Quantifying the Economic Performance of Ratoon Rice Production in China: An Endogenous Switching Regression Analysis

Ratoon Rice (RR) has been proposed to be an effective alternative rice system to increase productivity growth and reduce the environmental impact, but data on the economic performance of RR for farmers are limited. A survey of paddy farms was conducted to assess the impact of the adoption of RR in Hubei, China. Endogenous switching regression framework was used to account for observed and unobserved heterogeneity. We analyzed the effect of yield, income, and technical efficiency of RR adoption. Results show that adoption of RR has great impact on yield, income, and technical efficiency. Increase in rice yield (by 5.12%) and rice income (3.74%) was found for RR farmers; increases of yield, income and technical efficiency was also significant if farmers cultivating single rice shifted to RR. Technical efficiency showed a large difference when RR was adopted by farmers cultivating single rice. Small farms and large farms benefit from the adoption of RR. Large farms benefit more yield and income than small farmer, while small farms are more efficient than large farms. Our findings provide meaningful and timely implications for future national programs and policies to promote the implementation of RR in China that aim to promote more sustainable practices and lower environmental impact in agriculture.