Assessing the Performance of Land Consolidation Projects in Different Modes: A Case Study in Jianghan Plain of Hubei Province, China

Land consolidation is essential in China for improving land use efficiency and supporting rural public space governance. Previously, the implementation of land consolidation projects (LCPs) had been mainly led by governments in China. In recent years, the Chinese government vigorously promoted land consolidation, and land consolidation in the corporation-leading mode (CLM) has emerged. This study focused on investigating the performance of CLM projects and the difference in performance levels between the CLM projects and the government-leading mode (GLM) projects. Based on the improved extensible matter–element model, the performance levels of 14 LCPs in GLM and CLM of Jianghan Plain, Hubei Province and related impact factors were analyzed. A set of evaluation indices was selected based on the “process-based thinking and logic”. Results showed that: (1) performance levels of the 14 LCPs are different, most of the projects in the GLM have ordinary or poor performance, while most of the projects in the CLM have excellent or good performance; (2) factors affecting the performance levels of LCPs are also different in the two modes. The main influencing factors in the CLM were the poor access to field roads, insufficient shelterbelt planting, and low land reclamation efficiency, while the insufficient shelterbelt planting, low annual output value of farmland and grain production capacity, low increase rate of agricultural labor production, and low land reclamation efficiency were the main influencing factors in the GLM; (3) comparative analysis of the two modes revealed that LCPs in the CLM have clear investment directions, high output benefits, and obvious advantages in the development of modern agriculture when compared with the GLM. To achieve improving the performance levels of LCPs, policy makers should actively innovate the implementation mode of LCPs and encourage all kinds of agricultural corporations to participate in land consolidation.