Does the Scale of Contiguous Plots Significantly Influence Rice Production Efficiency? Empirical Evidence From China Land Economic Survey Data

The intensive cultivation of agricultural land impacts crop production efficiency. In this study, the technical efficiency of rice production (TERP) in Jiangsu Province was measured by constructing an output-oriented DEA–BCC model on the basis of multiobjective moderate-scale farmland operation using the China Land Economic Survey (CLES) data from Nanjing Agricultural University spanning 2020 to 2022. We then use a panel Tobit model and fixed effect panel model to analyze the impact of the scale of contiguous plots (SCP) on the TERP, rice land productivity (RLP), labor productivity (LP) and cost–profit ratio (CPR). The results show that the primary term in the SCP had a positive and statistically significant effect on the TERP, RLP, and LP at significance levels of 5%, 1%, and 10%, respectively. Moreover, the quadratic term in the logarithm of the SCP had a negative effect on these three metrics, with statistically significant effects observed at the 10%, 1%, and 5% levels, respectively. Although a similar inverted U-shaped relationship is noted between the SCP and the CPR, it lacks statistical significance. This finding indicates that the relationship between the SCP and agricultural production efficiency for rice farmers has evolved or is evolving into an inverted U-shaped pattern. Contiguous plots that are either too large or too small are detrimental to enhancing production efficiency. Finally, by employing threshold modeling techniques, the results indicate that the SCP threshold of approximately 0.49 hectares is optimal for improving the TERP, RLP, and LP. Moving forwards, adopting a strategy of moderate-scale agricultural operations is essential for China to achieve agricultural modernization and ensure national food security.