*4.1. Project Priority Analysis*

On the whole, the priority order evaluation results of comprehensive land consolidation project from the comprehensive perspective of farmers and social investors are basically consistent with the actual project establishment. Whether it is the urgency of farmers' needs or the willingness of social investors to invest, Project C has the highest score, and Project C has also been confirmed as a provincial pilot project in reality. Through field research, it was found that C project area state-owned farms accounted for 44.18% of the total area. State-owned farms have the advantage of mechanization and organization, which is conducive to the development of agricultural modernization and industrial management. The project area has already invested in two beautiful countryside projects, two water conservancy projects, and five land consolidation projects, which have effectively improved the human settlements, ecological environment, and cultivated land quality. The project area is rich in cultural resources, and the former site of cultural celebrities in Xiangyanghu was listed in the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection unit in 2013. The farm advantages, environmental advantages, industrial advantages, and cultural advantages of Project C made it listed as a provincial pilot project.

However, there is a certain deviation between the priority of the B project and the actual project approval result. Project B is located in a provincial modern agricultural industrial park and was listed as a provincial pilot project in the comprehensive land consolidation of Hubei Province in 2020. Still, no matter whether from the perspective of farmers or social investors, the order of project B is ranked last. Through the investigation, it was found that the population outflow in the B project area is very serious, and there are many "empty nests" of young people going out with the elderly and children staying behind, which makes less the urgency of farmers' needs for comprehensive land consolidation in the project area. The industrial parks in the project area are in pursuit of economic benefits, ignoring infrastructure construction, seriously restricting the further development of the industrial base in the project area, which is also the reason for the low investment willingness of social investors.

In general, the inconsistency between the decision-making priorities and the actual project approval results shows that there is a certain deviation in the current comprehensive land consolidation project decision-making evaluation in Hubei Province. Generally speaking, the government is willing to invest in villages with better existing resource endowments, while farmers and social investors have different concerns. For farmers, the worse the existing agricultural land, construction land, and ecological environment in the countryside, the higher the urgency of farmers' needs. Social investors pay more attention to the tradable surplus indicators provided by comprehensive land consolidation and the future development potential of the countryside.

#### *4.2. Research on Decision-Making of Comprehensive Land Consolidation Project in Other Countries*

Land consolidation requires difficult and conflicting decisions such as where to revitalize the declining countryside [11]. In many European countries, especially those receiving European Union (EU) support for land consolidation projects, it is important to carefully allocate funds to the most suitable areas [30]. Traditionally, these decisions have been made by groups, some linked to the area being consolidated and others from the government, all of whom attempt to create the best possible decision [2]. During a comprehensive literature analysis and interviews with land consolidation experts, it was noted that certain countries, such as Finland, use country-wide maps to identify potential areas for land consolidation. Some countries undertake various marketing activities, information campaigns, and other methods to raise public awareness. One of the recent examples is the Dutch Kadaster, which celebrated 100 years of practice in implementing land consolidation projects in 2016 with the release of Move a Lot, a smart device game that allows players to "play" to re-adjust land consolidation project areas. This approach can mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers, maximize the protection of farmers' rights, and earn the support of active local leaders—"social activists" [31]. Recent studies have highlighted the need to identify the most suitable and prioritized land consolidation areas at different levels of governance [32–36]. However, the scale and the criteria vary from country to country and are influenced by the national as well as regional policies and strategies.

In a word, the establishment of comprehensive land consolidation projects is a common problem all over the world. To learn how to invest the limited renovation funds into the most suitable and leading regions, countries need to explore the most suitable road for themselves.
