Status of land conservation bias of agricultural technological progress in China：A measure based on agricultural input-biased technological progress

Abstract

为探究中国农业技术进步的偏向性特征，构建基于投入导向方向性距离函数的Malmquist-Luenberger生产率指数模型，在此基础上对 1997—2019年中国 30个省份农业投入偏向型技术进步进行测度，进而深入分析中国农业技术进步的土地节约偏向时空演变特征。结果表明：中国农业全要素生产率整体上呈现增长趋势，年均增长2.87%，技术进步是农业全要素生产率增长的重要因素。IBTC（投入偏向型技术进步）指数在各个年份均大于1，农业技术进步具有投入偏向性并且整体上偏向节约土地。具体来说，虽然在土地与劳动力之间偏向节约劳动力，但在土地与农业机械、土地与化肥、土地与农药等投入要素之间均偏向节约土地。从时序特征来看，农业技术进步的土地节约偏向随时间推移逐渐减弱；从空间分布来看，农业技术进步在东部地区的土地节约偏向程度强于中部和西部地区。研究表明，未来应在进一步优化农业生产要素结构的同时，从强化农业技术创新与应用、制定差异化技术进步发展路径、完善农业要素市场等方面出发，深入推进农业土地节约集约利用，实现农业可持续发展。

To explore the bias characteristics of agricultural technological progress in China, the Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index based on the input-oriented directional distance function was used to measure agricultural input-biased technological progress in 30 Chinese provinces from 1997 to 2019, thus providing an in-depth analysis of the spatial and temporal evolutionary characteristics of the land-saving bias of agricultural technological progress in China. The study produced several interesting results：agricultural total factor productivity in China showed an overall growth trend with an average annual growth rate of 2.87%, and technological progress was an important source of agricultural total factor productivity growth. The IBTC index was greater than 1 in all years, and agricultural technological progress was input-biased with an overall bias toward land conservation. Specifically, although there was a bias toward saving labor between land and labor, there was a bias toward saving land between land and other input factors, such as agricultural machinery, fertilizers, and pesticides. An assessment of the temporal evolution characteristics revealed that the land-saving bias of agricultural technological progress gradually decreased over time. The spatial distribution showed that the degree of the land-saving bias of agricultural technological progress was stronger in eastern China than in central and western China. The study indicates that, in the future, while further optimizing the structure of production factors, we should further promote the economical and intensive use of agricultural land and achieve sustainable agricultural development by strengthening agricultural technological innovation and application, formulating differentiated technological progress development paths, and improving agricultural factor markets.