Effect of capital endowment on farmers' decision-making in protecting cultivated land in a rice-growing area:An empirical study based on a double-hurdle model

Improving the fertility of cultivated land and promoting green development of agriculture are strategic choices for rural revitalization strategies. As a direct part of cultivated land utilization, farmers' decision-making regarding farmland protection directly affects green agricultural production and food safety. Oryza sativa is one of the most important food crop varieties in China. This study divided farmers' capital endowment into 4 facets:human capital, economic capital, natural capital, and social capital endowments. Using survey microdata from 394 households in Qingtongxia (one of China's high-yield, high-quality rice areas), a double-hurdle model was employed to distinguish farmers' decision-making of participation in farmland protection into two stages, participation willingness and degree of participation. The influence of capital endowment on participation in cultivated land protection decision-making in this rice-growing area was then assessed. The objective of this study was to provide references for scientifically formulating relevant policies for arable land protection in rice-growing areas and ensuring the development of a green agricultural economy. The results showed that:1) most farmers were willing to participate in farmland protection, but their willingness to pay for farmland protection was relatively low. The proportion of farmers willing to participate in the protection of cultivated land was 73.86%, but the average amount they were willing to pay was only 3 100.65¥·hm^-2. 2) Capital endowment had a strong correlation with the farmers' willingness to participate in farmland protection and degree of participation. Specifically, human capital endowment (education level and agricultural training), economic capital endowment (household income and agricultural machinery input), and social capital endowment (social relationship and social participation) had positive effects on the farmers' willingness and the degree of participation in farmland protection. Natural capital endowment (farmland endowment and degree of fragmentation) had a positive impact on the farmers' willingness to participate in farmland protection and a negative impact on their degree of participation. 3) Awareness of the importance of cultivated land protection only promoted the farmers' willingness to participate in the protection of cultivated land, whereas the degree of understanding of cultivated land protection policy promoted both the farmers' willingness to participate in the protection of cultivated land and their degree of participation. Farmers' awareness of farmland protection and their degree of policy understanding had positive effects on their willingness to participate in the protection of cultivated land as well as their degree of participation. Some suggestions had been put forward, including establishing and improving economic compensation policies for farmland protection; encouraging farmers to actively invest in environmentally friendly technologies for sustainable development of green agricultural production, thereby enhancing the participation of farmers in the protection of cultivated land; actively setting up agricultural cooperatives and farmland protection organizations to promote the collective protection and control of arable land; further improving the rural education and training system to instruct new farmers about the development of green agriculture; strengthening publicity for farmland protection in rice-growing areas; and promoting the correct interpretation of rural grassroots organizations' and farmers' policies on farmland protection, thus raising the farmers' support for these policies.