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Land
Special Issues
Land Use Policy and Food Security: 3rd Edition
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Land Use Policy and Food Security: 3rd Edition

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Water, Energy, Land and Food (WELF) Nexus".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 900

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dingde Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Interests: land use policy; food security; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shili Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 610074, China
Interests: farmers’ livelihood; ecological protection; green and low carbon; disaster economy; sustainable development; resource and environmental carrying capacity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shaoquan Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Interests: land use policy; sustainable development of mountain areas; sustainable livelihoods for farmers; resources and environment policy; rural sustainable development; land use transformation; rural revitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue of Land entitled “Land Use Policy and Food Security: 3rd Edition”.

Food security is the foundation of the stable development of human society and economy, and the land use policy of a country is closely related to food security. For example, in recent years, China has implemented a large number of land use policies (such as high-standard farmland construction, one household and one field, and the separation of three rights, etc.), which have profoundly affected the development of related markets (non-agricultural employment market, land transfer market, and socialized service market), changed the pattern of land use by farmers (self-support, transfer and abandon land), and contributed to the food security and sustainable development of China and even the world. However, we still lack systematic research and understanding on how these useful land use policies systematically affect market development, how to reshape farmers' land use patterns, how to change farmers’ planting structure, and how to ensure farmers’ food security and sustainable development. Based on this background, this Special Issue is dedicated to building a theoretical and practical research platform for studies systematically assessing the direct and indirect impacts of land use policies on food security and sustainable development. Original research and review articles in this research field are welcome. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Evolution of logic and enlightenment of land use policy;
  • Land use policy and market development;
  • Land use policy and food security;
  • Land use policy and sustainable development.

Dr. Dingde Xu
Dr. Shili Guo
Dr. Shaoquan Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • land use policy
  • market development
  • food security
  • sustainable development

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 786 KB  
Article
The Impact of the Farmland Protection Policy on the Adjustment of Grain Planting Structure: Evidence in China
by Yongchang Liu, Jing Zhang, Jingchun Wang, Yonghao Hu and Nanyan Hu
Land 2026, 15(3), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15030425 - 5 Mar 2026
Viewed by 309
Abstract
The quantity and quality of arable land are the basic prerequisites for food security; the arable land balance policy is a key measure to strictly protect farmland, and plays an important role in ensuring arable land use control, sustainable land use and reducing [...] Read more.
The quantity and quality of arable land are the basic prerequisites for food security; the arable land balance policy is a key measure to strictly protect farmland, and plays an important role in ensuring arable land use control, sustainable land use and reducing the contradiction between people and land. Drawing on panel data from 26 Chinese provinces spanning 2004 to 2017, this study employs the Nerlove supply response model to empirically examine the impact mechanism and regional heterogeneity of the arable land balance policy on the structure of grain crop cultivation, considering variations in land use following farmland supplementation. The findings reveal that the policy has induced fluctuations in grain crop structure, oscillating between “grain-oriented” and “non-grain-oriented” patterns. These shifts are primarily driven by the heterogeneous technological effects associated with farmland supplementation, which influence farmers’ planting decisions. Nonetheless, the policy has helped mitigate the adverse effects of farmland development on grain production, with the mitigation effect being more pronounced in non-major grain-producing regions. Furthermore, supporting measures such as land consolidation, outsourcing of agricultural services, and cross-regional mechanized operations have contributed to maintaining grain crop cultivation after land supplementation. Based on these findings, optimizing the arable land balance policy requires greater alignment with crop-specific production characteristics and regional farming practices. This includes refining the farmland supplementation coefficient and enhancing the policy’s differentiation mechanisms. Policy adjustments should also reflect the economic development levels and natural resource endowments of both major and non-major grain-producing regions, to promote a functional equilibrium in farmland utilization. Additionally, efforts to improve soil fertility and mechanization capabilities following land supplementation are essential to sustaining stable grain production. This study provides decision-making information support for optimizing the arable land balance policy and improving crop planting structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Policy and Food Security: 3rd Edition)
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19 pages, 611 KB  
Article
Does Land Consolidation Reduce Farmland Abandonment? Plot-Level Evidence from Hilly China
by Zhixing Ma, Hong Tang, Dingde Xu and Ruiping Ran
Land 2026, 15(3), 374; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15030374 - 26 Feb 2026
Viewed by 257
Abstract
Land consolidation (LC) is a major land policy in China, yet “consolidated but still abandoned” farmland remains observed in some hilly areas, implying that engineering upgrading alone may be insufficient to sustain cultivation. This study argues that LC affects abandonment not only by [...] Read more.
Land consolidation (LC) is a major land policy in China, yet “consolidated but still abandoned” farmland remains observed in some hilly areas, implying that engineering upgrading alone may be insufficient to sustain cultivation. This study argues that LC affects abandonment not only by improving plot conditions but also by reshaping the feasibility and organization of mechanized operations through socialized agricultural machinery services. Using a 2024 micro-survey of 1167 households and 5014 plots in hilly Sichuan, we develop and test a framework linking “LC–machinery service scale–abandonment behavior”. Machinery service scale is measured by service depth, service breadth, and service quality. Empirical results show that LC significantly lowers plot abandonment. LC increases all three service dimensions, but abandonment reduction is mainly transmitted through deeper and broader service provision, rather than service quality. Moreover, LC is more effective for flat and remote plots and among ordinary smallholders, highlighting strong context dependence. These findings contribute micro-level evidence that integrating LC with service system development is crucial for translating land engineering improvements into sustained land use in hilly rural China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Policy and Food Security: 3rd Edition)
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