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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2024, Vol. 23 Issue (1): 336-347    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2023.09.034
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Can whole steps of grain production be outsourced?  Empirical analysis based on the three provinces of Jiangsu, Jilin, and Sichuan in China

Jiacheng Liu1, Shengzhi Mao2, Qiufen Zheng3, Zhigang Xu3# 

1 School of Finance and Taxation, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Jiangsu 210023, China

2 School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Sichuan 611130, China

3 School of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu 210095, China

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摘要  

中国粮食生产病虫害防治等田间管理环节的外包服务发展长期滞缓。以水稻和玉米为例,将收割与病虫害防治环节进行对比,从技术条件和市场规模差异视角研究粮食生产病虫害防治环节外包服务发展缓慢的原因,从而得出中国粮食生产是否能够实现全环节外包的启示。技术进步带来规模经济增加,同时,市场规模足以支撑技术进步下的规模经济的实现是服务供给发生的两个必要条件。研究结果表明,总体上,不管是病虫害防治还是收割,外包服务都有不同程度的规模经济但相对于收获,一方面病虫害防治环节的外包服务规模经济更小,且其规模经济随技术变迁的边际增长空间也更小;另一方面由病虫害防治本身作业特征所决定的,其专业化服务的市场规模不大据此,今后要想尽可能地实现粮食生产全环节外包,除了技术创新之外,较为有效的政策干预空间在于破除市场规模约束,比如规划区域之间的作物布局,改善地块连片程度,增加地区之间粮食生产环节外包服务需求的农时信息供给等尽可能规避现实市场规模不足的约束。



Abstract  

Certain outsourcing services for agricultural management in China, such as pest control in grain production, have experienced prolonged sluggishness, contrasting with the relatively high level of outsourcing services observed in harvesting, land preparation, and sowing.  This study examines the feasibility of implementing whole-step outsourcing in grain production by conducting a case study of rice and maize production in Jiangsu, Jilin, and Sichuan provinces in China.  The provision of outsourcing services hinges on two essential conditions: technological advancements fostering specialized production and economies of scale, coupled with a market size sufficient to realize the aforementioned potential economies of scale.  The results showed that outsourcing pest control or harvesting services had varying economies of scale.  The outsourcing services in pest control were less common than in harvesting services, and their marginal growth space of the economies of scale with technological change was also smaller.  Determined by the operational characteristics of pest control itself, the market scale of its professional services is small.  Therefore, achieving the whole-step outsourcing of grain production necessitates not only technological innovation but also effective policy interventions to overcome the constraints of market scale.  Such interventions include (1) optimizing crop layouts between planning regions and reducing land fragmentation and (2) supplying timely and effective inter-regional agricultural information for service providers aided by information technology.

Keywords:  outsourcing services        economy of scale        technical conditions        market scale   
Received: 13 September 2022   Accepted: 19 July 2023
CLC Number:   
Fund: This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72103088) and the National Social Science Fund of China (20&ZD094 and 21&ZD101).
About author:  Jiacheng Liu, E-mail: liujcvip@163.com; #Correspondence Zhigang Xu, E-mail: zgxu@njau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Jiacheng Liu, Shengzhi Mao, Qiufen Zheng, Zhigang Xu. 2024.

Can whole steps of grain production be outsourced?  Empirical analysis based on the three provinces of Jiangsu, Jilin, and Sichuan in China . Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 23(1): 336-347.

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