Characteristics of Land Composition and Usage of the Crop Family Farms：Based on a Unique 5-year Consecutive Family Farm Monitoring Dataset（2014~2018）

Gao Liangliang

（Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences）

Summary: Family farm is the most core production and operation subject in the current stage of China's agricultural development. Based on a unique 5-year consecutive family farm monitoring dataset (2014-2018) for 31 provinces across the country, this paper statistically analyzes the crop family farms’ characteristics of land scale, land composition, land rental, land usage and future plans from time trend and regional differences, especially for the grain family farms.

The results show that, from 2014 to 2018, the scale of family farms increases year by year, with an average size of about 400 mu in 2018. The land of family farms is divided into pieces. On the average, a representative family farm is constituted by 15 plots, which comes from 48~58 rural households; what’s more, cross-village and cross-town management gradually become a trend. About 2/3 of the family farms rent land via land leasing agency, 96% of the family farms sign written contracts. The land rent is going up year by year, more than 90% of the family farms pay the rents with cash, of which 90% of family farms use fixed cash rent. About 40% of the family farms have rearranged the rented land, of which 40% of the family farms’ land area has increased, with an area of about 7%. The family farms grow 2 crops on average, and the cultivated area for the main crop exceeds about 83%. With the exception of 2015, the actual operating area of the family farms is less than the ideal operating size, and the number of farms panning to shrink or maintain the scale increased year by year.

Based on the above findings, we suggest that it is necessary to promote the agricultural land property rights system, improve the land rental market and agricultural insurance market, so as to facilitate the long-term scale operation of family farms.

Keywords: family farm; land composition; land rental; land rearrangement; scale operation

JEL Classification: D13, Q15, Q24