Fangping Rao, Max Spoor, Xianlei Ma, Xiaoping Shi;Land tenure (in)security and crop-tree intercropping in rural Xinjiang,China;Land Use Policy(SSCI)

Abstract:tThe relationship between land tenure security and long-term land-related investment is of great impor-tance especially given the current flux in property rights systems of agricultural land in China. This paperempirically examines the role of land tenure security in farmers’ crop-tree intercropping decisions, andis based on a comparative analysis between contract land and wasteland holders in rural Xinjiang, China.Data from a survey, carried out in 2008 among 352 households in Awati County in Xinjiang, is used toestimate the factors that affect the adoption of crop-tree intercropping. The results indicate that, forthose households that only have contract land, land tenure security positively affects their adoption ofcrop-tree intercropping. However, for those that hold both contract land and wasteland, land tenuresecurity negatively impacts upon their adoption of crop-tree intercropping on wasteland, as the crop-tree intercropping on wasteland can increase the perceived tenure security of wasteland. The results alsosuggest that the comprehensive effect of labor organization on intercropping is moderate as a result ofthe presence of counteracting effects.