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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 problem of high grain production costs, which is not conducive to sustainable agricultural development and food security, is highlighted in the context of China's "large country and small household farmers". Reducing the grain production costs through factor allocation and organizational drive has become particularly important. Based on 768-grain peasant households in China, this paper uses OLS regression and robust regression to examine the effects of agricultural factor inputs and cooperatives on grain production costs. It analyzes the synergistic and substitution effects between farmers' factor inputs and cooperatives in grain production. It was found that: (1) in farmers' grain production, reductions in the grain production costs can be realized by expanding the area under cultivation, improving the use of agricultural machinery, and increasing technological inputs; (2) a reduction in the grain production costs can also be realized through cooperatives driving farmers into grain production; (3) cooperatives can provide farmers with various types of agricultural production services in grain production and cooperative-driven substitution effects between the agricultural factor inputs of farm households. The findings of this paper contribute to the enrichment of research in the field of agricultural production and are important for enhancing agricultural sustainability and reducing grain production costs. [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 use of agricultural films, pesticides, and fertilizers has increased in China, leading to the degradation of the agricultural ecological environment. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2021, this paper takes agricultural film usage as the threshold variable to study the impact of pesticide and fertilizer usage on agricultural development. The research results show that a single threshold effect of agricultural film usage is significant. When agricultural film usage is both a core and threshold variable, that is lower than the threshold value, every 1% increase in agricultural film usage will reduce agricultural output value by 0.9862%, and the impact is significant. When agricultural film usage crosses the threshold value, every 1% increase in agricultural film usage will increase agricultural output value by 1.1843%, and the impact is significant. When pesticide usage is the core variable, regardless of whether agricultural film usage is below or above the threshold, pesticide usage promotes agricultural development. Its impact is significant. When fertilizer input is a core variable, regardless of whether agricultural film usage is below or above the threshold, the use of fertilizers hinders agricultural development. The impact of fertilizer input on agricultural development is significant. Through empirical testing, this paper explores the deep relationship between agricultural film usage, pesticide usage and fertilizer input on agricultural development. These can effectively allocate agricultural production factors, transform the mode of agricultural economic growth, achieve the coordinated development of the ecological environment and agricultural economy and provide data support for the formulation of agricultural green development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the market economy, agricultural trade has become more and more significant for the development of the agricultural economy, which has triggered people's further thinking and exploration on the impact of agricultural trade on agricultural carbon emissions. This paper takes the measurement of trade implied carbon as the carbon dioxide emission index under the impact of agricultural trade and analyzes the impact of trade implied carbon and implied carbon balance on carbon emission. Taking the impact of Sino-US agricultural trade as an empirical background, this paper measures the impact of environmental changes in agricultural trade opening on China's agricultural development and its carbon emissions, so as to predict changes in China's regional agricultural carbon emissions performance. After calculation, it is found that the scale of China's exports has decreased by 0.089%, which is lower than the decline of 0.361% in the United States. The trade conflict has a significant impact on China's import and export structure. Under the scenario of mutual tariffs on agricultural products, China's exports to the United States are expected to decrease by 6.28%, while China's imports from the United States decreased by 13.02%. The Sino-US agricultural trade dispute will reduce China's carbon emissions by 0.013% and the United States' carbon emissions by 0.024%, which is related to the negative impact on the economy. Improving the performance of agricultural carbon emissions is not only the need for the green and sustainable development of the agricultural economy but also conducive to improving the international competitiveness of agricultural products. [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]

Nowadays, frequent climate extremes exert a serious impact on agricultural production and social development, which is seldom studied in the previous literature. Production–Living–Ecological (PLE) is a useful analysis framework, and China is a suitable model for such study. This paper takes the Huai River Eco-Economic Belt (HREB), an important agricultural zone in China, to study the relationship among agricultural production (P), society (L), and climate change (E), which is referred to as APLE. This paper constructs a coupled coordination evaluation index system for the APLE system and uses coupling coordination degree models and geographic detector to study the spatial and temporal evolution of the coordinated development of 34 counties (cities) in the HREB from 2009 to 2018. The results show the following: (1) The development of the agricultural subsystem and the social subsystem formed a "scissors difference" from 2009 to 2014, and the three subsystems showed a slight upward trend during 2014–2018. (2) The coupling and coordinated development of the APLE system in the HREB was generally stable, and the coupling coordination degree was improved from low-grade and slightly uncoordinated to barely and primarily coordinated. Furthermore, the spatial differentiation of the coupling coordination degree shows a clear pattern of being high in the southeast and low in the northwest. (3) The main influencing factors are the drought and flood protection rate, the effective irrigation rate, the per capita electricity consumption in agriculture, the number of beds in healthcare facilities per 10,000 people, the per capita disposable income of urban residents, the annual average temperature, and the annual precipitation. (4) The spatial–temporal evolution of the coupling and coordinated development of the APLE system is the result of the comprehensive effect of internal driving forces such as food security, the consumption level of rural residents, and the development level of urbanization construction, and external driving forces such as government public welfare and natural conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green agriculture is the future of agricultural development. However, there has been little attention paid to the relationship between market-oriented reform of agricultural subsidies and green agricultural development. Based on the quasi-natural experiment of China's maize purchasing and storage policy reform (MPSR), this paper studied the impact of agricultural subsidy market-oriented reform on agricultural green development from the perspective of green total factor productivity using the difference-in-difference model. The results showed that the green total factor productivity (MGTFP) of maize in China from 2010 to 2020 presented an upward trend with an average annual growth rate of 0.70%, which mainly depended on the contribution of green technical progress in maize. MPSR could promote the improvement of MGTFP, but the result had a hysteresis effect. In addition, MPSR had a significant promoting effect on green technical change but had no significant impact on green technical efficiency. The policy implication of this paper is that developing countries should actively promote the market-oriented reform of agricultural subsidies to promote green agricultural development. [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]

Rural industrial integration is the key to promoting the development of rural industrial restructuring and modernization, and plays a vital role in improving agricultural economic resilience. Based on the evaluation index system of agricultural economic resilience and the level of rural industrial integration development, respectively, this paper uses panel data from 30 provincial administrative regions in China from 2000 to 2020 to empirically test the impact of rural industrial integration development on agricultural economic resilience by using an individual fixed-effects model and a mediating-effects model. The results show that rural industrial integration significantly contributes to enhancing agricultural economic resilience, and the conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests. There is dimensional and regional heterogeneity in the impact of rural industrial integration on agricultural economic resilience, and the strength of the promotion effect by dimension is in the order of adaptive adjustment capacity, transformation and innovation capacity, and resilience to recovery capacity. In the eastern and central regions, the promotion effect of rural industrial integration on agricultural economic resilience is more significant. In the main food-producing areas, the promotion effect of rural industrial integration on resilience to recovery is significantly slighter than that of non-food-producing regions. Mechanism analysis indicates that regional industrial structure optimization is an essential channel for rural industrial integration to enhance the resilience of the agricultural economy. On this basis, in order to strengthen agricultural economic resilience, provinces should actively explore differentiated industrial integration policies to enhance industrial structure optimization and upgrading, stimulate agricultural economic vitality, and foster the development of China's agricultural modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural non-point pollution has become a hot topic of social concern, and the three major industries in modern rural areas gradually tend to integrate. An in-depth study of the impact of rural industrial integration on agricultural non-point pollution has important guiding significance for the realization of sustainable agricultural development. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces and municipalities in China from 2011 to 2019, this paper explores the impact of rural industrial integration on agricultural non-point source pollution and further examines the moderating effect of urbanization. The main findings are as follows. First, there is a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between rural industrial integration and agricultural non-point source pollution. At present, rural industrial integration has a tendency of alleviating agricultural non-point source pollution. Second, urbanization has a moderating effect on the impact of rural industrial integration on agricultural non-point source pollution, moving the turning point of the curve to the left, which can accelerate the arrival of the emission reduction effect of rural industrial integration. Finally, the heterogeneity test shows that compared to areas with developed economies and weak financial support, the inverted U-shaped relationship between rural industrial integration and agricultural non-point source pollution is more significant in regions with underdeveloped economies and strong financial support. The above studies enrich the relevant literature on rural industrial integration and agricultural non-point source pollution and provide a theoretical basis for the government to formulate relevant policies for promoting the development of rural industrial integration and alleviating agricultural non-point source pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources are the source of life for people to survive, especially in agriculture. Water resources provide necessary support for agricultural economic development and irrigation management. Using the panel data from 2013 to 2019, this paper uses the coupled coordination model to explore the degree of synergy between agricultural water resources efficiency (AWRE) and agricultural economic development level (AEDL), and analyzes the spatial correlation of coupling coordination degree (CCD) between the AWRE and AEDL, and further predicts the relationship between the two. The results are as follows: (1) There are superb variations in the CCD among provinces, and the diploma of coordination is greater in the south than in the north; (2) In the spatial correlation pattern, high–high agglomeration areas exhibit an growing trend, and the variety of low–low agglomeration areas is small; and (3) Through the prediction, it is found that in the further, the CCD will show a trend of slow increase in future. For purpose of the coordinated perfection of the two systems, we need to completely discover the connotation of coordinated improvement and promote regional cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic development level of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is relatively high, and the modern agricultural production has brought serious pressure to the agricultural ecological environment. At present, there is no research on the sustainable status of agroecosystem in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, based on the emergy theory, this paper analyzes and evaluates the input–output structure and sustainable status of the Yangtze River Economic Belt by calculating the input–output factors and relevant emergy indexes from 2010 to 2018. The results show that the total input and output emergy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt shows an upward trend from 2010 to 2018. The input of non-renewable industrial auxiliary emergy is too high which has been more than 80%, and the structure of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery industry is unreasonable, which makes the net emergy yield rate of the system very low, its value was only 0.23 in 2018, far less than 1, and the agroecosystem is in an unsustainable state. Except for Shanghai, most provinces and cities of the Yangtze River Economic Belt are in an unsustainable state, and the status of the agricultural ecological environment is not optimistic. From 2010 to 2018, the overall ecological environment of the agricultural ecosystem in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is not optimistic. Among them, the most affected agricultural ecosystem's sustainable development index is the cash-crop area, total population, and agricultural fixed asset investment. Relevant departments and agricultural practitioners need to change the resource input structure of the agricultural ecosystem, reduce the dependence on industrial auxiliary energy, improve resource utilization efficiency, adjust the industrial structure of agricultural output and increase the production of high-emergy products, to realize sustainable development of the agricultural ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural sensors are essential technologies for smart agriculture, which can transform non-electrical physical quantities such as environmental factors. The ecological elements inside and outside of plants and animals are converted into electrical signals for control system recognition, providing a basis for decision-making in smart agriculture. With the rapid development of smart agriculture in China, agricultural sensors have ushered in opportunities and challenges. Based on a literature review and data statistics, this paper analyzes the market prospects and market scale of agricultural sensors in China from four perspectives: field farming, facility farming, livestock and poultry farming and aquaculture. The study further predicts the demand for agricultural sensors in 2025 and 2035. The results reveal that China's sensor market has a good development prospect. However, the paper garnered the key challenges of China's agricultural sensor industry, including a weak technical foundation, poor enterprise research capacity, high importation of sensors and a lack of financial support. Given this, the agricultural sensor market should be comprehensively distributed in terms of policy, funding, expertise and innovative technology. In addition, this paper highlighted integrating the future development direction of China's agricultural sensor technology with new technologies and China's agricultural development needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the high-quality development of agriculture is an inevitable requirement toward realizing the transformation from a large agricultural country to a powerful one, and optimizing factor allocation is a prerequisite. In this paper, we use spatial econometric models to analyze the impact of factor misallocation on the high-quality development of the agricultural economy based on panel data from 154 prefecture-level cities in major grain-producing regions from 2004 to 2020. We found that factor misallocation was relatively low at the prefecture level, with an average annual decrease of 0.82 percent, compared to an average annual increase of 1.29 percent for the high-quality development of the agricultural economy. Factor misallocation inhibited improvements in high-quality agricultural economic development in adjacent cities. This conclusion remained stable after a series of tests, and the inhibitory effect exhibited significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity due to differences in geographical location, developmental level, and factor allocation methods. At the same time, a mechanism test demonstrated a continuous weakening of the inhibitory effect, accompanied by the optimization and upgrading of the agricultural industry, as well as an improvement in agricultural scientific and technological progress. In addition, nonlinear tests demonstrated that the impact of factor misallocation on the high-quality development of the agricultural economy exhibits significant nonlinear features as agricultural science and technology advances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, China has exerted great efforts to develop agro-industrial agglomerations and optimize the agricultural industry's regional distribution to increase farmers' income. This study posits that agro-industrial agglomeration should be "dual body," provides a theoretical framework for agro-industrial agglomeration's effects on farmer income, and uses a spatial panel model to prove its influence on farmers' income and the spatial spillover effect. The results show that agro-industrial agglomeration in a specific region significantly impacts farmers' income and also has a spillover effect on income in adjacent regions. Further research shows that, contrary to traditional agglomeration theory, agricultural industry agglomeration has little impact on farmers' agricultural production but primarily promotes the establishment and development of agricultural organizations, thus improving farmers' income. Finally, the paper discusses the positive and negative effects of agro-industrial agglomeration on the Global Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), and proposes some useful suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving agricultural energy efficiency is essential in reducing energy consumption and achieving agricultural sustainable development. This paper aims to measure the agricultural total-factor energy efficiency in China rather than the partial-factor energy efficiency while taking full account of regional heterogeneity and to investigate the driving factors of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. The empirical results showed that the average value of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency is 0.814 in China, and the technological gap ratio is 0.853. The regional difference in agricultural total-factor energy efficiency was quite obvious. Higher agricultural energy inputs are associated with higher agricultural total-factor productivity. The total value of potential agricultural energy savings in 30 provinces of China reached 1704.41 billion tons of standard coal. In terms of the absolute amount of agricultural energy saving, the amount was largest in the low-energy-input area, which was 113.87 million tons of standard coal, accounting for 66.81% of the total potential saving amount. Furthermore, we used the Tobit model to analyze the influencing factors of agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. We found that the proportion of agriculture to GDP has a positive impact on agricultural total-factor energy efficiency, while the per capita income of farmers, fiscal support for agriculture, the illiteracy rate of farmers, agricultural labor input, and agricultural capital stock have a negative impact on agricultural total-factor energy efficiency. Finally, we proposed policy implications in terms of agricultural technological progress, agricultural infrastructure, technical training, etc. [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]

China agricultural development has been facing the problem of resource constraints because its resources per capita such as land and energy are relatively lower than the global average. By applying the provincial agricultural panel data from 2000 to 2015 and fixed effect model based on the translog production function, this paper estimates both output elasticities and substitution elasticities of agricultural inputs, which may provide insights into sustainable agricultural development. The results show that, except for capital, the output elasticities of other production factors are all positive. Energy has always played an important role in agricultural production, whose elasticity in agriculture increased from 0.0203 in 2000 to 0.1694 in 2015. We also find a severe scarcity of land, and the high intensity of energy in the field of agriculture. Moreover, there exists a substitute relationship between all factors, which means that in the short term, one production factor can be employed to replace another to maintain agricultural development. From the empirical results of this paper, some policy suggestions are proposed as follows: it is crucial that more attention should be placed on land and to plan energy use wisely. In addition, on account of the current situation in China, the input of labor force should be stepped up and energy should be used more efficiently to make up for the shortage of land resources. The empirical results and policy suggestions in this paper may benefit the sustainable development of China's agricultural economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing changes in the extent and intensity of cropland use is essential to understanding the processes underlying agricultural development. However, our knowledge of the spatiotemporal dynamics of cropland intensification, and how they connect to the livelihoods of rural households, is currently limited. This paper aims to quantify key components of cropland intensification in China through trend analysis of cropping intensity and land productivity over time. This information is then used to model the effects of cropland intensification on farmers' livelihoods. We found that most croplands were under intensive use characterized by steady cropping frequency or multi‐cropping from 2001 to 2018, while the variation in cropping frequency exhibited a significant north–south spatial disparity. High cropping intensity increased land productivity. However, over 25% of the total cropland area experienced productivity improvements that were characterized as inconsistent. Our work suggests that the economic output of farming is greatly driven by land management intensity and that fertilizer use is the predominant driver of this. We also found that cropping intensity at the landscape scale showed no correlation with agricultural income, but land productivity correlated significantly with both land management intensity and rural livelihood metrics. The findings presented here highlight the importance of integrating the long‐term consistency of land productivity and rural livelihoods into the research framework of land use intensification. Doing so advances the current understanding of diverse cropland use change in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultivated land (CL) protection is an overarching strategic concern for stabilizing the agricultural foundation and for achieving the sustainable development of the national economy and society. Faced with the challenges of the dual drives of complex domestic and international situations, China's CL protection system has coupled the quantity and quality dimensions and focused on a dynamic balancing system and permanent basic farmland (PBF) policy. However, it has had difficulty meeting the objectives of sustainable agricultural development and is undergoing upgrades. Accordingly, the Chinese government has issued a CL protection policy that includes adjusting the planting structure, optimizing the agricultural layout, and adding the three dimensions of quantity, quality, and planting structure, namely "Delimitation of the Grain Production Functional Zone and the Important Agricultural Product Production-Protection Zone" (the "two zones" policy). With regard to the ambiguous understanding of the two zones policy, this study aims to explore the following issues: (1) How was the two zones policy conceived? (2) What mechanism does it use to make up for the deficiencies of the previous policy? (3) How does it integrate the three dimensions of quantity, quality, and planting structure? (4) How to reasonably delimit the two zones. To solve these problems, this paper first reviews the evolution of China's CL protection policies and explains the incubation process of the two zones policy and its connotation and mechanism. Then, a delineation framework process is proposed and the approaches of executing the two zones policy on a regional scale are discussed. Furthermore, a real delimitation was conducted in Qianguo County to validate the framework. The evidence shows that customizing CL use according to regional resource potential differentiation and forming a CL protection policy with the three dimensions of quantity, quality, and structure are effective in improving the productive potential of CL and promoting the adjustment of the planting structure. Furthermore, the framework and case study findings of the delimitation provide a theoretical reference and practical foundation to translate macro policy into micro management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to agricultural scientific and technological innovation. The "bottleneck" problem in agriculture has become a national strategy. Collaborative innovation is an effective way to solve the "bottleneck" problem. It faces the main battlefield of modern agricultural construction, the resolution of major problems facing the development of agricultural industry and the breakthrough of core technology. The construction and development of agriculture and rural areas put higher demands on scientific and technological innovation. As an important organizational form of agricultural science and technology innovation, collaborative innovation will play a pivotal role in the construction of innovative countries in China, and it is also of great significance for the construction of modern agricultural research institutes. Starting from the policy background of building agricultural and rural collaborative innovation infrastructure and the research status at home and abroad, this paper deeply analyzed the bottleneck problems faced by China' s agricultural scientific and technological innovation, such as agricultural scientific research big data, high-performance computing, original algorithm model, data application innovation and data security protection, and built an emerging agricultural collaborative innovation infrastructure of "data" + "algorithm" + "computing power" based on advanced information technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing and big data. Furthermore, a collaborative innovation platform for agricultural and rural scientific research was constructed to serve the interdisciplinary integration. The platform simplified and speed up the iteration and flow of AI models and data, and implemented large-scale heterogeneous computing resource scheduling technology, multi-model data fusion method and friendly development support environment. The platform was dedicated to assist researchers in different disciplines to deeply integrate data, models, algorithms and computing power resource management. It created an out-of-the-box interactive cloud development environment, which was applied to the teaching, scientific research, scientific data sets and algorithm research and other scenarios, and formed an ecological closed-loop of artificial intelligence integration with multiple disciplines. It was of great strategic significance to enhance the original innovation ability in China's agricultural and rural fields, realize the leap in key fields, ensure the long-term development of science and technology, and transform from a large agricultural country to an agricultural power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology (1008-0864) is the property of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology (1008-0864) is the property of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Agricultural industry agglomeration is an important driving force for the green and high-quality development of agriculture. Based on the perspective of agricultural industry agglomeration, this paper discusses the impact of agricultural industry agglomeration on the level of green development of agriculture, which is of great significance for the realization of sustainable development of agriculture and the implementation of the “double carbon” goal. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces (municipalities) and autonomous regions in China from 2011 to 2020, the non-expected Super-SBM model and location entropy index method were used to measure the efficiency of agricultural green development and the level of agricultural industry agglomeration. The spatial Dubin model, tradition and spatial Markov chain were used to demonstrate the influence of agricultural industrial agglomeration on agricultural green development efficiency and its spatio-temporal dynamic evolution.The results showed that: (1) There was spatial autocorrelation in agricultural green development efficiency. Areas with higher agricultural green development efficiency will drive the improvement of agricultural green development efficiency in surrounding areas, with a positive spillover effect. (2) Industrial agglomeration can improve the efficiency of agricultural green development, and this enhancement has spatial spillover. (3) The influence of agricultural industrial agglomeration on agricultural green development efficiency and its spatial spillover have regional heterogeneity. The spillover effect of AIA to AGDE in the eastern region is greater than that in the central and western regions. Based on this, it is necessary to grasp the spatial correlation law of provincial agriculture, promote the sustainable development of regional agriculture, optimize the allocation of resources, and put forward policy implications for the improvement of agricultural green efficiency from the aspects of financial support, industrialization, human capital and urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural mechanisation is rapidly increasing in China and will have an increasing impact on agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) in the future. This study uses panel data from 27 provinces in China, spanning the years 2001‒2020, to measure agricultural TFP, and estimates the effects of mechanisation on TFP, technical efficiency, and technological progress. The results reveal that the level of agricultural mechanisation can promote TFP. TFP has a cumulative effect in the previous period, which can also significantly affect TFP in the current period. The level of agricultural mechanisation improves technical efficiency and promotes technological progress, but this is not statistically significant. Regional heterogeneity exists in mechanisation’s effect on agricultural TFP, with the largest effect occurring in the group with the lowest TFP. Therefore, efforts to promote the use of agricultural machinery should increase. China’s agricultural machinery subsidy policy must be further adjusted, and agricultural machinery research investments increased, while the government must address the heterogeneity between regions and focus on developing agricultural mechanisation in the central and western regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explaining the methane emission pattern of Chinese agriculture and the influencing factors of its spatiotemporal differentiation is of great theoretical and practical significance for carbon neutrality. This paper uses the IPCC coefficient method to measure and analyze the spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics of agricultural methane emission, clarify the dynamic evolution trend of the kernel density function, and reveal the key influencing factors of agricultural methane emission with geographical detectors. The results show that China's agricultural methane emissions showed a first increasing and then declining trend. Agricultural methane emissions decreased from 21.4587 million tons to 17.6864 million tons, with an upward trend from 2000 to 2005, a significant decline in 2006, a slow change from 2007 to 2015, and a significant decline from 2015 to 2019. In addition, the emissions pattern of the three major grain functional areas is characteristic; in 2019, agricultural methane emissions from main producing area, main sales area, and balance area were 10.8406 million tons, 1.2471 million tons, and 5.599 million tons, respectively. The main grain producing area is the main area of methane emissions, and the emission pattern will not change in the short term. The variability of grain functional areas is the decisive factor for the difference in agricultural methane emissions. The state of industrial structure is the key influencing factor for adjusting the spatial distribution—the explanatory power of the industrial structure to the main producing areas reached 0.549; the level of agricultural development is the most core influencing factor of the spatial pattern of the main grain sales area—the explanatory power reached 0.292; and the level of industrialization and the industrial structure are the core influencing factors of the spatial pattern of the balance area—the explanatory power reached 0.545 and 0.479, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Agriculture is the foundation of every country's survival and development. This paper analyzes the interaction between the business environment, agricultural opening-up and high-quality agricultural economy from the perspective of China's provinces. According to the panel data of 31 provinces and municipalities in China from 2009 to 2019, the empirical analysis was carried out based on the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model. The results show that there is a quantitative interaction between China's business environment, agricultural opening-up and high-quality agricultural development, and the long-term time effect is very obvious. Specifically, (1) the impact of the business environment and the high-quality development of agriculture on itself is decreasing year by year. The agriculture opening-up itself has a strong impact and has always maintained strong stability. (2) The high-quality development of the agricultural economy has little impact on the business environment and the opening of agriculture to the outside world, but it has a certain stable and continuous effect. It is particularly important that the agricultural opening-up has an increasingly strong effect on the business environment and the high-quality development of the agricultural economy as time progresses. Therefore, we must always adhere to the agriculture opening-up. The regional business environment and the agriculture opening-up can jointly promote the high-quality development of the agricultural economy. The research results can provide a basis and reference for the central and local governments to formulate relevant agricultural development policies and provide a reference for relevant agricultural economic entities and enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing agricultural carbon emissions (ACE) is important for the sustainable development of agriculture. Agricultural productive services (APS), a novel form of agricultural technology extension, offer new avenues for promoting sustainable and green agriculture. The present study aims to explore the impact of APS on ACE. In line with the aim of the study, the Kernel density, Moran's I index, spatial Durbin model, and threshold regression model are employed. The findings reveal that APS demonstrate a significant inhibitory effect on ACE, reducing ACE not only within the region itself but also exerting a negative spatial spillover effect on other regions. Furthermore, a non-linear relationship between APS and ACE is observed, characterized by an inverted U-shaped curve with the arable land operating area serving as the threshold. Therefore, to fully harness the inhibitory effect of APS on ACE and to promote environmentally friendly and sustainable agricultural development, policymakers should vigorously develop APS, strengthen regional cooperation, and promote land transfer. Our research can help in understanding the impact of APS on ACE and to promote sustainable agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology (1008-0864) is the property of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The global food system currently requires a transformation in terms of both social and technological norms in order to be environmentally sustainable and productive enough to feed a growing global population. This paper suggests that China has the innovation regime that is the most capable of offering this transformation due the unique dynamic occurring between its top-down policy and bottom-up initiatives. Indeed, it is often the resulting spin-off developments, as a result of these two forces colliding, which creates interesting innovative trajectories that have a transformative potential. This paper identifies land consolidation as the policy most emblematic top-down agricultural process, food safety initiatives as the significant bottom-up equivilent and suggests that the rise of Taobao villages and rural e-commerce are the unintended innovative responses resulting from these forces. The dynamic of this innovation, I argue, can be tentatively mapped out to offer a grounded speculation of where, and how, the most intriguing, and perhaps most likely, developmental trajectories will occur regarding China's agricultural development. As such, this paper argues that Alternative Food Networks are one such evolving example and that the rise of 'enterprise-based recreational agriculture parks' - like Beijing's Xiedao Green Resort - points towards how particular innovative trajectories, through unique forms of scalar practices, could develop and shape, agricultural spaces in China. • o understand how a food system transformation could occur, we need to reimagine food system innovation.. • China argubly has the innovation regime that is the most capable of offering this reimagination. • This paper identifies Taobao Villages and Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) as examples of China's food system innovation. • The scalar practices of these innovations have led to the emergence of Enterprise-Based Recreational Agricultural Parks. • The formation of such projects, highlight how social and technological transformations in the food system are possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological livability is one of the important tasks and objectives of the rural revitalization strategy proposed at the 19A National Congress of the CPC. The most precious wealth of the countryside is the excellent ecological environment, and China must unswervingly follow the route of green agricultural development. Based on current research on the relationship between ecological livable and agricultural green development, comprehensive policy documents, journal literature and related reports, this paper explored the background and connotation of ecological livable, the current situation of agricultural green development and existing problems, and profoundly analyzed ecological livable and the internal connection between agricultural green development, aiming to provide theoretical reference and scientific reference for the final realization of ecological livable goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-standard farmland construction is an important initiative in China that promotes sustainable agricultural development and ensures food security through land consolidation. This study measures the growth of agricultural total factor productivity (ATFP) in China, which is used to characterize the sustainable development of agriculture. Using provincial panel data from China and a continuous difference-in-difference (DID) model, the study examines the impact of high-standard farmland construction policy on ATFP growth. Results show that ATFP in China has an increasing trend with an average annual growth rate of 3.6%. The average enhancement effect of high-standard farmland construction policy on ATFP is 1.0%, which remains significant after various robustness tests. The positive effect of the policy on ATFP becomes apparent in the third year of implementation and shows a gradually increasing trend. The study also finds that the impact of high-standard farmland construction on ATFP is more pronounced in the central regions of China, the main grain-producing regions, and the regions with higher ATFP. High-standard farmland construction policy enhances ATFP by promoting agricultural technology change and technical efficiency. To promote the growth of ATFP and achieve sustainable agricultural development, China should continue to promote the construction of high-standard farmland and explore suitable construction models for different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology (1008-0864) is the property of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The balance between agricultural development and maintenance of agro-ecological environment becomes a huge challenge because of global climate changes. Existing literature on the low-carbon pilot policy proposed by the government of China and whether the problems of agricultural development and agricultural environmental protection can be solved or not have not been reviewed. This paper analyzes the impact of low-carbon pilot policies on agricultural eco-efficiency by using SARAR model based on the data of 281 cities in China. Results show the spatial spillover effects between low-carbon pilot policies and agricultural eco-efficiency. The implementation of low-carbon pilot policy can improve agricultural eco-efficiency. Although restrained by agricultural economic development, this policy has disequilibrium effect on agricultural eco-efficiency, has a relatively large impact on agricultural eco-efficiency in western China and other poor areas, and promotes the reduction of agricultural carbon emission. The effect of the implementation of low-carbon pilot policy is affected by the initial agricultural economic development and urban economic conditions. This research aims to improve the agricultural eco-efficiency and enforce the green development of the agricultural economy via the perspective of the low-carbon pilot policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Half of the Chinese population still consists of farmers. To increase their productivity, sustainable agriculture offers essential approaches while protecting the environment. Unlike the existing literature focusing on the long-term effects of sustainable agriculture on economic welfare, the current research examines how sustainable agriculture impacts the various aspects of farmers' welfare in the short term. We used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and the Chinese National Agricultural Sustainable Development Plan (2015-2030). To investigate the impact of sustainable agriculture policy on economic welfare, we also employed the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model which helped address the endogeneity problem. After the DID regression, we discovered that sustainable agriculture has a negative impact on farmers' annual household incomes and overall health status. However, it increases the annual working time of farmers and their willingness to participate in agricultural work. To ensure the reproducibility and reliability of the result, we did the robustness test by merely keeping the key independent variables on each regression. We also employed two sets of placebo tests and an alternative DID approach for each key dependent variable. Since all the regressions are robust and all results are significant, the initial hypothesis of this paper was demonstrated. We also propose some policy suggestions based on these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin-оff enterprises, founded in the academic environment, are technology-based enterprises which are based on the technological achievements produced by R&D activities and are established from universities and research institutes. It is a very important method of achievements industrialization in the world. This paper analyzes the necessity of developing agricultural science and technology Spin-off enterprises, the current situation and problems of agricultural science and technology enterprises, and puts forward suggestions for the developing of agricultural Spin-off enterprises, in order to provide reference for the rapid development of agricultural Spin-off enterprises in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-natural habitats (SNHs) are essential to biodiversity and agroecological conservation. The impact of agricultural policies on the development of SNHs is a matter of substantial importance. This study conducted a comparative analysis to examine the variations of SNHs' quantity, landscape quality, and ecosystem services resulting from the differentiated agricultural policies in China and the EU from 1990 to 2020. The Yangtze River Delta region (YRD) in China and France was selected as the study area. The results revealed that France exhibited a higher proportion of SNHs, along with improved connectivity and diversity in its plains, whereas SNHs in the YRD were limited in quantity and characterized by unstable landscape structure and ecosystem services. Both the YRD and France experienced a shift in the declined SNHs towards higher altitudes. There was noticeable landscape fragmentation and degraded ecosystem services in the hilly areas of YRD and the high plains of France. The agricultural policies of the EU achieved limited success in protecting SNHs, while China's agricultural landscapes were rapidly losing SNHs due to the absence of policy support. Based on these, the paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions for developing SNHs in China and the EU. Our study contributes to the global effort for agroecological conservation. • Comparative analysis of SNHs in China and the EU from 1990 to 2020. • Both YRD and France experienced a shift in declining SNHs towards higher altitudes. • Limited success of EU agricultural policies in SNH protection over three decades. • Rapid loss of SNHs in China's agricultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural green production technology (AGPT) is essential for the sustainable development of agriculture, yet adoption rates among farmers are often low due to limited access to education and information. Based on the extended technology acceptance model, this study takes Liaoning, a major agricultural province in China, as a representative region to explore how digital multimedia influences the adoption of AGPT by farmers. The findings show that the perceived ease of use of these technologies significantly enhances farmers' intentions to adopt, while perceived risks detract from these intentions. Although digital multimedia effectively promotes AGPT by improving its perceived ease of use and usefulness, its role in mitigating perceived risks is minimal. Based on these results, we recommend that the government improve the quality of information on digital platforms by involving experts in the field and offer specific digital marketing training to potential users to increase the adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural nonpoint source pollution (ANPS) can cause systemic pollution of the ecological environment, directly threatening sustainable agricultural development and human health and safety. Accurate estimation of ANPS loads, clarification of the sources and spatial distribution patterns of ANPS, and effective control and management of ANPS in the watershed require identifying critical source areas. This case study focuses on the Danjiang River basin, a critical water source for China's South-to-North Water Division and demonstrates the efficiency of ArcGIS's spatial statistical analysis methods in discovering the hidden spatial pattern of ANPS and extracting the causes associated with the spatial pattern, as well as the accuracy of identifying critical source areas of ANPS. In this study, two spatial statistical analysis methods, Anselin local Moran's I and hot-spot analysis (Getis–Ord Gi*), are applied to propose a method for accurately identifying critical source areas of ANPS based on the spatial distribution of ANPS loads. The results of the study are as follows: (1) based on the MIKE LOAD model, the annual ANPS loads of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH4), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) in the Danhan River basin are calculated as 182,530.15, 16,137.39, 58,285.92, and 2,962.84 t/yr , respectively. (2) Clusters are mainly distributed in the southwestern part of the watershed, and the spatial pattern is directly related to land use and rural population; the spatial pattern of outliers is related to agricultural modes and geographical characteristics. (3) Hot spot clusters are concentrated in the hinterland of Hanzhong Plain; the regional specialty of agriculture is the dominant factor in determining the spatial pattern of cold-spot and hot-spot clusters. (4) Based on these findings, seven critical subbasins and one critical source area of ANPS that need to be prioritized for control in the study area are identified. Agricultural nonpoint source pollution (ANPS) is a significant cause of ecosystem pollution, which directly threatens the sustainable development of agriculture, human health, and safety. The Dan–Han River Basin is a crucial water source in China for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and provides water to 140 million people. It is essential to ensure that the water quality of the Dan-Han River remains unpolluted. The ANPS as a major source of water pollution in the watershed is difficult to identify and control. Accurately identifying the sources and spatial distribution patterns of ANPS pollutants is a prerequisite for maintaining water quality and controlling ANPS. Our study offers a new perspective on methods to reveal the hidden spatial pattern and identify critical source areas of ANPS in watersheds. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of ArcGIS's spatial statistical analysis methods in discovering the hidden spatial pattern of ANPS, extracting the causes associated with the spatial pattern, and accurately identifying critical source areas of ANPS. These methods can also be applied to study nonpoint source pollution in other watersheds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology (1008-0864) is the property of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology (1008-0864) is the property of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Reconciling the tasks of producing adequate amounts of nutritious food for the increasing global population while preserving the environment and natural ecosystems simultaneously is an enormous challenge. The concept of agriculture green development (AGD) and the necessary governmental policies were developed to address the aforementioned challenge in China and to help achieve the related global sustainable development goals. Agriculture green development emphasizes the synergy between green and development; current agriculture has to transform from the intensive farming with high inputs, high environmental impacts and low resource-use efficiency to a more sustainable agriculture, in order to ensure an adequate supply of nutritious food while delivering environmental integrity, improved economic profitability, and social equity. A research program on AGD was established by China Agricultural University with four research themes, namely: green crop production, green integrated crop-animal production, green food and industry, and green ecological environment and ecosystem services, to provide a scientific basis for future developments and to facilitate the implementation of AGD in practice. AGD requires a multistakeholder approach, fueled by innovative and interdisciplinary research. Joint actions have to be taken by governments, farmers, supply industries, consumers, educators, extension services and researchers to support AGD. This requires strong coordination and public awareness campaigns. This review presents the progress that has been made over the past 5 years and makes recommendations for more research and development, in order to better deliver agricultural green and sustainable development on national and international scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the data from the 1991–2016 agricultural investment of China's Taiwan in China's Mainland and the agricultural GDP of the latter, through models of vector autoregressive (VAR) and vector error correction (VEC), the influences of China's Taiwan agricultural investment on the development of agriculture in the eastern, central, and western regions of China are discussed. The results show a long-term equilibrium relationship between China's Taiwan agricultural investment and agricultural development in China's eastern, central, and western regions. In the long term, China's Taiwan investment in agriculture in the eastern, central, and western regions of China have certain positive promoting effect on their agricultural development. However, there is an obvious regional diversity in investment effect: Impulse response and variance decomposition show that the positive effect from China's Taiwan agricultural investment in China's western region agricultural development is most significant, and it is significantly higher than that in the eastern region; its contribution to the central region's agricultural development is little. VEC model analysis shows that in the short term, China's Taiwan investment in agriculture has a significant positive effect on the agricultural development of China's eastern region, but not on the agricultural development of the central and western regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under China's carbon neutrality vision, the integration of resource consumption and ecological protection in agricultural production requires increased attention to agroecology. This study comprehensively integrates the carbon impact within agricultural ecological efficiency (AEE). Based on the window analysis of super-SBM-undesirable and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) models, AEE and its influencing factors in China's 31 provinces from 2000 to 2021 are measured, and then types categorized, mechanisms investigated, and optimization pathways provided. The results revealed that from 2000 to 2021, the AEE showed a growing trend, with the spatial agglomeration degree increased. Its gravity center presented a migration path of "northeast–southwest". Driven by internal and external mechanisms, both agricultural production conditions and regional socio-economic conditions had a stronger positive effect and wider range of promotion on China's AEE, and the positive contribution of physical environmental conditions decreased, while the inhibitory effect increased. Furthermore, this study divided three zones and emphasized that the agri-ecological power zone plays a demonstrative role in carbon sequestration and efficiency improvement, the eco-pollution balance zone needs to strike a balance between economic development and agricultural ecological development, and the agri-pollution power zone ought to reduce agricultural carbon emissions and mitigate its environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmer differentiation has important implications for the efficiency of farmland use. Applying the model of DEA and Tobit, using the household survey data, this paper investigates the effects of the farmer stratum differentiation on the efficiency of farmland use. The empirical results showed that the type of farmer differentiation was positive and statistically significant at 5% level. The regression coefficient is 0.295; this result implies that if this variable improves one percentage, the efficiency of farmland use will increase by 29.5%. The farmer horizontal differentiation and farmer vertical differentiation pass the significance test at the 1% and 5% level, respectively. This indicates that they all have a significant positive impact on the farmland use efficiency. We conclude that corresponding measures should be implemented to further facilitate the farmer differentiation. Another implication of our results is that the policies matched with the farmer differentiation and transfer should be gradually perfected, and then they will provide a better environment of the society and economy for free migration of farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the Lewis model, this paper addresses the theoretical foundations of the social security function of the agricultural sector and investigates the impact of this function on Chinese development. We argue that the agricultural sector and secure agricultural land holdings are important means, in the absence of comprehensive government provision of social security, in insuring rural residents and rural-urban migrants against risks and uncertainties. Given a large rural population and massive rural-urban migration, secure access to land for both rural and migrant populations in China has helped the economy avoid systemic risk and helped to maintain social stability. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology (1008-0864) is the property of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Agriculture in peri-urban areas is prone to dynamic changes due to urban influences. Previous studies have explored the impact of urban growth on peri-urban agriculture (PUA), but the active responses of the agricultural sector are rarely examined. This paper investigates recent agricultural development practices in peri-urban Beijing and explores approaches to agricultural transformation in the rapid process of urbanisation. The investigation finds that high-tech precision agriculture, down-stream processing and agro-tourism have emerged as major forms of PUA in Beijing. It also uncovers that the PUA developments are not only economically appealing, but also socially inclusive and environmental friendly. The findings contribute to a better understanding of PUA progress in China. The paper suggests policy implications in facilitating integrated development between urban and rural sectors, which would help improve economic development, spatial planning and local governance in peri-urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]