moderate scale of family farm.Through the analysis of the micro-survey data of family farms in China,it is found that the rapid development of family farms in recent years has effectively reversed the aging and weakening situation of agricultural practitioners.Family farmers are mainly young and middle-aged workers with high comprehensive quality.Agricultural income is the main source of income for most family farms.At the same time,the development of family farms has stimulated farmers' willingness to invest.Most family farms have purchased agricultural machinery and built agricultural infrastructure.The growing of family farms presents a situation of high investment and high output.However,there is a widespread phenomenon of one-sided pursuit of scale and excessive dependence on employees,which leads to the situation of family farm with non-family management.That largely deviates from the policy orientation based on family management and emphasizes moderate scale.This situation is particularly evident in the development of suburban agriculture in the direction of urban agriculture.At the same time,the absence of agricultural finance and the lack of long-term and precision of agricultural support policies have restricted the sustainable and stable development of new agricultural operators.The key to the scale management of agriculture,especially the moderate scale development of family farms,lies in the moderation,and we should not blindly pursue the large scale.On the one hand,from the point of view of production and operation,excessive scale will inevitably lead to the rapid rise of management and operation cost,while extensive operation will cause the waste of resources and the decline of efficiency.On the other hand,under the current land system,we must also respect the wishes of farmers and not forcibly promote large-scale development Emphasize the coordinated development of the main body of agricultural scale.Although compared with ordinary farmers,family farms as the representative of the new type of agricultural large-scale operation of the main business scale has expanded,but in the face of the market,its volume is still limited.Only by giving full play to the characteristics and advantages of different subjects in different fields,making up for each other's shortcomings and developing in coordination,can the market competitiveness of different subjects be improved continuously.At the same time,we must face up to the reality that small farmers will coexist with large-scale operators for a long time in the foreseeable future.Thus we should speed up the development of agricultural social service system,and bring small farmers into the orbit of modern agricultural developmentFinally,after the study about the policy environment which the family-farm development faced,from the perspective of total factor productivity,this paper measures the appropriate scale of family farms,which mainly rely on the family's own labor force for agricultural production and operation.Family farms in this scale range can not only effectively realize the comprehensive efficiency,technical efficiency and scale efficiency of moderate scale operation of agriculture,but also ensure that the family farms of farmers can obtain not less than the disposable income level of urban residents or migrant workers,so as to effectively mobilize their enthusiasm for agricultural production,ensure the healthy and stable development of family farms,and then serve the country.Effective supply of major agricultural products contributes.Generally speaking,the rapid development of the family-farming now,which is still in the primary stage,far away from a healthy and stable status.Compared with other subject of agricultural scale management,family-farming still has its own advantage.But there is also a need for support from complete and targeted agricultural policies.Promoting moderate scale management of agriculture with family farms as the main body requires not only targeted legal norms and policies,but also enough patience.This is also the general experience of the developed agricultural countries in promoting the large-scale operation of agriculture.