A Comprehensive Evaluation of Benefit of High-Standard Farmland Development in China

Abstract

In 2013, the government officially approved the construction task of developing high-standard farmland, which had been written into the outline of the “12th Five-Year Plan”, the “13th Five-Year Plan” and the “14th Five-Year Plan”, effectively ensuring the sustainable development of farmland with high and stable yield in China. Moreover, with the rapid progress of urbanization and industrialization, the quality and usage of cultivated land have changed greatly, and the relationship between the economic value, social value and ecological value of land has become increasingly prominent. Whether the development of high-standard farmland, especially the high-standard farmland used for grain production, has achieved the goals of increasing farmers’ income, agricultural output and rural development is not clear. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the comprehensive benefits of high-standard farmland development in grain production, so as to scientifically measure the results of the development. From the perspective of economic, social and ecological benefits, this paper establishes an entropy weight evaluation index system and a model to evaluate the level and effectiveness of high-standard farmland development from 2013 to 2020 in China. The results show that the high-standard farmland development project has improved the yield of grain and the basic productivity of cultivated land, effectively increased the yields of land in the project area and promoted the protection and improvement of cultivated land quality, which includes soil quality improvement, soil fertility enhancement, pollution control and soil remediation. The project also helped raise the farmers’ income levels and improved farmers’ agricultural knowledge and skills in the project area. The projects are very beneficial for agricultural production, the farmers’ income and rural development. However, there is still a certain gap between the national average level of improvement and the original goal set in the policy. The average grain yield per mu (Note: 1 mu ≈ 0.0667 ha, similarly hereinafter) was expected to be increased by less than 100 kg (the national average was a 40 kg increase), and the degrees of improvement in economic, social, ecological and comprehensive benefits in different project types were also different. In the future, we suggest that the project should be implemented according to local conditions and the features of each region. We should pay attention to the protection of basic farmland quality and further improve grain output to achieve the goal of stabilizing and increasing production.

1. Introduction

Building high-standard farmland is an important measure to improve China’s comprehensive productivity of cultivated land, consolidate the foundation of national food security and develop modern agriculture. It is a concrete embodiment of the strategy of “storing grain in the land and technology” and is related to the sustainable development of China’s social economy [1,2,3,4]. In 2013, the Chinese government put forward the task of developing high-standard farmland, aiming to transform medium- and low-yield farmland and build high-standard farmland by 2020. After the implementation of comprehensive agricultural development, the average grain production per mu has increased by more than 100 kg, helping increase the average income of grain farmers by CNY 200 per mu, promoting the protection and the economical and intensive use of cultivated land and realizing the development of rural areas. Has the development of high-standard farmland achieved the goals set in that year? Based on the existing research, our paper studied this question.

Foreign scholars have carried out extensive research on land use, land consolidation, land conservation, land ecological benefits and land reform policies. A change in land system will bring important changes to land use, the ecological environment, crop growth and farmers’ livelihood assets [5,6]. In view of the impact of the climate as well as biological, social and political forces on land use, scholars have carried out extensive research and found that the size of farmland is affected by immigration, drought, pest transmission and land protection policies. Although having less farmland to work with reduced food production, it increased biomass and the coverage of grass and woody plants, reduced the frequency and extent of savanna combustion, and improved the diversity of wild animals [7,8,9]. By comparing the relationship between different farmland management methods and environmental change, some scholars found that changing the right to use land and the use of land had an important impact on environmental pollution and biodiversity [10,11,12]. Because of the rapid increase in the world’s population, farmland has become a scarce resource. A clear definition of land ownership and land tenure is becoming more and more important for farmland protection, which could effectively end the occupation of farmland by real estate development [13,14]. Boztoprak et al. found that the registration of the location, quantity and quality of agricultural land could effectively solve the problems of rural land in land consolidation projects, yet more precise land categories were still needed [15,16,17]. Some other scholars also carried out research that monitored and evaluated the use of agricultural land [18,19,20] and found that the rational use of land is of great significance to the improvement of crop yield and the ecological environment.

Since the 20th century, progress has been made in research on the benefit evaluation of land consolidation in China. Research methods mainly include the analytic hierarchy process, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method [21,22,23,24,25], the building matter-element critical model [26], etc. Zhang Zhengfeng et al. conducted a detailed qualitative analysis and discussion on the benefits and impacts of land consolidation [27]. Wang Wei et al. used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to build a beneficial evaluation model to evaluate the benefits of land consolidation [28]. Wang Yuling et al. used the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to evaluate the success of the benefits of land consolidation after the project [20]. Fu Guanghui et al. showed evaluation of the economic, social and ecological benefits in the form of money [29,30]. Li Zheng et al. used the matter-element analysis theory to apply the matter-element model to a comprehensive benefit evaluation of land consolidation [26]. Since the beginning of the development of high-standard farmland projects in the “12th Five-Year Plan”, domestic scholars have conducted research on regional delimitation [31,32,33], suitability [34,35], space-time layout [36,37], rationality of site selection [38,39,40], potential for remediation [41,42,43] and other aspects of high-standard farmland development.

In general, there are few studies that combined high-standard farmland comprehensive evaluations with regional differences, and previous studies were mostly on the scale of a single project area or county [44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51]. There are relatively few studies on the benefit improvement evaluation and regional differences on the regional scale. According to the National Plan for Development of High-Standard Farmland and the Assessment Standard of High-standard Farmland Development, with the principle of being objective, impartial, systematic, scientific, extensible, operable and practical, the government intends to build a comprehensive benefit evaluation index system for high-standard farmland development in China from three dimensions: economic, social and ecological benefits, to assess the improvement of high-standard farmland development in terms of increasing farmers’ income, agricultural production and rural development. It also analyzed the regional differences and the causes of benefit improvement, in order to provide a scientific basis for the planning and implementation of high-standard farmland development projects in the future.

2. Method

The districts (counties) under typical prefecture-level cities from 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities directly under the central government in China are selected as the representatives in this paper. When choosing the project areas, this paper considered the agricultural zoning and zonal differences of provinces and chose high-standard farmland development project areas of agricultural comprehensive development that showed representative characteristics, heterogenous spatial distribution and concentrated farmland distribution in major grain-producing counties. Additionally, the time of project implementation was also taken into consideration, with no fewer than 2/3 of the selected project areas having a building period of over 5 years. During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, a total of 315 grain-producing counties and 4826 high-standard farmland project areas were selected, with 138.54 million mu of high-standard farmland, accounting for 35.0% of the total area of high-standard farmland in China.

2.1. Index Data Processing

Formula (1) is adopted to calculate the increasing rate of the indices. To obtain the average growth rate of each index, Formulas (2) and (3) are used for weight processing of the growth rates of indices, thus acquiring more scientific mean values [52,53]. Finally, the statistical analysis software SPSS is applied to conduct a variance analysis and the least significant difference (LSD) test of the index calculation results after project implementation. The p value should be less than 0.05 in the case of the significant improvement of indices [54,55,56].

$$I_{\left(\mathrm{Cj}\right)}=\left|\frac{U_b-U_a}{U_a}\right|\times 100\% \left(j=1,2,3,\dots ,11\right)$$

(1)

$$I_{\left(\mathrm{Cj}\right)}={{\displaystyle \sum }}_{i=1}^m\left(\left|\frac{U_b-U_a}{U_a}\right|\times 100\%\times w_i\right) \left(i=1,2,3,\dots ,m\right)$$

(2)

$$w_i=\frac{Are{a}_i}{{{\displaystyle \sum }}_{i=1}^{m}Are{a}_i}$$

(3)

$I_{\left(\mathrm{Cj}\right)}$ in Formulas (1)–(3) suggest the growth rate of the jth index in the index layer C; $U_a$ and $U_b,$ respectively, stand for the survey statistics of the jth index in the ith sample project area before and after the implementation of the high-standard farmland development project; and $w_i$ means the weight, indicating the weight of the area of the ith sample project area in the total area of all sample project areas, with ${{\displaystyle \sum }}_{i=1}^m{w}_i=1$.

For the economic benefits, this paper assesses the increase in farmers’ net income per mu (C1) and the increase in the property income of farmers renting contracted land (C2) to explore whether the expected economic benefits and increase in farmers’ income in these projects have been achieved after the high-standard farmland development projects [51,52,53,54,55,56,57]. For the social benefits, this paper takes into consideration the changes in agricultural production and operation entities (C3), agricultural mechanization level (C4), grass-roots service level (C5) and professional level of farming (C6) to evaluate the improvement of social benefits and agricultural production after the implementation of high-standard farmland projects [58,59,60,61,62]. As for the ecological benefits, this paper selects the evaluation indices, including land saving (C7), water saving (C8), electricity saving (C9), fertilizer saving (C10) and pesticide saving (C11), to explore whether ecological resources and rural development have improved after project implementation [63,64,65]. Finally, the 11 indices that embody the economic, social and ecological benefits brought by high-standard farmland development during the “12th Five-year Plan” in China will be graded, to establish the comprehensive benefit evaluation index system for high-standard farmland development (

Table 1. Comprehensive Benefit Evaluation Index System for High-standard Farmland Development Projects.

Target Layer	Criterion Layer	Index Layer	Index Description	Index Significance	Weight
Comprehensive benefit (A)	Economic benefit (B1)	Growth rate of agricultural output value per mu (C1)	Percentage of the increase in agricultural output value per mu of cultivated land before and after project implementation in the output value per mu before and after project implementation/%	Reflecting the increase in agricultural output value in the project areas after project implementation	0.1802
		Growth rate of grain production per mu (C2)	Percentage of the increase in grain production per mu in the project areas after project implementation in the grain production per mu before project implementation/%	Reflecting the increase in grain production in the project areas after project implementation	0.1531
	Social benefit (B2)	Per capita annual net income growth of farmers (C3)	Percentage of the per capita annual net income growth of farmers after project implementation in the per capita annual net income growth of farmers before the project/%	Reflecting the per capita annual net income growth of farmers in the project areas after project implementation	0.0732
		Increase in the number of large agricultural machinery (C4)	Percentage of the increase in the number of large agricultural machinery in the project areas after project implementation in the number of large agricultural machinery before the project/%	Reflecting the improvement of agricultural mechanization and modernization in the project areas after project implementation	0.0885
		Growth rate of improved variety planting area (C5)	Percentage of the increase in improved variety planting area in the project areas after project implementation in the improved variety planting area before project implementation/%	Reflecting the improvement of the professional level of modern farming in the project areas after project implementation	0.0988
		Growth rate of transferred rural labor force (C6)	Percentage of the increase in transferred rural labor force after project implementation in the number of rural labor force before the project/%	Reflecting the improvement of rural labor force transfer in the project areas after project implementation	0.0693
	Ecological benefit (B3)	Growth rate of the area with flood prevention measures (C7)	Percentage of the increase in the area with flood prevention measures in the project areas after project implementation in the area with flood prevention measures before project implementation/%	Reflecting the drainage improvement in the project areas after project implementation	0.0891
		Growth rate of the area of water and soil loss control (C9)	Percentage of the increase in the area of water and soil loss control in the project areas after project implementation in the area of water and soil loss control before project implementation/%	Reflecting the water and soil loss control and sustainable development in the project areas after project implementation	0.0671
		Water saving rate (C8)	Percentage of the increase in the area of water-saving irrigation after project implementation in the area of water-saving irrigation before project implementation/%	Reflecting the utilization efficiency and conservation of agricultural water resources in the project areas after project implementation	0.0781
		Fertilizer saving rate (C10)	Percentage of the quantity of fertilizer saved per mu after project implementation in the fertilizer usage per mu before project implementation/%	Reflecting the reduction of soil and water pollution and environmental protection during agricultural production in the project areas after project implementation	0.0525
		Pesticide saving rate (C11)	Percentage of the quantity of pesticide saved per mu after project implementation in the pesticide usage per mu before project implementation/%	Reflecting the reduction of water, air and agricultural non-point source pollution, as well as ecological and environmental protection, during agricultural production in the project areas after project implementation	0.0501

).

2.2. Determination of Evaluation Index Weight Based on Entropy Method

The index weight is of extreme importance in the quantitative evaluation of multiple indices [57,58]. The entropy method is a relatively objective weighting method [59]. According to the information theory, entropy is a measure of the disorder of a system, and the entropy method can use information entropy to calculate the entropy weight of the index based on the variation degree of each index [60,61,62]. The index with a greater entropy value carries a larger amount of information and therefore shall have a greater weight; while the index with a smaller entropy value provides a smaller amount of information, and therefore shall have a smaller weight [63,64]. The objective index weight can be acquired by correcting the weights of indices based on the entropy value [65,66,67,68,69,70]. This paper determines the weight of the indices in the evaluation index system based on the entropy method to provide a more scientific and objective comprehensive benefit evaluation.

2.2.1. Standardization of Raw Data Matrix

The m sample project areas for evaluation and n evaluation indices constitute the raw data matrix $R={\left(r_{ij}\right)}_{m\times n}$.

$$R=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}{r}_{11}& \cdots & r_{1n}\\ ⋮& \ddots & ⋮\\ r_{m1}& \cdots & r_{m4}\end{array}\right]$$

(4)

In Formula (4), $r_{ij}$ is the evaluation value of the jth index in the ith sample project area.

In view of the differences of these indices in dimension and order of magnitude, the raw data matrix R shall be standardized to eliminate the influence of different dimensions on the evaluation index results. The calculation formulas are as follows:

The formula of positive index standardization:

$$R_{ij}^{\prime }=\frac{r_j-r_{min}}{r_{max}-r_{min}}$$

(5)

The formula of negative index standardization:

$$R_{ij}^{\prime }=\frac{r_{min}-r_j}{r_{max}-r_{min}}$$

(6)

In Formulas (5) and (6), $R_{ij}^{\prime }$ is the standardized value, $r_j$ refers to the value of the jth index, $r_{max}$ stands for the maximum value of the jth index and $r_{min}$ suggests the minimum value of the jth index.

2.2.2. Calculation of Index Proportion

The weight $q_{ij}$ of the jth index in the ith sample project area can be calculated through Formula (7):

$$q_{ij}=\frac{R_{ij}^{\prime }}{{{\displaystyle \sum }}_{i=1}^m{R}_{ij}^{\prime }}0\le q_{ij}\le 1$$

(7)

On this basis, the weight matrix of data can be established as $Q={\left(q_{ij}\right)}_{m\times n}$.

2.2.3. Entropy and Information Entropy of Weight

Calculate the information entropy of the jth index:

$$e_j=K{{\displaystyle \sum }}_{i=1}^m{Q}_{ij}\ln \left(Q_{ij}\right)$$

(8)

In Formula (8), K is a constant, $K=\frac{1}{\ln \left(m\right)}$.

Calculate the weight $w_j$ of the jth index through Formula (9):

$$w_j=\frac{1-e_j}{{{\displaystyle \sum }}_{i=1}^m(1-e_j)}$$

(9)

The entropy weight method is introduced to determine the index weight of high-standard farmland comprehensive benefit evaluation in this paper. The index weight distribution results are shown in Table 1.

2.3. Comprehensive Evaluation Model

By establishing a multiple-index comprehensive evaluation model, this paper integrates multiple evaluation indices into an overall comprehensive evaluation index as the basis for comprehensive benefit evaluation. The evaluation model is as follows:

$$S_i={{\displaystyle \sum }}_{i=1}^n{R}_{ij}^{\prime }{w}_{ij}$$

(10)

In Formula (10), $S_i$ stands for the comprehensive benefit value of the ith sample project area, n is the number of indices and $w_{ij}$ means the weight of the jth index in the ith project area.

3. Empirical Results

This paper mainly explains the empirical results from four perspectives, economic benefits, social benefits, ecological benefits and comprehensive benefits.

3.1. Economic Benefits

In general, the economic benefits in China’s high-standard farmland project areas have been significantly improved after the project implementation (p < 0.05), with the average economic benefit of the high-standard farmland project area reaching 7.05. After the project was implemented, the rise of economic benefits was mainly and directly attributed to the increase in grain production and the increase in agricultural output value, which are analyzed below:

(1)

Growth rate of grain production per mu

The high-standard farmland development project improved agricultural productivity. The results show that the grain production per mu in all provinces in China has improved significantly (p < 0.05).

Table 2. Economic, Social, Ecological and Comprehensive Benefits Indices of High-standard Farmland after Project Implementation in China.

Comprehensive benefit (32.70%)	Economic benefit (7.05%)	The growth rate of agricultural output value per mu (32.07 ± 53.51%)
		The growth rate of grain production per mu (8.31 ± 7.92%)
	Social benefit (16.08%)	Per capita annual net income growth of farmers (116.26%)
		Increase in the number of large agricultural machinery (43.19%)
		The growth rate of improved variety planting area (28.01 ± 10.54%)
		The growth rate of the transferred rural labor force (14.1%)
	Ecological benefit (9.57%)	The growth rate of the area with flood prevention measures (11.69 ± 7.03%)
		The growth rate of the area of water and soil loss control (59.98 ± 42.48%)
		Water saving rate (24.52 ± 18.69%)
		Fertilizer saving rate (22.90 ± 15.38%)
		Pesticide saving rate (27.76 ± 16.82%)

shows the grain production per mu in China has increased from 444.39 kg/mu to 481.33 kg/mu, suggesting the growth of grain production per mu was 33.94 kg and an improvement rate of 8.31%.

(2)

Growth rate of agricultural output value per mu

The research results show that the agricultural output value per mu in all project areas has improved significantly (p < 0.05) after the high-standard farmland project was implemented. Table 2 presents that the agricultural output value in China has increased from CNY 2299.91/mu to CNY 3037.37/mu, having reached a growth of agricultural output value per mu OF approximately CNY 737.56 and a significant improvement rate of 32.07% (p < 0.05).

(3)

Analysis of regional economic benefit difference

This paper further tested the significance of the difference between the economic benefits of high-standard farmland development in different regions of China (under the same division basis, marking different letters means that there is a significant difference between the two types of samples; marking the same letters means that there is no significant difference, the same below). According to the LSD test results, there are significant regional differences in the improvement level of economic benefits of high-standard farmland development in China. Compared with the low-yield farmland project area and the non-high-quality farmland project area, the economic benefits of the medium- and high-yield farmland project area and the high-quality farmland project area have been significantly improved (p < 0.05) (

Table 3. Economic, Social, Ecological and Comprehensive Benefit Values of Project Areas In Different Types of Natural Conditions in China.

Division Basis	Project Area Type	Economic Benefit Value	Social Benefit Value	Ecological Benefit Value	Comprehensive Benefit Value
Field type	High-yield field	19.03 ± 4.25 a	35.14 ± 8.91 a	20.06 ± 5.65 a	74.23 ± 7.48 a
	Medium-yield field	8.14 ± 2.15 a	17.21 ± 4.03 a	9.89 ± 2.01 b	35.24 ± 3.98 a
	Low-yield field	6.28 ± 1.89 b	8.49 ± 2.02 b	9.58 ± 1.23 b	24.35 ± 2.11 b
Farmland quality	High-quality farmland	8.98 ± 2.05 a	18.49 ± 3.89 a	10.02 ± 2.4 a	37.49 ± 2.97 a
	Non-high-quality farmland	7.01 ± 1.53 b	15.94 ± 3.69 a	9.23 ± 2.31 b	32.18 ± 3.41 b

Note: Comparison of various benefit values between different types of project areas with the same division basis: different letters in the same column indicate significant differences at the level of 0.05.

). The economic benefits of areas with high-standard farmland development and superior farmland quality grades will be significantly improved. This result fully shows that the change in the land system has an important impact on farmers’ livelihoods [5,6].

3.2. Social Benefits

By means of the comprehensive governance of water, farmland, roads, forests and villages, agricultural infrastructure has been constructed and improved in high-standard farmland projects, creating favorable conditions for agricultural production and ecology. This result fully illustrates the important role of the change in the land system in the transformation of land use and the farmland’s ecological environment [5,6]. The social benefits have been improved significantly (p < 0.05) after the implementation of the high-standard farmland project, with a mean value of social benefit of 16.08. The indices of social benefits are analyzed as follows:

(1)

Improvement rate of farmers’ per capita annual net income

The project helped improve both the grain production in the project areas and the farmers’ income in the project areas. The research results show that farmers’ per capita annual net income has increased significantly from CNY 6620 to CNY 14,316, with a growth rate of 116.26% (Table 2).

(2)

Average improvement rate of improved variety planting area

The project not only improved the environment of agricultural production, but also upgraded farmers’ agricultural knowledge and skills. According to the benefit analysis of the index, the total area of improved variety planting area in sample project areas in China has increased by approximately 28.01% (Table 2).

(3)

Growth rate of the total number of large- and medium-sized tractors

The research results show that mechanization of agricultural production has been promoted upon the implementation of the high-standard farmland development project, and the total number of large- and medium-sized tractors in China has risen by 43.19% (Table 2).

(4)

Improvement rate of transferred rural labor force

The research results show that the transfer of rural labor force has been promoted after the high-standard farmland development project was implemented and China’s urbanization was further enhanced. The number of the transferred rural labor forces in the sample project areas in China has grown by 14.1% (Table 2).

(5)

Analysis of regional social benefit difference

This paper further tests the significance of the difference between the social benefit values in different regions. From the LSD test results, it can be seen that there are significant regional differences in the improvement level of the social benefit of China’s high-standard farmland development. There are significant differences among high-yield fields, medium-yield fields and low-yield fields in the project areas. There is no significant difference in the social benefits between the high-quality farmland and the non-high-quality farmland project areas. When building high-standard farmland, whether the farmland is of high quality or not has little impact on the improvement of social benefits in the project area; yet, the higher the output, the more significant the improvement of social benefits is.

3.3. Ecological Benefits

China’s ecological benefits have been improved significantly (p < 0.05) after the implementation of the high-standard farmland development project. The mean value of ecological benefit in sample project areas in China is 9.57%, suggesting the important role of high-standard farmland in protecting cultivated land and the whole agricultural ecosystem. This is the same as the results of previous research [19,20]. The ecological benefit indices are listed as follows:

(1)

The growth rate of the area with flood prevention measures

As to whether the drainage conditions in the project area have been effectively improved, statistics show that the flood prevention ability of the project area has been considerably improved after the implementation of the high-standard farmland project in China. The average growth rate of areas with flood prevention measures in sample high-standard farmland project areas in China has increased by 11.69% (Table 2).

(2)

Growth rate of the area of water and soil loss control

The statistical analysis of this index proves that the high-standard farmland project in China has tremendously improved the water and soil loss control in the project areas. The average growth rate of the area of water and soil loss control in sample high-standard farmland project areas in China has increased by 59.98% (Table 2).

(3)

Water saving rate

According to the analysis of the water saving rate index, the water saving rate in sample high-standard farmland project areas in China has reached 24.52%. Before the project, the agricultural irrigation was mainly “flood irrigation”, and the number of high-standard farmland project areas accounted for 86.1% of the total number. By means of the development of high-standard farmland, the agricultural irrigation method in 70.9% of the project areas has been gradually changed to “drip irrigation”, “sprinkling irrigation”, or other water-saving measures, which mainly include underground low-pressure pipeline irrigation and anti-seepage canals. In this case, the utilization efficiency of water resources has been significantly improved, and efficient water saving has been achieved (Table 2).

(4)

Fertilizer saving rate

According to the analysis of the fertilizer saving rate index, the utilizer usage has been effectively controlled and reduced in sample high-standard farmland projects in China. The amount of fertilizer used has decreased from 36 kg/mu before the project to 28 kg/mu after the project’s implementation, indicating a decline in fertilizer usage per mu by 8 kg and a fertilizer saving rate of 22.90% (Table 2).

(5)

Pesticide saving rate

Upon the implementation of the high-standard farmland development project, the cultivated land quality has been protected and upgraded via soil quality improvement, fertility improvement, pollution control and land recovery, thus improving the basic production capacity of cultivated land. According to the analysis of the pesticide saving rate index, the average pesticide usage in project areas has dropped from 1.03 kg/mu to 0.74 kg/mu, with 0.29 kg of pesticides saved per mu and a pesticide saving rate of 27.76%. Therefore, the environmental pollution in the project areas has been effectively reduced (Table 2).

(6)

Analysis of regional ecological benefit difference

According to the LSD test results, there are significant regional differences in the improvement level of ecological benefits of high-standard farmland development in China (Table 3). There is a significant difference in the level of ecological benefit improvement between the high-yield field project areas and the middle- and low-yield field project areas (p < 0.05). There is a significant difference in the improvement level of ecological benefits between the high-quality farmland project areas and the non-high-quality farmland project areas, and the average ecological benefit of the high-quality farmland project area (10.02) is higher than that of the non-high-quality farmland project area (9.23). That is, through the building of high-standard farmland, it can be seen that there are differences in the improvement levels of ecological benefits in different regions. For example, in terms of the economic and social benefits, the plain project area is better than the mountainous and hilly project areas, while in terms of the ecological benefits, the ecological benefits of the mountainous and hilly project areas are more significantly improved.

3.4. Comprehensive Benefits

According to the comprehensive benefit evaluation results, the comprehensive benefits of sample high-standard farmland project areas in China and all regions have been improved to varying degrees, manifested in the significant rise of the economic, social and ecological benefits. The comprehensive benefit value of sample high-standard farmland project areas in China is 32.7, among which the economic benefit is 7.05, the social benefit is 16.08 and the ecological benefit is 9.57, respectively contributing 7.05%, 16.08% and 9.57% to the comprehensive benefit.

There are not only regional differences but also significant regional differences in the improvement level of comprehensive benefits of high-standard farmland development in China (Table 3). This result is similar to those of existing studies, which showed that the improvement of farmland is affected by climate, biology, society, political forces and other factors [8,9]. According to the LSD test, the comprehensive benefits of high-yield, middle-yield and high-quality farmland project areas have been significantly improved (p < 0.05), which are 41.53%, 2.54% and 4.79% higher than the average level of China, respectively. The comprehensive benefits of low-yield farmland project areas and non-high-quality farmland project areas are relatively low, and are 8.35% and 0.52% lower than the average level of China, respectively. However, it is worth noting that although the economic and social benefits of the medium-yield field project area and the low-yield field project area are relatively low, the ecological benefits are significantly improved, and are 0.32% and 0.01% higher than the average level of China, respectively.

4. Conclusions and Discussion

By building the evaluation index system of the economic benefits, social benefits, ecological benefits and comprehensive benefits of high-standard farmland project in China, this paper reveals the achievements and deficiencies in the development of the high-standard farmland project. Research shows that after the implementation of the high-standard farmland policy, the productivity of grain and farmers’ income levels have been improved during the “12th Five-Year Plan” period, which further verifies the research’s conclusion that land use is highly related to crop yield and farmers’ livelihoods [5,6]. After the implementation of high-standard farmland development projects, the protection and improvement of cultivated land quality, including soil quality improvement, fertility enhancement, pollution control and remediation, have been promoted, and the basic production capacity of cultivated land has been improved. By effectively improving the grade of agricultural land, improving the agricultural production environment and enhancing the value-added capacity of land, the project effectively drives the agricultural output value of the land, which is the same conclusion as those of previous studies: land development can significantly improve the ecological environment and production capacity [19,20]. After the implementation of high-standard farmland development projects, farmers’ agricultural knowledge and skills have improved greatly, which was not found in previous studies. The average building results of the national high-standard farmland project show similar characteristics to the existing research areas. Building high-standard farmland is very beneficial, increasing in farmers’ income, agricultural production and the rural development of the project [5,6,15,16,43,44,45,50,51], and the development should continue.

However, we found that there is still a certain gap between the average level of national improvement and the original policymaking goals through research. Although the comprehensive benefits of China’s high-standard farmland sampling project areas have been increased to varying degrees, casuing the average income of grain farmers to increase by more than CNY 200 per mu, the average grain output per mu has increased by less than 100 kg (the national average has only increased by 40 kg). The comprehensive benefits of sample high-standard farmland project areas in China have been improved to varying degrees, manifested in the significant rise of the economic, social, ecological and comprehensive benefits. Therefore, we suggest that the project development should be carried out according to local conditions, combined with regional characteristics, paying more attention to the quality development and protection of basic farmland, and improving grain production. Additionally, we should consider the successes of existing research at home and abroad [15,16,17,18,19,20] and investigate the confirmation of land rights, land quality registration, accurate recording of land categories, remote sensing monitoring and other work, so as to comprehensively ensure the achievement of high-standard farmland development.

In addition, the entropy method is a practical, objective and scientific method to determine the weight of evaluation indices, which is also reflected in existing studies [60,70]. In the context of China’s efforts to promote the structural reform of agricultural supply and improve the comprehensive efficiency and competitiveness of agriculture, carrying out actions to protect and improve the quality of cultivated land and the large-scale building of high-standard farmland will play an important basic supporting role, which has been the same conclusion as those of domestic and foreign studies [13,14,22,23]. Under the framework of the transformation of the national comprehensive agricultural development strategy, the building of high-standard farmland has been carried out in an orderly manner. The problem of construction effectiveness is still a major topic worthy of study. In the construction of its effectiveness evaluation index system, it may also face a further expansion problem. The modeling advantage of the entropy weight method in index expansion might become an important method for high-standard farmland development evaluation in the future.