Analysis of the influencing factors of the planting behavior changes of southern farmers: A case study of the irrigation regions in Hunan Province

Understanding farmers' behaviors has significant implications for the formation of agricultural policies. It can also help the Government take effective measures to guide farmers' behaviors strategically to promote the development of modern agriculture. Based on the survey data of 200 rural households from the irrigation regions in Hunan Province and applying the ordinary binary classification Logistic regression model, this paper explored the influencing factors of farmers' planting behavior changes. Results show that 1) farmers in the irrigation regions have very limited education experience; 2) the main labor forces are elderly people; 3) production scales are very small; 4) arable land circulation is very limited; and 5) the age of the household head, geographical locations, distance from farmers' home to the nearest market, irrigation water and soil type have significant influences on farmers' planting behavior changes. Therefore, the paper suggests that the local Government should take proper measures by taking consideration of the local conditions for planting structure adjustment planning, promote the adoption of suitable agricultural cultivation techniques, improve irrigation and water conservation infrastructure, increase rural transportation capacity, establish niche markets for agricultural products, guide and standardize the land circulation, and encourage the innovations of agricultural management. In addition, farmers themselves should learn actively the knowledge of modern agriculture, and need to change the traditional small-scale peasant mode of production.