Research On The Impact Of Income Insurance For Planting Decisions Of Soybean Farmers In Heilongjiang Province

A flourishing rural economy is essential for the prosperity of all industries,while stable food production is crucial for global stability and security.The supply of grains,in particular,is vital for the country’s fortune and people’s livelihoods,and food security is one of the primary factor for maintaining social stability and promoting national development.Nevertheless,over the past decade,the dual impact of the growing imports of soybeans and the declining profitability of domestic soybean production has created challenges for meeting the demand for this crop domestically.More than 80% of China’s soybeans have to be obtained through imports,posing a serious challenge to food security in China.Although in the past three years,under the promotion of various policy systems,the willingness of farmers to grow soybeans has significantly increased,and the planting area of soybeans has been gradually rising year by year,farmers’ requirements for risk protection have also increased.Traditional soybean insurance has problems such as an insurance which can only cover losses caused by one factor and low insurance payability.In the meanwhile,with the increasing cost of planting,it is crucial to explore how to use soybean income insurance to remain the existing planting scale and guide adjustments in farmers’ planting decisions.Therefore,this article starts from the perspective of improving the insurance performance of soybean cultivation.Taking Heilongjiang Province as the research area and soybean growers as the research subjects,it analyzes the impact of income insurance on the planting decisions of soybean growers in Heilongjiang Province.It has important theoretical and practical significance for promoting the high-quality development of agricultural insurance and better safeguarding national food security.This study is based on field visits and research conducted in the pilot areas of Heilongjiang Province’s soybean income insurance,as well as statistical analysis of underwriting data from relevant financial and statistical departments.It comprehensively studied the changes in soybean planting area,yield,cost-benefit,and risks faced by soybean planting in Heilongjiang Province.Additionally,this study provides a detailed description of the achievements made by the pilot program since its implementation,from multiple perspectives such as government support,risk protection level,and participation types.The study also conducts a specific analysis of the major issues currently present.Furthermore,based on relevant theories such as farmers’ behavioral theory,expected utility theory,behavioral decision theory,and risk management theory,this study analyzes the impact mechanism of income insurance on soybean growers’ planting decisions from a theoretical level.In the end,this study used survey data from 364 farmers in 17 counties and cities,as well as farms in 8 regions of Heilongjiang Province,to analyze the direct impact of income insurance on the planting decisions of soybean farmers,and to test the reliability of the results through robustness tests.On this basis,the study used a mediation model to test the indirect effect of income insurance on soybean planting decisions,and further explored the heterogeneity of planting and income scales.Through this study,the following main conclusions were drawn:income insurance has a significant impact on the planting decisions of soybean growers.After participating in income insurance,the proportion of farmers planting soybeans has increased.At the same time,stabilizing income expectations and reducing risk aversion play a mediating role in the impact of income insurance on farmers’ planting decisions.In addition,the impact of income insurance on farmers’ planting decisions is heterogeneous.From the perspectives of planting scale and income level,income insurance has a more significant impact on the planting decisions of small farmers.Specifically,small farmers who mainly operate family businesses,have low levels of diversification,and have the right to choose insurance coverage are more likely to be affected by income insurance,thus actively improving planting structure.Based on the empirical research results,this article aims to improve the density and depth of emerging policy-oriented agricultural insurance in Heilongjiang Province.Combining with the actual situation of policy-oriented agricultural insurance development in Heilongjiang Province,this article proposes policy recommendations to effectively promote the implementation of soybean income insurance in Heilongjiang Province and improve the effectiveness of the pilot operation from three dimensions: enhancing the supply capacity of soybean income insurance products,innovating the promotion and publicity path of soybean income insurance and improving the policy support system for soybean income insurance.This article points out that the work direction of Heilongjiang Province’s soybean income insurance should establish short-term results and long-term promotion.It should effectively improve the risk protection capability of oilseed crop cultivation and provide comprehensive support for ensuring food security.