Cultivated Land-Use Benefit Evaluation and Obstacle Factor Identification: Empirical Evidence from Northern Hubei, China

Abstract

The benefit of cultivated land use is an essential indicator for measuring the optimal allocation of cultivated land resources and the high-quality development of agriculture. Taking Shiyan City, Xiangyang City, and Suizhou City in Northern Hubei as the research objects, this paper presents an evaluation index system for cultivated land use efficiency from the perspectives of ecology, economy, and society. The entropy TOPSIS method and the obstacle degree model were applied to estimate the cultivated land use efficiency and identify obstacle factors in the three study areas from 2010 to 2020, and the results were as follows. (1) The comprehensive benefit level of cultivated land utilization in Northern Hubei showed an upward trend, and the individual benefit levels of cultivated land utilization in different cities were significantly different. Xiangyang City had outstanding economic performance, Shiyan City had the fastest growth rate of ecological benefits, and various benefits of Suizhou City were “steady”. (2) The fluctuation ranges of the obstacle factors for cultivated land use were relatively large in the Northern Hubei region. From 2010 to 2016, the effective irrigation index, land-averaged fertilizer input level, agricultural input–output ratio, and per capita income of farmers were the main factors restricting the improvement of cultivated land utilization efficiency in Northern Hubei. During 2017–2020, the per capita pesticide input level, per capita grain output, forest coverage rate, land output rate, and agricultural mechanization efficiency became the main obstacles restricting the improvement of cultivated land-use efficiency. (3) All cities of Northern Hubei should take measures according to local conditions, implement specific policies to address the restrictive factors of cultivated land use, improve the level of cultivated land-use benefit in the region, and promote the coordination and unity of the economic, ecological, and social benefits of cultivated land use.