The Impact of Socialized Agricultural Machinery Services on Land Productivity: Evidence from China

Under the background of urbanization, rural hollowing out, and aging, it is increasingly urgent to solve the problem of who will farm the land to stabilize the foundation of national food security. The socialized agricultural machinery service undoubtedly provides a feasible solution. From the perspective of land productivity, and based on field survey data from 597 farmers in four major wheat-producing provinces in China, this study applied an endogenous switching regression model. By constructing a counterfactual analysis framework, this paper's empirical analysis showed that the socialized agricultural machinery service had a positive impact on the land productivity of wheat production. At the same time, the impact of socialized agricultural machinery services on land productivity was heterogeneous due to the differences in planting scale, terrain, and concurrent business. It can give full play to the positive influence of socialized agricultural machinery services on stable grain yields and increases. It is necessary to guide and support the effective supply of socialized agricultural machinery services in the key links of food production, and to reasonably guide the main providers of socialized agricultural machinery service to provide high-quality services that meet the production needs of small farmers according to local conditions, so as to promote the organic connection between small farmers and the development of modern agriculture.

Automated summary

Against the backdrop of urbanization, rural hollowing out, and aging, the problem of who will farm the land to ensure national food security becomes increasingly urgent. Socialized agricultural machinery service provides a feasible solution. This study, based on field survey data from four major wheat-producing provinces in China, found that socialized agricultural machinery service has a positive impact on land productivity, although the magnitude varies due to differences in planting scale, terrain, and concurrent business. It is crucial to guide and support the effective supply of socialized agricultural machinery services in key links of food production, in order to promote the connection between small farmers and the development of modern agriculture.