Policy aspects of housebuilding on farmland in Britain

Summary

This paper reviews post‐war policies for rural settlement and agriculture in Britain, and reconsiders them in the context of EEC surplus farm production and pressures for increased housebuilding. The political context is briefly sketched through a discussion of critics and defenders of rural policy. Recent policy changes are then summarized, leading to a discussion of potential rural settlement strategies and of the criteria against which they might be evaluated.     

气候变化对农业和粮食生产影响的研究进展与发展方向

农业是以作物生长为基础,因此,受气候变化的影响很大。我国幅员辽阔,东西和南北之间气候 差异显著。气候变化将直接导致我国主要农区水资源和热量资源时空分布格局变化。农业生产所依赖的土 壤肥力和作物品种资源及其抗逆性也会在气候变化的作用下发生变化。气候变化直接导致局部地区农业气 候灾害和农业病虫害频度与强度加剧。在气候变化作用下,我国农业作物种植制度、农业生产结构和地区 布局将会发生相应的变化,导致我国粮食产量波动变化,甚至影响到国家粮食安全。因此,迫切需要深入 分析气候变化对我国农业和粮食生产影响的研究进展,提出进一步深入研究的重点发展方向。目前,国内 外围绕气候变化对农业和粮食生产的影响开展了很多研究。综合进来,主要有集中在气候变化对农区水热 土资源要素时空分布变化的影响,对作物品种抗逆性、抗逆基因、品种改良的影响与适应,对作物种植制 度、生产结构与地区布局的影响与适应,对农业生物灾害和非生物灾害尤其是农业旱涝灾害发生的影响, 以及对粮食产量、国家粮食安全和农业发展的影响等方面。从发展趋势看,深入开展气候变化对我国农业 和粮食生产系统的影响机理及适应机制研究,科学地把握气候变化背景下水热资源条件、土壤肥力、品种 资源等变化规律,揭示农业病虫害流行暴发特征和气象灾害发生机理,模拟、分析和预测气候变化对我国 农业、粮食生产和国家粮食安全的影响程度和变化趋势,具有重大的科学价值和现实意义,因而也将是气 候变化对农业和粮食生产影响研究的重点发展方向。     

欠发达地区社区参与生态农业旅游模式研究--以广东龙湾镇南充村为例

欠发达地区社区参与是生态农业旅游发展的一个重要内容,它不仅能够增加居民的经济收入,且对于进行民主化的生态农业旅游开发也具有极其重要的意义。南充村地处广东西部山区,社区参与龙湾生态农业旅游已有一定的雏形,但在社区参与的过程中存在参与的程度不高、缺乏参与机制和其他产业体系配套等问题。因此需要强化社区参与意识,构建南充村社区参与生态农业旅游发展的决策、利益分配、环境保护和技能培训等模式,引导他们在参与实践中不断探索、积极进取,最终朝着成熟参与层次方向迈进。     

The viability of cotton-based organic farming systems in India

Cotton farmers in many developing countries are facing decreasing marginal returns due to stagnating yields and high input costs. Conversion to organic management could offer an alternative. In a two year comparative study in central India covering 170 cotton fields, organic farms achieved cotton yields that were on par with those in conventional farms, whereby nutrient inputs and input costs per crop unit were reduced by half. Due to 10–20% lower total production costs and a 20% organic price premium, average gross margins from organic cotton fields were 30–40% higher than in the conventional system. Although the crops grown in rotation with cotton were sold without premium, organic farms achieved 10–20% higher incomes from agriculture. In addition to these economic benefits, the organic farming system does not burden soil and groundwater with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. However, in this study only minor differences were detected in soil fertility parameters of organic and conventional fields. Altogether, the results suggest that conversion to organic farming can improve livelihoods of smallholders while protecting natural resources. Income loss due to reduced yields in initial years of transition, however, constitutes a major hurdle, especially for poorer farmers. It is thus important to support farmers in overcoming the obstacles of the conversion period.     

Safe food,green food,good food: Chinese Community Supported Agriculture and the rising middle class

The growth of China's middle class is driving an expansion of interest in ‘green’ and sustainable food, food that is perceived to be healthy, safe and environmentally friendly. Self-consciously ‘sustainable’ agriculture is a new phenomenon in China, but it has emerged from, and builds upon, an agrarian history that is markedly different from that of the West. In this paper, we address the relationship between the Chinese middle class, an overwhelmingly urban group, and Chinese sustainable agriculture, a largely urban-oriented enterprise, from the perspective of our work in establishing and operating Beijing's first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. We discuss the farm's environmental and institutional sustainability, situating its development within the larger context of contemporary Chinese agriculture, and we examine the potential for future success with CSA models in China based on evidence from this case.     

Assessing a farm's sustainability: insights from resilience thinking

Research on sustainability in agriculture often focuses on reducing the environmental impacts of production systems. However, environmentally friendly production methods may not be sufficient to ensure the long-term economic and social sustainability of a farm. Taking a systems approach to sustainable farming, we turn to resilience thinking with its focus on the interdependence of social and ecological systems. We apply this approach to farming by conceptualizing a farm as being part of a set of systems spanning several spatial scales and including agro-ecological, economic and political-social domains. These subsystems interact and are subjected to their own complex dynamics. Within such a complex adaptive system, farm sustainability can only be achieved through adaptability and change. To be ready for the inevitable periods of turbulent change, a farmer needs to retain diversity and redundancy to ensure adaptability. Resilience is thus more likely to emerge when farmers hone the capacity to transform the farm, when farm production is attuned to the local ecological carrying capacity, and when learning and innovation are targeted outcomes. This article shows how resilience theory applied to farming may provide a more comprehensive route to achieving sustainability and offers rules of thumb as guides to building farm resilience.     

黑龙江省两大平原现代农业经营主体发展研究

黑龙江省两大平原是国务院建立全国首个现代农业综合配套改革试验区,以此为契机发展现代农业,能充分利用试验区内耕地资源富饶、国家政策支持、科技水平较高及农垦系统示范等优势。文章通过把握现代农业发展的内在规律,将现代农业经营主体的发展按组织属性分为大型企业运作型经营主体、龙头企业带动型经营主体、合作经营型经营主体、家庭农场型经营主体等4种类型。通过海亮有机畜牧养殖公司、望奎县北极雪速冻食品有限公司、呼兰区大用现代农业农机专业合作社、绥棱大力家庭农场等案例,从实证的角度分析现代农业经营主体的发展定位与产业效应。并指出发展现代农业经营主体现存的制约因素与约束条件,提出相应的对策建议,进而促进两大平原土地流转制度创新、农业结构调整、高效农业产业体系构建,以期为农业生产力快速提升,农业增产、农民增收,切实带动黑龙江省现代农业的发展提供参考借鉴。     

加快发展农业特色产业的启示与思考——基于礼县苹果产业的调研

文章以礼县苹果产业的发展为例,阐述了礼县立足县情,充分利用自然资源优势,选择发展苹果产业作为当地发展经济,实现农民增收、农业增效,探索形成一条富民强县的产业之路中取得的成效及存在的问题,并提出对策和建议。该文主要采用对比的方法,使用礼县苹果产业发展的具体数据,论述了农业特色产业对促进农民的脱贫致富、激发了农村生机和活力、夯实农业可持续发展基础发挥的重要作用,同时以礼县苹果产业为例,探讨分析了在不发达地区,农业特色产业存在区域化发展不平衡、生产综合优势不突出,品牌培育意识不高、营销成效不显著,生产管理水平较低、产品效益有待提高,产区内劳动力不足、产业发展急需提升等一些共性问题,并从政府统筹规划、品牌建设、品种改良和生产技术培训、培育壮大龙头企业等角度提出促进农业特色产业健康发展的对策和建议,为中西部地区农业特色产业的发展提供借鉴和参考。     

Social capital,risk preference and adoption of improved farm land management practices in Ethiopia

Many developing countries grapple with high rates of farmland degradation and low agricultural productivity amidst increasing climate variability. Considerable efforts have been exerted to promote the diffusion of improved farmland management to address these challenges. Despite these efforts, adoption rates, especially of soil conservation and water harvesting technologies, are still low, which has been the subject of investigation in several studies in Ethiopia and elsewhere. Most studies on the adoption of these technologies, however, tend to focus on economic incentives only, paying little attention to the role of social capital. This article provides evidence of the effects of different dimensions of social capital on innovation adoption across households holding different levels of risk aversion. We address this issue by using cross section and panel data from Ethiopia. Results show that social capital plays a significant role in enhancing the adoption of improved farmland management practices. We also find evidence that the effect of social capital across households with heterogeneous risk taking behavior is different.     

Sustainable agricultural intensification: the role of cardamom agroforestry in the East Usambaras,Tanzania

The East Usambaras in Tanzania are a tropical biodiversity hotspot where current agricultural management practices pose threats to forest conservation and development objectives. Promoting sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) would improve long-term productivity and reduce pressure on forest reserves. The study objective was to identify household-level characteristics that influence adoption of improved management practices, specifically soil replenishment practices, in order to identify opportunities and constraints to scaling up SAI to landscape level. First, three common farming systems and a fourth agroforestry (AF) model were developed to estimate the relative profitability of incorporating fallow, manure, and non-timber forest product activities. Next, household surveys were conducted and a logistic regression analysis was used to measure the influence of socioeconomic characteristics, physical and financial assets, tenure security, and plot-specific attributes on adoption of soil replenishment practices that were specified in the model. Findings showed that the AF model was financially competitive but raises opportunity costs to labour when compared to common systems. Marital status, household size, remittances, credit access, and tenure security significantly influenced adoption of fallow and applying organic inputs. Significant plot-specific attributes included perceived fertility and distance from the homestead. Policies to scale up SAI should consider these factors and emphasize improving markets for AF species and extension services.