Comprehensive evaluation of agriculture labor productivity in Pidu Linpan Farming System in Chengdu urban fringe

Improving agricultural labor productivity is essential for promoting agricultural and rural development and is the basic requirement of rural revitalization strategies. The comprehensive evaluation of agricultural labor productivity is the basis of rural development strategy suitable for the local conditions. With Pidu Linpan Farming System in the suburban area of Chengdu, designated as one of the China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (China-NIAHS) sites in 2020, as a case, this study quantitatively evaluated agricultural labor productivity, labor participation rate, and labor intensity index of 12 agricultural towns (subdistricts). Multiple regression analysis was used to research the main influencing factors of labor productivity. The results showed that the agricultural labor productivity of the overall Pidu Linpan Farming System was 4.03×10⁴ ￥·capita^-1, and the labor intensity was 54.69% in 2017. There were large differences in agricultural labor productivity and labor intensity among 12 agricultural towns. The agricultural labor productivity and labor intensity index of the heritage were higher in northern towns and lower in southern ones. The highest agricultural labor productivity (6.35×10⁴ ￥·capita^-1) was in Tangyuan Town, and the lowest (1.72×10⁴ ￥·capita^-1) was in Pitong Town. The labor intensity index of northern towns, such as Hongguang, Tangyuan, and Tangchang, was higher than 65%, while that of southern towns was lower than the overall level of the heritage. The agricultural labor participation and urbanization rates showed spatial heterogeneity, and the labor participation rate of the northwest region was higher than the southeast region. Among them, the highest agricultural labor participation rate (45.57%) was in Xinminchang Town, and the lowest (8.46%) was in Hongguang. Among the factors of agricultural production conditions, the increase of energy consumption per unit output value, fertilizer application amount per unit area farmland, agricultural area per capita, and agricultural labor participation rate promoted agricultural labor productivity. The first two factors had a greater impact on agricultural labor productivity than the latter two in the heritage. The standardization regression coefficient of energy consumption per unit output value and fertilizer application amount per unit area farmland were more than 0.93, while those of agricultural area per capita and agricultural labor participation rate were 0.637 and 0.282, respectively. Further analysis revealed that, as an important part of the Pidu Linpan Farming System, the pattern of crop rotation in flooded land and dry land was helpful to improve the utilization efficiency of land and labor resources, which promoted the farmers' concurrent business. Therefore, the agricultural development of the agricultural heritage should start from spatial differentiation, production modernization, and industrial diversification to promote rural revitalization in the adjacent areas of the city. While making full use of the advantages of urban fringe in capital and technology, the farmland rotation pattern should be maintained, and the sustainable development of agriculture in the northwestern towns and the construction of infrastructure and the processing industry in the southeastern towns should be strengthened. Based on the unsaturated state of labor intensity, farmers should be encouraged to make better use of their leisure time, develop diversified businesses and expand channels for increasing their income, and promote rural revitalization in areas as an urban fringe.