The impact of collaboration on research about rural buildings and landscape: A case study in Italy

The importance of collaboration among peers in science is widely investigated: an essential issue is the relevance of credits shared among scholars for the good faith and cooperation in research projects. Despite its significance, so far in Italy the usefulness of collaboration in research activities is not taken in due consideration by both scientific community and research assessment bodies. In this study, the main aim is at investigating the actual up today extent of scientific collaboration among colleagues belonging to the Italian Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SDS) “AGR10 Rural buildings and agro-forest land planning”. We focus on research projects dealing with territory, landscape and rural buildings with the scope of raising consciousness on the key role of collaboration with other SDSs, international institutions or organizations. We harvested data through an on-line questionnaire about several research projects, scrutinized the responses, and found that the core area of current research developed by AGR10 colleagues includes topics concerning the analysis and planning of landscape. Furthermore, we found that the design of international project proposals attains mostly rural buildings and rural heritage analysis, reuse and enhancement, rural buildings and landscape integration, and rural buildings design. While the size of partnerships on international research activities is still limited, as for external synergies the SDS AGR01 ‘Agricultural Economics and Rural Appraisal’ is the most representative, and other SDSs involving ‘Ecology’ and ‘Informatics’ deserve to be mentioned. So, this study has been designed with the secondary aim of stimulating Italian -as well as other international- scientific communities in promoting similar investigations concerning the importance of collaboration and cross-fertilization for successful research activities. As a major output, official national or international research assessment authorities would be provided by a method for better appreciating the usefulness of collaboration and interdisciplinarity.     

Rural decline or restructuring? Implications for sustainability transitions in rural China

With the increase in climate change and increasing social concerns about environmental deterioration, sustainability has become a hot topic in both natural and social research. Nowadays, sustainable cities are one of the focal points, while rural areas have been disregarded. In fact, rural areas have been suffering from environmental degradation for decades. Thus, sustainability transitions in both urban and rural areas should be given commensurate emphasis. In this paper, we provide an overview of rural evolution worldwide and attempt to explore alternative approaches for enhancing rural sustainability. As depicted in the literature, rural evolution is multifaceted. For a long time, depopulation and demographic aging have been like chronic diseases torturing rural areas. Although there were some bright spots of rural repopulation and economic restructuring, they were not mainstream of rural development. Based on the existing research, we established a conceptual framework and analyzed the rural evolution paradigm from a geographic perspective. We found that rural composition determined rural architecture, while rural architecture affected rural functioning. Changes in rural functioning formed the rural evolution trend. Since rural development was also influenced by external factors, both self-organization and governmental intervention were found to be alternative approaches to guiding rural transitions. We took the case study of Tengtou village to exemplify the sustainable pathways of a rural transition. The case study indicated that national policies were the fundamental impetus for rural transformation, while self-organization played a more important role. We hope that our study will shed new light on policy orientations and rural transitions.     

基于转移概率和网络联系的辽宁省农村居民点适宜性评价

[目的]农村居民点适宜性评价在农村居民点调控、规划和预测中具有基础作用,且农村居民点适宜性评价应顾及农村居民点之间的社会经济活动联系。[方法]以辽宁省为研究区,首先运用逐步Logistic回归模型构建农村居民点转移概率,其次运用网络分析方法确定农村居民点图斑间的网络联系强度,最终通过加权求和方法确定农村居民点转化概率,进行农村居民点空间布局适宜性评价。[结果]辽宁省农村居民点可以划分为高度适宜类、较适宜类、一般适宜类和不适宜类4类,分别占农村居民点总面积的比例为28.18%、31.32%、13.26%和27.24%;从各地貌分区来看,高度适宜类主要集中分布在中部平原地区和东部山地丘陵区中的南方沿海地区,而不适宜类整体分布则较为零散;辽宁省中部平原区位条件好,东部沿海地区区位条件也较好,西部山地丘陵区地区较差。[结论]研究方法和结论有助于全面把握农村居民点社会经济与区位适宜性特征,为农村居民点科学规划提供科学指导。     

乡村振兴背景下的“产—景—村”融合发展：现状与对策

目的 乡村振兴战略实施以来，中国乡村改革不断深化，乡村资源要素相互渗透融合，乡村发展活力不断激发，中国的乡村融合发展亟待科学指导。方法 文章借助CiteSpace软件梳理中国“产—景—村”融合发展相关研究领域阶段性前沿，探讨了“产—景—村”融合发展内涵，解析了“产—景—村”融合发展模式现状特征及发展对策。结果 指出中国“产—景—村”融合发展下聚落景观和生产景观交叉融合，催生了复合型乡村景观的大量涌现，乡村土地分区利用呈现多元化，“产—景—村”融合发展模式的推广加速了乡村多功能转型发展，同时乡村空间分割、发展失衡和人地矛盾等问题也得到有效修复缓解。结论 考虑到乡村振兴背景下“产—景—村”融合发展现状及存在的问题，基于空间、产业、景观营造、内生动力等层面构建“产—景—村”融合发展理论模型，从乡村发展规律、价值功能、区域互动、生态安全、机制保障等角度提出对策措施，为中国“产—景—村”融合发展规划制定提供科学依据，从根本上激活乡村发展内部的动力，全面实现乡村振兴。     

The relationship between public transport and the progressive development of rural areas

In a consequence of the economic transformation, transport companies compete for the most profitable lines of public transport whereas the wide countryside remains of a little interest. As a solution, integrated systems of public transport could play an important role in the development of rural areas, especially in post-communist countries. Such a system in the South Moravian Region connects 24 state, municipal and private transport companies in a unified mode. It includes unified tariff, operation management from one place, and creation of a skeleton of high capacity (train) lines with transfer traffic nodes, creation of nodes on the city fringe for the change from buses to electric vehicles and release of capabilities for tangential lines. The system competes mainly with the individual car transport by its increasing comfort and extension of services. The annual performances have increased from 118 to 829 million of passengers-kilometers in the regional transport and from 344 to 396 million passengers in the city during the period 2004–2015. The relation between accessibility and rural development, particularly depopulation trends, was investigated. It was found that the frequency of connections is sufficient throughout the territory, which is one of main reasons inhabitants should remain in the countryside. Moreover, this frequency contributes positively to rural tourism, prevents social exclusion and stimulates progressive rural development throughout the whole territory.     

Conceptualising ‘shadow landscape’ in political ecology and rural studies

This paper develops the concept of ‘shadow landscape’ in order to describe the essential otherness and seemingly distinctive if ever contingent properties of in-between rural places characterised by historical depopulation and cultural marginalisation. It does so first of all through a critically sympathetic assessment of how these areas have been portrayed in the fields of political ecology and rural studies. In political ecology, reference has long been made to ‘depopulated areas’ whereas in rural studies there has been recently talk of ‘marginal cultures’. The result tends to be a ‘pre-given socio-spatial container’ (Zimmerer and Bassett, 2003) that often obscures more than it reveals about these distinctive locations. The paper thereafter outlines the concept of shadow landscape as a means by which to understand these areas, and does so via a discussion of marginality, scale, socio-nature and ‘cultures of depopulation’. In the process, some of the key material and discursive issues that surround these ‘imagined communities’ are brought into focus. The conclusion considers a future research agenda based on an understanding shaped by the concept of shadow landscape.     

The economic impact of cowpea research in Senegal: an ex-post analysis with disadoption

This study evaluates the impact of a long‐term research collaboration between the Senegalese Institute for Agriculture Research (ISRA), and the Bean/Cowpea Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP) funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Adoption of the primary outputs from this collaboration, a nonchemical cowpea storage method and two short‐season cowpea varieties, were tracked through a series of farmer interviews in 1996, 1997, and 2004 in the main cowpea growing area of Senegal. Combined with information from an impact assessment in the late 1980s, this study draws on ex‐post adoption data from most of the product life cycle for the storage technology. The 2004 survey found that 60.4% of cowpea production in the main cowpea growing area of Senegal is stored in metal drums and that 69% of households use this storage technology; ISRA/CRSP improved short season varieties were determined to account for 3.6% of cowpea production. Baseline economic analysis of the most recent survey data, which includes benefits and costs of the storage technology and improved varieties, reveal an IRR to donor funding of 13%. The benefits of these technologies appear to be evenly distributed in the rural population on the basis of gender and ethnic background. Comparison of the rates of technology adoption over time, however, reveals that use of the storage technology may be decreasing; inclusion of this technology disadoption trend reduces the IRR by only 0.4% from the baseline estimate. Overall, estimated returns reveal that this collaboration has been a good investment for the U.S. and Senegalese governments, and other donors.     

Land administration for housing production: An approach for assessment

The integration of land administration processes and the collaboration of land agencies are considered essential for the effective delivery of developable land for housing production. The research upon which this paper is based investigates the interrelationship across land administration functions and between different levels of government in the management and delivery of land for housing production. It focuses on land management policies, land administration processes, and spatial data infrastructure, as they are related to housing production. The study starts from the premise that inadequate integration across land administration functions and between different levels of government impedes land delivery for housing production. Against this background, an assessment framework is proposed as a tool to assess the levels of integration. The parameters for the development of the framework are based on the extensive literature of past and present initiatives which focused on enhancing inter-agency collaboration. It is also supported by interviews with land agencies in the case study areas – Australia and Nigeria – to aggregate the common themes as observed in the literature. The assessment framework was evaluated through selected government departments and agencies. With this approach, the assessment framework develops into the land administration integration assessment matrix. The key consideration of the matrix is to assess the depth of inter-agency relationship ranging from information sharing to consultation, coordination of activities, joint management, partnership arrangement and formal merger of organisations.     

农村居民点整理时序评价——以广西北海市合浦县为例

农村居民点整理是当前土地综合整治规划的热点问题.为了提高整理实施可行性,提供整理时序安排的科学规划依据,以合浦县为例,构建农村居民点自然潜力评价指标体系和潜力释放压力评价指标体系,对农村居民点整理时序进行研究.研究结果表明:评价体系较全面反映了农村居民点整理的影响因素,为科学制定土地整治规划及整理项目安排提供决策依据;合浦县适宜近期、中期、远期整理的农村居民点面积分别为6 466.59 hm2、3 436.31 hm2、6 019.54 hm2,并结合不同整理时期居民点特点,提出整理规划方向.     

牢牢抓住建设智慧农业的时代主题

目的 当前，以信息技术和生物技术为特征的新一轮农业科技革命正在孕育大的突破，信息化进入到大数据发展的新阶段，并与农业农村现代化形成了历史性交汇。通过界定智慧农业及相关重要概念，探索大数据、物联网、人工智能等现代信息技术在农业生产各环节、各领域的创新应用。方法 文章对建设智慧农业的技术演进、现实需求、发展趋势进行研究，将文献、统计数据、调研案例分析结果相结合，提出智慧农业建设和数字乡村发展路径。结果 建设智慧农业是技术进步的必然产物，是乡村振兴的应势而为，数字技术正在破解“谁来种地、怎么种地”的问题，改变“面朝黄土背朝天”的劳作方式，让“知天而作”的智慧农业逐步变为现实。结论 要着力建设数据资源体系，以企业为主体、多方协同开展科技攻关，探索应用场景，加强数字技术在农业农村各行业各领域的集成应用，聚焦重点品种、重点地区、重点领域和重点方向抓好试点示范，支撑中国走出一条不同于欧美发达国家大规模大机械的农业现代化道路。     

陕西农村居住地生态环境影响因素分析

[目的]随着农村城镇化进程的加快,由此引发的农村居住地生态环境恶化已成为制约农业和农村经济可持续发展的瓶颈,加强农村居住地生态环境保护和治理,是目前亟待解决的重要问题。研究分析农村居住地生态环境影响因素,为有效改善居住地生态环境提供重要理论依据。[方法]以陕西省为主要研究区域,采用层次分析法,构建矩阵模型,研究影响陕西省农村居住地生态环境的农民因素、生产活动和政府因素3个层次,包括周边乡镇企业废物排放、农用投入品的使用、畜禽养殖业废物排放、人均消费支出、农村人均家庭纯收入、农村家庭恩格尔系数、环保意识、政府监管力度、环境保护财政支出,相关政策法规等10个因素所占权重,得到不同因素的重要性排序。[结果]乡镇企业废物排放、农用投入品的使用、农村人均家庭纯收入和农村人均消费支出是影响农村居住地生态环境的主要因素,且重要性排序为乡镇企业废物排放农用投入品的使用农村人均家庭纯收入农村人均消费支出。[结论]加强乡镇企业废物排放管理和农用投入品的生产和使用审查,降低不必要的消费支出,同时为农民提供更多的就业机会,提高人均家庭村收入,是目前改善农村居住地生态环境的有效措施,为农民提供一个安全舒适的居住场所,这也将有利于农村经济的可持续发展。     

加快推进农村经济社会全面发展——在“纪念农村改革30周年学术研讨会”上的发言

文章全面总结了农村改革开放30年来所取得的伟大成就,认为在农村实施了三大战略性改革举措、取得了六大发展成果;分析了当前农业农村发展的形势,提出加快城乡一体化发展要明确统筹城乡发展的主线,实行城镇化与新农村建设双轮驱动,大力推进农村经济、政治、文化、社会建设.     

绿色农产品数字化标识与品牌战略协同研究

[目的]农业品牌化已经成为农业现代化的核心标志。数字化标识在推动农产品品牌建设等方面提供了数字信息与技术支撑,但对于二者之间的协同仍缺乏系统科学的研究。[方法]文章通过文献梳理、对比分析、案例分析等方法,明确绿色农产品数字化标识与品牌战略的概念,分析我国绿色农产品数字化标识与品牌战略发展过程中的成效和存在的问题,提出促进我国绿色农产品数字化标识与品牌战略协同对策。[结果]（1）明确了绿色农产品数字化标识与品牌战略的内涵、外延和协同关联;以协同理论为基础,提出了绿色农产品数字化标识与品牌战略的协同思路和机制;指出绿色农产品数字化标识提升农业品牌战略和价值,农业品牌战略促进绿色农产品数字化标识创新升级。（2）我国绿色农产品数字化标识与品牌战略协同取得明显成效,但仍存在农业标准体系不够健全完善、结构不尽合理、农产品质量认证体系和认证管理制度不规范等问题。[结论]加强环境建设、可追溯系统平台标准体系和技术建设、自主创新研发应用、品牌宣传营销、试点工作等,可促进绿色农产品数字化与品牌战略协同。     

Homestead management in China from the “separation of two rights” to the “separation of three rights”: Visualization and analysis of hot topics and trends by mapping knowledge domains of academic papers in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)

Rural to urban migration under China’s rapid urbanization has created inefficient use of rural homestead land. To address these issues, there is increasing interest in rural homestead system reform in China. Although several reforms have been implemented in pilot areas, reviews of the related accumulated literature are rare. The objectives of this study are the following: (i) to discuss the research transition from the “separation of two rights” to the “separation of three rights” in homestead management and (ii) draw conclusions on current research conditions, hot topics, and trends. This study provides a reference for further and deeper rural homestead system reform in China and regions worldwide. We collected and sorted 640 research papers on the topic of the separation of three rights in homestead (hereinafter referred to as STRH) or the homestead land use rights from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and used CiteSpace and VOSviewer to visualize and map knowledge domains. The results show that: (1) From the study of the homestead land use rights to the study of the STRH, there is pronounced synergy between national policies and the number of published papers. The STRH has become a popular research field since 2018. (2) Most researchers are experts and scholars engaged in the study of agricultural economics, civil and commercial law, administrative law, or local legal systems. (3) Current and future studies on the STRH are and will be conducted in terms of the definition of concepts and connotations, confirmation of rights and registration, implementation paths, rural homestead system reform, rural revitalization strategy, reform challenges and countermeasures, risk control, and overall planning. (4) The studies on the STRH have integrity, and show characteristics of inheritance between it and studies on the homestead land use rights. (5) Studies on typical cases for the STRH should be conducted in combination with the latest strategic requirements such as rural land system reform, rural revitalization strategy, and integrated urban and rural development.     

城乡融合视角下河南省乡村地域功能评价及振兴路径研究

[目的]通过分析城乡融合与乡村振兴的互动关系,在深入了解我国城乡发展规律与变化趋势的基础上,探析符合时代要求的乡村振兴路径对于突出乡村地域功能特色,推动实施乡村振兴战略具有积极意义。[方法]文章从乡村地域功能的角度探析城乡融合和乡村振兴的科学内涵,通过对研究区域的乡村地域功能进行评价,通过分析其生产、生活、生态空间格局特征,在此基础上结合乡村振兴目标对振兴路径进行分析。[结果]城乡融合视角下的河南省乡村地域功能表现出一定的空间分异特征,生产发展功能指数其生产发展功能指数主要介于0.035～0.265,高值区主要集中在豫南的南阳、驻马店、信阳,中值区集中在豫东北,低值区集中在豫中城市群。生活功能指数主要介于0.015～0.205,低于生产功能指数,呈现出地带性分布特征,生态功能指数介于0.025～0.019,高值区主要集中在森林资源较丰富的伏牛山区。总体功能指数介于0.105～0.645,豫西大于豫东,表现出一定的区域差异。[结论]城乡融合背景下,实施乡村振兴战略的根本路径就是补齐乡村的不足与短板,发挥城乡融合优势,通过优化城乡空间布局,促进城乡要素双向流动;从城乡融合与乡村振兴的相互作用机理来看,要素在城乡之间双向流动和平等交换是城乡融合发展的必然要求,也是乡村振兴的重要途径。结合当前河南省乡村振兴战略规划的阶段性要求,乡村振兴路径探索应基于对乡村地域功能格局与演变规律的科学认知,立足于乡村地域功能类型及地方发展基础,遵循因地制宜、统筹规划、分类指导、分区推进的指导原则。围绕乡村振兴的五大目标体系,总结和梳理不同功能类型的乡村地域空间存在的功能缺陷,分析资源整合方式,促进乡村重构。     

日本农业数据协作平台建设运营的做法与启示

[目的]通过对日本农业数据协作平台(WAGRI,Agricultural Data Collaboration Platform)的建设运营机制的研究分析,了解了平台建设的目标定位、功能架构、运营机制、经费保障、应用成效和未来计划,为推进我国数字农业农村发展和国家农业农村大数据中心建设提供了重要的参考借鉴。[方法]以赴日本农林水产省实地学习交流作为数据来源,查阅相关资料,总结日本在数字农业技术研发创新、推广应用方面的成效,提出加快推进我国数字农业农村发展的建议。[结果]在日本,涉农核心数据作为战略性资源主要由日本政府掌握;WAGRI平台建设在大数据预测、农机资源利用、信息技术服务、智能农场运行等方面都起到了重要作用;WAGRI平台打破了数据壁垒,实现了数据共享,改善了数据服务,为推动超省力、智能化、高品质农业生产提供了数据支撑,发挥了数据价值。[结论]应充分借鉴WAGRI建设经验和运营机制,攻克核心关键技术,加快建设国家农业农村大数据中心、推动建立数据资源共建共享的合作机制,以问题和需求为导向推动数字技术落地见效。     

县域田园综合体选址评价与建设路径分析*——以江苏省溧阳市为例

［目的］“田园综合体”建设作为乡村振兴战略的具体体现,能较好地整合乡村山水林田湖资源,符合区域统筹、特色产业融合、城乡协调发展理念,而选址评价是乡村开发建设的前提,因此,构建田园综合体选址评价体系,并探索建设路径,对指导我国县域“田园综合体”建设具有一定的理论与现实意义。［方法］文章首先依据相关理论对“田园综合体”的概念内涵进行了界定与辨析,进而提出了田园综合体定义的“三性”特征,选取景观性、乡村性、体验性三大类12个指标,构建了评价指标体系,并以江苏省溧阳市为例,采用模糊综合评判法、FANP模型（模糊网络分析模型）和GIS空间分析技术,定量评价了县域田园综合体建设的适宜性等级。［结果］溧阳市建设田园综合体的总体情况好, 15个备选村中评判等级为“高度适宜”10个,“中等适宜”4个,“勉强适宜”1个,无“不适宜”级的乡村。最后,结合空间分布特征,规划了溧阳市田园综合体综合开发建设的“两轴三区四环”空间布局,并提出田园综合体建设路径建议。［结论］选址评价体系具有科学性和可操作性,评价结果直观真实,建设路径有针对性,可为田园综合体建设提供科学参考。     

The top 100 questions of importance to the future of global agriculture

Despite a significant growth in food production over the past half-century, one of the most important challenges facing society today is how to feed an expected population of some nine billion by the middle of the 20th century. To meet the expected demand for food without significant increases in prices, it has been estimated that we need to produce 70–100 per cent more food, in light of the growing impacts of climate change, concerns over energy security, regional dietary shifts and the Millennium Development target of halving world poverty and hunger by 2015. The goal for the agricultural sector is no longer simply to maximize productivity, but to optimize across a far more complex landscape of production, rural development, environmental, social justice and food consumption outcomes. However, there remain significant challenges to developing national and international policies that support the wide emergence of more sustainable forms of land use and efficient agricultural production. The lack of information flow between scientists, practitioners and policy makers is known to exacerbate the difficulties, despite increased emphasis upon evidence-based policy. In this paper, we seek to improve dialogue and understanding between agricultural research and policy by identifying the 100 most important questions for global agriculture. These have been compiled using a horizon-scanning approach with leading experts and representatives of major agricultural organizations worldwide. The aim is to use sound scientific evidence to inform decision making and guide policy makers in the future direction of agricultural research priorities and policy support. If addressed, we anticipate that these questions will have a significant impact on global agricultural practices worldwide, while improving the synergy between agricultural policy, practice and research. This research forms part of the UK Government's Foresight Global Food and Farming Futures project.     

Working to Make Interdisciplinarity Work: Investing in Communication and Interpersonal Relationships

In this paper, we apply qualitative methodologies to explore the practice of interdisciplinary research. The UK's Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) Programme aims to advance understanding of the challenges faced by rural areas through funding interdisciplinary research to inform future policy and practice on management choices for the countryside and rural economies. Addressing the challenges faced by rural areas often requires a combination of different perspectives, involving research to address subjects that may lie beyond the skills of individual researchers. An interdisciplinary approach requires the integration of both data/information and the experiences and perspectives of different people (natural/social scientists, local people and policy‐makers). We focus here on the processes involved in making interdisciplinarity work, documenting the experiences, perceptions, ideas and concerns of researchers working in interdisciplinary projects (specifically two EU‐funded projects but also the first wave of RELU projects). A key finding from this research is that interdisciplinarity requires conscious effort, time and resources for the development of interpersonal relationships to enhance effective communication and thus successful collaboration.     

Farm diversification strategies in northwestern Spain: Factors affecting transitional pathways

The present paper identifies strategies that farmers have undertaken in northwestern Spain, an area characterized by late structural adjustment. For this study, a survey of over 559 farms has been conducted in four areas representative of different specializations and rural situations, from marginal to productive intensification. Farms have been categorized according to social and productive characteristics through a multivariable analysis. Four basic behaviors have been identified and connected with farm types and rural areas using a multiple correspondence analysis. These basic strategies were defined depending on whether investments have been made on farms to increase or intensify production and whether new on- or off-farm diversification activities have been introduced. This analysis allows us to assess transitional pathways for the future and to assume some consequences of farm behavior in connection with structural adjustments. Thus far, empirical evidence shows that the nature and main drivers of the diversification process are different from those in northern European areas. At the same time, a significant level of farm abandonment is registered.