| How to make full use of limited resources to produce soybeans scientifically and promote the sustainable development of soybeans is an important scientific issue facing China in the new era.In 2013,the Central Economic Work Conference set the food security goal of "basic grain self-sufficiency and absolute food security",and enhancing soybean production has become an important task for agricultural development at this stage.Since 2016,the domestic market-based acquisition plus producer subsidy policy has boosted China’s soybean production,but a series of unexpected events such as the U.S.-China trade conflict and the new crown epidemic have also brought potential threats to the sustainable development of China’s soybean industry,putting it to an unprecedented test.Based on a comprehensive judgment of the world development pattern and China’s actual situation,the 2022 "Central Document No.1" once again proposed to vigorously implement soybean production capacity enhancement project,multi-measures to increase soybean production capacity has become an important work in many areas.In fact,sustainably increasing soybean production capacity is a systemic project related not only to good seeds and advanced planting techniques,but also to socio-economic factors such as the spatial layout of soybean production,production efficiency,scale of operation and policy support.Therefore,an in-depth analysis of the problems of sustainable development of soybean production in China at the level of socio-economic factors,and then the optimization of the relevant factors,is of great practical value for the scientific enhancement of soybean production capacity in China.Based on sustainable development theory,production layout theory,comparative advantage theory,farmer behavior theory,economy of scale theory,factor endowment theory and weak industrial support theory,this study explores and condenses the main factors affecting the sustainable development of soybean production in China and establishes a theoretical framework based on the existing literature and typical surveys,and empirically analyzes the relationship between the spatial layout,production efficiency,scale operation and policy support of soybean production and sustainable production in China based on farmer research data and statistical yearbook data.Based on farmer research data and statistical yearbook data,we empirically analyzed the relationship between socio-economic factors such as spatial layout,production efficiency,scale operation and policy support of soybean production and sustainable production of soybean in China,identified problems and proposed directions and suggestions for optimization,with a view to providing references for the enhancement of soybean production capacity and the formulation of related policies in China.The main conclusions obtained from this study are:First,the layout of China’s soybean production is overly concentrated in the northeast and should be transferred to the central and southwest regions.A nationwide view of the layout of soybean production is overly concentrated in the Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia regions,prone to greater planting risks,affecting the sustainable development of the soybean industry,should be scientifically adjusted to the layout of China’s soybean production.Soybean layout optimization in the future potential to enhance the region in the southwest and the Central Plains.Second,there is a large redundancy of seed and labor inputs in China’s soybean production,which seriously inhibits sustainable soybean production and should scientifically guide farmers’ planting behavior to optimize the number of soybean production input factors.A three-stage DEA model was introduced to measure the technical efficiency of agriculture,and the sample analysis revealed that the production efficiency values of Chinese soybean farmers were generally low,focusing on the technical efficiency of farmers under different size groups,and there was a positive relationship between technical efficiency and size.The main redundancy of input factors in soybean production exists in the first stage of seeds and labor.After excluding the influence of environmental factors,the highest redundancy rate is for labor inputs,indicating that the most wasted resources in soybean production in China are labor input resources.Third,the issue of scale of operation in a sustainable perspective requires comprehensive consideration of yield,profitability,and environmental impacts.The appropriate scale of operation for farmers to plant should be 101-150 acres,and the current scale of soybean production by farmers needs to be further enhanced.At this stage,farmers are not very enthusiastic about planting soybeans,most farmers soybean planting area accounted for the proportion of the total sown area is declining year by year.The study found that there is an inverted "U" shaped relationship between the scale of operation and soybean yields,and there is no increasing "payoff for scale" phenomenon,based on which an appropriate scale of operation is introduced to enhance soybean yield potential,mobilize farmers’ motivation,and achieve optimal yields.Considering that soybean planting decisions are influenced by farmers’ profit maximization and agricultural sustainability,profit and environmental objectives are introduced to constrain land suitability management,respectively.Soybean yields should be in the range of61-150 acres if they are to be maximized;With the goal of optimal farming profit,the moderate scale should be 101-200 mu;with the goal of optimal environmental efficiency,the moderate scale should be 101-150 mu.If the three objectives are used as a research guide,the moderate size of soybean planting for farmers should be chosen from 101-150 mu.Fourth,although the current soybean subsidy policy has a positive impact on soybean production capacity,the sustainability of the future soybean subsidy policy is controversial,and incentives should be provided to state-owned farm growers and township growers in separate channels.Analyzing the effects of soybean subsidy release from both macro and micro perspectives,based on the macro perspective,the implementation of producer subsidy policies can significantly increase soybean acreage,allowing for an increase in soybean acreage in major production areas,which in turn can contribute to rapid growth in total production;Based on a micro perspective,soybean producer subsidies have a positive impact on yield improvement from different years,with the subsidy effect significantly higher in 2018 than in 2019 and 2020.The subsidy effect is higher for state-owned farm soybean growers than for rural soybean growers.Based on the above findings,suggestions for countermeasures for sustainable soybean production are proposed:(1)pay attention to the spatial layout and planning of soybean cultivation,and actively adjust to areas of technological change while maintaining the status of dominant production areas;(2)pay attention to the role of improving the level of agricultural technology efficiency in increasing farmers’ motivation to grow soybeans;(3)actively and steadily carry out moderate scale soybean management;and(4)continue to deepen the reform of the soybean harvesting and storage system and actively guide farmers to adjust their cultivation structure. |
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