Impact of Urbanization on the Sustainable Production of Regional Specialty Food: Evidence from China’s Potato Production

Abstract

The rapid urbanization process has gradually deepened its role in the sustainable development of agriculture, especially in the sustainable supply of food in poor areas, and has attracted more attention from international academic circles. However, the impact mechanism of different dimensions of urbanization on food sustainability in poor areas has not yet been fully unpacked. Therefore, this study focuses on potatoes as a specialty food mainly grown in poor areas of China, explores the impact mechanism of urbanization on the carbon emission intensity of potato production (CEIPP) with the spatial Durbin model, and compares with the carbon emission intensity of staple grain (CEISG) results. The main conclusions are as follows: the urbanization of main potato-producing areas developed rapidly from 2002 to 2020, which is in line with the decrease in CEIPP. The decrease in CEIPP has a significant impact on slowing down the growth of total carbon emissions and has greater potential for reduction, especially in Central and Western China, which has a large poverty-stricken population. Compared with traditional staple grain, urbanization has become a key factor influencing CEIPP. The results indicate that different dimensions of urbanization have varying degrees of impact on the sustainable production of regional specialty foods in China. The improvement of comprehensive urbanization, population urbanization, and economic urbanization reduces CEIPP, while land urbanization increases CEIPP. Therefore, to reduce CEIPP and promote its sustainable development, it is necessary to improve population urbanization and economic urbanization, properly avoid the disorderly expansion of land urbanization, and improve the quality and level of comprehensive urbanization.