基于WSR方法论的都市农业旅游可持续发展研究

该文考察了国内外都市农业旅游发展现状和问题,论述了都市农业旅游可持续发展的内涵和系统观,并以WSR方法论为理论框架,分析都市农业旅游可持续发展的系统要素,提出了都市农业旅游可持续发展等7个实施步骤。     

新疆棉农连作行为分析 —基于棉花替代作物可选择空间的思考

40多年来,新疆农业结构的调整的是从以小麦为主导地位的作物结构向棉花占主导地位的作物结构的转变过程。但是在植棉比重越来越高的过程中,棉花连作现象也日渐突出,该文通过相关数据资料说明了连作的危害,并从棉花的替代作物可选择性空间角度分析了棉农连作行为。     

中国农用地分等成果应用中的问题与建议

目前我国农用地分等这一重要基础性工作已基本完成,农用地分等成果已经开始应用于国土资源管理和农业资源管理的具体业务中。该文及时总结了农用地分等成果应用中在成果检验、"等—级—价"集成应用、应用领域和应用效果评价等方面存在的问题,建议:进行典型样带分布规律的分析与检验;开展农用地等、级和价三级综合应用;引入多元统计和数学模型等方法进行成果检验与分析;及时评价应用效果。     

节水高效农业的外部性及激励政策的经济分析

进入21世纪,水资源短缺与经济社会可持续发展的矛盾日益突出,如何解决这一矛盾,成为目前各级政府、学者以及社会各界所关心的重点问题之一。有专家学者提出引入价格机制调节水资源需求量的观点不失为一重要措施。但我们也应看到,在我国总需水量中农业灌溉需水量占60%以上,如果提高水价,势必增加农业生产成本进而影响农业生产。而节水高效农业的建设,可有效地缓解农业用水紧张的矛盾。如何使农民产生建立节水高效农业的动力,是解决问题的关键。文章主要利用外部性理论分析农民节水所产生的正外部性,导致农民节水的动力不足,以及如何解决正外部性溢出效应问题,并提出相应的改进措施。     

论农业和农村科技发展的人文环境建设

农业和农村科技发展的人文环境建设,是促进我国农业和农村科技发展,推进社会主义新农村建设的重要条件,也是农村科学文化建设的重要内容。要积极推进农业和农村科技体制改革,注重农村教育和科普工作,加强农村科技法制建设和科技伦理建设,积极营造有利于农业和农村科技发展的良好社会人文环境。     

Backward Capitalism in Rural South Africa: Prospects for Accelerating Accumulation in the Eastern Cape

The forces of production in rural South Africa and the performance of the agricultural sector form the central theme of this paper. It shows that the long‐term lack of dynamism of capitalist development in South Africa as a whole is reflected in and is responsible for failures of rural development. These failures have resulted in acute suffering, not least in Eastern Cape province, where barriers to dynamic capitalist growth remain very high. The paper concludes with proposals for promoting more rapid wage employment growth and capitalist development and for protecting vulnerable rural residents from the worst consequences of such development. The proposals are contrasted with the conventional wisdom in South Africa, especially the rural development strategies proposed by the current government.     

Improving China’s food and environmental security with conservation agriculture†

China has achieved impressive increases in agricultural output in recent decades. Yet, past approaches centred on a growing use of fertilizers, pesticides, fuel and water are not likely to achieve the required 30–50% additional increases in food production by mid-century. We show that efficiencies of production are falling and the costs of environmental harm are increasing. Agricultural innovations that improve natural capital are urgently needed. Conservation agriculture (CA) is now practised on >8?Mha in China and is offering promising prospects of both enhanced yields and environmental services. Our meta-analysis of 60 papers with 395 observations in China shows notable benefits from CA. Mean yield increase was 4.5% or 263?kg?ha^?1 for wheat, 8.3% or 424?kg?ha^?1 for maize, and 1.65% or 250?kg?ha^?1 for rice. In 34 datasets from 22 published papers (experimental duration: 2–17 years), 26 datasets (76.5%) show that CA increased yield and soil organic carbon (mean SOC increase of >3?g.kg^?1 in 0–10?cm soil depth) when compared with traditional tillage. Key priorities for the spread of more sustainable forms of agriculture in China are national policy and financial support, better coordination across agencies, and better extension for farmers.     

Gender and conservation agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Conservation agriculture (CA) involves the practice of concurrent minimum tillage, permanent soil cover using crop residue, and crop rotation. Evidence indicates that CA increases agricultural productivity, reduces farming labour requirements, and improves soil quality. While CA is practised in several African contexts, little is known about its interaction with gender. This review synthesized knowledge on the interplay of gender and CA in sub-Saharan Africa. The review highlighted the relative neglect of gender issues in research on CA in SSA. Existing research was limited both in quantity and to a few countries in the region. There was also little critical focus on gender as a social phenomenon: a few of the studies conceptualized gender in terms of the socially constructed roles of men and women while the majority framed it in terms of the sexual categories of male and female. Compared to men, and due largely to gendered barriers, including lack of access to land; machinery; inputs; extension services; and credit facilities, women farmers adopted CA less and dis-adopted it more. CA increased women’s incomes, labour involvement, household food security, as well as risks for land and crop dispossession by men when farming becomes lucrative. It also increased workloads, employment opportunities and health risks for women. CA positively altered gender relations, boosting women’s participation in agricultural decision-making at the household level. Deliberately enlisting women as beneficiaries; working with men to advance their understanding of women’s needs in agriculture; and offering agricultural inputs directly to women are some strategies that enhanced women’s participation in CA. Gaps in current research on gender and CA include: critical focus on and understanding of gender as a social construct in relation to CA; the long-term impacts on CA for gender relations, incomes for men and women, and women’s empowerment; the sustainability of strategies for supporting gendered participation in CA; and the dynamics of gendered access to local farmland markets for CA.     

The political ecology of rice intensification in south India: Putting SRI in its places

The system of rice intensification (SRI) has been promoted across Asia as a means to improve rice yields while decreasing water use and external inputs. It is argued to be a generalisable means by which to revalidate smallholder livelihoods and improve food security across the region. Current debates about SRI, however, remain predominantly technical in scope, focusing on field‐level outcomes. To more adequately understand the potential of SRI for smallholder farmers, we argue that it is necessary to situate SRI within a political ecology framework that addresses how the adoption and practice of SRI is shaped by uneven access to key assets including labour, water, and extension networks. Fieldwork conducted in Mahabubnagar district in Telangana, south India—where SRI had been widely disadopted despite the achievement of higher yields—is used to illustrate why agronomic analysis must engage directly with the complex social contexts in which farmers operate.