Agricultural Land Use Responses to the Rising Labor Opportunity Cost in Sui County,China

Rising labor opportunity cost is one of the most important characteristics of farmers' economic environment in present China,and brings great agricultural land use changes correspondingly.Based on the stratified random sample of rural households in Sui County,this paper estimates the opportunity cost of farm labors,and then analyzes its effect on farmers' agricultural land use decisions.The findings show that the households with higher labor opportunity cost are more likely to reduce labor intensity and increase labor-saving input in their land use decisions.From the descriptive analysis,we also find these households always prefer grain crop planting,reduce yield-raising input or even rent out their cultivated land.As labor and yield-raising input are two essential positive factors for grain production,continuous declining of labor input and yield-raising input caused by rising labor opportunity cost may influence the grain yield per unit area in the future.

Legislation to Regulate the Working Hours and Labor Intensity of Practitioners in the Platform Economy

Under the employment model of online car-hailing platforms,the extension of working hours and increase of labor intensity for practitioners are driven by the orders from these platform companies and labor-related third parties.Also,they are more attributable to the internal driving force of practitioners themselves who hope to have more orders and earn more.It is impossible to apply the regulation system of the existing labor law to protect the rights and interests of employees in terms of working hours and labor intensity.The author suggests that the state should make special labor legislation to make the following targeted provisions:Online car-hailing platform companies and labor-related third parties that implement labor management and control over practitioners shall,on the premise of abiding by labor standards and industry rules,set various reasonable indicators of working hours and labor intensity through rules and take effective technical measures to control these two dimensions,so that practitioners can avoid serious overwork.Besides,by encouraging the provision of certain convenience for practitioners to take intermittent breaks,jointly building a compatibility system for different online car-hailing platforms,and establishing relevant operating rules,we can restrain practitioners from being seriously overworked.This is actually a multi-cooperative boosting legislative regulation approach.

Structural change of agricultural land use intensity and its regional disparity in China

Based on the data from the Cost-benefit Data of Farm Produce and the China Agricultural Yearbook, this paper divided the intensity of cultivated land use into labor intensity and capital intensity, and then analyzed their temporal and spatial change at both national and provincial levels between 1980 and 2006. The results showed that： （1） At the national level, labor intensity on food produce decreased from 398.5 day/ha in 1980 to 130.25 day/ha in 2006; and a continuous decrease with a steep decline between 1980 and 1986, a slower decline from 1987 to 1996, and another steep decline from 1997 to 2006. On the contrary, capital intensity shows an increasing trend since 1980. As to the internal composition of capital intensity, the proportion of seed, chemical fertilizer and pesticide input decreased from 90.36% to 73.44% and the proportion of machinery increased from 9.64% to 26.56%. The less emphasis on yield-increasing input and more emphasis on labor-saving input are the main reasons for a slow increase of yield per unit area after 1996. （2） At the provincial level, the developed areas have lower labor intensity and higher capital intensity. The less developed ones have higher labor intensity but lower capital intensity. From the viewpoint of the internal composition of capital intensity, labor-saving input accounts for more proportion in the developed areas than that of other areas. The main reason is that in these developed areas, labor input has become a constraint factor in food production as more and more labors engaged in off-farm work. Farmers increase the labor-saving input for higher labor productivity. However, in the less developed areas, the major constraint is the shortage of capital; food production is still depending on labor and yield-increasing inputs.

Comparative Analysis of Influence Factors on Arable Land Use Intensity at Farm Household Level:A Case Study Comparing Suyu District of Suqian City and Taixing City,Jiangsu Province,China

Using data from the farm household survey conducted in 2009,arable land use intensity(ALUI)and its influence factors at farm household level were investigated by the Tobit model.Suyu District of Suqian City and Taixing City of Jiansu Province,China were chosen as the regions for comparison.The results show that:1)On the average, the ALUI,labor intensity,yield-increasing input,and labor-saving input are 15 238.14 yuan(RMB)/ha,192 d/ha, 7233.01 yuan/ha,and 2451.32 yuan/ha in the less economically developed Suyu District,and 13 020.65 yuan/ha,181 d/ha,5871.82 yuan/ha,and 2625.97 yuan/ha in more economically developed Taixing City.The figures indicate that Suyu District has higher ALUI and labor intensity input but lower labor-saving input.2)Comparing all the influence factors,the total arable land area in available and average plot size have bigger effects on arable land intensive use;to a small degree,family′s non-farm income affects labor intensity,yield-increasing input,and labor-saving input;the yield-increasing input decreases significantly when the householder has higher education attainment;the commercialization rates of agricultural products and the planting proportion of cash crops both have unstable influence on ALUI; the share of arable land rented in has few impacts on labor intensity,yield-increasing input,and labor-saving input. 3)There are no differences found in the internal impact mechanism of influence factors on the arable land intensive use behaviors of farm households.However,there are conspicuous disparities in the impact degrees and statistical significance based on varying economic levels.4)Using the results as bases,this study proposes that the government should implement land management and agricultural policies according to local condition.And these policies should decrease land fragmentation to promote scale management of land and arable land use intensification.

Study on Large Power Tractor Driver's Heart Rate and Fatigue in Sowing Work

In order to reduce the driving fatigue in sowing work, this paper based on heart rate （HR） as the main indicator to survey, tested and analyzed the fatigue condition of the drivers of three imported tractors and one domestic tractor in sowing work. The results showed that when driving the imported tractors in sowing work, the HR increasing rate was 10.4%-14.3%, labor intensity belonged to the light level; when driving domestic tractor in sowing work, the HR increasing rate was 23.4%-33.0%, it was remarkably bigger than that of driving imported tractors （P〈0.05）, labor intensity belonged to the middle level. The main effects on driving fatigue included the control methods, tractors＇ cab environment, processing time, operating content, and so on. Finally, we proposed the concrete measures and suggestions to reduce driving fatigue and improve drivers＇ work condition.

An explanation of labor migration and grain output growth:Findings of a case study in eastern Tibetan Plateau

Although there has been rapid rural-urban migration in rural China since the 1980s, the total grain production of China saw a continuous increase. As of today, the relationship between labor migration and grain output growth remains partial and contradictory. The main aim of this empirical study is to examine some specific measures adopted by peasants to deal with labor shortage and maintain grain output growth. Using tracking survey, participatory rural appraisal methods, and land plot investigation, we investigate 274 households and 1405 arable land plots in four villages in two stages in Jinchuan county, southwestern China. The results show that continuous emigration of labor from the four villages caused the abandon- ment of a small amount of land, decreased labor intensity, and reduced multiple cropping index, shifting from ＂corn-wheat＂ multiple cropping pattern to the ＂corn＂ cropping pattern, which means labor shortage in some households. At the same time, owing to surplus labor in the villages, the peasants utilize a series of means to offset the negative impacts of labor migration on grain output, such as cropland transfer, labor exchange in the busy seasons, and the substitution of capital and technology for labor. The econometric analysis also shows that labor migration boosts grain production. This study provides a reasonable explanation of grain output growth under rural-urban migration.

Agricultural land use intensity study in Taibus Banner, and its determinants： a case Inner Mongolia, China

Based on rural household survey data from Taibus Banner, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, this study separately categorizes agricul- tural land use intensity into labor intensity, capital intensity, the intensity of labor-saving inputs, and the intensity of yield-increasing inputs, and then analyzes their determinants at the household level. The findings reveal that within the study area： （1） labor intensity is higher and capital intensity is lower than in the major grain-producing and economically developed areas of eastern and central China; （2） the most widely planted crops are those with the lowest labor intensity （oats） and capital intensity （benne）; （3） there are marked differences in agricultural land use intensity among households; a major factor affecting land use decision-making is the reduced need for labor intensity for those households with high opportunity costs, such as those with income earned from non-farming activities which alleviates financial constraints and allows for increased capital intensity. As a result, these households invest more in labor-saving inputs; （4） households with a larger number of workers will allocate adequate time to manage their land and thus they will not necessarily invest more in labor-saving inputs. Those households with more land to manage tend to adopt an extensive cultivation strategy. Total income has a positive impact on capital intensity and a negative impact on labor intensity. House- holds that derive a higher proportion of their total income through farming are more reliant upon agriculture, which necessitates significant labor and yield-increasing inputs. Finally, the authors contend that policy makers should clearly recognize the impacts of non-farming employment on agricultural land use intensity. In order to ensure long- term food security and sustainable agricultural develop-ment in China, income streams from both farming and non- farming employment should be balanced.