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Corn Grain or Corn Silage: Effects of the Grain-to-Fodder Crop Conversion Program on Farmers’ Income in China

Author

Listed:
  • Shukun Wang

    (Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China)

  • Changquan Liu

    (Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China)

  • Lei Han

    (Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China)

  • Tingting Li

    (Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China)

  • Guolei Yang

    (Institute of Technology and Economy of Grain Industry, Academy of National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, Beijing 100037, China)

  • Taofeng Chen

    (School of Economics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China)

Abstract

The Grain-to-Fodder Crop Conversion Program (GCCP) in China mainly promotes the green and sustainable development of grain crops, economic crops, and silage crops by subsidizing livestock farms to encourage farmers to plant silage crops, such as corn silage and alfalfa silage. In this context, this study assesses the impact of planting silage crops on farm household income. Based on a survey of 495 households in Henan and Hebei Provinces, China, we first constructed a theoretical model of the program’s effect on farmers’ income, and then used an ordinary least squares (OLS) method to estimate the magnitude of the GCCP on farmers’ income. To identify endogeneity and further test the stability of the results, we adopted instrumental variable estimation, subsample estimation, and matching methods. The GCCP significantly increased smallholder farm income. Compared with growing corn grain, corn silage increased income by approximately CNY 101/mu. Meanwhile, corn silage reduced the capital input cost of farmers by 10.71% per mu and labor input by 26.6% per mu. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that farmers who plant corn silage on a large scale, closer to dairy farms, have higher incomes. Few scholars have empirically analyzed the impact of GCCP on farm household income from a micro-farm household perspective. This study enriches the empirical literature on the effects of the GCCP on farmers in China, which can help policymakers understand policy implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Shukun Wang & Changquan Liu & Lei Han & Tingting Li & Guolei Yang & Taofeng Chen, 2022. "Corn Grain or Corn Silage: Effects of the Grain-to-Fodder Crop Conversion Program on Farmers’ Income in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:7:p:976-:d:857323
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