Values,trust, and management in New Zealand agriculture

This study provides empirical evidence of the link between outlook and practice among farmers, foresters, and growers in New Zealand. Specifically, we use a large, nationally representative survey to assess how foci on production and environmental outcomes influence the adoption of six good management practices aimed at increasing agricultural sustainability. We then show that while environmentally oriented and production-oriented decision-makers are statistically more prepared to take risks, all rural decision-makers are more likely to adopt new technologies and good practices after seeing their relative advantages successfully demonstrated. Next, we show that social and professional networks are small, often limited to five or fewer operators, which begs the question about how the risk-averse operators become informed about good practice. Hence, we ultimately analyse trust in order to identify other credible demonstrators or informants. We find that veterinarians are the most trusted source of information and that government (at all levels) is the least.     

Using stated preference techniques to value four key ecosystem services on New Zealand arable land

Many researchers have noted that not only natural ecosystems but also landscapes actively modified by humans (engineered or designed ecosystems) can significantly impact the level of ecosystem goods and availability of services, thereby impacting human and social welfare. In New Zealand, agricultural lands are the largest area of engineered ecosystems on the national landscape. Study of the welfare effects of ecosystem services delivered by agricultural land can provide important insights into the management of engineered or designed ecosystems. This paper uses the contingent valuation method (CVM) and choice modelling to estimate values of four key ecosystem services: climate regulation, water regulation, soil retention and scenic views, for New Zealand land used for arable farming.     

Searching an Ex Situ Collection of Wheat Genetic Resources

A theoretical model is developed and applied to the search for disease and pest resistance in ex situ collections of wheat genetic resources, employing actual data on frequency distributions, disease losses, and search costs. Experiments developed from case studies clarify several misperceptions about the value of gene banks and their utilization by breeders. The observation that wheat breeders use gene banks rarely does not imply that marginal accessions have low value. High costs of transferring genes with conventional breeding techniques mean that it may be efficient to store certain categories of genetic resources (such as landraces) 'unused' for many years.     

From rhetoric to reality: farmer perspectives on the economic potential of biochar in China

Biochar has garnered much attention for its potential to improve farming productivity and sustainability by amending soil, enhancing crop yields, improving fertilizer use efficiency and sequestering carbon. However, few publications consider farmer perspectives on whether biochar is attractive as an agricultural input. This paper therefore investigates the micro-economics and social suitability of biochar in four contrasting Chinese agricultural systems, using linear optimization models and qualitative contextual data. Results demonstrate that commercially produced biochar is uneconomic as an independent farming input, whilst farm-produced biochar shows promise in just one of four case-study sites. This suggests that biochar research in China should shift away from on-farm production and application of pure biochar, towards combined biochar-inorganic fertilizer products.     

The assessment of land valuation in land consolidation schemes: The need for a new land valuation framework

There are principally two ways for quantifying the land value of parcels in land consolidation schemes. The first approach involves assigning an agronomic value based on soil quality and land productivity represented by a score while the second method determines the market value signified in monetary terms. In Cyprus, the market value is employed, which is defined through an empirical process based on visual inspection of all parcels and hence it constitutes a type of mass land appraisal. This process presents weaknesses regarding time, costs, transparency, accuracy, reliability, consistency and fairness. In addition, the lack of adequate sales transactions in rural areas further complicates the whole process. Consequently, these deficiencies have adverse effects in the preparation of land consolidation plans and cause arguments between landowners and the authorities carrying out each scheme. Although experts are aware of this issue, there is a lack of research investigating land valuation factors and the quality of this traditional process. Therefore, this paper discusses, explores and assesses the land valuation undertaken by the Land Valuation Committee (LVC) in a case study area in Cyprus and proposes a new framework for carrying out this process. The assessment of the current process is undertaken by employing advanced spatial analysis techniques, including multiple regression analysis (MRA) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) within a GIS. Results show that eight out of fourteen land valuation factors related to parcel location characteristics, legal factors, physical attributes and economic conditions are the most significant. In addition, although the basic regression fits are quite good, some of the assumptions required for testing the hypothesis are not met, indicating unreliability and inconsistency in the relationships modelled. Furthermore, the presence of spatial autocorrelation reveals important regional variation in these factors suggesting significant inconsistencies in the valuation policy applied by the LVC. The latter two findings confirm experts’ concerns and suggest the need for a new land valuation framework that is designed to overcome the problems of the current process. The application of this framework and the investigation of various critical relevant issues is the core of ongoing further research.     

广西北部湾经济区城市土地集约利用研究

对广西北部湾经济区城市土地集约利用研究有助于实现土地的合理利用和可持续高效利用;在综合考虑城市土地资源集约利用的内涵和指标选取原则的基础上,从城市土地集约利用的的条件基础、土地投入强度、土地利用程度、土地利用效益、土地集约利用发展趋势等5个方面构建广西北部湾经济区城市土地集约利用评价指标体系,运用综合评价法和障碍因子分析法,对城市土地集约利用水平进行综合测度,结果为广西湾经济区城市土地集约利用水平低,为低度利用,其中主要的制约因素前3住为城市人口与用地弹性系数、固定资产投资额与用地弹胜系数、地均年固定资产投资额。     

The environmental,social and economic effects of recent technological changes in sugarcane on the State of São Paulo,Brazil

From 2007 to 2017, the Agro‐Environmental Protocol of the Sugar and Energy Sector was in force, an agreement between sugarcane mill owners and the State Government of São Paulo, Brazil, proposing to eliminate sugarcane burning as a method to facilitate the harvest. Simultaneously, the sugarcane harvest was becoming widely mechanized while, under the interests of capital accumulation, the mills were entering the information and communication technology era and providing the agricultural processes with more precise and immediate management and technological controls, similar to those implemented in the mills' administrative and industrial operations in the 1990s. Short‐term factors, including environmental factors, favoured sugarcane technological changes. As a result, there was a mass layoff of rural workers and an increasing number of people/workers in agricultural mechanization, transportation and maintenance of machinery and administrative as well. The whole process highlighted the differences between mills, resulting in small and medium sugarcane farmers and mills to become the most impacted, in operational and financial terms, by the accelerating mechanization of the sugarcane industry as a whole.     

The Spanish path of agrarian change, 1950–2005: From authoritarian to export‐oriented productivism

The aim of this study is to determine whether the evolution of Spain's agrarian change, between 1950 and 2005, exhibits any features important enough to differentiate it from the common model of developed countries in Western Europe. On the one hand, the Spanish agrarian transformations share the main features of the changes in Western Europe: technological innovation, increased production and productivity, the diminishing importance of the agricultural sector, close integration with the industrial sector, and a high environmental impact. On the other hand, a series of important peculiarities can be observed in Spain's agrarian change: strong expansion of intensive livestock farming; the role of increased irrigation in explaining the transformation of agriculture; policies that offered very little support to the agricultural sector under a dictatorship that denied a voice to farmers; and the prominent role of agriculture in the economy despite its small contribution to GDP.     

Exploring the evolution of land tenure and land use change in Panama: Linking land policy with development outcomes

In this paper I discuss the linkages between land use management and land use change, as well as the impacts of land use policies at the local level. Specifically, I suggest the current land tenure regime in Panama is the outcome of a path-dependent process that includes a Spanish legacy of land tenure institutions and beliefs, a policy-making process that responds to immediate or short-term development outcomes, and the broader political economic context. First, I introduce theoretical perspectives on land policy and development. These are followed by a narrative of the evolution of land tenure in Panama, in the context of develoment processes and land policies in Latin America. In the final section, with the case of lifestyle migration to Bocas del Toro, Panama, I illustrate how the pathways between land management and land use, in the context of political economic development drivers and outcomes, have significant local outcomes.     

基于湖南省经济发展的土地资源可持续利用研究

土地资源是经济发展的基础;以湖南省经济发展过程中土地利用的现状剖析为基础,探讨区域经济发展的土地利用对策及途径。     

新农科建设背景下农林经济管理专业仿真教学研究

新农科建设着力于系统培养农林经济管理专业学生的理论知识、实践能力、创新创业能力与综合素养。基于知识-能力-素养-个性的人才培养要求,结合农林经济管理专业人才培养目标与专业课程框架体系,阐释了农林经济管理专业仿真实训教学的课程属性、设计理念、功能框架、运行机制与应用价值。提出了农林经济管理专业人才培养目标、培养模式、教学手段的新要求与新思路。     

中西部城郊资源型县域经济发展研究--以山西省长治县为例

城郊资源型县域在众多中西部县域中是一类具有比较优势的群体；根据经济地理学理论，从中西部县域经济整体特征及普遍存在的问题入手，通过分析该类县域经济系统动力机制揭示其经济运行特征，指出加快城郊资源型县域经济发展对于增强内陆中心城市辐射带动功能，促进城乡融合都具有重要作用：初步探讨了中西部城郊资源型县域经济发展原则，并以山西省长治县为例予以印证。     

The economics of land fragmentation in the north of Vietnam*

Land fragmentation, where a single farm has a number of parcels of land, is a common feature of agriculture in many countries, especially in developing countries. In Vietnam, land fragmentation is common, especially in the north. For the whole country, there are about 75 million parcels of land, an average of seven to eight plots per farm household. Such fragmentation can be seen to have negative and positive benefits for farm households and the community generally. Comparative statics analysis and analysis of survey data have led to the conclusion that small‐sized farms are likely to be more fragmented, and that fragmentation had a negative impact on crop productivity and increased family labour use and other money expenses. Policies which allow the appropriate opportunity cost of labour to be reflected at the farm level may provide appropriate incentives to trigger farm size change and land consolidation. Policies which tip the benefits in favour of fewer and larger plots, such as strong and effective research and development, an active extension system and strong administrative management, may also lead to land consolidation.     

浅议农用地分等成果在第二次土地调查中的应用

将农用地分等成果应用到第二次土地调查中,可对土地条件调查进行探索;土地数量与土地质量信息的结合,为土地利用总体规划修编、基本农田划定、占补平衡管理、土地开发整理规划、土地整理项目后评价等提供技术支持,进而实现土地数量与质量管理并重.     

湖南省经济空间结构演变及其经济溢出效应研究

以县域为基本空间单元,以人均GDP为衡量指标分析湖南省经济空间结构演变过程,结果表明,自1990年代中期以来,湖南省县域经济处于空间集聚过程中,经济空间结构呈现明显的核心—边缘模式。通过模型对经济空间格局的经济增长效应的分析表明,湖南省县域间经济增长的空间相关性不显著。HH型县域集聚区内部经济发展相互促进作用有限,区域经济之间的相关性不明显;HL型县域与相邻县域呈负相关,其经济发展剥夺了外围县域的发展机会;LH型县域获得高水平发展县域的辐射获得很快发展,有向HH型转变的趋势;LL型县域之间的经济溢出效应不显著。     

韩国殖民时期农业技术的研究与普及--以水田农法为中心

1910年，朝鲜沦为日本殖民地，日本帝国主义就开始了对朝鲜农业技术的殖民性改造与掠夺。本文介绍了日本殖民统治时期对韩国农业技术的研究与普及工作，探讨了农业技术的普及与推广政策，分析了这些技术对当时朝鲜农业的影响以及对现代韩国农业的发展方向的影响。     

农业供水改革的问题分析与途径研究

简述我国农业水资源利用的低效率,分析了我国农业用水管理中存在的问题,提出设计节水激励机制、改善水利工程管理、完善有利于农业产业化的相应对策。     

基于脱钩理论的广州市耕地消耗与经济增长总量评估

采用总量比较法的脱钩评价模式,设计耕地消耗与经济增长总量的脱钩指标及脱钩率,计算了1996-2002年广州市耕地消耗与经济增长总量的脱钩关系;研究表明,广州市耕地消耗与经济增长总量的脱钩关系极不稳定,先脱钩再耦合再脱钩再耦合;1997年、1998年和2001年的脱钩关系说明广州市在这些年份中用少于以往的耕地消耗产生了多于以往的经济财富,耕地压力大大减少,但在其它年份,两者未能实现脱钩,广州市对耕地占用的控制力度仍有待加强。