Why Do Farmers Leave Land Idle? Unpacking the Role of Farmland Fragmentation and Mechanization Constraints in Farmland Abandonment Behavior
5 affiliations
- 1Research Center for Coordinated Development of Enterprises and Environment, Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences in Hubei Province, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China
- 2School of Management, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China
- 3School of Public Administration, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- 4School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
- 5School of Public Affairs, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Abstract
Under the dual pressures of increasing fragmentation of farmland and profound changes in the agricultural labor force, the problem of abandoned farmland in rural China has become increasingly prominent, posing a serious threat to food security. Previous studies have mainly focused on the impact of socioeconomic factors on farmland abandonment behavior; however, there remains a lack of systematic investigations into the underlying mechanisms through which farmland fragmentation influences farmers’ land-use decisions. Therefore, this study applies behavioral theory to construct a “fragmentation–mechanization–abandonment” analytical framework to analyze the potential mechanisms of land-use decision-making. Using micro-level household survey data from multiple provinces across China, we conduct empirical tests through Probit models and Karlson Holm and Breen (KHB) mediation effect analysis. Our findings include: (1) Farmland fragmentation significantly increases the probability of farmland abandonment, which remains robust across multiple tests. (2) Farmland fragmentation indirectly influences abandonment behavior through the mediating variable of agricultural mechanization level, but this mechanism plays only a partial mediating role. (3) Heterogeneity tests indicate that the positive effect of farmland fragmentation is significantly stronger among households with low access to finance than among those with high access to finance. This influence is also stronger among households with high farmland accessibility. This study indicates that abandonment governance requires moving beyond a singular focus on land consolidation and shifting toward a synergistic approach that combines differentiated regional strategies with targeted support for smallholders. From a micro-mechanism perspective, this study provides empirical evidence for targeted implementation of land consolidation and livelihood support for smallholders, offering important policy implications for achieving agricultural modernization.
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BibTeX
@article{cheng2026farmers,
title = {{Why Do Farmers Leave Land Idle? Unpacking the Role of Farmland Fragmentation and Mechanization Constraints in Farmland Abandonment Behavior}},
author = {Peng Cheng and Yue Wang and Ke Liu and Xuesong Kong and Houtian Tang and Yu Cheng and Jinrun Chen},
journal = {Land},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.3390/land15071315},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/land15071315},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Why Do Farmers Leave Land Idle? Unpacking the Role of Farmland Fragmentation and Mechanization Constraints in Farmland Abandonment Behavior
AU - Peng Cheng
AU - Yue Wang
AU - Ke Liu
AU - Xuesong Kong
AU - Houtian Tang
AU - Yu Cheng
AU - Jinrun Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/21
JO - Land
DO - 10.3390/land15071315
UR - https://doi.org/10.3390/land15071315
AB - Under the dual pressures of increasing fragmentation of farmland and profound changes in the agricultural labor force, the problem of abandoned farmland in rural China has become increasingly prominent, posing a serious threat to food security. Previous studies have mainly focused on the impact of socioeconomic factors on farmland abandonment behavior; however, there remains a lack of systematic investigations into the underlying mechanisms through which farmland fragmentation influences farmers’ land-use decisions. Therefore, this study applies behavioral theory to construct a “fragmentation–mechanization–abandonment” analytical framework to analyze the potential mechanisms of land-use decision-making. Using micro-level household survey data from multiple provinces across China, we conduct empirical tests through Probit models and Karlson Holm and Breen (KHB) mediation effect analysis. Our findings include: (1) Farmland fragmentation significantly increases the probability of farmland abandonment, which remains robust across multiple tests. (2) Farmland fragmentation indirectly influences abandonment behavior through the mediating variable of agricultural mechanization level, but this mechanism plays only a partial mediating role. (3) Heterogeneity tests indicate that the positive effect of farmland fragmentation is significantly stronger among households with low access to finance than among those with high access to finance. This influence is also stronger among households with high farmland accessibility. This study indicates that abandonment governance requires moving beyond a singular focus on land consolidation and shifting toward a synergistic approach that combines differentiated regional strategies with targeted support for smallholders. From a micro-mechanism perspective, this study provides empirical evidence for targeted implementation of land consolidation and livelihood support for smallholders, offering important policy implications for achieving agricultural modernization.
SN - 2073-445X
ER -