Evolution of farming system and its influencing factors in the black soil region of Northeast China

Clarifying the evolutionary trends and driving mechanisms of farming systems in the black soil region of Northeast China are important to realize black land protection and to promote agricultural modernization and high-quality development. Based on a literature analysis, combined with the social and economic historical background of each period, this study explored the evolution of the farming system in the Northeast Black Soil Region since the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the factors influencing its development. The results showed that: 1) Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the farming system in the black soil region of Northeast China has undergone marked changes under the impetus of social and economic development and the influence of various factors, gradually transforming from traditional farming methods to modern agricultural models. The evolutionary process can be divided into three stages: the traditional farming system stage during the collectivization process, the stage of adjustment of decentralized farming systems, and the initial institutional stage of large-scale modern farming. At each stage, the farming system presented different characteristics in line with the social and economic development of the period, reflecting the features of the era and progress trajectory of agricultural production. 2) The farming system in the black soil region of Northeast China is influenced by multiple factors, such as agricultural productivity, production relations, and the physical conditions of the cultivated land, resulting in a phased and historically evolving development pattern. Specifically, production relations play a leading role in guiding the evolution of a farming system, whereas productivity serves as the driving force for its continuous evolution. The physical conditions of cultivated land lay a solid foundation for the evolution of farming systems, enabling flexible adjustments in farming methods based on the characteristics of different cultivated land resources and external conditions during different crop-growth periods, thereby forming distinctive regional farming models. 3) Accelerating the construction of a systematic, scientific, and modernized farming system with black soil protection as the primary goal with regionalized policies as the basic strategy and agronomic systems as the core is important. This should be closely integrated with the development of new-quality productivity in agriculture to foster the deep integration of agricultural civilization with modern technological elements and to facilitate the sustainable utilization of black soil and high-quality development of agriculture in the black soil region.