The impact and mechanisms of high-standard farmland construction in the structure of farmland transfer-in entities

As a pivotal policy instrument for advancing agricultural modernization, high-standard farmland construction (HSFC) predominantly targets large-scale agricultural operators, thereby reshaping the dynamics of farmland transfer among diverse stakeholders. Drawing on panel data from the China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) for 2020 and 2022, this study employs empirical methods to investigate the mechanisms by which HSFC influences the principal actors in agricultural farmland transfer-in with particular attention to the scale-oriented nature of such initiatives. The findings reveal that HSFC is highly attractive to large-scale agricultural entities. However, this development is associated with a substantial escalation in farmland rental prices, which exerts a pronounced crowding-out effect on ordinary farmers' propensity to engage in farmland transfer. Moreover, the involvement of government entities and village collectives in farmland transfer processes intensifies alongside the progression of HSFC, further amplifying this phenomenon. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the crowding-out effect of HSFC is more salient in regions characterized by “lower topographic undulation” and “lower economic development levels” than it is in their “higher undulation” and “higher development” counterparts. Notably, in economically underdeveloped areas, HSFC significantly suppresses ordinary farmers' participation in farmland transfer-in. Consequently, while HSFC is designed to promote large-scale agricultural entities, it is imperative for policymakers to meticulously consider the heterogeneous effects on different agricultural stakeholders during both policy formulation and implementation. Such an approach would facilitate the dual objectives of fostering appropriately scaled agricultural entities while safeguarding the rights and interests of smallholder farmers.