The Use of Organic vs. Chemical Fertilizer with a Mineral Losses Tax: The Case of Dutch Arable Farmers

The paper focuses on farm-level nitrogen fertilization strategies of Dutch arable farmers for analyzing the substitution of organic fertilizers (manure) with chemical fertilizers. The model developed investigates the impact of the major parameters affecting the inferiority of manure compared with chemical fertilizers, including the low availability and non-uniformity of the nitrogen in manure, and the low level and high non-uniformity of plant-available nitrogen supplied via manure. The sensitivity of the optimal fertilization decisions and its associated environmental impact to product price, manure cost, and environmental tax is also examined. The theoretical analysis is applied to a representative Dutch grower of ware potatoes in the northern part of the Netherlands. The results suggest that in the absence of a subsidy the representative farmer will prefer to apply nitrogen only via chemical fertilizers.     

农业转型与资源替代

本文通过对发达国家农业生产中出现的化肥施用量相对减少这一趋势的探讨,分析了我国农业化肥施用现状,并通过对作物秸杆作为燃料获取能量与生产化肥所消耗能量的对比,说明从节省能量的角度来看,用有机肥部分替代化肥具有一定的合理性;指出在我国要实现肥料间的替代,首先要解决农村生活资料的替代问题。揭示出资源间的连锁替代是我国实现有机农业的关键。     

ORGANIC FOOD AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Over the past 50 years, the rapid transformation of agricultural technology has provided the benefits of lower prices and a smaller share of income spent on food. Developing and applying synthetic chemicals was instrumental in lowering costs of production and in increasing yields. Conventional agriculture today relies on substantial use of synthetic chemicals as key inputs. This leads to increasing concern over negative externalities, including risks to both human health and the environment. In response to these concerns, organic food has emerged as a rapidly expanding industry. This paper examines the role of organic agriculture and other low-input farming methods more sustainable within the context of policies designed to reduce negative externalities from using synthetic chemicals.     

The adoption of new technology by the farmers in Taiwan

This study addresses the technologies the farmers adopted, their reasons for adopting these technologies and the result of adopting these technologies. The design and strategy used to collect the data needed are both qualitative and quantitative. Farmers who practised traditional farming methods and those who adopted the new technologies were both given survey questionnaires and were interviewed.

The result of the study shows that the technologies applied by the farmers are the use of tractors in tilling the ground, the use of machinery in planting, the practice of irrigation and the use of a combination of organic and commercial fertilizers. The reasons for the adoption of the latter are the availability of chemicals and the convenience of their use, and this is used to enhance the growth of plants. The results of the new technology adoption are high yields of produce, production of hybrid crops, and the saving of labour, thus increasing the income of the farmers.     

Towards a sustainable and efficient use of manure in agriculture: The Dutch case

Rapid increases in livestock production in the Netherlands have changed manure from a valuable input into a mere waste product. This is especially true for the southern and eastern parts of the country, where specialized pig and poultry farms have concentrated on sandy soils. As these farms generally own very little land, they largely depend on imported feedstuffs. As a consequence, manure is applied to the land in such large quantities that serious environmental problems have resulted: (1) eutrophication of surface water by phosphate emissions; (2) pollution of groundwater by nitrate emissions; and (3) acidification by ammonia emissions.In the last few years the Dutch government has developed a manure policy to counteract these effects. Our analysis of that policy has revealed at least three fundamental defects, which render the manure policy ineffective and inefficient. In this paper proposals are made to remove the defects in current manure policy. Much attention is paid to the problem of designing a mixture of policy instruments which is both effective as well as efficient in limiting the environmental problems caused by manure. It is shown that the use of financial incentives in regulation can substantially improve the efficiency of the manure policy. Finally, the main economic consequences of the proposed policy are examined for the public sector as well as for the agricultural sector.     

An Economic Analysis of Yard Care and Synthetic Chemical Use: The Case of San Francisco

Yard care is an economically important household production activity that also has potentially significant environmental or health impacts. Of particular concern are the possible negative impacts of using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. But economic models and empirical analyses of yard care and chemical use are rare. We develop a simple model of household production and consumption to analyze yard care and chemical use. We then estimate a multinomial logit model of these behavioral choices with household data from San Francisco. Attitudes towards the quality of one's outdoor residential environment and time scarcity are important determinants of the odds of chemical use whereas financial variables play the major role in determining the odds that people have and care for yards. These results could help to improve educational or marketing campaigns that aim to reduce potential or actual problems associated with yard chemical use. Better data for models similar to this one are needed for future research.     

Impact of information and communication technologies on fertilizer and pesticide use efficiency of China's grain production

Based on a panel data from National Rural Fixed Point Survey (NRFP), this study explored the effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the fertilizer and pesticide use efficiency of China's grain production and the mechanisms using stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and two-way fixed-effects model with two-stage least square (2SLS) estimation. The results show that the average fertilizer use efficiency (FE), pesticide use efficiency (PE) and comprehensive fertilizer and pesticide use efficiency (CFPE) of grain production were 0.286, 0.404, and 0.364 respectively during 2003–2011. It should be noted that the CFPE decreased by 48.39% during 2003–2011 and showed a descending trend in all regions. ICTs had significant positive effects on FE, PE, and CPFE which could be explained by providing farmers more sustainable knowledge and hence shifting farming practices from overusing fertilizer towards using farmyard manure as a substitute. ICTs' positive effects were more pronounced for farmers with higher-level education and in central region. Additionally, ICTs had significant spillover effects, extending from users to nonusers within the villages. These results suggest that ICTs could be considered as an effective way to increase the fertilizer and pesticide use efficiency and promote the sustainable development of agriculture in China.     

试论作物生产的可持续发展

本文界定了作物生产可持续发展的内涵,认为我国作物生产必须走集约持续发展的路子;对作物生产和农业可持续发展的关系进行了辨析,指出全面实现农业可持续发展,作物生产是关键,是重点,同时也是难点,二者是相辅相成、辩证统一的关系。同时提出以禁绝陡坡地种植,改进耕作技术、持续增产、改善品质、发展产品加工、增加投入为主的促进作物生产可持续发展的对策和措施。     

Engine or drag: Can high energy consumption and CO2 emission drive the sustainable development of Chinese industry?

To analyze China industrial sustainable development featured with high energy consumption and high CO₂ emission, this paper constructs the input and output panel data of China’s 38 sub-industries, estimates their productivity and carries out the green growth accounting based on translog production function. This paper concludes that, as a whole, China industry has achieved the transformation from extensive to intensive growth, with the productivity to be the first driving force, that is necessary to sustainable development in the long run. In addition to technical progress, energy and capital have also been driving the industrial growth during the sample period, while labor and emission made less even negative contribution to it. Some heavy industries, however, are still characterized by extensive growth and must improve their energy-save and emission-abate technology to favor the sustainable development of overall Chinese industry.     

The role of new ICTs in the sustainable development of industrial cluster： a case study of Yangxunqiao textile cluster

The wide application of new information and communication technologies （ICTs） has been argued to be critical in local economic development, while the application of new ICTs will affect the development of industrial cluster, especially those small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs）. This paper examines Yangxunqiao textile cluster located in Zhejiang Province as a case study to focus on the role of ICTs in the sustainable development. We argue ICTs application in firms boost flexible and customized production approach, improve e-commerce market channel and raise supply chain management. We also pay special attention to the spatial implication of ICTs adoption in industrial cluster, and suggest that application of ICTs tend to lead to further clustering of SMEs in the location with mature production chain. Our analysis shows that new ICTs are a facilitator in the sustainable development of the industrial cluster.     

Land tenure and investment incentives: Evidence from West Africa

The existing literature on the relationship between property rights in land and agricultural investment in Africa has given results that are often confusing and contradictory. I make two clarifying contributions to this literature. First, I pull together existing studies and investigate whether the results they find have been affected by research methods or local contexts. Studies with small sample sizes, those that use binary investment measures, and those that control for household fixed effects are less likely to find a statistically significant link between land tenure and investment. Self-reported tenure security has been a poor predictor of investment outcomes. Second, I test for a relationship between land tenure and agricultural investment in nine data sets from West Africa. While the link between tenure and investment is significant for fallow and tree planting, it is less robust for labor use and other inputs, such as manure or chemical fertilizer.     

基于能值理论的整理区土地集约利用研究

土地作为不可替代的稀缺经济要素,其空间位置的不可移动性、使用的排他性,决定了我们在土地利用过程中,必须集约利用。本文利用能值理论,分析整理区农业生态系统的能值结构变化,进而反映土地整理的土地集约利用效果。研究结果是土地整理工作较大地改善了项目区农业生产条件,项目区总能值投入比整理前提高了25%,净能值产出率提高了11%,能值使用强度提高了25%,提高了土地生产力和土地资源的集约利用水平;暴露的主要问题是化肥的使用量较大,有机肥投入比例较低,建议应加大对农家肥的投入,提倡种植绿肥,以利于土壤有机质的保持,为农业持续发展提供物质基础。     

中国农地流转市场的发展及其对农户投资的影响

农地使用权和租赁与农业投资一直是发展经济学的热点问题。随着中国农地流转市场的发展,越来越多的农户同时耕种这两类土地:自家地和转入地。本文的研究目的是在分析农地流转变动趋势的基础上,研究农地流转对农户土地投资的影响。基于来自2000年和2009年6省两轮全国性代表农户的追踪调查数据,建立计量模型,分析结果表明,农户在转入地上的有机肥施用概率和用量要比在自家地上的少;但随着农地租赁土地的稳定性提高,这种投资差异在缩小。     

Property rights and sustainable nature tourism: adaptation and mal-adaptation in Dalarna (Sweden) and Maine (USA)

Tourism is viewed in many industrial nations as an environmentally friendly way to revitalize distressed rural economies and communities. In the forest regions of Dalarna and interior Maine, hopes are pinned on nature-based tourism, with the presumption that natural capital is underutilized. This paper explores the potential and pitfalls of nature tourism as a basis for sustainable rural development in regions where most land is held privately but quasi-open access for recreation has been either a right (Dalarna) or a customary entitlement (Maine). The paper applies theories of common pool resources and impure public goods to show that both property regimes are mal-adapted for sustainable nature tourism. Limited exclusion combined with rivalness in land uses mis-aligns incentives facing landowners, tourists, and recreation businesses. Short-term effects include congestion, reduced economic opportunity, and depressed production of non-recreational goods. Longer-term effects include environmental degradation and weak incentives for value-added investment. Tourism development is further impeded by a scale mis-match between small ownerships and large efficient recreation management units. The analysis suggests that sustainable nature tourism faces four land use challenges.     

Production and Employment Impacts of Biotechnology —Input-output Analysis for Germany

Biotechnology is often regarded as a key technology with high potential for far-reaching social, environmental and economic impacts. Among others, the development and diffusion of biotechnology may have considerable economic effects on production and employment. This paper analyses the economic impacts of different prospective diffusion paths of biotechnology in some major application fields for Germany. Bottom-up technology information from the literature, expert judgements and explicit scenario assumptions for various impact factors are combined and integrated in an input-output framework to calculate direct and indirect production and employment effects. The impact on net production and employment differs greatly between the different application sectors and depends on the respective importance of the various impact mechanisms. The indirect economic effects are rather high and exceed the direct economic effects. These findings show the importance of a bottom-up approach as well as the consideration of the indirect economic effects for appropriate analyses of the impact of biotechnology.     

Why do we adopt environmentally friendly lawn care? Evidence from do-it-yourself consumers

This study identifies the factors determining the purchase frequencies of organic/natural fertilizers (ONFs) with a focus on do-it-yourself (DIY) consumers’ perceptions and motives. The estimation results of the generalized ordered logit model provide statistical evidence that environmental perceptions are critical factors in directing DIY consumers to purchase ONFs frequently. The results imply that educational programmes, informational campaigns, or advertisements to improve their perceptions on the potential negative impacts of fertilization on the environment may increase the purchase frequencies of ONFs. In addition, the results show that DIY consumers perceive that it is worth using ONFs despite their higher prices than chemical fertilizers. Their purchase frequencies will increase if they positively perceive the values of ONFs and are willing to pay a premium for ONFs. Moreover, the purchasing behaviour of DIY consumers is associated with their perceptions of neighbourhood landscaping. If neighbours or homeowner associations encourage landscaping improvements in their community, DIY consumers may increase their purchase frequencies of ONFs accordingly.     

Local Organic Food Markets: Potentials and Limitations for Contributing to Sustainable Development

The agro-industrial food production is currently facing a number of problems. BSE, GMO and illegal medication of animals caused anxiety among consumers. They are urging producers to rethink common production methods and policy makers to re-evaluate public support schemes. It has already been for decades though that a number of producers and consumers were searching for alternatives by maintaining or re-establishing local food markets because they were dissatisfied with the large scale, regionally concentrated food production, processing and distribution system. Food co-operatives, farmers' markets, community supported agriculture (CSA) groups among others were formed in order to provide consumers with organic and locally grown food. They aim to revitalise local food economies and to protect the environment. Many producers and consumers view local groups and initiatives as promising alternatives to an unsustainable globalising agro-industrial food production system. This paper addresses the question which contributions local food markets are capable of making to sustainable development and where their limitations are in this respect. The analysis focuses on local food markets of the CSA type which are found as a means to increase both responsiveness to consumer needs and sustainability, but of limited reach.     

沼气工程：构建生态家园的枢纽,迈向生态农业的桥梁

安徽省青阳县素以山清水秀著称,是＂七山一水一分田,一分道路和庄园＂的画境诗意江南。近年来,由于广泛使用化肥和农药,农业生态环境问题开始显现,影响到区域生产安全和可持续发展。青阳县作为国家生态经济示范区,发展生态农业是必然选择和既定目标。生态家园（农户）是组成生态农村的基本单元,沼气工程则是构建生态家园（农户）的核心工程,是传统农业和现代农业迈向生态农业的桥梁。文章以猪—沼—稻？猪—沼—茶等生态模式为例进行了分析,认为沼气工程是普及生态农业？减少化肥和农药污染、促进农业节能减排、推广农业清洁生产、保护农村生态环境的最佳选择。     

Forest sustainability and trade policies

Many analyses of trade and environment have concluded that trade liberalization is Pareto improvement with Pigovian tax systems even when production and consumption processes bring non-market externalities. But in case of global forest issue there are many accusations that the trade liberalization of forest products has caused the degradation of forest sustainability. In this paper we try to explain the gap between the theory and the real situation from theoretical point of view. We will analyze comprehensively about free trade and forest sustainability by partial and general equilibrium analyses. Pigovian systems work well under the assumption of complete substitutivity of consumption between external effects and marketable commodities. If it were not satisfied, it is inevitable to levy import tariff or to take some domestic price support systems to guide the production point into sustainable forests.     

波兰促进可持续发展的重要举措——迅猛发展的波兰有机农业及其启示

近10年来,波兰政府将发展有机农业作为促进经济社会可持续发展的重要举措。通过分析研究波兰有机农业发展的新态势和发展进程,阐述了近10年来波兰有机农业快速发展的主要原因。其原因体现在:政府和公众已认识到发展有机农业是促进经济社会可持续发展的治本之策,有机农产品的市场需求越来越大,以及欧盟和波兰政府对有机农业发展及相关领域科学研究的大力扶持。在此基础上,对我国进一步促进有机农业发展提出了若干思考和建议。