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Microbial xylanase has wide application in bioenergy, animal feed, environmental protection, the pulp and paper industry, and agricultural development. In this study, three xylanases from the microbiota of T. fuciformis with its companion strains were identified by metagenomics sequencing. The three enzymes were subjected to cloning and expression in E. coli or P. pastoris, purification, and characterization for their properties. The results showed that AsXyn1, from Annulohypoxylon stygium, among the three enzymes possessed high thermostability at 40 °C and broad pH tolerance in the range of 2.0–10.0, exhibiting its application potential. Furthermore, it was found that post-translational modification (such as glycosylation) of AsXyn1 enzyme modulated its activity, kinetic parameters, and thermostability. These results and findings provided a hint for enzyme modification and design in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to address the complex exchanges between natural resource efficiency and economic growth has become increasingly discussed in worldwide strategies and position papers. Resource depletion, environmental challenges and climate change are just a few topics related to fast industrialization and economic expansion. The question is how information regarding crops, climatic factors, or solutions used in plant treatment are managed. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the scientific environment regarding quantitative indicators and models for the assessment of sustainable agriculture practices. The study is based on a bibliometric analysis made using Web of science database and processing using biblioshiny environment from R package. The most relevant works and influential authors in the field of quantitative modelling for sustainable agriculture were identified and a set of indicators and metrics for evaluating efforts in transitioning towards sustainability were synthetised. Integrating practical data into quantitative models can provide insights into trends, correlations, or even predictions, and the results obtained serve as inputs for decision-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural communities face problems related to depopulation, lack of jobs, weak digital infrastructure, decline of basic public services. LEADER is an initiative to support rural communities, which takes shape in a Local Development Strategy with a role in using local resources in a way that meets the needs identified in the territory. The support of projects for smart villages must be encouraged through local development strategies that pursue various fields: reducing the depopulation of villages, providing quality services, developing local services, promoting digitization. The paper proposes the role that the LEADER intervention belonging to the Strategic Plan, which is one of the instruments of the European Union, can contribute to supporting these rural development projects, which can represent local initiatives and which can benefit from funding sources that will contribute to the identification of strategies and future solutions to promote smart villages. The information used in the work was collected, processed and interpreted starting from data belonging to the Bureau for the Financing of Rural Investments, along with insights from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, converge in a rich tapestry of thought at the paper's conclusion. Here, they weave forward-thinking strategies for the cultivation of smart villages, which are envisioned as vibrant oases capable of elevating the quality of life for rural dwellers. These innovative settlements promise to champion the cause of sustainable rural development, casting a verdant future where community and sustainability flourish side by side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the current situation as regards the circular economy in agriculture in Romania, while also taking into consideration its global impact. We have here a system globally endorsed by the United Nations. It is also important for regional organisations such as the European Union or la Francophonie as the circular economy seems to have a high number of advantages in tackling climate change, creating a sustainable food chain, improving the organic character of the agriculture, etc. From that perspective Romania represents an interesting case study as it is both a European Union member state and a member of the Francophonie. It thus follows both sets of rules and recommendations in order to improve its status. The paper uses the bibliographic method and reviews the main documents that settle this aspect and presents the legal framework for circular economy. The put into practice of the circular economy in the Romanian agriculture would bring a series of advantages (environment, food safety, etc.) while also requiring systemic transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper introduces a novel approach by combining a Backpropagation (BP) neural network with a non-angular and non-radial directional distance function to construct a BPNN-DDF model. This innovative model evaluates, decomposes, and analyzes China's agricultural sector's carbon emission rate across nine key subregions between 2010 and 2021. The key findings of this study are that China's agricultural carbon emission rate is decreasing, primarily due to technological advancements rather than technological efficiency. Subregions with robust economies and stable climates exhibit higher carbon emission efficiency, whereas those with underdeveloped economies, low agricultural technology, and volatile climates show relatively lower efficiency. The Dagum Gini coefficient analysis reveals a widening disparity in carbon emission rates among agricultural subregions, escalating from 0.174 in 2010 to 0.425 in 2021, indicating a growing gap between subregions that demands immediate attention. The kernel density distribution demonstrates an overall upward trend in China's carbon emission efficiency but also highlights an increasing divergence among subregions, particularly between the South China Area, the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, and other regions. Therefore, this paper posits that strategies focusing on technological progress, sustainable agricultural development, regional development initiatives, and addressing inter-subregional imbalances will be crucial pathways for China's future low-carbon agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressurized irrigation network systems constitute an important water-saving approach, but their relatively high costs limit their promotion. Pipe diameter optimization is the most direct way to reduce irrigation costs and can bring significant economic benefits. In recent years, material technology developments have improved networks' impact resistance, resulting in traditional flow velocity constraints no longer applying to current network designs, and appropriately increasing the velocity has become an engineering requirement. In addition, with the update of engineering construction standards, the location of pipe diameter changes is no longer limited to pipe section connections and is allowed to change between standard pipes. Therefore, this paper removes the constraint of the upper limit of flow velocity, defines it as a factor related to the maintenance cost of the network, and establishes a pipe section optimization model. Further, this paper changes the minimum optimization unit from pipe sections to standard pipes and establishes a standard pipe optimization model. The results show that compared with traditional optimization methods, the pipe section optimization model that deletes the upper velocity limit can reduce costs by 5.1%, in which the velocity will not increase infinitely but will be stable within a reasonable range. The standard pipe optimization model can reduce irrigation costs by 12.1%. It is worth noting that the two models were optimized to balance the head loss; their energy costs did not change significantly with the reduction in pipe diameter. In addition, this paper changes the structure of the traditional algorithm and designs a structure of double selection and parallel variation, achieving a faster and more accurate solution than the classic genetic algorithm. Practical Applications: Smart irrigation is an irrigation method based on advanced technology and data analysis that can manage water resources more accurately and efficiently. As an essential part of smart irrigation, pressure networks have the characteristics of saving water resources, improving the water utilization coefficient, and facilitating management and control. Their promotion can promote the development of agriculture. However, high network costs limit the popularity of smart network irrigation. Therefore, this study is based on the latest material technology, cancels the upper limit of flow velocity, and establishes a pipe section optimization model. Furthermore, this paper changes the minimum optimization unit from pipe sections to standard pipes and establishes a standard pipe optimization model. The research results show that the standard pipe optimization model can significantly reduce irrigation costs. This has practical significance for increasing farmers' income and promoting the development of smart pipeline irrigation. In addition, this paper changes the structure of the traditional algorithm and designs a structure of double selection and parallel variation, achieving a faster and more accurate solution than the classic genetic algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the climate-development interface, research for development gained a strong interest in climate-smart agriculture and sustainable forms of intensification. Moreover, the urgency to respond to climate change stimulates a strong and sometimes exclusive focus on mitigation, driven by research-based agricultural practices. In the livestock sector, this materialises in strategies to lower emissions from livestock, which centralises the adoption question: what can we do to stimulate the use of best practices by smallholder farmers? This paper flags the risk that this outlook may overlooksmallholder farmers' capacities to navigate sub-optimal conditions of drought or scarcity. The paper applies an alternative lens for understanding 'agriculture-as-performance' and highlights smallholder cattle owners' agency and resourcefulness. It aims to create a conceptual space to examine how adaptive capacities are grounded in the rhythms of agriculture under suboptimal conditions. Empirically, the study focuses on the cattle-feeding practices of five farming households evolving through seasons and lifetimes in a sedentary agricultural system in Kenya. Our frame identifies diverse affordances, conceptualised as opportunities for actions, emerging and disappearing in the immediate material environment, and we portray cattle feeding as a networked response anchored in practices of giving, sharing, and receiving. We use our insights into the dynamics and performance of entangled socio-technical practices to sketch the contours of an alternative pathway for agriculture for development. We argue in favour of a shift from an exclusive focus on the adoption of predefined optimal solutions to a diagnostic and catalytic approach integrating situated adaptive performances through which farming households respond to action opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identified the intangible aspects (IA) that generate impacts in companies of the agricultural sector in the different stages of the companies life cycle. This paper is based on a systematic review methodology to identify intangibles in the agricultural sector. Studies on the life cycle of companies were analyzed to classify the impact of intangible aspects according to the reality of companies. Identify the intangible aspects that impact the agricultural sector through a review of the scientific literature. How intangible aspects affect each stage of the life cycle of companies in the sector shows that they have a different impact depending on the period in which the company is located. Although, much of the previous literature has suggested that intangible aspects have positive effects on a variety of performance variables, there are no scientific studies that specifically address the importance of these intangible aspects in the life cycle of companies in the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientifically characterizing the intrinsic mechanism of the biased reduction targets affecting agricultural green innovation is of great practical significance for the systematic promotion of the greening transformation of China's agricultural development mode. This paper first constructed a two-sector endogenous economic growth model, theoretically deducing the intrinsic mechanism by which the bias reduction targets were adjusted through the green transformation of agricultural production input factors, which in turn affected the research and development decision-making of the agricultural innovation sector. To the end, this paper treated the strategy of zero growth in synthetic fertilizer use (ZGS) implemented in 2015 as a policy shock and empirically assessed its green innovation effect using the staggered difference-in-differences model. The results showed that ZGS significantly contributed to the increase of green patents in Chinese agriculture. The above conclusion still held after a series of robustness tests, including using terrain complexity as an instrumental variable, estimating the robust staggered difference-in-differences model, eliminating policy interference, altering the estimated model, and replacing the explanatory variables. However, the obvious regional heterogeneity of this effect was reported: the higher the level of marketization and digitalization, the fuller the release of this innovation effect; and that ZGS was more significant in inducing the green innovation activities of enterprises and individuals than of innovation bodies such as universities and research institutions. Finally, this paper also empirically tested the two paths of the theoretical model about the green innovation effect triggered by the biased reduction targets. The study confirmed that the green innovation effect of ZGS mainly resulted from two channels: the expansion of the market scale for agricultural green technologies and the green-oriented allocation of innovation resources. The above conclusions imply that it is necessary to create a sound innovation ecology by strengthening the innovation of green science and technology institutions and combining active government with an effective market. Particularly, a portfolio of policy instruments, including the fiscal, taxation, financial, investment, price policy, and standard system concerning green technology development, should be created to guarantee green technology development. In addition, ZGS can set up differentiated reduction targets considering regional endowment conditions to ensure its smooth progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context and background Contract farming has been promoted as a more 'inclusive business model' in which local smallholder farmers can participate in and benefit from the wider benefits of investments in rural areas such as infrastructure development (power supply, roads, water supply), spillovers from increased incomes and, in some cases, mandatory development of education and health facilities. Contract farming models could have a positive impact on agricultural development and innovation in developing countries. Contract farming creates a system that links smallholder farmers with domestic and international buyers. Contract farming could secure existing local land rights of smallholder farmers by continuing farming on their land, promoting investments by investors and fostering the commercialization of smallholder farmers. Contract farming could enhance local food security. However, contract farming models do not always have a positive impact. Sometimes contractors make a profit without supporting or, sometimes, exploiting contracted smallholders. Goal and Objectives: The primary focus of this paper is to analyze the impact of contract farming on household food security. The paper will address the following research questions: What are the determinant factors that affect participation in contract farming? and What is the impact of contract farming on household food security in Kenya and Madagascar? Methodology: This study used three internationally recognized food security indicators to measure the food security status of the household: household dietary diversity score (HDDS), food consumption score (FCS) and the months of adequate household food provisioning (MAHFP). This study used an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model to estimate the impact of contract farming on household food security. The research is purely empirical research is based on observation and measurement of phenomena, as directly experienced by the researcher Results: AI can be effectively applied by Informal Cross-Border Traders (ICBT) to enhance their businesses and enhance competitiveness. There are several AI applications accessible to ICBT within their operational context. Although the adoption and utilization of AI in Africa are still in their infancy, there is considerable promise for the future. Africans must address the challenges hindering the adoption and utilization of AI, as technology is advancing rapidly, and opportunities await those who embrace it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging climate-development processes jeopardize water supply, especially in the Global South. In the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, disrupted water flows driven by climate change and hydropower development have caused water scarcity, threatening agricultural systems in both upstream and coastal areas. Based on insights from desk reviews, stakeholder workshops and interviews with local informants, this paper argues that while grey (engineered) solutions take precedence in addressing water scarcity, securing water sustainability (water retention) for agricultural resilience demands integrated 'grey–green' (engineered-nature-based) solutions. This paper suggests demands for translating this approach into the water governance framework for the delta's agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anthrax is a zoonotic disease that is still regarded as a public health issue in developing nations. This paper aims to discuss the epidemiology of anthrax in Africa, the current outbreaks in Ghana and Nigeria, clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment of anthrax, challenges associated with the transmission of the disease to both countries and recommendations to reduce this current outbreak and curb future outbreaks in Africa. Online databases (PubMed, and Google Scholar) and Nigeria Ministry of Agriculture report were used to provide detailed information on the paper. On June 1, 2023, two suspected human cases of anthrax were reported, via a letter sent to all stakeholders in the country, with one death in Binduri District, Upper East region of Ghana. The cases were due to the consumption of dead cattle. Four cattle were reported dead at the time, and eleven suspected human cases were identified through contact tracing. Afterward, on July 17, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria announced the first case of anthrax disease in Nigeria. The National Veterinary Research Institute confirmed the case from samples collected from a suspected livestock farm in Niger State, Nigeria. No human case has been reported. Short conclusion: Anthrax poses significant challenges to public health and requires cooperation between nations, especially in regions like Ghana and Nigeria, where animal movement and ecological changes can impact disease transmission. Challenges attributed to the spread of anthrax in both countries were discussed, focusing on the role of government and the general public in addressing this public health concern. Given the endemicity of certain transboundary animal diseases such as anthrax in sub-Saharan Africa, the control of animal movement across intra- and international borders in the region needs to be tightened. Regulations governing the transboundary movement of animals should be based on the World Organisation of Animal Health Terrestrial Code and should be strictly enforced to prevent ongoing and future outbreaks in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we race towards 2030, the target date for achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, it is critical that we examine our approaches to agricultural development research and practice. We should not expect extraordinary results by using the approaches we have always used. Rather, we must innovate. To that end, Advancements in Agricultural Development held a Symposium on Methods of Agricultural Development Research and Practice in October 2023 on the University of Reading campus, co-hosted by the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development. We invited recognized experts from around the world to develop papers focused on innovative methods of agricultural development practice or innovative methods of agricultural development research. We had ten papers presented that were authored by 26 researchers representing 13 universities/research institutes in 6 countries. Sixteen authors attended the symposium to present their papers. A healthy dialogue followed each presentation to help authors refine their papers, resulting in the articles published in this special issue. A summary of each article is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's agricultural economy has been hindered by insufficient accumulation of agricultural capital and credit constraints. It is worth investigating whether China's county financial marketization reform policy can alleviate these constraints and promote high-quality development of the agricultural economy (HQDAE). This paper presents an empirical analysis of the impact of county financial marketization reform on the HQDAE, based on county panel data. The focus is on the mechanism of county urbanization in the above relationship. The results show that county financial marketization has a significant non-linear impact on the HQDAE. Specifically, it has a 'U-shaped' impact on the overall growth of the agricultural economy and an inverted 'N-shaped' impact on the quality improvement of the agricultural economy. Secondly, the relationship between county financial marketization and the HQDAE is influenced by a threshold effect based on the level of county urbanization. As the level of county urbanization increases, the promoting effect of county financial marketization on HQDAE also increases significantly. Additionally, county financial marketization helps to promote county urbanization and accelerate urban-rural integration, which in turn leads to HQDAE. The research in this paper suggests that county-level local governments should promote a differentiated county financial system. In the early stages of financial market-oriented reform, the government should enhance the capacity of financial services in rural areas through tax breaks, policy incentives, and other measures to prevent financial leakage from agriculture. In the later stages of financial marketization reform, the government should strengthen financial supervision to prevent financial resources from being diverted from industry to capital. Moreover, to achieve the HQDAE, it is necessary to promote county financial market-oriented reform and accelerate the construction of county urbanization. This will help break the dual economic structure of urban and rural areas and promote the flow of financial capital, technology, and human capital from county cities to rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extension, and extension workers in particular, drive the agricultural modernization process and the rest of those in associated professions and positions are 'support staff.' Whether you are a lecturer, a professor, a dean, a researcher, an extension director or a head of a non-government organization, if your mission is to develop smallholder agriculture at farmer level, you are supporting the field extension worker to achieve your/farmers' goals. To this extent, it is no surprise that, when no perceptible improvement takes place at the farmer level, the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of extension. Despite its importance, agricultural extension is the most misunderstood of all agricultural disciplines, and the lack of understanding reveals itself in several ways. This paper discusses some of the misconceptions and debatable issues that affect the way extension is supported, the way it is structured, the way it is staffed and the way extension workers are trained and capacitated. The misconceptions also affect the kinds and levels of expectations people have of extension. The misconceptions include: unending definitions of extension, expanding extension concepts, blaming extension for perceived failures in agriculture, undermining the extension discipline, inadequacies in extension teaching and training, markets and the role of extension and structural changes in extension. The origins of some of these debatable issues can be traced to development partners who come with their conceptions of what is needed while others come from development theorists who have not done any extension work in the field. Unfortunately, there are no strong extension professional associations in many African countries that could: raise the profile of extension as a discipline, interrogate some of the agricultural development interventions before implementation and help clear some of the misconceptions. In the absence of extension platforms, extensionists operate as individuals, each struggling the best way they know how to make a difference at the farmer level. There is no way of harnessing the experiences the individuals are going through for purposes of learning, sharing and developing common positions. The purpose of this paper is to promote debate on, and scrutiny of these extension issues which are often presented as facts and absolute truths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new video based multi behavior dataset for cows, CBVD-5, is introduced in this paper. The dataset includes five cow behaviors: standing, lying down, foraging,rumination and drinking. The dataset comprises 107 cows from the entire barn, maintaining an 80% stocking density. Monitoring occurred over 96 h for these 20-month-old cows, considering varying light conditions and nighttime data to ensure standardization and inclusivity.The dataset consists of ranch monitoring footage collected by seven cameras, including 687 video segment samples and 206,100 image samples, covering five daily behaviors of cows. The data collection process entailed the deployment of cameras, hard drives, software, and servers for storage. Data annotation was conducted using the VIA web tool, leveraging the video expertise of pertinent professionals. The annotation coordinates and category labels of each individual cow in the image, as well as the generated configuration file, are also saved in the dataset. With this dataset,we propose a slowfast cow multi behavior recognition model based on video sequences as the baseline evaluation model. The experimental results show that the model can effectively learn corresponding category labels from the behavior type data of the dataset, with an error rate of 21.28% on the test set. In addition to cow behavior recognition, the dataset can also be used for cow target detection, and so on.The CBVD-5 dataset significantly influences dairy cow behavior recognition, advancing research, enriching data resources, standardizing datasets, enhancing dairy cow health and welfare monitoring, and fostering agricultural intelligence development. Additionally, it serves educational and training needs, supporting research and practical applications in related fields. The dataset will be made freely available to researchers world-wide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of smart agriculture, autopilot technology is being used more and more widely in agriculture. Because most of the current global path planning only considers the shortest path, it is difficult to meet the articulated steering tractor operation needs in the orchard environment and address other issues, so this paper proposes a hybrid algorithm of an improved bidirectional search A* algorithm and improved differential evolution genetic algorithm(AGADE). First, the integrated priority function and search method of the traditional A* algorithm are improved by adding weight influence to the integrated priority, and the search method is changed to a bidirectional search. Second, the genetic algorithm fitness function and search strategy are improved; the fitness function is set as the path tree row center offset factor; the smoothing factor and safety coefficient are set; and the search strategy adopts differential evolution for cross mutation. Finally, the shortest path obtained by the improved bidirectional search A* algorithm is used as the initial population of an improved differential evolution genetic algorithm, optimized iteratively, and the optimal path is obtained by adding kinematic constraints through a cubic B-spline curve smoothing path. The convergence of the AGADE hybrid algorithm and GA algorithm on four different maps, path length, and trajectory curve are compared and analyzed through simulation tests. The convergence speed of the AGADE hybrid algorithm on four different complexity maps is improved by 92.8%, 64.5%, 50.0%, and 71.2% respectively. The path length is slightly increased compared with the GA algorithm, but the path trajectory curve is located in the center of the tree row, with fewer turns, and it meets the articulated steering tractor operation needs in the orchard environment, proving that the improved hybrid algorithm is effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the institutional reforms in agricultural commodity markets in India and examines their implications for spatial efficiency in supply chains of the markets. In order to remove inefficiencies in the traditional supply chain, the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act was revised, and a Model APMC Act 2003 was introduced with the provisions for establishing private markets/yards, direct purchase centres, farmers markets for direct sale, contract farming and promotion of public–private partnership in the management and development of agricultural markets. Initiative has been taken to set up a National Agricultural Market as an all-India electronic trading portal to develop a 'common national market' for agricultural commodities. The institutional reforms in agricultural marketing system since the early 1990s appear to have contributed towards improving the spatial efficiency in rice and wheat markets. The finding of an increase in the extent of spatial integration of markets after the reforms and the tendency of the prices to move towards a common stochastic trend lend support to the idea of setting up a 'common national market' for agricultural commodities. Further reforms in the marketing system with better infrastructure facilities would strengthen market integration and improve efficiency in the supply chains. JEL classification: O13, Q13, Q18. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to better develop green agricultural products in Jining and promote high-quality agricultural development, this paper based on SWOT to analyze and conclude that there are five advantages to develop green agricultural products in Jining including natural resources, advantageous agricultural industry, modern agricultural technology, human resources, and green agricultural development model, and there are four disadvantages of green agricultural products on small scale of green agricultural products, low popularization rate of green agricultural products production technology, backward management mode of green agricultural products and relatively backward supervision of green agricultural products, and there are three opportunities; the need of the new era, policy guidance and support, and the transformation of consumption concept, and it is threatened by the slowdown of investment in agriculture, the lack of competitiveness of green agricultural products, and the uncertainty of international trade. Strategic suggestions were put forward; in order to develop well green agricultural products in Jining, it was necessary to enlarge and strengthen the superior and high-quality agricultural products industry, improve the quality of agricultural products of small and medium-sized farmers, and continuously improve the certification of "pollution-free, green and organic" products, attach importance to the application and implementation of advanced cultivation technologies and expand effective investment in agriculture, and effectively solve the quality problems in the development of green agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become a new trend for the future development of Chinese agriculture to accelerate the transformation from increasing production to improving quality and realizing green growth. This paper uses the sequential DEA to measure the agricultural green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 306 Chinese cities from 1996 to 2017, then tests its convergence. The results show that the average growth rate of Chinese agricultural GTFP is 0.58%; the main driving force coming from technical progress. The convergence of agricultural GTFP has dual characteristics of stages and regions, and the significant σ convergence only exists in the central region during 1996–2003. There is significant β convergence at the national level, in the eastern and central regions, and neither convergence nor divergence in the western region. However, during 2004–2017, only the eastern region had β convergence. Finally, the conditional convergence speed is higher than the absolute convergence, and the eastern region is higher than the central. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture has been the backbone of African economies, and agricultural development has the potential to drive overall economic growth. Considering the importance of agriculture in Africa, foreign aid donors have supported the sector to help push economic growth and reduce poverty. Studies indicate governance quality of a recipient country is an important factor for agricultural aid. Building upon this, the paper explores how bilateral donors provided agricultural aid to two African countries that have different institutional quality, Ghana and Uganda. The analysis of agricultural aid in those two countries was carried out with bilateral aidprofile data from 2011 to 2022. Despite the similar economic importance of agriculture in Ghana and Uganda, donors to Ghana invested the largest amount in agriculture among aid sectors, followed by health. On the other hand, donors to Uganda supported mainly health-relevant sectors with agriculture being ranked only fifth. Donors in both countries implemented agricultural aid mostly as project types. Yet, donors disbursed their aid funds through different aid channels. Donors to Ghana disbursed 48% of agricultural aid funds through the public sector institutions channel (or the state channel). By contrast, donors to Uganda disbursed only 24% of agricultural aid funds through the state channel, essentially bypassing Ugandan public agencies. They instead provided 76% of agricultural aid through the non-state channels such as non-governmental organizations, multilateral organizations, and private entities. Similar donor preferences of the aid disbursement channels were observed with total aid across all aid sectors. Overall, the donor aid profiles suggested donors provided Ghana with more flexible agricultural aid, while in Uganda they controlled agricultural aid more tightly. There could exist multiple underlying reasons for this, but the different level of institutional quality is highly likely one of the possible reasons. For foreign aid, governance quality is an important issue equally to both donors and recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable agricultural progress is one of the world's greatest challenges in the twenty-first century as the global population is estimated to rise to over nine billion by 2050. Over the years, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the African Union (AU) have sought prosperous African Policies based on sustainable agriculture and inclusive growth. Additionally, the AU has adopted the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) policy framework. Given the growing need for innovative policies and studies to reduce the negative environmental effects of agricultural development in Africa, this paper investigates the significance of green finance and digital technologies on green agricultural growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2003 to 2018. Analysis of panel co-integration estimates indicates all variables are integrated. Using the panel-corrected standard errors estimator for long-run equilibrium co-integration assessment, the outcomes indicate mitigated green finance (MGF), internet and mobile phone use (IMU), as well as sustainable energy utilization (RE), individually and collectively exert a positive effect on agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (AVA). Additionally, panel causality estimates indicate (i) a bi-directional causality between MGF and AVA. (ii) A uni-directional causality running from IMU towards AVA without any rebound effect. For policy insights, the AU could urge member states to implement macro-policies to increase agricultural green credit to sustain food production and employment generation. Similarly, the FAO and AU could provide technical support in digital agricultural research and value chains towards ensuring sustainable agriculture development in SSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, rural conditions are in states of change. They are often highly vulnerable to climate and environmental change, extreme weather events, conflict, socio-economic changes, inequalities, and demographic changes. These changes are putting stress on rural areas, which rely upon agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods and are often the foundation of national economies. Communication for development (C4D) has played an important role in addressing these challenges. Its thinking is broadly consistent with rural development goals—indeed, the roots of C4D come in part from rural development and agricultural extension. Communication for development (C4D) was defined by the World Congress on Communication for Development as "...a social process based on dialogue using a broad range of tools and methods. It also seeks change at different levels, including listening, building trust, sharing knowledge and skills, building policies, debating, and learning for sustained and meaningful change. It is not public relations or corporate communications". However, after decades of action to address these interrelated rural development challenges, much remains to be done. This paper critically considers the following: What does inclusive rural development mean now, in light of environmental change, and how does this affect the conceptualisation and practice of C4D? This was done by using three countries as case studies: Malawi, Ukraine, and the Philippines. Each of these countries represented contrasting challenges and opportunities for rural development and environmental change, with lessons from their experiences shedding insight into the communication for development thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural development is one of the most essential needs worldwide. In Norway, the primary foundation of grain production is based on geological and biological features. Existing research is limited to regional-scale yield predictions using artificial intelligence (AI) models, which provide a holistic overview of crop growth. In this paper, the authors propose detecting several field-scale crop types and use this analysis to predict yield production early in the growing season. In this study, the authors utilise a multi-temporal satellite image, meteorological, geographical, and grain production data corpus. The authors extract relevant vegetation indices from satellite images. Furthermore, the authors use field-area-specific features to build a field-based crop type classification model. The proposed model, consisting of a time-distributed network and a gated recurrent unit, can efficiently classify crop types with an accuracy of 70%. In addition, the authors justified that the attention-based multiple-instance learning models could learn semi-labelled agricultural data, and thus, allow realistic early in-season predictions for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetland reclamation was an intrinsic part of nineteenth-century global agricultural transformations. In Swedish research, reclamation has mainly been situated in larger general processes of population rise, commercialization and societal/technological development. The intersection of reclamation, physical environments and local economies has seldom been studied in detail. This paper conducts a local analysis of nineteenth-century wetland reclamation in two parishes in Sweden, Knätte and Mörlunda, through combining a study of specific reclamation processes with an analysis of local agrarian-economic development. The results show that these processes varied depending on specific historical-geographical circumstances. In Knätte, reclamation was not primarily related to population rise, but to increasing commercialization during the period. The case in Mörlunda instead shows how reclamation was first a response to increasing population but later developed into a project of agricultural market adaptation. In both cases, the physical environment led to varying degrees of geographic constraint in the process. In combination, these results point to the importance of detailed case studies in nuancing our understanding of nineteenth-century wetland reclamation both in Sweden and internationally. • Local factors are important for nuancing general trends in wetland reclamation. • In Sweden, population rise and commercialization are considered primary drivers. • The active drivers vary between the compared cases, depending on context. • Reclamation was primarily a part of local agrarian developments. • Wider relations of the local economy, for example through trade, also impacted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable agricultural economic development is the core task for achieving the objective of rural revitalization strategy in China, which cannot be separated from the support and guidance of fiscal policy, and agricultural industry integration is a key path for the fiscal promotion of sustainable agricultural economic development. This paper systematically examines the interaction mechanism between fiscal agricultural expenditures and sustainable agricultural economic development by using 31 provincial panel data in China from 2008 to 2020 and adopting a two-way fixed effect model, a panel quantile model, and a mediating effect model, respectively. The results show that the impact of fiscal agricultural expenditures on sustainable agricultural economic development is significantly positive, and appears a dynamic increasing trend with the agricultural development stage upgrading. Moreover, heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of fiscal agricultural expenditures is more obvious for the samples in the central region and with a high share of primary industry. Further, a mediating effect test finds that agricultural industry integration plays a mediating mechanism between fiscal agricultural expenditures and sustainable agricultural economic development. Therefore, this paper proposes constructing a long-term investment mechanism for fiscal agricultural expenditures, formulating differentiated fiscal support policies for agriculture, and prioritizing support for agricultural industry integration, which provides theoretical support and policy inspiration for promoting sustainable agricultural economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper was to assess the impact of climate changes on agricultural development and food security in Ukraine and Slovakia using statistical data from Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, State Statistics Service of Ukraine, Eurostat, Food and Agriculture Organization and other sources. The comparison method was used to evaluate changes in agricultural development indicators, as well as climate changes in 1998-2021 in Ukraine and Slovakia. The main indicators of agricultural development used in the research were agricultural raw materials exports(%), agricultural raw materials imports (%), agriculture value added (% of GDP), agriculture value added (annual % growth), agriculture value added (current US$), cereal production (metric tons), cereal yield (kg per hectare), crop production index, food production index. Correlation and regression equations were used to establish the relationship between climatic factors and agricultural development indicators. The multiple correlations between air temperature and indicators of agricultural development was r=0.75 for Ukraine, r=0.69 for Slovakia. Using neuromodeling tools, the indicators of cereal production volumes and cereals yields in Ukraine and Slovakia in 2024-2033 were predicted. Tables were used to summarize the results. In conclusion, it should be noted that climatic conditions should be analyzed in each sector of crop production, and measures should be taken to adapt technologies for the gradual expansion of obligations for the production and export of agricultural products to world markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling coordination of agricultural technology innovation with food security is of great significance for high-quality agricultural development. By identifying the coupling coordination relationship between the two systems and the influencing factors, this paper aims to promote the virtuous cycle of coordinated development between regional agriculture and technology, as well as accelerate the realisation of high-quality development of Chinese agriculture. Therefore, this paper explores the spatial and temporal coupling characteristics of the two using the entropy value method, coupling coordination degree model, and exploratory spatial data analysis, and it screens for important influencing factors using the grey correlation model. The main results show that ① the coupling coordination relationship between agricultural technology innovation and food security in China is at a dissonant stage, but the value of the coupling coordination degree increases from 0.2076 to 0.3437 during the period of study, and the level of coordination gradually improves. ② The degree of coupling coordination in the provincial space exhibits a distribution pattern of "high in the east and low in the west". The areas of high value are primarily situated in the provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, and other provinces along the southeastern coast of China, while the areas of low value are mainly located in the provinces of Qinghai, Ningxia, and other provinces in inland northwest China. ③ The Moran's index of provincial coupling coordination is greater than 0, showing a certain positive correlation, and there is a significant pattern of spatial aggregation. ④ The correlation coefficients between the influencing factors and the degree of coupling coordination are all greater than 0.35, indicating a moderate or high correlation, but the significance of technological support capacity and food distribution security increased over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the impact of urbanization on agricultural development in shrinking areas is important for maintaining food security and promoted agricultural development in China. Based on the measurement results of the shrinking cities in the three provinces of Northeast China, this paper selects 15 shrinking cities as the research object, and constructs a multi-dimensional index system to explore the impact of the urbanization level of the shrinking areas on the agricultural development in the region since 2007–2019, analyzes the influencing factors and their differences by using the geographically-weighted regression model and Geodetector, and proposes a targeted regulation strategy. The results show that: 1) overall, there is a negative correlation between the urbanization level and the agricultural development level in the contracted areas of the three northeastern provinces. The urbanization level in these areas has a certain negative impact on the overall level of agricultural development; 2) regarding the time dimension, the impact of urbanization level on the agricultural development level in the contracted areas of the three northeastern provinces gradually increases over time; 3) regarding the spatial pattern, the overall impact of shrinking urbanization levels in the three provinces of Northeast China on the agricultural development shows a significant distribution pattern of high in the east and low in the west; 4) the total population and natural population growth rate at the end of the year were the main factors influencing a certain level of urbanization on agricultural development in the shrinking cities while population density and the urban fixed asset investment rate were the secondary factors; and 5) the main reasons why the level of agricultural development in different cities was affected by the level of urbanization were different. However, they can be categorized into areas of population loss and spatial construction, which can be further divided into area of population loss in the northeast, areas of negative population growth in the west, and areas of urban spatial change in the south. According to the causes of the impact, this paper adopted targeted regulation strategies and formulated relevant policies and solutions that cater to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural productive services are fundamental in transforming the paradigm of agricultural development and exert a significant impact on farmers' behavior in managing their arable land. This paper employs the slack-based measure of the super-efficiency model, known as the Super-SBM model, incorporating unexpected output to gauge the eco-efficiency of cultivated land use (ECLU). Utilizing panel data from Hunan Province spanning the years 2007 to 2020, this study unveils the following key findings: (1) Across various quantile levels, agricultural productive services exhibit a substantial capacity to enhance ECLU, with coefficients ranging from 0.070 to 0.156. (2) The impact of agricultural productive services on ECLU is constrained by both farmers' income levels and the scale of cultivated land, revealing a dual threshold effect. As income levels rise, the corresponding coefficient increases progressively, from 0.0771 to 0.1147, and ultimately to 0.1571. Similarly, with the expansion of cultivated land, the coefficient increases from 0.1152 to 0.1443, and ultimately peaks at 0.1694. (3) The enhancement of ECLU through agricultural productive services is achieved by reducing the input of environmental factors and mitigating undesirable outputs. (4) Agricultural productive services indirectly facilitate labor transfer, accounting for 10.8% of the overall effect. Consequently, it is imperative to continually enhance the agricultural socialized service system, bolster financial support, and implement policies that foster the development of agricultural productive services to realize sustainable cultivated land utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new business model, E-commerce brings new changes to the global economy and society. So, can E-commerce development policies promote high-quality agricultural development? This article regards the pilot construction of national e-commerce demonstration cities as a quasi-natural experiment for the development of e-commerce. Based on the E-commerce pilot and economic and social development data of national prefecture-level cities from 2004 to 2018, the agricultural total factor productivity calculated by the Fare-Primont index method is used as the characterization of the quality of urban agricultural development, and an empirical model is constructed under the progressive Differences-in-Differences framework. This paper empirically tests the overall impact of E-commerce development on the high-quality development of agriculture and its sources, analyzes the heterogeneity and dynamics of the impact, and investigates the possible impact mechanism. The result shows that from the overall impact and its sources, the development of E-commerce in cities has a positive impact on the high-quality development of agriculture, and the impact is mainly due to its role in promoting technological innovation and economies of scale. From the perspective of heterogeneity, the larger the population size of a city, the more significant the level of e-conomic development or Internet development. From the perspective of the dynamic impact, the positive impact of e-commerce development becomes more significant over time. With the passage of time, the impact of E-commerce on high-quality agricultural development policies shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence for the rationality and effectiveness of policies and measures related to E-commerce to promote the high-quality development of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governance system of collective rangelands in southern Tunisia (i.e., tribal grazing lands covering 1.5 million ha) entails several governmental and non-governmental actors. Thus, enabling collaboration between the different decision-making centers within this system becomes essential to guarantee its functioning. Following the implementation of the Program of Agro-pastoral Development and Promotion of Local Initiatives in South-eastern Tunisia (French acronym PRODESUD 2003-2020) by the Tunisian government and the International Fund for Agriculture Development, a pilot land-use scheme has been run to experiment with a set of new rangeland management rules alongside an alternative polycentric design. While the institutional change induced by such a policy experiment seems to be sufficiently debated by scholarship, little interest has been devoted to exploring the effectiveness of its simultaneous organizational prescriptions. Among these prescriptions are introducing new community-based organizations and promoting new rangeland management contracts to ensure a sustainable harvest of pastoral resources. Goal and Objectives: The present paper aims to assess the effectiveness of this pilot organizational design around the concept of polycentric governance. Methodology: To do so, we perform a two-step diagnostic research. We apply first to the analytic tool of Networks of Adjacent Action Situations (NAAS; McGinnis, 2011) to visualize the different subcomponents of the governance system and better understand the mandated patterns of interaction between them. Next, we refer to the output and process performance criteria suggested by Koontz et al (2019) to assess the performance of polycentric design embedded within the under-consideration pilot scheme. Results: Overall, results highlight numerous intersections between the pilot organizational content and requirements of efficacy and coherence. However, besides pointing out several duplications of function between the new community-based organizations created by PRODESUD and the preexistent ones, our investigation stresses several concerns about the resilience of the suggested polycentric version, which seems to confirm the need for promoting an effective autonomy of local pastoral communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of green control technologies in agriculture is an important approach to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products, address agricultural pollution from its source, and promote increased productivity and income in agriculture, thereby driving high-quality agricultural development. This paper is based on production and operation data from 2,155 tea farmers in 16 major tea-producing provinces in China. Using an endogenous transformation model from the perspective of the value chain, it empirically analyzes the impact of adopting green control technologies on tea farmers' income and draws three conclusions. First, the adoption of green control technologies significantly promotes income growth for tea farmers. Second, the awareness of tea farmers regarding pesticide residue limits and the exchange of pest control techniques among tea farmers significantly enhance the adoption of green control technologies. Third, the income effects of adopting green control technologies differ across different stages of the value chain, with the income growth in the cultivation stage being lower than that in the processing and marketing stages. Finally, based on the analysis and relevant research by scholars, four targeted suggestions are proposed: (1) Increase efforts to promote the adoption of green control technologies and enhance farmers' willingness to adopt them. (2) Promote education and training on green control technologies for tea farmers. (3) Ensure fair distribution of benefits along the agricultural value chain. (4) Strengthen the promotion of green control technologies at the market and consumer end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high groundwater salinity of crystalline aquifers in semiarid areas is generally attributed to the dissolution and leaching of meteoric salts that have been progressively evapoconcentrated in the different hydrological compartments under dry climate conditions. A numerical model, simulating water and salt balances, was developed from a case study in Northeast Brazil to: (1) test the validity of this hypothesis, through the quantification of all relevant water cycle processes in the studied watershed, and (2) demonstrate how changes in land cover can impact groundwater salinity. Computations showed that the aridity and the high evapo(transpi)ration rates from the unsaturated zone and/or surface water (ponds, reservoirs) cannot lead to the observed aquifer salinization levels, but only to concentrations of a few tens or hundreds of mg L–1 (Cl–). The only process that can induce a high groundwater salinity, with chloride concentrations up to several g L–1, is the transpiration of groundwater by the deep roots of the vegetation, with a rate reaching 100% of the annual recharge. In this case study, the vegetation involved is the native Caatinga forest. Simulations of the long-term dynamics of groundwater salinity indicate that aquifer areas with high salinity are relicts of the Caatinga pre-colonization period during which subterranean endorheic conditions were prevailing. Following the Caatinga deforestation linked to colonial agricultural development, aquifer recharge increased and endorheism ceased. Consequently, these aquifers may have now been experiencing a desalination process for about three centuries. The desalination spatial variability drivers are explained in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most active field in China's economic development, the digital economy is crucial to the high-quality development of enterprises. Taking Chinese-listed agricultural enterprises as research samples, this paper discusses the effect of the digital economy on promoting the high-quality development of agricultural enterprises and the mechanism behind it from the perspective of total factor productivity of enterprises. The study found that the digital economy significantly promoted the improvement of total factor productivity of agricultural enterprises and enabled the high-quality development of agricultural enterprises, and this conclusion remained valid after controlling for endogeneity and conducting robustness tests. In terms of action mechanisms, the digital economy is conducive to promoting green innovation and promoting the high-quality development of agricultural enterprises; However, entrepreneurial activity has a masking effect. Further analysis shows that the digital economy plays a more significant role in promoting non-resource-intensive agricultural enterprises located in northern China. At the same time, the higher the industrial structure and financial development level of the region, the more positive impact the digital economy can play. This study verifies the impact mechanism of the digital economy on the high-quality development of agricultural enterprises and provides enlightenment for China's the digital economy policy-making and enterprises' the high-quality development strategy decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring that marginalized populations become empowered in agriculture is vital to the success of global agricultural development goals. However, these populations have reported lacking access, power, and voice. Perhaps one strategy researchers can use to address this issue is through visual Q methodology. In this methodological paper, I argue that by combining the tenets of Q and visual methodologies, researchers can offer empirically grounded findings that evoke powerful, rich insight into the perspectives of marginalized populations in agriculture who may lack the communication skills to articulate their perspectives through words. To this point, however, the approach has lacked clear guidance, which has led to diminished quality in the published literature on visual Q methodology. In response, I offer six principles to guide visual Q methodological studies moving forward: (a) relationship-building with participants, (b) participant training, (c) concourse development, (d) Q set sampling, (e) data collection, and (f) data analysis and interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of ill information with or without the intention of deceiving or causing harm has negatively impacted agricultural development both in social and digital spaces. This has led to a lack of trust in adopting new technologies and practices, which has hindered the process of facilitating agricultural development. Although the study of agri-food misinformation is still in its early stages, this paper draws on a scoping review of existing literature and lessons learned from other fields, such as political science and public health, which have extensive experience in combating misinformation in social settings. The article explores how Farmer Field Schools (FFS), a popular participatory and community-based approach, can incorporate media literacy education and how a local agricultural information hub, platform approach and a relatively new approach called technology stewardship in agricultural extension can help those working in the agri-food industry combat misinformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field environmental sensing can acquire real-time environmental information, which will be applied to field operation, through the fusion of multiple sensors. Multi-sensor fusion refers to the fusion of information obtained from multiple sensors using more advanced data processing methods. The main objective of applying this technology in field environment perception is to acquire real-time environmental information, making agricultural mechanical devices operate better in complex farmland environment with stronger sensing ability and operational accuracy. In this paper, the characteristics of sensors are studied to clarify the advantages and existing problems of each type of sensors and point out that multiple sensors can be introduced to compensate for the information loss. Secondly, the mainstream information fusion types at present are outlined. The characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of different fusion methods are analyzed. The important studies and applications related to multi-sensor information fusion technology published at home and abroad are listed. Eventually, the existing problems in the field environment sensing at present are summarized and the prospect for future of sensors precise sensing, multi-dimensional fusion strategies, discrepancies in sensor fusion and agricultural information processing are proposed in hope of providing reference for the deeper development of smart agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time acquisition of location information for agricultural robotic systems is a prerequisite for achieving high-precision intelligent navigation. This paper proposes a data filtering and combined positioning method, and establishes an active screening model. The dynamic and static positioning drift points of the carrier are eliminated or replaced, reducing the complexity of the original Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) output data in the positioning system. Compared with the traditional Kalman filter combined positioning method, the proposed active filtering–Kalman filter algorithm can reduce the maximum distance deviation of the carrier along a straight line from 0.145 m to 0.055 m and along a curve from 0.184 m to 0.0640 m. This study focuses on agricultural robot positioning technology, which has an important influence on the development of smart agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating drones in Indian agriculture presents a transformative potential, ushering in a new era of sustainable farming practices. In India, various incidents tell a story of how pesticides, seeds, and many more applications, once deemed a boon for agricultural progress, have gradually unfolded into a complex web of ecological and health challenges. Presently, the case of drones for spraying purposes in agriculture brings forth compiling advantages. These include enhanced precision in results, alleviation of the diverse adverse effects linked with manual spraying methods, operational feasibility in inclement weather conditions, utility in cultivating tall-standing crops and addressing the complexities of manual spraying for crops such as paddy and sugarcane. This paper explores the role of drones in promoting spraying applications in Indian agriculture. The study addresses two research questions: how can the utilisation of drones for spraying applications contribute to the sustainability of Indian agriculture, and how can drone-assisted spraying applications contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indian agriculture? To accomplish this, a responsible innovation approach is adopted as a theoretical framework to explore the dimensions of innovations in drone mounted spraying in Indian agriculture, juxtaposed by erratic weather conditions and knitted by diverse values and norms. The snowball sampling technique was employed to identify the interviewees and collect qualitative data. For this, in-depth interviews were conducted in person or by using Zoom. The findings suggest that efficiency, capability, effectiveness, gender equality, trust, and accuracy are certain values embedded in drone technology that assist in achieving the SDGs in Indian agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balancing ecological preservation with sustainable agricultural practices is a global issue. Erhai Lake has felt this challenge keenly. To address it, in 2022, a Science and Technology Backyards (STBs) project was launched in Gusheng Village. The goal of this is to care for the environment while ensuring that farms and farmers can thrive sustainably. The uniqueness of the Erhai STB arises from its interdisciplinary integration, encompassing fields such as ecology, agronomy and social science, resulting in specifically-designed solutions for the Erhai context. While this model aligns with broader STB paradigms, its distinctive edge lies in technological innovation and robust support mechanisms for local agricultural stakeholders. This paper describes the methodology and outcomes of the STB initiative, highlighting its pivotal role in spearheading sustainable transition in Erhai. Preliminary findings underscore the potential of the STB model as an efficacious tool for harmonizing environmental conservation and agricultural practices, that are both financially and environmentally sustainable, rendering it a potential model for comparable regions in China and other counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has initiated a green transformation plan in 2015, which was soon applied to agriculture, known as the agriculture green development (AGD) initiative, with the goals of achieving food security, high resource use efficiency, and an ecofriendly environment. To assess the agricultural transformation from 1997 to 2020, this paper proposes a national-scale indicator system consisting three dimensions (socioeconomic, food production and eco-environmental) and ten sub-dimensions to quantify the AGD score. This study showed that AGD score in China was at a moderate level during 1997-2010, scoring 40 out of 100. During this stage, decreased scores in the sub-dimensions of resource consumption, environmental quality, and environmental cost have offset the improvement in the socioeconomic dimension, resulting in fluctuated scores around 40. In the second stage (2011-2020), China's AGD score improved but still at moderate level, scoring an average of 46.3, with each dimension increasing by 5.3%-25.0%. These results indicate that China has made progress in the agricultural transformation, transitioning from conceptualization to actions through the implementation of various policies and projects. However, the study emphasizes the need for more effort to address the insufficient and unbalanced development, along with the growing eco-environmental challenges, especially the trade-offs among dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a powerful statistical method, meta-analysis has been applied increasingly in agricultural science with remarkable progress. However, meta-analysis research reports in the agricultural discipline still need to be systematically combed. Scientometrics is often used to quantitatively analyze research on certain themes. In this study, the literature from a 30-year period (1992–2021) was retrieved based on the Web of Science database, and a quantitative analysis was performed using the VOSviewer and CiteSpace visual analysis software packages. The objective of this study was to investigate the current application of meta-analysis in agricultural sciences, the latest research hotspots, and trends, and to identify influential authors, research institutions, countries, articles, and journal sources. Over the past 30 years, the volume of the meta-analysis literature in agriculture has increased rapidly. We identified the top three authors (Sauvant D, Kebreab E, and Huhtanen P), the top three contributing organizations (Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Institute for Agricultural Research, and Northwest A&F University), and top three productive countries (the USA, China, and France). Keyword cluster analysis shows that the meta-analysis research in agricultural sciences falls into four categories: climate change, crop yield, soil, and animal husbandry. Jeffrey (2011) is the most influential and cited research paper, with the highest utilization rate for the Journal of Dairy Science. This paper objectively evaluates the development of meta-analysis in the agricultural sciences using bibliometrics analysis, grasps the development frontier of agricultural research, and provides insights into the future of related research in the agricultural sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term and stable development of agriculture is the key to China's economic development and social stability. Agricultural total factor productivity and the digital economy have become new kinetic energy and new engines driving agricultural high-quality development. It is of great significance to verify whether there are significant spatial and threshold effects in the process of high-quality development of agriculture and to explore the intrinsic relationship between high-quality development of agriculture and agricultural total factor productivity and digital economy. This paper takes 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020 as the research object. The coefficient of variation method is used to estimate the comprehensive evaluation index of agricultural high-quality development and digital economy. And Dea-Malmquist index method is used to estimate agricultural total factor productivity. On this basis, the spatial Durbin model and threshold regression model are constructed to explore the spatial and threshold effects of agricultural total factor productivity, digital economy and other factors and high-quality agricultural development. The conclusion is as follows: the high-quality development of agriculture has significant spatial autocorrelation. Agricultural total factor productivity and digital economy have significant direct effect and indirect spillover effect on the high-quality development of agriculture. Agricultural total factor productivity has stage differences in each range of digital economy level, but its influence on agricultural high-quality development shows a positive state. Based on this, the paper puts forward some countermeasures to promote the high-quality development of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a mega-project of primarily infrastructure-related loans and investments in Pakistan. Recently, the official discourse has increasingly shifted to the agricultural sector. For the region of Gilgit-Baltistan bordering China, academic and policy debates highlight the potential boost of fruit exports to China as the most promising opportunity to be leveraged through the CPEC. This paper scrutinizes these promises from a locally grounded perspective, investigating potential benefits and risks for local farmers. To make sense of the complex interplay between external and local actors, interests, markets and (infra)structures, the paper follows an assemblage-inspired approach to map out local trajectories. Contrary to the CPEC narrative, agricultural exports from Gilgit-Baltistan recently came to a halt, due to increasing trade barriers and seemingly competing agricultural developments in neighboring Xinjiang, China. Moreover, the economically most promising local crop for export to China, namely cherries, does not seem too promising for the majority of small farmers. There are other commodities with export potential, but overall, prospects appear to be limited. There is a need for a deeper engagement with the inherent complexities of CPEC trajectories, particularly in regards to local farming contexts in Pakistan and relevant developments in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studied the impact of high-speed railway linesonagricultural outputin the regions along their routes. It also investigated the heterogeneity of this impactbased on the terrain characteristics. The results of empirical testsusing county-level data show that ahigh-speed railway line can bring higher agricultural "dividends" to counties along the line. Notably, low altitude areas and regionswith gentle terrain exhibit a more pronounced promotional effect on local agricultural output. High-speed railways mainly promote agricultural output by promoting the mechanization of agriculture in counties along the route, thus reinvigorating the agricultural population and the development of specialty agriculture. Ourfindingsprovide quasi-microscopic evidence of the potential benefits of transportation infrastructure construction to break down geographical barriers and facilitate production factor flow, and providesa theoretical basis for the economic spillover effects of high-speed railway construction. Plain Language Summary: This paper studied the impact of high-speed railway lines on agricultural output in the regions along their routes. It also investigated the heterogeneity of this impact based on the terrain characteristics. The results of empirical tests using county-level data show that a high-speed railway line can bring higher agricultural "dividends" to counties along the line. Notably, low altitude areas and regions with gentle terrain exhibit a more pronounced promotional effect on local agricultural output. High-speed railways mainly promote agricultural output by promoting the mechanization of agriculture in counties along the route, thus reinvigorating the agricultural population and the development of specialty agriculture. Our findings provide quasi-microscopic evidence of the potential benefits of transportation infrastructure construction to break down geographical barriers and facilitate production factor flow, and provides a theoretical basis for the economic spillover effects of high-speed railway construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studied the performance audit regarding the management of the agricultural sector subsidy funds in order to determine to what extent the actions undertaken boosted the agricultural development process in the Republic of Moldova. The analysis revealed that the activity of subsidizing agriculture is primarily aimed at increasing competitiveness and the sustainable development of the agri-food sector. This situation leads to the modernization of the agri-food chain, facilitating access to capital markets for agricultural producers, adapting to climate changes and mitigating their effects on agricultural production, increasing rural employment opportunities, developing agricultural businesses, etc. The data on the subsidy activity were taken from the database of the Agency for Intervention and Payments for Agriculture from the Republic of Moldova, which is responsible for managing the subsidy fund. The results of the study highlight a fairly efficient management of financial means for subsidizing the national agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers' homesteads reform is an important measure to improve land use efficiency and achieve high-quality development of villages. And village planning under the background of territorial and spatial planning is one of the important ways to implement this measure. In Harbin, the large-scale agricultural development is an obvious characteristic of its rural areas. With the rapid agricultural modernization and industrialization of Harbin, the rural population is constantly migrating with a large amount of rural land is left idle, and the phenomenon of "hollow village" in rural areas gets increasingly serious. Therefore, it is urgent to carry out the reform of the homestead system to integrate resources and promote the land use efficiency. Responding to the characteristic of rural development in Harbin, this paper suggests to implement the homestead reform through village planning. Balancing the benefits of the country, the collectives, and farmers, it proposes to restrict the size of homestead through the control method with two planning lines, i.e., the homestead control line of the village and the single-family homestead control line. What's more, the paper also suggests to replan the saved land and explore multiple ways of land use in large-scale agricultural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]