The Influence of Converting Food Crops to Forage Crops Policy Implementation on Herbivorous Livestock Husbandry Development—Based on Policy Pilot Counties in Hebei, China

Abstract

In the context of increasing consumption of herbivorous livestock products, competition between humans and animals for food, and increasing environmental constraints, it is necessary to solve the problem of sustainable development of China’s livestock industry and increase the protection and development of the grassland livestock industry while making good use of production resources in agricultural areas in order to explore the development potential of the herbivorous livestock industry in agricultural areas. The Converting Food Crops to Forage Crops Policy (CFFP), as an important measure of agricultural supply-side structural reform, aims to develop a high-quality forage industry and a high-quality herbivorous livestock industry. However, over the years of policy implementation, few studies have examined the impact effects of the policy on the development of the regional herbivorous livestock industry. To fill this research gap and provide theoretical support for subsequent policy implementation, the study used the synthetic control method to examine the impact of policy implementation on the development of herbivorous livestock production in the pilot counties in Hebei Province from 2010 to 2020. The study discovered that the policy’s implementation encouraged the expansion of herbivorous livestock production in the pilot counties, but the policy’s effects on various regions and livestock species varied due to the influence of local production bases and resource endowments.