Involution and evolution of the flower industry and their implications for rural revitalization: A case study of Tonghai County, Yunnan Province, China

Agricultural development plays a pivotal role in sustaining rural livelihoods and ensuring national security, particularly in developing countries. However, enhancing agricultural production and improving rural livelihoods through agricultural transformation remain significant challenges in rural development. In light of China's national implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, increasing emphasis has been placed on rural industrial development in national and provincial policies. This paper adopts an analytical framework of agricultural involution and expands the theory from the dual structure of land and labor to encompass the entire production factor category. By examining the evolution path of the flower industry in Tonghai County, Yunnan Province, China, this paper aims to expound the involution and evolution processes of industrial agriculture. The findings indicate that since the reform and opening up period, the development of the flower industry in Yunnan Province has passed through four stages: adjustment of agricultural planting structure, reconstruction of organizational modes, and innovation in transaction and planting technologies. Moreover, from the perspective of the involution model of production factor combination, the continuous iterative upgrading of factor combinations has effectively broken through agricultural involution, overcoming the diminishing marginal returns resulting from the superposition and accumulation of individual factors. This paper highlights the importance of countering market monopoly and backward planting technologies-induced involution in the flower industry. It reveals that the flower industry has transitioned from a central place hierarchy to a distributed urban-rural network by utilizing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and innovative logistics technologies. Additionally, by promoting new urbanization, the industry has attracted the return of technically skilled farmers, facilitating breakthroughs in regional industries and fostering sustainable development in urban and rural areas. The paper provides an endogenous analysis framework and reference for promoting rural revitalization centered on industrial prosperity at the county level.