Ecological Efficiency of Grass-Based Livestock Husbandry Under the Background of Rural Revitalization: An Empirical Study of Agro-Pastoral Ecotone

Abstract

As the starting point of addressing the issue of “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” for a new era, a rural revitalization strategy is necessary and suits the realistic demand for high-quality development. At present, agro-pastoral ecotone in China is facing a series of ecological degradation and environmental pollution problems. The measurement and analysis of ecological efficiency play an important role in promoting the sustainable development of the agro-pastoral ecotone. Based on the theoretical discussion and empirical calculation, this study took Tongliao as a case area to explore the ecological efficiency issue. Firstly, the ecological efficiency of grass-based livestock husbandry in Tongliao from 2000 to 2019 was calculated by the DEA method, then the dynamic change of efficiency was dissected by the Malmquist index, and finally, multiple factors affecting the ecological efficiency of grass-based livestock husbandry were evaluated by Tobit model. The results showed that the ecological efficiency of grass-based livestock husbandry in the counties of Tongliao showed a growing trend from 2000 to 2019, and the average ecological efficiency increased from 0.88 to 1.17. The total factor ecological efficiency of the counties in Tongliao had increased year by year from 2000 to 2019, and it mainly depended on technological progress. The implementation of the national ecological protection policy and the increase of the output value and number of persons employed in grass-based livestock husbandry has significantly improved the ecological efficiency. However, the increase in the number of livestock, especially in the case of exceeding the carrying capacity of the grassland, was not conducive to the protection of grassland ecology. The key to realizing the revitalization of grass-based livestock husbandry in the future is to promote the coordinated development of economy and ecology through the improvement of management level and large-scale and standardized livestock breeding.