In the context of the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, the industrialization of agriculture and rural areas is rapidly increasing, and more and more capable people in rural management are actively leasing land to develop modern agriculture, broaden diversified livelihood channels, and pursue sustainable development. We used leased-in farmland households as an entry point, focusing on the development of rural industries and the choice of livelihood strategies to fill a gap in the existing literature. Based on sustainable livelihood theory, we constructed a sustainable livelihood analysis framework for leased-in farmland households using the survey data of 283 leased-in farmland households in Yudu County. A livelihood capital indicator system was constructed, and the entropy value method and other measurement methods were used. Firstly, we analyzed and comprehensively evaluated the livelihood capital and livelihood strategies of leased-in farmland households in Yudu County, Jiangxi Province. We then used binary logistic regression models and polynomial logistic regression models to analyze the influence of the differentiation in leased-in farmland households’ livelihood capital on the choice of livelihood strategies and their transformation and conducted robustness tests on the relevant findings. Different types of livelihood capital have different effects on agriculture-led livelihood strategies. Natural capital and physical capital have significant positive effects on agriculture-led livelihood strategies, but financial capital, human capital, and social capital have negative effects. Natural capital has a significant negative effect on the pluriactivity strategy, while physical, human, and social capital have insignificant effects on it. For off-farm livelihood strategies, natural capital and financial capital have insignificant effects, physical capital has a significant negative effect, and human capital and social capital have a significant positive contribution.

Based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, this paper examines whether rural broadband adoption affects agricultural carbon reduction efficiency (ACRE), using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2019. This paper achieves a measurement of ACRE by taking the carbon sink of agricultural as one of the desired outputs and using a Slacks-Based Measure (SBM) model and the global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) index. The results show that: (1) Rural broadband adoption has a positive effect on ACRE. The relationship between the income of rural residents and ACRE was an inverted U-shaped, which confirms the EKC hypothesis. (2) Land transfer has a significant promoting effect on the relationship between rural broadband adoption and ACRE. When the land transfer rate is high, the positive effect of broadband adoption is obvious. (3) The positive effect of broadband adoption on ACRE was more obvious when farmers invested more in production equipment, that is to say, it has a significant positive moderating effect. As farmers in many developing countries suffer from increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events, we believe that the results of this study also have implications for the implementation of agricultural carbon reduction and smart agricultural equipment roll-out in many countries.

This paper examines the distinct effects of actual and perceived security on forestland investment by rural households. To achieve this, we utilized Tobit and IV-Reg models to analyze repeated survey data from 500 households residing in 50 villages in Jiangxi Province during the years 2017 and 2018. We measured households’ investment in forest management by labor and cash inputs. The findings indicate that actual and perceived tenure security significantly influence forestland investment. Specifically, the possession of forestland certificates exhibiting a marked increase in labor and cash inputs. However, the logging quota system has a significant negative impact on cash input, but no significant effect on labor input. With regard to perceived tenure security, the evaluation and comprehension of the existing tenure policy by households contribute positively to both labor and cash inputs in forestland. From our analysis, it is recommended that the logging quota system be revised to incentivize farmers’ active participation in forest management, and the government should strive to raise awareness among rural households about forest tenure policy.

This study examines the impact of granting forest certificates on farmer income. Linear regression and mediating effect models were used to analyze repeated survey data of 505 households in 50 villages in Jiangxi Province in 2017 and 2018. We examined the impacts of granting forest certificates on forestry income and the total income of rural households, taking into account forestland leases. We draw the following conclusions: first, granting forest certificates has a significant positive effect on total household income but not on forestry income. Second, farmers prefer forestland leasing in their behavior. Granting forest certificates can promote forestland lease out, but the effect on forestland lease in is not obvious. Third, granting forest certificates contributes to the increase in total household income through forestland lease out. Our analysis suggests that the government should increase the proportion of granted forest certificates and improve the policies related to the lease of forestland so as to realize an increase in farmer income.

Although collective forest tenure reform (CFTR) has improved the legal tenure security of forestland, its impact on increasing farmers’ income is unsustainable. This study used a multiple linear regression model to empirically analyze data from 505 farmers in Jiangxi Province, examining the impact of legal, actual, and perceived tenure security on rural household income, and incorporating migration into the framework. The findings indicate that both actual and perceived tenure security have a substantial positive impact on the total rural household income and forestry income. However, it is worth noting that legal tenure security only has a positive effect on forestry income. Furthermore, outside-of-county labor migration can serve as a mediator for the income effects of actual and perceived tenure security. However, the mediating effect of intra-county labor migration is not considerable. The study found that the increase in income due to the security of actual tenure security is significant for the group of people who own less than 50 mu of forestland. However, both actual and perceived tenure security have a significant impact on income for the group of people who own more than 50 mu of forestland. The aforementioned findings indicate that, in the ongoing extensive advancement of collective forest right reform, it is crucial to prioritize the execution of forest reform policies at the local level and enhance farmers’ awareness and comprehension of said policies. In addition, the government should enhance the monitoring system for policy implementation and intensify efforts in publicizing these policies, in order to fully utilize the benefits of CFTR.

With the increasing occurrence of labor migration (LM), off-farm employment has emerged as a crucial means to augment the income of agricultural households, bridge the urban-rural divide, and achieve rural regeneration. This study utilized a multiple linear regression model and quantile regression model to examine the effect of LM location on rural households’ income. The analysis is based on research data from Jiangxi Province in 2018. The outcomes reveal that both intra-country LM and outside-of-county LM could make a substantial contribution to the increase of overall household income. However, the coefficient of impact for outside-of-county LM is greater. The findings of this study successfully passed the rigorous tests for robustness and endogeneity. Furthermore, the quantile regression analysis indicates that the greatest income-generating impact of intra-county LM occurred at the 90% quantile, whereas the highest income-generating impact of outside-of-county LM appeared at the 75% quantile. The study aims to determine if there is a variation in the income impact of LM in samples with distinct features. Specifically, it investigated the scale of forestland management and the LM of the household head. The results show that the promotion effect of intra-county LM on the total income of rural households was only observed in the sample group with a forestland area larger than 50 mu. Additionally, outside-of-county LM could only promote the growth of the total income of rural households in the sample group in which the head of household has not experienced labor migration. Hence, to enhance the growth of income for rural households amidst China’s urbanization, policymakers should facilitate the controlled migration of labor from rural areas to urban areas while also encouraging the migration of labor within rural areas.