Characteristics and Reasons of Different Households' Farming Abandonment Behavior in the Process of Rapid Urbanization Based on a Survey from 540 Households in 10 Counties of Chongqing Municipality

The purpose of this paper was to explore characteristics and decision-making factors of different households' farming abandonment behavior according to households' concurrent business activities,and to provide reference for resolving problems related to low farmland utilization in the areas of poverty and fragile ecosystems. This study was based on a survey from 540 households in 10 counties of Chongqing Municipality. Peri-urban areas,outer suburbs,and mountain areas were selected. Methods of participatory rural appraisal and logistic analysis were employed. Results indicated that 1) According to the off-farm income ratio,workforce distribution,and means of livelihood,rural households could be classified into full-farm,type I,and type II households. The concurrent business level of rural households was high in Chongqing,with off-farm income being the most important characteristic in households’ economic activities;2) Households’ farmland transfer is prevalent in Chongqing,but most of it is non-profitable. On average,type II households share the highest level in both farm abandonment and profitable transfer. Compared with type I households,full-households are more likely to transfer the farmland,with smaller size and non-profitably mostly. Dry land is more likely to be left uncultivated than paddy field. Most of the uncultivated are those that are fragmentary or poor conditioned;3) Main reasons of different households’ farming abandonment are as below. In general,many full-farm households are at old age and lack of workforce. Under this condition,they may give up farming far and fragmentary lands. Agricultural income and farming benefit are important for type I households. So they tend to be more concerned about the economic benefit of land,and invest in land under good conditions. In contrast,type II households focus primarily on maximization of interests,tending to invest in non-agricultural industries and make profits from farmland transfer. It is concluded that guiding the land utilization behavior by establishing relevant policy and project measures and accounting for the characteristics and reasons of different households’ farming abandonment behavior are greatly helpful in integrating regional land resources with utilization rate growth. Full-farm households are vulnerable groups in rural regions. The government should guarantee their livelihood security. The economic benefit of land is vital for type I households. Enhancing their livelihood capacity,especially their farming capacity,is therefore an important task for the government. The reform of the household registration system should take type II households as the main group. The government should guarantee an orderly transfer of type II households and efficient use of abandoned farming land.