Chinese consumers’ preferences for food quality test/measurement indicators and cues of milk powder: A case of Zhengzhou,China

Many food regulations focus on test/measurement indicators, such as hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) and traceability, etc. Other than these indicators, the food industry uses various cues such as product origin as indicators of product quality. However, in an environment where consumers’ confidence in food safety is low due to frequent food safety scandals, little is known about the efficiency of these test/measurement indicators and cues. This paper used the primary data collected in Zhengzhou (China) to estimate consumers’ preferences for test/measurement indicators and a new cue of “own farm” for milk powder. Our results show that country of origin is the most important cue attribute, followed by price and own farm. The importance of test/measurement indicators such as organic, traceability, and HACCP certification is relatively low. Also, the individual parameter estimates show that consumers’ preferences for test/measurement indicators currently in the market are weak and fragile. Interestingly, price has an inverse-U-shaped relationship with consumer utility, implying that Chinese consumers may perceive low-price milk powder as low quality. The results of this study provide important insight for regulatory authorities and the food industry to develop more effective policies and programs to improve consumer preferences for milk powder.     

论"入世"后我国农产品市场不利因素的逆转性

“入世”对我国农产品市场虽然会造成诸多不利因素，然而，这些因素将会得到逆转。这是因为：一方面，“入世”后，这些因素客观上具有逆转的必然性；另一方面，通过调整农村产业结构、扩大集约化规模经营以及实施各种利农政策，从主观上说，这些不利因素亦具有逆转的可能性。     

农产品物流不畅的原因分析及改善

农产品物流不畅影响农民的增收,而农产品物流不畅的根源在于我国农业传统的生产方式、经营方式和技术.改善和发展农产品物流需要政府和企业共同努力.     

影响农村三种非农就业途径的主要因素研究--对天津市农村社会的实证分析

文章探讨了影响农村劳动力非农就业倾向的主要因素。研究结果表明,区位条件对农村劳动力非农就业倾向的影响,主要表现为近城地区以大量企业及相对发达的各种要素市场为第一优势,吸纳了更多劳动力进入本地企业就业。教育总体上是影响农村劳动力非农就业倾向的最重要因素。但其在近城地区的影响却位居第二。在远城地区教育对增大农村非农就业倾向的作用更为显著,而且受教育程度越高这种倾向就越显著。各种文化水平的影响都普遍促进了劳动者到外地企业就业,但对进入本地企业就业和家庭非农经营的促进却并不普遍,其中初中教育对农民在本地企业就业的作用更显著些;高中教育提高农民从事非农家庭经营的倾向最为明显。耕地数量抑制农户劳动力外出务工,但对其在本地企业就业和家庭非农经营的影响也不显著。乡镇企业的发展增大了农民进入本地企业的就业倾向,劳动者供养的非劳动人口数量对农民非农就业的正向影响不显著,农户拥有的非农业和农业生产性资产对农村非农就业的影响不大。因此,加快推进农村城镇化;加强边远农村地区的中等教育,特别是职业技能教育;大力发展乡企和私企;完善农村社会保障体系;构建农村劳动供求信息系统等,是促进农村劳动力加速向非农产业转移的重要途径。     

衡阳市农产品加工业现状与对策研究

文章通过调查衡阳市的农产品加工业现状,结合政府相关部门提供的资料,分析了衡阳市龙头企业在经济发展中的作用及农产品加工业现状形成的原因,并提出解决问题的对策。     

我国农产品物流网络分析与重构

本文对我国现阶段农产品物流网络结构进行系统分析,从物流场所出发,用系统模型描述了系统的状态,构建了我国现阶段的物流系统有向图,以此为工具,估算了有向图的流量及损失,分析了农产品物流损耗的影响因素。在此基础上,充分考虑农产品物流面对的各种环境,重新构建了包括逆向物流在内的降低农产品物流损耗的物流系统有向图,为提升我国农产品物流系统功能提出建议。     

从酸刺村看宁夏南部山区非农产业发展问题

过剩劳动力沉积于农业和农村是造成我国农村长期贫困的根源。宁夏南部山区的西海固由于历史和环境的原因，当地的贫困问题更为突出，发展非农产业来转移农村过剩的劳动力是解决这类地区贫困问题的根本途径。本文通过对宁夏南部西吉县酸刺村的调查分析来论述宁夏南部山区的非农产业发展问题。     

亚热带地区国有林场可持续经营指标体系研究

通过实地调查研究,借鉴已发布的国际、国家、地区、经营单位层面森林可持续经营标准和指标,以森林可持续经营为主要内容,对亚热带地区国有林场森林经营、人力资源、社会资源等方面进行研究,构建出亚热带地区国有林场可持续经营指标体系,为亚热带地区国有林场可持续经营提供理论借鉴,期盼为制定亚热带地区森林可持续经营指标提供借鉴。     

Payments for agrobiodiversity conservation services: An overview of Latin American experiences,lessons learned and upscaling challenges

Many developing countries face a major challenge today: how to safeguard the biodiversity maintained in the fields of the rural poor - which constitute a national and global public good - whilst meeting those same people's development needs and rights? A solution to this dilemma has thus been sought in adapting the design and implementation of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) concepts to the conservation of agrobiodiversity.Here we review the application of nine such Payments for Agrobiodiversity Conservation (PACS) schemes that have been applied to date in four Latin American countries over the period 2010–2018. These covered 130 threatened varieties across a number of major food crops, and involved over 100 farming communities and 1,100 farmers (45 % of which were women). Conservation service offers were received through a competitive tender mechanism. Average bid offers revealed high heterogeneity, varying between US$675/ha. to ten times as much.In relation to issues identified as key to PES, such as spatial targeting, differentiated payments and conditionality, the underlying design of the PACS schemes may be considered solid. PACS-related prioritisation processes allow for the a priori identification of sites with high ecosystem service densities and high threat levels. The use of competitive tenders permits accounting for cost heterogeneity in the provision of conservation services and for payments to be differentiated. Conditionality is strong.In terms of implementation, a “back of the envelope” calculation based on the results of the competitive tenders suggests that conservation costs are modest. For a priority conservation portfolio of 100 varieties (which may be from different crops) each with a target area of five hectares, costs would amount to just under US$860,000 over twenty years or US$70,000 p.a. at a 5 % discount rate. The small-scale and one-off nature of the interventions realised to date, along with threatened crop variety seed availability constraints, have however meant that environmental effectiveness has been incomplete in the short-term (area cultivated with specific threatened varieties increased, but still below the “not at risk” threshold). The establishment of systematic monitoring systems is required to determine longer-term impacts and inform more regular PACS interventions within a dynamically evolving systems context.     

Adaptive responses to landscape changes from onshore wind energy development in the Republic of Ireland

Covering 26 years of Irish onshore wind energy development, this article tracks patterns in landscape changes from wind farm construction and identifies adaptive responses in public policy and by stakeholder groups. Wind farms face well-documented challenges with social acceptance due to landscape changes; however, little research has examined interactions between landscape change and social adaptations over the long-term. This article systematically reviews 20 policy documents, undertakes spatio-temporal linear modeling of 212 wind farms using 9 landscape change metrics, and analyzes 5 stakeholder group interviews on adaptive responses to landscape changes. Upward trends occur in turbine height, impact accumulation, placement in agricultural landscapes, construction delays, and new farms built per year. Downward trends occur in the number of turbines per farm, visual disruption of protected areas, and placement in wetlands. Key patterns in stakeholder groups’ adaptations include conflicting interpretations of landscape amenities and evolution, and expanded community outreach, networking, and public participation after exposure to infrastructure. Stakeholders adapt to existing infrastructure separately from adapting strategies to respond to new wind farms. Overall, a mutual relationship emerges wherein landscape changes from wind farms respond to policies and stakeholder activities, while policies and stakeholder groups adapt to the physical realities of landscape change.