Moderate operation scales of agricultural land under the greenhouse and open-field production modes based on DEA model in mountainous areas of southwest China

The identification of the moderate scale of agricultural land was recognized as one of the key measures promoting sustainable agriculture development. However, due to the research gap in mountainous areas, new agricultural business entities (NABE) in these areas usually either refer to the plain area or simply pursue large scale, resulting in low production efficiency and even posing a threat to their sustainable survival. In this study, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model and Tobit regression model tools were employed to quantitatively reveal the moderate scale and key driving factors of agricultural land under the scale operation modes of greenhouse and open-field types. It was based on 154 NABE questionnaires in the mountainous areas around the Sichuan Basin in China, where NABEs are flourishing. The findings show an approximately "inverted U-shaped" curve relationship between NABE's production efficiency and their planting scale. The primary reason for the failure of NABE to achieve an overall high level of production efficiency is scale inefficiency. The optimal scale intervals for the greenhouse and open-field types of scale operation modes are 3.0–4.3 ha and 3.3–5.0 ha, respectively. Business entities' age, land circulation scale, land rent, and agricultural insurance are common factors that influence the scale efficiencies of both the greenhouse and open-field types. Accordingly, policy interventions regarding the guidance of moderate-scale operation of agricultural land are proposed for achieving the dual goal of cultivating NABE and implementing the Rural Revitalization Strategy in mountainous areas of China. While contributing to the knowledge on scale efficiency of agricultural land, this research also enlightens the practice of policy-making targeted to the sustainable development of agricultural industry led by NABE worldwide.