Analysis On Farmers' Production Technology And Technical Efficiency In Traditional Farmland Based On Aging Perspective

By using household-level cross sectional data from the counties of FuShun,AnYue and ZhongJiang in SiChuan province, this paper analyzes the technicalchoices of the farmers based on induced technology innovation theory andestablishes the stochastic frontier production function model to measure theeffects of the main input factors on the agricultural output. Based on it, thepaper proposes the technical choice mode made by farmers and induced by thescarcity of the local resources. Meanwhile, the paper establishes the technicalinefficiency model to analyze the factors that influence the farmers’ technicalefficiency in agricultural production. The findings indicate that: the land inputhas the largest input-output elasticity, then is fertilizer, pesticide, labor and seedinputs, farming appliances and machines have the smallest elasticity. It is alsofound that the technical choice mode made by farmers has its owncharacteristics: the aging of the agricultural labor force and the biologicaltechnology progress induced by the scarcity of the land resource together makethe agricultural labor force scarce. While the scarcity of the agricultural laborforce induces the larger part of the households to increase labor force from theoutside of the family, such as exchanging working time with the other families,employing workers from the market and getting help from the relatives orfriends. But there is also a small part of households that use less labors bymechanical technology or by the combination of the biological technology andmechanical technology. Among the factors influencing the farmers’ technicalefficiency, the average age of the farmers in the family, the actual acres of theland planted by the family in2011, the land circulation among the households,the multiple occupations of some labor in the the family, the townshipagricultural technology extension station as the channel of getting agriculturaltechnology information and the government as the main provider whoprovides agricultural skills training to the farmers have positive effect on theagricultural production technical efficiency. While the average degree ofeducation of the farmers in the family, scientific research institutions or collegesand reading books and materials by farmers of themselves as the channels ofgetting agricultural technology information, the situation of having received the agricultural machinery training but still not knowing how to operate it havenegative effect on the technical efficiency of the farmers. Based on the recenteconomic regime characteristics between the city and rural department and theanalysis on the technical choice and technical efficiency of the agricultureaffected by the aging of agricultural labor force, the paper has made thefollowing conclusion: the existence of the agriculture affected by the aging ofthe agricultural labor force is not so pessimistic and its existence has its ownmeaning and reasons. Compared to the younger farmers, the older farmers haveadvantages in technical efficiency in agriculture. The crucial step is to providenew technology to the agriculture that is facing the aging of its labor force.