Influence of social capital on the livelihood strategies of farmers under China’s rural revitalization strategy in poor mountain areas: A case study of the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture

Social capital in the form of social resources or social networks is one of the most important livelihood capital of farmers, which can increase the labor productivity of poor households and increase income. It is important to explore the reasons underlying the livelihood strategy choices of farmers from the perspective of social capital under China’s rural revitalization strategy. In this study, the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, a poverty-stricken mountainous area in southwestern China, was selected as the case study area, and multivariable linear regression models were constructed to analyze the influence of social capital on livelihood strategies. The results are as follows: (1) Individual social capital had a positive effect on non-agricultural livelihood strategies. On average, with a one-unit increase in individual social capital, the ratio of farmers’ non-agricultural income to total productive income (Income_Rto) increased by 0.002% and 0.062%, respectively. Collective social capital, with the Peasant Economic Cooperation Organization (PECO) as the carrier, had a negative effect on the non-agricultural livelihood strategies of farmers; on average, with a one-unit increase in PECO, Income_Rto decreased by approximately 0.053%. However, this effect was only significant in the river valley area. (2) The income differences among the different livelihood strategy types were explained by the livelihood strategy choices of farmers. As non-agricultural work can bring more benefits, the labor force exhibited one-way migration from villages to cities, resulting in a lack of the subject of rural revitalization. It is necessary to implement effective measures to highlight the role of PECO in increasing agricultural income for farmers. Finally, based on the above conclusions, policy recommendations with respect to livelihood transformation of farmers and rural sustainable development are discussed.