The way land is managed and utilized restricts agricultural development and food production. The fragmentation of arable land, characterized by “many plots and small areas,” is unfavorable for moderate-scale agricultural management and food production supply. Based on survey data of grain farmers in the Yellow River Basin, this study employs methods such as 2SLS, PSM, and IVQR to analyze the impact of average plot size on farmers’ grain production efficiency and its mechanisms. It also examines the differentiated effects of expanding plot size on different types of farmers, regions, and crops. The results show the following: (1) Expanding the arable land plot size (ALPS) helps improve farmers’ grain production efficiency, thereby enhancing the quality and benefits of agricultural development. (2) Expanding plot size can affect grain production efficiency through multiple pathways, including promoting machinery use and agricultural technology adoption, reducing material and labor input costs, and increasing grain yields. (3) Expanding plot size is more beneficial to farmers with higher production efficiency and smaller operation scales, as it both “supports the strong” and has a “pro-smallholders” characteristic, with more benefits for farmers in the western region and those growing wheat. Therefore, in order to promote high-quality agricultural development and ensure national food security, policies should focus on addressing land fragmentation and appropriately expanding the average plot size for farmers, especially smallholders.
Gao et al. (Fri,) studied this question.