PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2019, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (9): 1282-1893.doi: 10.18306/dlkxjz.2019.09.002

• Subject and Development of Rural Revitalization • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Influence of human capital on the livelihood strategy of farming households in poor mountainous areas: A case study of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, China

HE Renwei1,2,FANG Fang3,*(),LIU Yunwei2   

  1. 1. City Situation Survey Research Center, Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    2. School of Resources and Environment, Xichang College, Xichang 615013, Sichuan, China
    3. Institute of Economics, Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
  • Received:2019-04-25 Revised:2019-06-27 Online:2019-09-28 Published:2019-09-25
  • Contact: FANG Fang E-mail:fanglank@163.com
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Sciences Foundation of China(No.41461040);National Natural Sciences Foundation of China(No.41601176);Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education(No.13YJCZH050);Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education(No.14YJC790063);Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education(No.15YJCZH101)

Abstract:

Human capital is the key factor for building farmers' livelihoods and examining farming households' livelihood strategy is important for promoting livelihood transformation and rural revitalization. Taking Liangshan Prefecture of Sichuan Province in the mountainous area of southwest China as the case study area, this study measured the impact of human capital on farming households' livelihood strategy by using the survey data from 508 farmers in 2018 and applying regression models. The results show: human capital is an important factor of farmers' livelihood choices in mountainous areas, and different types of human capital have different impacts on farmers' livelihood strategy, with clear spatial differences. Education level and health condition have positive effects on off-farm livelihood strategy, with most significant impacts in the high mountain villages, followed by the semi-mountain villages, and health condition has no significant effect on farmers' livelihood choices in the river valley villages. Off-farm skill training has a significant positive impact on off-farm livelihood strategy choices, with most significant impact in the high mountain villages, followed by the semi-mountain and river valley villages; agricultural skill training has a negative impact on off-farm livelihood strategy choices, with most significant impact in the river valley villages, followed by the semi-mountain villages, and agricultural skill training has no significant effect on farmers' livelihood choices in the high mountain villages. Young adult labor force tend to choose off-farm livelihood, and the aging problem of farming population is getting worse, with the high mountain villages being the most significant, followed by the semi-mountain villages, and the river valley villages being less obvious. Income gaps between farm and off-farm livelihood types is the fundamental reason affecting farmers' livelihood choices, and poor rural public services and lack of development opportunity are important reasons that affect farmers' livelihood choices. Finally, based on the above conclusions, this article explored the dialectical relationship between human capitals, labor off-farm employment, and rural development and its policy implications.

Key words: farming households, human capital, livelihood strategy, village types, rural revitalization, poor mountainous areas