Journal of Zhejiang Agricultural Sciences ›› 2026, Vol. 67 ›› Issue (1): 260-270.DOI: 10.16178/j.issn.0528-9017.20250021

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Production outsourcing services, factor allocation, and agricultural production efficiency

LIU Shuyun1(), HAN Jiabin2,*(), ZHANG Hui3   

  1. 1. College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083
    2. College of Business Administration, Liaoning Technical University, Huludao 125105, Liaoning
    3. College of Marxism, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083
  • Received:2025-01-09 Online:2026-01-11 Published:2026-01-19
  • Contact: HAN Jiabin

Abstract:

Production outsourcing services is a fundamental approach and important mechanism for achieving organic integration between small farmers and modern agriculture. This article describes the relationship between production outsourcing services, farmer factor allocation, and agricultural production efficiency by establishing a theoretical model, and explains the impact mechanism of production outsourcing services on farmer factor input and agricultural production efficiency. We quantitatively evaluate the impact of production outsourcing services on farmers' factor inputs and agricultural production efficiency using data from the 2020-2021 China Land Economic Survey. Research has found that production outsourcing services significantly improve farmers' land productivity and agricultural total factor productivity, and the robustness test conclusion still holds true. Production outsourcing services significantly reduce agricultural labor time input by replacing labor with capital, thereby improving agricultural production efficiency. At the same time, production outsourcing services can improve agricultural production efficiency by increasing the intensity of fertilizer input. Further heterogeneity analysis revealed that production outsourcing services have a more significant impact on the efficiency of small farmers with a business scale of less than 0.67 hm2. Compared with technology intensive outsourcing services, labor-saving outsourcing services can significantly improve the production efficiency of farmers. Therefore, we will eliminate obstacles to the development of agricultural production outsourcing services, promote the effective connection between the supply of production outsourcing services and the production needs of farmers, and provide policy references for accelerating the organic connection between small farmers and modern agriculture and improving farmers' production efficiency.

Key words: production outsourcing services, factor allocation, land productivity, total factor productivity in agriculture

CLC Number: