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Off-Farm Income Shares and Farmers’ Adoption of Arable Land Protection Practices: Evidence from the Jianghan Plain, China

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  • Gaodi Yang

    (School of Economics and Management, Hubei University of Education, Wuhan 430205, China)

  • Meng Yue

    (School of Economics and Trade, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan 430205, China)

  • Shan Jin

    (Faculty of Business and Law, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DE, UK)

  • David Coles

    (School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK)

  • Lynn J. Frewer

    (School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK)

Abstract

Using a Poisson regression model with a quadratic term and data from a 2022 survey of rice farmers across 10 counties in China’s Jianghan Plain, this study examines how the off-farm income shares are associated with the interplay between survival and sustainability imperatives in farmers’ adoption of arable land protection (ALP) practices. The results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between the off-farm income shares and ALP adoption. However, the off-farm income shares are negatively associated with ALP adoption overall. The association is consistent with several channels: disruption of farming time, increased distance from cropland, reduction in operational scale, and weakened awareness of ALP. Furthermore, significant differences in ALP adoption are observed among full-time farmers, part-time I farmers, and part-time II farmers, with the latter exhibiting the lowest level of ALP adoption. These findings provide empirical evidence on how off-farm income shares correlate with land management decisions and offer implications for tailored agricultural policy interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaodi Yang & Meng Yue & Shan Jin & David Coles & Lynn J. Frewer, 2026. "Off-Farm Income Shares and Farmers’ Adoption of Arable Land Protection Practices: Evidence from the Jianghan Plain, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:18:y:2026:i:17:p:8731-:d:2024913
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