The influence of labor transfer on farmers’ green grain production efficiency: Also discussing the role of technology extension

[Objective] In the context of a large number of rural labors migrating to cities and towns, clarifying the impact of labor transfer on the green production efficiency of grains for farming households has important policy implications in promoting the steady improvement of green production efficiency and promoting sustainable development of agricultural ecology.[Methods] Based on the survey data of 770 grain-producing farming households from Hubei and Henan Provinces, this study used the data envelopment analysis-slacks-based measure (DEA-SBM) model to calculate the green production efficiency of grains, and used the Tobit model to demonstrate the impact of labor transfer and technology extension on the green production efficiency of grains.[Results] The research showed that labor transfer had an inhibitory effect on the green production efficiency of grains for farming households in both the temporal and spatial dimensions. Government green technology extension measures could promote the improvement of green production efficiency of grains and effectively alleviate the negative impact of labor transfer on green production efficiency of grains. The mitigating effect of technology extension services on the green production efficiency of farming households was limited by the age and income of farmers. For young and high-income farmers, its mitigating effect is insignificant. [Conclusion] Therefore, we should improve the rural labor security mechanism, expand the promotion channels of green production technologies, and focus on the promotion of green production technology for older and low-income farming households, to promote the improvement of green production efficiency of grains and effectively speed up the process of high-quality agricultural development.