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Agriculture
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Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development
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Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 June 2022) | Viewed by 55186

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xin Deng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
Interests: land use policy; ecological restoration and protection; sustainable development of rural settlements
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dingde Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sichuan Center for Rural Development Research, College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, China
Interests: land use policy; sustainable livelihoods and poverty; emergency management; rural sustainable development; climate change and behavioral response; resources and environment policy; policy evaluation; rural revitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

At present, rural economic development has entered a critical period of transformation. For a long time, the extensive development has brought a huge threat to the sustainable development of rural areas. A healthy ecosystem plays an important role in sustainable development. Rural water, soil, vegetation, and other ecosystems have been severely damaged, which urgently requires us to change this trend. Protection and restoration of the ecological systems in rural areas will likely bring beautiful and sustainable villages. Ecological restoration means to manage the fragile ecological environment, so that the damaged ecosystem can gradually restore its original functions. As a result, it improves the coordination between rural economic development and the ecological environment, and helps realize the harmonious coexistence of people and nature in rural areas. We encourage the use of empirical methods to review these situations, focusing on economic aspects and farmers' response decisions regarding ecological restoration.

Dr. Xin Deng
Dr. Dingde Xu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ecological restoration
  • climate change and adaptation
  • rural ecosystem
  • rural water resources utilization
  • cropland resource utilization
  • cropland use transformation
  • cropland system
  • digital village
  • high-quality development in agriculture
  • rural revitalization
  • rural and regional economic development
  • green agriculture
  • livelihood transformation
  • livelihood resilience

Published Papers (23 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 854 KiB  
Article
Impact of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia on Agricultural Products Prices: A Case Study of Chengdu
by Gailiu Qu, Yuqing Lou, Siyu Wu, Xin Deng and Jie Feng
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1688; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101688 - 13 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1313
Abstract
Ensuring the basic stability of supply and prices of agricultural products bears on people’s wellbeing and contributes to social development and stability. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 and a series of rules and regulations confining socialization adopted to deal with the epidemic have [...] Read more.
Ensuring the basic stability of supply and prices of agricultural products bears on people’s wellbeing and contributes to social development and stability. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 and a series of rules and regulations confining socialization adopted to deal with the epidemic have led to the prominent contradiction between supply and demand in the agricultural market, and the sharp fluctuations in the prices of agricultural products. In this paper, the price data of agricultural products in the main urban area of Chengdu in the 10 weeks before and 20 weeks after the Spring Festival from 2018 to 2020 were used to empirically study the impact of COVID-19 on local agricultural product prices by generalized multiple difference method (DID). The empirical results show that, first, compared with the Spring Festival of 2018 and 2019, the COVID-19 epidemic in the Spring Festival of 2020 led to an average increase of 105.02% in the retail prices of agricultural products in Chengdu, among which the increase of livestock and poultry, fruits and vegetables, and aquatic products was the most obvious, while the change of grain and oil prices was not significant. Second, compared with the demand side, the COVID-19 pandemic has a major impact on agricultural prices from the supply side. Third, the impact of COVID-19 on the retail prices of agricultural products is more obvious in areas where the primary industry is relatively small and industrialization is fast. Fourth, in the short term, the government’s policy of suppressing prices does not restrain all agricultural prices. The above research findings provide a reference for understanding the adjustment mechanism of agricultural prices under the impact of the epidemic, and for effectively formulating relevant policies to stabilize the price of agricultural products, ensure supply, and alleviate the pressure on people’s livelihood. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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14 pages, 472 KiB  
Article
Does Construction of High-Standard Farmland Improve Recycle Behavior of Agricultural Film? Evidence from Sichuan, China
by Rong Xu, Yating Zhan, Jialan Zhang, Qiang He, Kuan Zhang, Dingde Xu, Yanbin Qi and Xin Deng
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1632; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101632 - 07 Oct 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 1611
Abstract
Recycle behavior of agricultural film (RBAF) plays an important role in protecting the ecological environment of farmland. Improving RBAF has become an urgent choice for agricultural countries to achieve sustainable development. Construction of high-standard farmland (CHSF) is defined as the artificial improvement of [...] Read more.
Recycle behavior of agricultural film (RBAF) plays an important role in protecting the ecological environment of farmland. Improving RBAF has become an urgent choice for agricultural countries to achieve sustainable development. Construction of high-standard farmland (CHSF) is defined as the artificial improvement of farmland facilities and considered beneficial to agricultural production and farmland environment. This study aims to evaluate the role of CHSF in improving RBAF. Based on survey data of rural areas in Sichuan, China, this study explores quantitative impacts of CHSF on RBAF by econometric model. The results are as follows: (1) There is a positive impact of CHSF on RBAF, i.e., compared with the farmers not participating in CHSF, the possibility of RBAF for the farmers participating in CHSF is increased by 16%. (2) For every 1% increase in the proportion of agricultural labor force in households, the possibility of RBAF is increased by 0.2%. Thus, this study indicates that governments should focus on improving rural infrastructure to help farmers improve their behavior towards environmental protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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17 pages, 4645 KiB  
Article
Assessment and Effect of Mining Subsidence on Farmland in Coal–Crop Overlapped Areas: A Case of Shandong Province, China
by Yang Chen, Zhenqi Hu, Pengyu Li, Gensheng Li, Dongzhu Yuan and Jiaxin Guo
Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1235; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081235 - 16 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1910
Abstract
Farmland protection and food security is highly focused on in China. However, coal mining has caused negative consequences to cropland in coal–crop overlapped areas (COA), especially in eastern China. Thus, revealing the spatiotemporal impact of coal mining on farmland on a large scale [...] Read more.
Farmland protection and food security is highly focused on in China. However, coal mining has caused negative consequences to cropland in coal–crop overlapped areas (COA), especially in eastern China. Thus, revealing the spatiotemporal impact of coal mining on farmland on a large scale is crucial for coordinating coal mining and grainland protection. In this study, Shandong Province, a representative coal–grain composite area, was selected as a research case to evaluate the damage of mining subsidence on farmland. Firstly, the field investigation and mining subsidence prediction revealed the current situation and trend of farmland damage caused by mining in 2021 and 2030. Then, we evaluated the impact of cropland damage on grain yield. Finally, farmland landscape patterns, ecological environment, and social stability due to mining subsidence were discussed. The results show that: (1) the damaged cropland in 2021 was 6.40 × 104 ha, of which 1.40 × 104 ha was non-yield. By 2030, the accumulative area of damaged cropland is estimated to reach 7.52 × 104 ha. (2) By 2025 and 2030, the farmland yield will be reduced by 16.44 × 104 t and 18.45 × 104 t in overlapped areas of Shandong. (3) The subsidence led to cropland fragmentation, and the terrestrial ecosystem became an aquatic ecosystem, further intensifying the contradiction between more people and less land. This study provides a reference for coordinating coal and grain production and formulating cropland protection strategies in similar regions. Meanwhile, it also provides a scientific basis for the government to formulate land reclamation indicators, technology, management, and acceptance standards and establish and implement the reclamation reward and punishment system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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15 pages, 586 KiB  
Article
Why “Say One Thing and Do Another” a Study on the Contradiction between Farmers’ Intention and Behavior of Garbage Classification
by Shiyao Zhou, Chen Qing, Shili Guo, Xin Deng, Jiahao Song and Dingde Xu
Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1159; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081159 - 04 Aug 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1587
Abstract
How to protect the ecological environment is an important international issue for achieving the sustainable development goals. Using survey data of 2628 farmers in 52 administrative villages in 13 prefecture-level cities of the China Land Economic Survey in 2020, probit and multinomial logistic [...] Read more.
How to protect the ecological environment is an important international issue for achieving the sustainable development goals. Using survey data of 2628 farmers in 52 administrative villages in 13 prefecture-level cities of the China Land Economic Survey in 2020, probit and multinomial logistic regression models were used to explore the influence of social capital on farmers’ willingness, behavior and the transformation between willingness and behavior. The results show that: (1) The consistency between farmers’ willingness and behavior is low; 90.25% of farmers had the willingness to separate waste, but only 48.49% of farmers had actually classified waste, and only 48.22% of farmers had transformed willingness into behavior. (2) Among the three dimensions of social capital, social network, social norm and social trust, all had positive and significant effects on farmers’ willingness and behavior to separate waste. (3) Social network and social norm had a positive and significant impact on the transformation of farmers’ willingness to separate waste into behavior, but social trust was not significant. The research results confirm that the contradiction between farmers’ intention and behavior of waste separation were generally inconsistent in rural areas. At the same time, the results showed that social capital can promote farmers’ willingness and behavior of waste separation and the transformation from a willingness to behavior, which can provide decision-making reference for how to improve farmers’ high willingness and behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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17 pages, 1851 KiB  
Article
Space Comparison of Agricultural Green Growth in Agricultural Modernization: Scale and Quality
by Tingting Huang and Bin Xiong
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 1067; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12071067 - 21 Jul 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3592
Abstract
Promoting agricultural green growth has become an indispensable key content to speed up the process of agricultural modernization, has become a necessary prerequisite to achieve common prosperity of the rural people, and has become the basic practice of implementing people-centered development thought in [...] Read more.
Promoting agricultural green growth has become an indispensable key content to speed up the process of agricultural modernization, has become a necessary prerequisite to achieve common prosperity of the rural people, and has become the basic practice of implementing people-centered development thought in the stage of high-quality development. Many researchers have studied the problems, level measurement and route choice of the growth of agriculture. However, there have been few studies on how to promote the agricultural green growth from the perspective of agricultural modernization, and how to combine the green agricultural GDP with the agricultural green total factor productivity (GTFP). To address this research inadequacy, in this paper, we focus on the time and space comparison of green agricultural GDP, agricultural GTFP, and their source decomposition, and summarize and discuss the key factors affecting agricultural GTFP. The results show that the share of output value of green agriculture in Tongren City is relatively high within the region of the province, and there is a large temporal and spatial difference between the change of agricultural GTFP and agricultural technology utilization efficiency and agricultural technology progress. At the same time, the improvement of economic development level can significantly promote the rise of agricultural GTFP, agricultural technology utilization efficiency, and agricultural technology progress. On balance, our results compare green agricultural GDP, agricultural GTFP, and their source decomposition in time and space, and reveals their evolution law and development trend from the perspective of high-quality development of agricultural modernization. In this way, we can provide an empirical basis and decision-making reference for accelerating the high-quality development of agricultural modernization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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15 pages, 629 KiB  
Article
Effect of Public Space on Collective Action for Rural Waste Management and the Mediating Effects of Social Capital
by Zengwei Xu and Shanshan Miao
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 1020; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12071020 - 14 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1620
Abstract
Public spaces enhance social interactions and contacts, yet few scholars have linked public spaces to the governance of commons for rural waste management. We thus explore the direct and mediated effects of public spaces on collective action for rural waste management. The research [...] Read more.
Public spaces enhance social interactions and contacts, yet few scholars have linked public spaces to the governance of commons for rural waste management. We thus explore the direct and mediated effects of public spaces on collective action for rural waste management. The research was conducted in the Jiangsu Province of Eastern China by interviewing 290 farmers from 9 different counties. The individual dataset was collected from the measurement of public space, social capital and collective action for rural waste management. Public space characteristics include scale, entering frequency and accessibility. A structural equation modelling approach was employed to analyse the path and relationship of these variables. The results show that public space has a direct and positive effect on collective action for rural waste management, which could be attributed to the specific dimensions of scale, entering frequency and accessibility. We also find that social capital positively mediates the relationship between public spaces and collective action. This study highlighted the importance of public space use to rural environmental governance. Social capital is recommended to promote the collective action for rural waste management. The results contribute to the literature on public space research and imply that public space should be considered by policymakers to enhance environmental development and rural revitalisation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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14 pages, 1121 KiB  
Article
Do Cooperatives Affect Groundwater Protection? Evidence from Rural China
by Xin Deng, Lingzhi Zhang, Rong Xu, Miao Zeng, Qiang He, Dingde Xu and Yanbin Qi
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 1016; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12071016 - 13 Jul 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1630
Abstract
Groundwater protection is essential for global sustainable development. Due to the lack of motivation among farmers to build harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement, there is a huge challenge surrounding groundwater protection, which also threatens the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal [...] Read more.
Groundwater protection is essential for global sustainable development. Due to the lack of motivation among farmers to build harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement, there is a huge challenge surrounding groundwater protection, which also threatens the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: “clean water and sanitation”. Aiming to improve the groundwater protection behavior (GPB) of farmers, this study involved the following approach: (1) the use of rural China as a case area; (2) an exploration of the theoretical mechanisms and quantitative impacts of cooperatives as a way to encourage farmers to build harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement; (3) a discussion about improvement strategies to increase the possibility of farmers building harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement. The study highlighted the following findings: (1) compared to farmers who did not participate in cooperatives, farmers who were in cooperatives were 1.18% more likely to build harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement; (2) compared to the basic scenario, the probability of farmers building harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement could be increased by 50~1300%. The results of this study could help to provide a reference for the introduction of policies to protect groundwater, as well as an experiential reference for the achievement of the UN SDGs 3 and 6. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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16 pages, 904 KiB  
Article
Corn Grain or Corn Silage: Effects of the Grain-to-Fodder Crop Conversion Program on Farmers’ Income in China
by Shukun Wang, Changquan Liu, Lei Han, Tingting Li, Guolei Yang and Taofeng Chen
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 976; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12070976 - 07 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2204
Abstract
The Grain-to-Fodder Crop Conversion Program (GCCP) in China mainly promotes the green and sustainable development of grain crops, economic crops, and silage crops by subsidizing livestock farms to encourage farmers to plant silage crops, such as corn silage and alfalfa silage. In this [...] Read more.
The Grain-to-Fodder Crop Conversion Program (GCCP) in China mainly promotes the green and sustainable development of grain crops, economic crops, and silage crops by subsidizing livestock farms to encourage farmers to plant silage crops, such as corn silage and alfalfa silage. In this context, this study assesses the impact of planting silage crops on farm household income. Based on a survey of 495 households in Henan and Hebei Provinces, China, we first constructed a theoretical model of the program’s effect on farmers’ income, and then used an ordinary least squares (OLS) method to estimate the magnitude of the GCCP on farmers’ income. To identify endogeneity and further test the stability of the results, we adopted instrumental variable estimation, subsample estimation, and matching methods. The GCCP significantly increased smallholder farm income. Compared with growing corn grain, corn silage increased income by approximately CNY 101/mu. Meanwhile, corn silage reduced the capital input cost of farmers by 10.71% per mu and labor input by 26.6% per mu. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that farmers who plant corn silage on a large scale, closer to dairy farms, have higher incomes. Few scholars have empirically analyzed the impact of GCCP on farm household income from a micro-farm household perspective. This study enriches the empirical literature on the effects of the GCCP on farmers in China, which can help policymakers understand policy implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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14 pages, 646 KiB  
Article
Labor Off-Farm Employment and Farmers’ Cooking Clean Energy Use: Evidence from Rural China
by Wenfeng Zhou, Chen Qing, Shili Guo, Jia He, Xin Deng, Jiahao Song and Dingde Xu
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 972; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12070972 - 06 Jul 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1742
Abstract
(Motivation) With the transfer of labor force and the continuous improvement of household income, the household energy consumption structure is also changing. (Gaps) However, few studies have explored the correlations between labor off-farm employment (LOE) and farmers’ cooking clean energy (CCE) consumption. (Methodologies) [...] Read more.
(Motivation) With the transfer of labor force and the continuous improvement of household income, the household energy consumption structure is also changing. (Gaps) However, few studies have explored the correlations between labor off-farm employment (LOE) and farmers’ cooking clean energy (CCE) consumption. (Methodologies) Using survey data of 8198 farmers in 27 provinces from China’s labor dynamic survey in 2016, the IV-Probit model was used to analyze the impact of LOE on CCE use, and the mediation effect model was used to examine the specific mechanism of action between them. (Results) The results found that: (1) LOE accounted for about 39%, and farmers’ utilization rate of CCE accounted for 40%. (2) LOE has significantly promoted the use of CCE by farmers, and this action mechanism is mainly realized through three paths, that is, per capita annual cash income, social relationship network, and family population structure. (3) The heterogeneity analysis results showed that the head of the household having a university education or above, the family being located in rural areas and mountainous areas, and LOE will have a greater positive impact on the farmers’ CCE use. (Policy) From the micro perspective of LOE, this study can deepen our understanding of LOE and CCE use decisions, and then provide a reference for the rational allocation of labor resources and farmers’ CCE-related policy formulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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16 pages, 3833 KiB  
Article
Climate Shocks, Household Resource Allocation, and Vulnerability to Poverty
by Ziming Zhou, Zhiming Yu and Haitao Wu
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 971; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12070971 - 06 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1884
Abstract
Climate change is widespread, rapid, and is intensifying. Using Chinese disaster data and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data, this study examines the impact of climate shocks on the vulnerability of farm households to poverty and the mechanism of household resource allocation [...] Read more.
Climate change is widespread, rapid, and is intensifying. Using Chinese disaster data and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data, this study examines the impact of climate shocks on the vulnerability of farm households to poverty and the mechanism of household resource allocation in this process. The results show that (a) climate shocks can significantly increase the poverty vulnerability of farm households. (b) The effect of climate shocks on farm household poverty vulnerability is regionally and individually heterogeneous. Climate non-security zones, risk-averse farmers, and low social capital farmers are more vulnerable to climate shocks and fall into poverty. (c) The mediating effects suggest that climate shocks affect the poverty vulnerability of farm households by influencing their developmental investment, productive investment, and precautionary saving. The paper finally concludes and discusses some policy implications in the national response to climate change and transformation of farmers’ livelihoods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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16 pages, 320 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Ecological Public Welfare Jobs on the Usage of Clean Energy by Farmers: Evidence from Tibet Areas—China
by Huaquan Zhang, Yashuang Tang, Martinson Ankrah Twumasi, Abbas Ali Chandio, Lili Guo, Ruixin Wan, Shilei Pan, Yun Shen and Ghulam Raza Sargani
Agriculture 2022, 12(7), 900; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12070900 - 21 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1367
Abstract
In several rural areas of China, ecological public welfare work is an effective way to improve farmers’ social participation. This job does not only increase farmers’ income but also greatly improves their enthusiasm for ecological environment protection. Under the goal of carbon neutrality [...] Read more.
In several rural areas of China, ecological public welfare work is an effective way to improve farmers’ social participation. This job does not only increase farmers’ income but also greatly improves their enthusiasm for ecological environment protection. Under the goal of carbon neutrality in peak carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, it is necessary to explore the impact of ecological public welfare jobs on the usage of Clean Energy (CE) in rural areas. Based on the data of 1100 farmers from Tibet areas in China, this paper applied the Ordered Probit model to explore the impact of ecological public welfare jobs on farmers’ use of CE. The results are as follows: (1) Holding ecological public welfare jobs can raise farmers’ willingness to use CE; (2) Holding ecological public welfare jobs can also promote farmers’ use of CE by enhancing their ecological environment cognition and influencing their social behavior; (3) The impact of ecological public welfare work on CE use has regional and income heterogeneities. Firstly, this effect is smaller in mixed pastoral-farming areas than in agricultural and pastoral areas. Secondly, this effect is more obvious in low-income groups. Our study provided several policies aimed at improving rural and environmental development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
21 pages, 17764 KiB  
Article
Impact of Fiscal Expenditure on Farmers’ Livelihood Capital in the Ethnic Minority Mountainous Region of Sichuan, China
by Shili Guo, Beibei Wang, Kui Zhou, Hui Wang, Qiuping Zeng and Dingde Xu
Agriculture 2022, 12(6), 881; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12060881 - 18 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1956
Abstract
Poverty alleviation is the first battle to realize the rural revitalization strategy in China, and research on the sustainable livelihood of rural households is of great significance to solving the problem of rural poverty. Based on the sustainable livelihood framework, the reasonable scale [...] Read more.
Poverty alleviation is the first battle to realize the rural revitalization strategy in China, and research on the sustainable livelihood of rural households is of great significance to solving the problem of rural poverty. Based on the sustainable livelihood framework, the reasonable scale and structure of fiscal expenditure is an inevitable requirement in producing sustainable livelihood capital toward this aim. In this study, the system Gaussian mixed model was used to analyze the impact of fiscal expenditure on farmers’ livelihoods. Representative survey data uses panel data from 48 counties across Liangshan Prefecture, Ganzi Prefecture, and Aba Prefecture in Sichuan, China. The results are as follows: (1) The average stock of human capital in 2010 to 2015 was the highest in the composition of farmers’ livelihood capital; (2) natural capital and physical capital were positively affected by the total scale of fiscal expenditure, agriculture, forestry, and water expenditure, and the former was negatively affected by general public service expenditure, education expenditure, social security and employment expenditure, and medical expenditure; (3) financial capital and the total amount of livelihood capital were positively affected by the total scale of fiscal expenditure, agriculture, forestry and water expenditure, education expenditure, social security and employment expenditure, and medical expenditure, and negatively affected by general public service expenditure; (4) human capital was positively affected by the total scale of fiscal expenditure, education expenditure, social security and employment expenditure, and medical expenditure; and (5) social capital was positively affected by agriculture, forestry and water expenditure, and education expenditure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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20 pages, 929 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Risk Perception and Environmental Regulation on Farmers’ Sustainable Behaviors of Agricultural Green Production in China
by Mingyue Li, Yu Liu, Yuhe Huang, Lianbei Wu and Kai Chen
Agriculture 2022, 12(6), 831; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12060831 - 09 Jun 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2365
Abstract
In China, the excessive application and improper disposal of chemical inputs have posed a great threat to the agricultural ecological environment and human health. The key to solve this problem is to promote the sustainable behaviors of farmers’ agricultural green production (AGP). Based [...] Read more.
In China, the excessive application and improper disposal of chemical inputs have posed a great threat to the agricultural ecological environment and human health. The key to solve this problem is to promote the sustainable behaviors of farmers’ agricultural green production (AGP). Based on the micro-survey data of 652 farmers, this study adopts the binary probit model to investigate the impacts of risk perception and environmental regulation on the sustainable behaviors of farmers’ AGP. Results show that both risk perception and environmental regulation have significant effects on farmers’ willingness to engage in sustainable behaviors. Moreover, environmental regulation can positively adjust risk perception to improve farmers’ willingness to engage in sustainable behaviors. In terms of the two-dimensional variables, economic risks create the greatest negative impacts, and their marginal effect is 7.3%, while voluntary regulation creates the strongest positive impacts, and its marginal effect is 14.1%. However, both constrained and voluntary regulation have an enhanced moderating effect, where the effects of voluntary regulation are more remarkable. This is mainly because the environmental regulation policy signed by the government and farmers through the letter of commitment can inspire farmers to continue to implement green agricultural production from the deep heart. Therefore, government policies should constantly reduce farmers’ risk perception in terms of economic input, and adopt restrictive behaviors measures, such as regulatory punishment and voluntary contract, to promote their sustainable behaviors of AGP to the maximum extent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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23 pages, 1085 KiB  
Article
Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Ecological Efficiency and Ecosystem Service Value of Agricultural Land in China
by Shili Guo, Zhiyong Hu, Hanzhe Ma, Dingde Xu and Renwei He
Agriculture 2022, 12(6), 803; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12060803 - 01 Jun 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1702
Abstract
In-depth analysis of spatial and temporal variations in the ecological efficiency of agricultural land has important theoretical and practical significance in achieving the efficient utilization of agricultural land, the coordinated development of natural resources and the environment, and the formulation of sustainable agricultural [...] Read more.
In-depth analysis of spatial and temporal variations in the ecological efficiency of agricultural land has important theoretical and practical significance in achieving the efficient utilization of agricultural land, the coordinated development of natural resources and the environment, and the formulation of sustainable agricultural development policies. By including carbon emissions and pollution as undesired output indicators of agricultural land use, and introducing ecological service values as output indicators, an SBM-Undesirable model which can not only avoid the deviation caused by the difference of radial and angular selection, but also reflect the essence of efficiency evaluation, was used to estimate the ecological efficiency of agricultural land in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China from 2004 to 2017. Spatial and temporal differences were then analyzed. The results show that (1) The ecological efficiency of agricultural land in China decreased overall from 2004 to 2017. (2) The eco-efficiency of agricultural land was highest in the eastern provinces, lowest in the central provinces, and moderate in the western provinces. (3) Among the input indicators, the input redundancy rates of agricultural land, chemical fertilizer input and agricultural film input were too high. (4) China’s agricultural land use has not evolved towards harmonious development of the environment and economy. Due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizers, agricultural films and other factors that cause pollution, there has been a one-sided increase in the economic output of agricultural land, and improvements in ecological value have been inhibited. Based on the research results, feasible suggestions are put forward to improve the ecological efficiency of agricultural land in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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19 pages, 1095 KiB  
Article
Impact of Population Aging and Renewable Energy Consumption on Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity in Rural China: Evidence from Panel VAR Approach
by Houjian Li, Xiaolei Zhou, Mengqian Tang and Lili Guo
Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 715; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12050715 - 18 May 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2425
Abstract
China is moving toward the important goal of being a green and low-carbon country, and the current severity level of population aging is of particular concern to the government. Aging, renewable energy consumption, and technological progress are closely linked. In this research, a [...] Read more.
China is moving toward the important goal of being a green and low-carbon country, and the current severity level of population aging is of particular concern to the government. Aging, renewable energy consumption, and technological progress are closely linked. In this research, a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model is employed to investigate the long-run equilibrium relationship between population aging, renewable energy consumption and agricultural green total factor productivity using panel data for 30 Chinese provinces (cities) from 2000 to 2019. The findings reveal that, in the long run, both population aging and renewable energy use have considerable positive impacts on agricultural green total factor productivity. In addition, in order to more intuitively understand the impact of population aging and renewable energy consumption on agricultural green total factor productivity, the analysis adopts the impulse response function and variance decomposition. The contributions of population aging and renewable energy consumption to agricultural green total factor productivity are 2.23% and 0.56%, respectively, when the lag period is chosen to be 15, which implies that population aging and renewable energy use will continuously contribute to agricultural green total factor productivity. The study results have significant theoretical implications for understanding China’s aging population structure and current renewable energy use. Given the above results, this study puts forward countermeasures and suggestions from four aspects: improving agricultural infrastructure, increasing agricultural technology investment, increasing the stock of agricultural human capital and strengthening international cooperation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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23 pages, 1098 KiB  
Article
Gender-Differentiated Poverty among Migrant Workers: Aggregation and Decomposition Analysis of the Chinese Case for the Years 2012–2018
by Jiquan Peng, Juan Chen and Liguo Zhang
Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 683; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12050683 - 11 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3149
Abstract
The relative poverty statuses of female and male migrant workers are complex: (i) as a group, migrant workers are relatively better off than their rural hometown fellow residents but are deprived compared to the long-term residents of the cities to which they have [...] Read more.
The relative poverty statuses of female and male migrant workers are complex: (i) as a group, migrant workers are relatively better off than their rural hometown fellow residents but are deprived compared to the long-term residents of the cities to which they have immigrated, and (ii) gender differences exist between female and male subgroups, resulting from the interaction of gender bias and empowerment. The former can be further decomposed into characteristic-led bias and bias arising from discrimination. However, little is known about the different facets of gender-differentiated poverty that pose challenges for migrant workers. This study used data collected from Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) during the period 2012–2018 to address this research deficiency. This study conducted a poverty aggregation using a multidimensional relative poverty index system based on the Alkire and Foster (A–F) method to offer an overview of the gender differences in the overall relative poverty statuses of Chinese migrant workers. Further, to validate the existence of gender bias, this study conducted a decomposition analysis based on unconditional quantile regression (UCQR) of the explanatory model of relative poverty. The results of the combination of the aggregation and decomposition analysis data imply that, despite the gender discrimination that female migrant workers encounter, they are generally better off than male migrant workers due to their slight characteristic-led advantages and, more importantly, their autonomous poverty reduction activities. This study theoretically contributes to an in-depth understanding of gender differences in migrant workers’ relative poverty. In addition, this study advocates more targeted and sustainable poverty reduction solutions. For instance, more targeted payment transfer and long-term (vocational development, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle) empowering projects should be highlighted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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18 pages, 1254 KiB  
Article
Real Drivers and Spatial Characteristics of CO2 Emissions from Animal Husbandry: A Regional Empirical Study of China
by Xiaowen Dai, Xin Wu, Yi Chen, Yanqiu He, Fang Wang and Yuying Liu
Agriculture 2022, 12(4), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12040510 - 04 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2029
Abstract
(1) Studying the driving factors and spatiotemporal characteristics of China’s regional animal husbandry emissions is highly relevant to policy formulation. (2) Methods: We calculated the total CO2 equivalent emissions of animal husbandry across the country and each province separately, and then used [...] Read more.
(1) Studying the driving factors and spatiotemporal characteristics of China’s regional animal husbandry emissions is highly relevant to policy formulation. (2) Methods: We calculated the total CO2 equivalent emissions of animal husbandry across the country and each province separately, and then used the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) to analyze how the driving forces of animal husbandry emissions changed across the country and in different provinces from 2001 to 2019. (3) Results: ① During the period 2001–2019, national animal husbandry carbon emissions showed an overall downward trend. Economic growth and population contributed positively to the emissions (which means more CO2), while technological advancement, structural change in agriculture, and change in the national industrial structure had negative effects (which means less CO2). ② Using aspects of provincial animal husbandry, we categorized 31 provinces into four types: fluctuating rising, fast falling, slow falling, and steadily falling. Then, according to the magnitude of the different driving forces in different provinces, we classified 31 provinces into three types: economic structure adjustment-driven, technological progress-driven, and economic growth-driven. ③ The driving effects of agricultural structural change and population in some provinces are not consistent with the effects shown at the national level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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17 pages, 530 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Technology Training Provided by Agricultural Cooperatives on Farmers’ Adoption of Biopesticides in China
by Yuying Liu, Ruiling Shi, Yiting Peng, Wei Wang and Xinhong Fu
Agriculture 2022, 12(3), 316; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12030316 - 22 Feb 2022
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 3518
Abstract
As pesticide abuse becomes increasingly serious worldwide, it is necessary to pay attention to the biopesticide adoption behavior of agricultural producers. It is worth verifying whether agricultural cooperatives, as training organizations sharing the same social network with farmers, can promote the adoption of [...] Read more.
As pesticide abuse becomes increasingly serious worldwide, it is necessary to pay attention to the biopesticide adoption behavior of agricultural producers. It is worth verifying whether agricultural cooperatives, as training organizations sharing the same social network with farmers, can promote the adoption of biopesticides through their technology diffusion function. Therefore, based on survey data of 837 citrus producers in Sichuan Province, China, the IV-probit regression model and a mediation effects model were used to empirically test the impact of technical training on farmers’ adoption of biopesticides in addition to its mechanism, considering the farmers’ perception of technology as the mediation variable. The results show that (a) participation in technical training can significantly enhance the probability of the adoption of biopesticides; (b) farmers’ perceptions of biopesticides’ economic and health benefits play a partial mediating role in the relationship; and (c) technical training has more significant effects on biopesticides adoption behavior for a household with higher-educated household heads, lower household total income, and smaller household size, relative to their counterparts. This study provides evidence for establishing relevant policy to encourage the full adoption of the technical training function of agricultural cooperatives and popularize the use of biopesticides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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17 pages, 4339 KiB  
Article
The Ecology-Economy-Transport Nexus: Evidence from Fujian Province, China
by Wulin Wang, Jiao Gong, Wenyue Yang and Jingyu Zeng
Agriculture 2022, 12(2), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12020135 - 20 Jan 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1976
Abstract
The coordinated relationship between ecology, economy and transportation is essential for regional sustainable development. Does the high-quality ecological environment mean the lagging development of economy and transportation, or does the rapid growth of the economy and transportation lead to the deterioration of the [...] Read more.
The coordinated relationship between ecology, economy and transportation is essential for regional sustainable development. Does the high-quality ecological environment mean the lagging development of economy and transportation, or does the rapid growth of the economy and transportation lead to the deterioration of the ecological environment? To shed new light on the complicated relationship between ecology, economy and transportation, our study aims to construct three comprehensive indicators, including an ecological index (EI), economic development level (EC) and transport superiority degree (TR), to reflect the systems mentioned above, and to measure the coordination of the three indicators’ development and evolution using a model of the coordination degree (CD). Specifically, and by applying methods for the indicators’ normalization, including superposition analysis and principal component analysis, the three indicators’ values are reasonably evaluated for measuring their coordination relationship. The above three indicators use data from 58 counties in Fujian province from 2000 to 2018 in our study. All three indicators show differences in the west and east of Fujian province; the EI is relatively low in the eastern coastal areas and relatively high in the western mountainous areas, the EC shows a relatively discrete and irregular distribution and the distribution pattern of the TR is almost the opposite of the EI. The CD shows a relationship among the three indicators, with the EI and EC coordinated in most counties and the EI and TR coordinated in most counties, while the highly coordinated counties are mainly distributed in the northwest and east coastal regions of Fujian province in 2000, and the northwest, south and northeast of Fujian province in 2018. More than 50% of the county EC and TR values are kept in a coordinated state, and are mainly distributed in the eastern coast and central part of Fujian province. Over 50% of counties’ CD between EI and EC, EI and TR and EC and TR are in a coordinated state. The CD of the EI and EC and TR, in most counties, are in a coordinated state, mainly distributed in the eastern coast and central areas of Fujian province. In other words, the findings show that the coordinated state of ecology, economy and transportation can be achieved at the county level of Fujian province. These conclusions have significant reference value for understanding regional sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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21 pages, 3210 KiB  
Article
Interaction and Coupling Mechanism between Recessive Land Use Transition and Food Security: A Case Study of the Yellow River Basin in China
by Dengyu Yin, Haochen Yu, Jing Ma, Junna Liu, Gangjun Liu and Fu Chen
Agriculture 2022, 12(1), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12010058 - 02 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1937
Abstract
The Yellow River Basin (YRB) plays an important role in China’s socioeconomic development and ecological security. From the perspective of recessive land use transition (RLUT), exploring the watershed food security (FS) coordination mechanism is of strategic significance to territorial space optimization and high-quality [...] Read more.
The Yellow River Basin (YRB) plays an important role in China’s socioeconomic development and ecological security. From the perspective of recessive land use transition (RLUT), exploring the watershed food security (FS) coordination mechanism is of strategic significance to territorial space optimization and high-quality development. To this end, a coordinated evaluation system was built for analyzing the coupling coordination degree (CCD), spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, and driving mechanism between RLUT and FS of 74 cities in the YRB from 2003 to 2018, using methods such as the coupling coordination degree model, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and the geo-detector model. The results are as follows: (1) Spatial imbalance of RLUT and FS in the YRB is significant. RLUT has significant differences between east and west, and FS has significant differences between north and south. (2) From 2003 to 2018, the CCD between RLUT and FS increased from 0.6028 to 0.6148, maintaining a steady upward trend, and the cold and hot characteristics of spatial agglomeration are significant. (3) The CCD between RLUT and FS depends on population density, average annual temperature, and average elevation. The driving effect of natural factors is higher than the socioeconomic factors on the total basin scale, but the opposite is true on the sub-basin scale. Clarifying the spatiotemporal pattern, characteristics, and mechanism of the coupling and the coordination of RLUT and FS can provide a scientific basis for territorial space planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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16 pages, 1023 KiB  
Article
An Assessment of Poverty Alleviation Measures and Sustainable Livelihood Capability of Farm Households in Rural China: A Sustainable Livelihood Approach
by Fang Su, Nini Song, Nannan Ma, Altynbek Sultanaliev, Jing Ma, Bing Xue and Shah Fahad
Agriculture 2021, 11(12), 1230; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11121230 - 07 Dec 2021
Cited by 59 | Viewed by 6108
Abstract
This paper aims to identify effective mechanisms for government poverty alleviation measures based on the livelihood sustainability of farm households in Southern Shaanxi province, China. The paper utilizes data from 414 farm households, collected through field observations and in-depth interviews in 24 rural [...] Read more.
This paper aims to identify effective mechanisms for government poverty alleviation measures based on the livelihood sustainability of farm households in Southern Shaanxi province, China. The paper utilizes data from 414 farm households, collected through field observations and in-depth interviews in 24 rural communes in Qinba Mountain Area of Shaanxi province, China. Using theoretical research methods and employing the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) framework, this paper analyzes poverty alleviation measures as well as the impact of varied capital availability on sustainable livelihood. The study shows that developing local industries and governmental financial support improve the sustainable livelihood of farmers and eradicate absolute poverty. The findings of this study further indicate that there is a positive correlation between poverty alleviation measures and natural and social capital for sustainable livelihood. The paper provides empirical and quantitative evidence on alleviation of poverty, and the findings will help improve the sustainability of livelihood capability of farming households. This study suggests impactful approaches to stabilizing mechanisms for poverty alleviation in rural areas over the longer term. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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18 pages, 343 KiB  
Article
Do Internet Skills Increase Farmers’ Willingness to Participate in Environmental Governance? Evidence from Rural China
by Qiang He, Xin Deng, Chuan Li, Zhongcheng Yan and Yanbin Qi
Agriculture 2021, 11(12), 1202; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11121202 - 29 Nov 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2064
Abstract
Environmental pollution is threatening the sustainable development of rural areas. Increasing farmers’ willingness to participate in environmental governance (FWPEG) can effectively reduce this threat. Fortunately, the internet can speed up the process. However, it is unclear whether and to what extent the mastery [...] Read more.
Environmental pollution is threatening the sustainable development of rural areas. Increasing farmers’ willingness to participate in environmental governance (FWPEG) can effectively reduce this threat. Fortunately, the internet can speed up the process. However, it is unclear whether and to what extent the mastery of internet skills will increase FWPEG. This study uses data from 3503 farmers in 30 provinces in mainland China. It uses the TE and IVQTE models to correct selection bias and quantitatively assess the impact of mastery of internet skills on FWPEG. The results show: (1) mastering internet skills can significantly increase FWPEG, and after correcting the endogenous deviation, the marginal benefit of farmers mastering internet skills is 0.124; (2) in the 34–81% quantile range, internet skills show a declining development trend in FWPEG, which is in line with “the law of diminishing marginal utility”, and mastery of the impact of internet skills on FWPEG has “leaping” (33% → 34%)” and “sagging (81% → 82%)” characteristics; (3) compared to that of the east, internet skills in central and western regions have a more significant role in promoting FWPEG. In general, internet skills can effectively increase FWPEG, and the impact will be more pronounced in underdeveloped areas. The influence of internet skills on FWPEG will gradually weaken with the increase of FWPEG. The results of this research help to coordinate the relationship between government environmental governance and rural environmental autonomy and provide some new ideas for realizing global rural revitalization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
26 pages, 31745 KiB  
Article
A County-Scale Spillover Ecological Value Compensation Standard of Ecological Barrier Area in China: Based on an Extended Emergy Analysis
by Jia He, Yi Li, Lianjun Zhang, Junyin Tan and Chuanhao Wen
Agriculture 2021, 11(12), 1185; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11121185 - 24 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2371
Abstract
Ecological compensation (EC) is an important way to solve the imbalance of cross-regional economic development and realize regional coordinated development. How to quantify the standard of EC has become a hot research topic. Firstly, this paper selected the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) [...] Read more.
Ecological compensation (EC) is an important way to solve the imbalance of cross-regional economic development and realize regional coordinated development. How to quantify the standard of EC has become a hot research topic. Firstly, this paper selected the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) as the study area, and constructed a cross-regional spillover ecological value measurement model based on the extended emergy analysis. From the perspective of the “ecology–economy–society” complex ecosystem, this paper used emergy to reflect the social, economic, and ecological function and service value of the TGRR, and estimated the ecosystem emergy supply and consumption in the TGRR. Then, comparing the watershed ecosystem emergy supply and consumption, we can judge the status of the ecological surplus and deficit of the TGRR, and transfer the spillover ecological emergy to spillover ecological value (SEV) by using the emergy currency ratio (ECR). Finally, combined with different actual payment level coefficient, we can obtain a relatively objective and robust compensation standard. The results show that the SEV of the TGRR in 2016 is 2.70 × 1011 USD, which indicates that the TGRR is in the state of ecological surplus. The TGRR should get EC about 2.85 × 1011 USD according to the ECR. Based on the research results, it is suggested to expand the transfer payment to the TGRR. At the same time, it is suggested to formulate different ecological compensation standard (ECS) according to regional differences, which has important practical significance to establish the allocation standard of EC, and provides a typical case basis for other large reservoir areas or typical reservoir areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecological Restoration and Rural Economic Development)
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