Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Non-grain Use of Cultivated Land from Farmers' Perspective Based on Survey Data of 10 Villages in Hunan Province

Based on survey data from 131 rural households in 10 villages of Hunan Province, this study analyzes the characteristics of cultivated land “non-grain production” from a micro-scale perspective, and uses bivariate correlation analysis and multiple linear regression models to analyze the key influencing factors. The results show that:（1） Significant inter-village disparities in non-grain rates（1.60%～95.20%） were observed, primarily driven by large-scale cash crop cultivation and tourism development. However, some villages achieved synergy between economic growth and grain production through location-specific approaches leveraging terrain and geographical advantages.（2） The overall non-grain rate was 19.69% across the sample, but this surged to 47.17% after excluding 8 large-scale households, highlighting the stabilizing role of large-scale growers in grain production.（3） The proportion of agricultural income, the scale of cultivated land, agricultural insurance, and the area of cultivated land transfer were important factors influencing the non-grain use of cultivated land, and they showed heterogeneity in scale. There was a significant positive correlation between farm income share and non-grain rates for smallholders（0～0.67 hm²）. Age and land-inflow area showed significant negative correlations with non-grain rates for medium-scale farmers（0.67～3.50 hm²）, and large-scale growers（≥3.50 hm²） significantly reduced their non-grain tendency through participation in agricultural training. Policy recommendations are put forward such as implementing differentiated cultivated land use regulations based on terrain（plains/hills）, with mandatory grain-planting ratios and increased subsidies in plain areas, imposing strict constraints on cultivated land occupation and cash crop expansion in tourism-oriented and enterprise-driven villages, and prioritizing support for large-scale grain growers, enhancing agricultural training and insurance programs, and securing grain production income for smallholders.