Research on Farmers’ Willingness of Land Transfer Behavior Based on Food Security
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Thank you for providing an interesting study to review!
This study has the potential to inform land policy in China and I trust that the eventual publication will reach the correct policy makers for their review and information.
This manuscript requires intensive English editing and reformatting throughout. Missing white spaces, over-wide tables etc. must not survive through publication. On the other hand, I would not be able to write an equivalent manuscript in Mandarin, so I’m willing to trust the editor/associate editors and staff to guide you through the revisions required.
In places, the translation leads to some showstopper typographic errors. For example in table A1, the first data column is labeled “χ2/df” but looks to only include the χ2 value.
In several places, the manuscript needs to be shored up to reflect correct statistical interpretation of results. For example, the statement “significance value was p= 0.000” is the literal output of the statistics software. However, p can never equal zero. The authors must revise to show readers that they understand the mechanics of the statistical tools they are using.
Table 3 needs to be subdivided down into smaller readable tables.
Normally, the TPB model includes links between:
perceived behavioral control —> intent to behave
And
Perceived behavioral control —> expressed behavior
I may have missed the section justifying the removal? Is it because this is an attitudinal study without paired behavioral data?
On page 8, am I misunderstanding the arrangement of the theoretical constructs, or are the arrows supposed to point toward the behavior of farmland transfer instead of away from it?
Author Response
Point 1:In places, the translation leads to some showstopper typographic errors. For example in table A1, the first data column is labeled “χ2/df” but looks to only include the χ2 value.
Response 1:Thank you for your comment.（χ2/ df）is a whole, representing the ratio of chi-square to degrees of freedom,indicating the effect of reducing sample size on fit test.I have modified it to make it look more reasonable.
Point 2:In several places, the manuscript needs to be shored up to reflect correct statistical interpretation of results. For example, the statement “significance value was p= 0.000” is the literal output of the statistics software. However, p can never equal zero. The authors must revise to show readers that they understand the mechanics of the statistical tools they are using.
Response 2:Thank you.I have Changed "P = 0.00" to "p value is less than 0.01".
Point 3:Table 3 needs to be subdivided down into smaller readable tables.
Response 3:Yes,table 3 is divided into two readable tables,one is "Rural land inflow models’ path and load factor estimation results", another is "Rural land outflow models’ path and load factor estimation results".
Point 4:Normally, the TPB model includes links between:perceived behavioral control —> intent to behave. And,Perceived behavioral control —> expressed behavior
I may have missed the section justifying the removal? Is it because this is an attitudinal study without paired behavioral data?
Response 4:Thank you for your comment.This paper is mainly about the study of behavioral willingness, the study of actual behaviour is not involved in this paper.So in this article there is link:perceived behavioral control —> intent to behave,but there is not link:perceived behavioral control —> expressed behavior. I have modified the model to make it easier to understand.
Point 5:On page 8, am I misunderstanding the arrangement of the theoretical constructs, or are the arrows supposed to point toward the behavior of farmland transfer instead of away from it?
Response 5:Thank you for your comment.The arrows are supposed to point toward the behaviour intention to farmland transfer. The direction of the arrow was modified and the revised structure map was uploaded on page 8.
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear author/s,
after I read your manuscript I have some recommendations:
the last two paragraphs of the section 2.2, from my point of view are fitting better the conclusions section, as contribution to the theoretical framework.
More information about the questionnaire design should be offered. How many items were in the second part of the questionnaire?
How was established the sample? how were the respondents selected? how representative is the sample? Please clarify these aspects.
Very nice statistical results, but not very helpful the discussions. Please discuss your results.
Please mention the limits of your study and future research directions
Please emphasize the link between your manuscript and journal aim
Other: please pay attention to the format and authors instruction (especially citation in the text and references)
Good luck!
Author Response
Point 1:the last two paragraphs of the section 2.2, from my point of view are fitting better the conclusions section, as contribution to the theoretical framework.
Response 1:Thank you for your comment.The last two paragraphs of Section 2.2 were added to lines 1 to 7 of the first paragraph of the conclusion section and the last paragraph of Section 2.2 was deleted.
Point 2:More information about the questionnaire design should be offered. How many items were in the second part of the questionnaire?
Response 2:Thank you for your comment.The second part of the questionnaire contains 14 questions, as shown in table 1, which has been revised in the last paragraph of section 4.1 of the article .More information about the questionnaire design has been added to lines 12 to 15 of the first paragraph of section 4.3.
Point 3:How was established the sample? how were the respondents selected? how representative is the sample? Please clarify these aspects.
Response 3:The sample result from each county and city, 30 villages were selected and then 20 farmers in each village whose families were evenly distribute in the village. Each farm chose an adult farmer for interviews.Considering the difference in the economic situation of the rural households in the village, the number of samples will increase, but in the end, each village still chooses 20 samples.The average age of farmers in the sample is 46.7 years old, the average family population is 3.8, the education level is low, the average family disposable income is about 13 thousands yuan, which is close to the national average income of 15,117 yuan in rural areas of Shandong Province in 2017. Therefore, the overall sample is in line with the current situation of farmers in Shandong Province, and has a relatively high representation of the whole Shandong Province,which have been revised in the last paragraph of section 4.3 of the article .
Point 4:Very nice statistical results, but not very helpful the discussions. Please discuss your results.
Response 4:Thank you for your comment.The results have been modified as your comment.
”The effect of behavioural attitude on the intention of rural land inflow is greater than rural land outflow” is added to lines 5 to 6 of the second paragraph in the results.
“Thus The effect of subjective norms on the intention of rural land inflow is greater than rural land outflow.” is added to lines 6 to 7 of the third paragraph in the results. “In addition,the highly respected people in the village have an important influence on intention of rural land transfer, so the village head plays an important role in the village's economic development.” is added to lines 19 to 21 of the third paragraph in the results.
In the forth paragraph,“The effect of perceptual behavioural control on the intention of rural land inflow is greater than rural land outflow.” is added to lines 3 to 5. “ It shows that in the process of rural land transfer, regulating the rural land transfer behavior of both sides of rural land transfer plays an important role in promoting land transfer.” is added to lines 8 to 10. “ and information will play an increasingly important role in the future land transfer process.” is added to last two lines.
Point 5:Please mention the limits of your study and future research directions
Response 5:Thank you for your comment.The limits of the study and future research directions have been added to lines 7 to 9 of the last paragraph of section 6.
Point 6:Please emphasize the link between your manuscript and journal aim
Response 6:Thank you for your comment.The relationship between the manuscript and the journal aim has been added to the objective (ii) in page 3 and the last paragraph of section 6.
Point 7:Other: please pay attention to the format and authors instruction (especially citation in the text and references)
Response 7:Thank you for your comment.The whole paper has been checked and revised.
Reviewer 3 Report
The subject of the article is interesting and it is, somehow, linked to the objectives of the journal (a deeply explanation of the relation with sustainability is, anyway, desirable). However, there are a number of issues that have to be reconsidered.
For a better visibility on databases, the authors are asked not to repeat among keyword the words/concepts included on the title of the article
The limits of the research is missing and they have to be emphased
page 3. There is necesarry a conversion of unity measure to a more common one (what "mu" means?)
page 10. the return rate is quite huge (549 out of 600). What was the key for this rate? Also, a deeper explanation how the sample was selected (the 30 villages, the 20 farmers in each village and the adult person from the farm), as all these factors affect the results from Table 2. Even more, it has to be described how this sample is representative for the entire population.
Author Response
Point 1:For a better visibility on databases, the authors are asked not to repeat among keyword the words/concepts included on the title of the article.
Response 1:Thank you for your comment.The manuscript has been modified to comply with your suggestion. The keywords of the paper have been revised to “TPB; rural land inflow; rural land outflow; willingness of rural land transfer; sustainable rural development; SEM”.
Point 2:The limits of the research is missing and they have to be emphased
Response 2:Thank you for your comment.The limits of the study and future research directions are added to lines 1to 7 of the last paragraph of section 6.
Point 3:page 3. There is necesarry a conversion of unity measure to a more common one (what "mu" means?)
Response 3:Thank you for your comment. I have been modified in the paper. And Mu is a unit of area in China, 1 mu = 666.67 square meter.
Point 4:page 10. the return rate is quite huge (549 out of 600). What was the key for this rate? Also, a deeper explanation how the sample was selected (the 30 villages, the 20 farmers in each village and the adult person from the farm), as all these factors affect the results from Table 2. Even more, it has to be described how this sample is representative for the entire population.
Response 4:Thank you for your letter. The key for this rate is that excluding invalid questionnaires with incomplete answers.Considering the difference in the economic situation of the rural households in the village, the number of samples will increase, but in the end, each village still chooses 20 samples, which has been added to lines 12 to 15 of the first of section 4.3.
The average age of farmers in the sample is 46.7 years old, the average family population is 3.8, the education level is low, the average family disposable income is about 13 thousands yuan, which is close to the national average income of 15,117 yuan in rural areas of Shandong Province in 2017. Therefore, the overall sample is in line with the current situation of farmers in Shandong Province, and has a relatively high representation of the whole Shandong Province,which have been revised in the second paragraph of section 4.3 of the article .
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear authors,
Thank you for the improved version of your manuscript.
I still have 2 recommendations:
Please mention the sampling method and selection of the respondents.
please compare your results with other similar researches, in the discussions section.
Goog luck!
Author Response
Point1:Please mention the sampling method and selection of the respondents.
Response 1: Thank you for your comment. From each county and city, 30 villages were selected and then 20 family were randomly selected in each village whose families were evenly distribute in the village. Each family chose an adult farmer for interviews, who were determined based on family economic status, age, gender, etc., so as to ensure representativeness of the total sample. Considering the difference in the economic situation of the rural households in the village, the number of samples will increase, but in the end, each village still chooses 20 samples.
The sampling method of the paper has been revised in line 12 of Section 4.3 of the article, and the respondents' choice has been added to lines 13 to15 of section 4.3.
Point2:please compare your results with other similar researches, in the discussions section.
Response 2: Thank you for your comment. Compare the results with other similar researches has been added to lines 11 to 12 in the second paragraph of the section 5, the last 3 lines in the third paragraph of the section 5, lines 10 to 11 and the last 5 lines in the fourth paragrath of the section 5.
Round 3
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear author/s,
Thank you for the improved version of the manuscript.
I would be useful to.mention how representstive is your sample and how you randomly select the respondents.
Good luck!
Author Response
Point1: I would be useful to. mention how representstive is your sample and how you randomly select the respondents.
Response1: Thank you for your comment. The representative of the sample is added to the lines 6 to 11 of the second paragraph in section 4.3. as follows, “It can be seen from the data in table 2 that the average age of farmers is 46.7 years old, the average family population is 3.8, the education level is low, the average family disposable income is about 13 thousands yuan, which is close to the national average income of 15,117 yuan in rural areas of Shandong Province in 2017. Therefore, the overall sample is in line with the current situation of farmers in Shandong Province, and has a relatively high representation of the whole Shandong Province.”
This paper selects the respondents. First, randomly choose the family, and then choose the respondents from the families mentioned above. "From each county and city ,30 villages were selected and then 20 family were randomly selected in each village, based on the location of families in the village, population, living environment and so on” have been added to the lines 11 to 13 of the first paragraph of section 4.3.
