Impact of cultivated land use transformation on agricultural green total factor productivity - A case study of the Yellow River Basin

Bolun Zhang¹Junhong Ling¹Yang Zeng^2*Chen Shen^1*Zhanbin Huang³Talehaer kuermanbieke⁴

• ¹Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China
• ²Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
• ³China University of Mining and Technology - Beijing, Beijing, China
• ⁴Xinjiang Academy of Environmental Protection Sciences, Urumqi, China

Cultivated land resources are essential in the agricultural sector for maintaining food security and promoting economic growth. Currently, there is notable reduction in cultivated land and environmental contamination, hindering the sustainable and healthy growth of agriculture. Consequently, understanding the effect of cultivated land use transformation on agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) is an essential stage in advancing sustainable agriculture. This paper utilizes panel data from 62 cities in the Yellow River Basin between 2000 and 2020. It employs the entropy weight method and the super-efficient non-expectation SBM model, along with the GML index, to assess cultivated land use transformation and AGTFP. Furthermore, a two-way fixed effect model is established to examine the influence of cultivated land use transformation on AGTFP. The results show: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the transformation index of cultivated land use showed a fluctuating upward trend. It peaked in the southeast and was lowest in the central areas. The transformation of cultivated land use is moving towards regional equalization. (2) The AGTFP showed an overall fluctuating and rising trend. AGTFP experiences substantial growth in regions, primarily concentrated in the middle and lower reaches, as well as the central part of the upstream section of the river. Productivity growth in the upstream and midstream sectors is mostly driven by enhanced efficiency change (EC), whereas the downstream sector is advanced by technical change (TC). (3) Cultivated land use transformation contributes significantly to AGTFP, more so in major grain-producing areas and in the east. Functional and modal transitions of cultivated land use contribute significantly to AGTFP, and modal transitions are more effective in promoting AGTFP. In both major grain-producing areas and balance-of-production and marketing areas, both functional and modal transformations were responsible for promoting AGTFP. Functional transformation was more effective in promoting major grain-producing areas than in balanced pro-duction and marketing areas. Overall, this paper carries out mechanistic and empirical research on the mechanism and empirical evidence of cultivated land use transformation affecting AGTFP from the perspective of spatio-temporal patterns. And it provides a scientific reference for food security and the high-quality development of the agricultural economy.