Toward Farmland Multifunctionality and Sustainability Under the Greater Food Concept: Exploring the Integrated Use of Farmland ( <scp>IUF</scp> ) in Hilly and Mountainous Areas

ABSTRACT Achieving sustainable and ecological utilization of farmland under the Greater Food Concept remains a critical challenge for farmland management in hilly and mountainous regions. This study proposes a theoretical framework to identify the integrated use of farmland (IUF) under the Greater Food Concept, which refers to a single parcel of farmland used for the cultivation of multiple crop and vegetable species through various cropping systems. Then, the study characterizes the spatial pattern of IUF and explores its impacts on the supply–demand relationship and eco‐efficiency by taking Sichuan Province as the case study. Results showed that from 2010 to 2022, the total area of farmland exhibited a decreasing trend with spatial shrinkage, and there were 480.92 thousand ha of IUF in the study area. As the IUF could provide diverse crops for residents, it generated positive impacts on reducing the imbalance relationship between the supply and demand of farmland area under the Greater Food Concept. Also, the eco‐efficiency of IUF in 2022 was 0.7615, which was much higher compared with the traditional utilization of farmland. The findings highlight that the IUF can be viewed as a feasible farming practice to guarantee farmland productivity, food security, and ecological sustainability. The IUF should be on the premise of strict farmland protection. Thus, alternative strategies involving the “quantity‐quality‐ecology” of farmland protection, the multi‐utilization of farmland, and the subsidies for grain crop cultivation should also be recognized by policymakers to achieve sustainable farmland management and food security in hilly and mountainous areas.