School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 22;19(9):5090. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095090.
Food security remains a major issue for developing countries. Reducing arable land abandonment (ALA) is crucial to ensuring food security. In China, the 'decline in both quantity and quality' of arable land resources, especially in major grain-producing areas, has become increasingly serious. This study uses fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the core conditions and combinations of paths leading to explicit and implicit abandonment using 30 typical cases in the main grain-producing areas of Hubei Province. The results show that (1) three combined pathways lead to explicit ALA (EALA) and that two pathways lead to implicit ALA (IALA); (2) laborer health (LH) is the core condition leading to EALA; and (3) LH, agricultural laborer (AL), per capita income (PCI) and social relationships (SRs) are the core conditions leading to IALA. To effectively alleviate ALA, the government should improve production conditions, pay attention to laborer health issues, improve agricultural returns and strengthen food security publicity and guidance, thereby promoting the rational use of arable land in these areas. The findings in this study link the changes in arable land use and provide a reference for other developing countries in ensuring food security.
粮食安全仍然是发展中国家面临的主要问题。减少耕地撂荒对确保粮食安全至关重要。在中国，耕地资源“数量和质量”下降的问题，尤其是在主要粮食产区，变得越来越严重。本研究采用模糊集定性比较分析（fsQCA）方法，利用湖北省主要粮食产区的 30 个典型案例，探讨了导致显性和隐性撂荒的核心条件和路径组合。结果表明：（1）有三种组合路径导致显性耕地撂荒（EALA），两种路径导致隐性耕地撂荒（IALA）；（2）劳动者健康（LH）是导致 EALA 的核心条件；（3）LH、农业劳动者（AL）、人均收入（PCI）和社会关系（SRs）是导致 IALA 的核心条件。为了有效缓解耕地撂荒，政府应改善生产条件，关注劳动者健康问题，提高农业回报率，并加强粮食安全宣传和引导，从而促进这些地区耕地的合理利用。本研究将耕地利用变化联系起来，为其他发展中国家确保粮食安全提供了参考。
