Can Rural-Urban Migration Benefit Sustainable Agriculture with Large-Scale Farming?

Can Rural-Urban Migration Benefit Sustainable Agriculture with Large-Scale Farming? | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Can Rural-Urban Migration Benefit Sustainable Agriculture with Large-Scale Farming? Chang Xu, Xuefeng Li, Ankang Cai, Jie Zhu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7181325/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 11 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications → Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Achieving sustainable agricultural development is essential for ensuring stable global food supplies. Rural-urban migration, as a widespread socioeconomic phenomenon, introduces complexities and uncertainties to sustainable agricultural practices. This study constructs an analytical framework linking migration, large-scale farming, and sustainable agriculture, leveraging empirical evidence from 37,648 village-level samples in China. The findings demonstrate that rural-urban migration significantly enhances sustainable agriculture, as evidenced by increased mechanization and reduced fertilizer use, facilitated through large-scale farming. We further highlight the heterogeneity in large-scale farming decisions by agricultural entities under rural labor outmigration, shaped by economic rationality. Favorable production, distribution, and living conditions significantly amplify the positive impact of migration on large-scale farming, thereby contributing to enhanced sustainable agricultural outcomes. This study advances the understanding of the land-labor relationship under rural-urban migration and offers actionable insights for formulating policies to promote sustainable agricultural development. Biological sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Rural-urban migration Sustainable agriculture Large-scale farming China Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 11 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 28 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 02 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 28 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 25 Sep, 2025 Editor invited by journal 25 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 10 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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