A Study On The Impact Of Outsourcing Production Services On Efficiency Of Wheat Growers In Henan Province

As urbanisation continues,non-agricultural land is increasing and a large number of agricultural labourers are moving to cities and towns for employment,China’s agricultural production is facing the double pressure of increasing production costs and tightening factor resources,and food security is under threat.The formation of large-scale operations has become an important measure to achieve high-quality agricultural development and ensure food security.The development of large-scale operations through land transfer has been slow,and agricultural production services have become a new way to promote large-scale operations.The outsourcing of production services by farmers to realize service scale operations can not only alleviate the structural shortage of household labour and reduce production costs,but also introduce advanced production technologies and improve household production and operation,ultimately improving agricultural production efficiency,promoting the integration of food-growing farmers into modern agriculture and ensuring national food security.Based on the analysis of the current situation of wheat production and service outsourcing in Henan Province,this paper uses the research data of wheat farmers’ production service outsourcing in Henan Province to measure the production efficiency of wheat farmers by using the SFA model.The SFA model was used to measure the productivity of wheat farmers,and the Tobit model and PSM model were constructed to empirically test the impact of outsourcing on wheat farmers’ productivity,and the differential impact of outsourcing on wheat farmers’ productivity.The results show that:(1)the cost of purchasing farm machinery and labour services has increased significantly since 2010,and the outsourcing of production services is developing rapidly.(2)The distribution of household head characteristics,production and business characteristics and environmental characteristics in the outsourcing of services in different production segments is different.The sample characteristics reflect that the proportion of outsourced services is higher for farmers whose heads are female,the older they are,the higher their education level and the better the transportation conditions in their villages;the proportion of outsourced services is lower for farmers with larger sown areas;and the proportion of outsourced services is highest for farmers with a medium level of land fragmentation.(3)The overall efficiency of wheat production in Henan Province is high.The average level of efficiency of outsourced services in different segments was mixed,with comparative results of watering(0.8520)> drying(0.7747)> spraying(0.7388)> fertilizer application(0.7234)> sowing(0.7225)> land preparation(0.7038)> harvesting(0.7028).(4)The empirical results show that service outsourcing does have a significant positive impact on wheat production efficiency and that there is a differential impact of service outsourcing on farmers’ production efficiency in different stages.Based on the above study,the following recommendations were made: Firstly,the government should further strengthen its support for socialised agricultural service providers and provide guidance to smallholder farmers on the outsourcing of production services.Secondly,organise and enhance the joint development of socialised service entities to provide differentiated services for smallholders.Third,strengthen the association between small farmers in the process of service outsourcing and form long-term and stable cooperation with the service main body.