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The importance of information and communication technology in rural areas has gradually become prominent, and rural e-commerce has emerged as a crucial driver for promoting agricultural and rural development. This paper takes the comprehensive demonstration policy for e-commerce in rural areas as a quasi-natural experiment. It is based on five-period panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and employs the staggered difference-in-differences method to examine the impact of e-commerce on rural women entrepreneurship and its mechanisms. The research results indicate that the implementation of the comprehensive demonstration policy for e-commerce in rural areas significantly increases the probability of rural women engaging in entrepreneurship by 1.6 %. The entrepreneurial promotion effect of this demonstration policy is more pronounced for rural women in the central and western regions and those with lower educational levels, demonstrating the inclusiveness of e-commerce in rural development. Additionally, this promotion effect is also significantly influenced by marital heterogeneity. Mechanism analysis results suggest that the comprehensive demonstration policy for e-commerce in rural areas can stimulate the use of information and communication technology by rural women, leverage the crucial role of non-traditional education in skill development, alleviate financial and social capital constraints for rural women, and inspire a wave of rural women entrepreneurship. The paper argues that the construction of rural e-commerce has the potential to empower rural women entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eco-friendly cellulosic paper-based mulch film has become an alternative to petroleum-based plastics. However, the integration of black, hydrophobic and high mechanical performances into cellulose mulch film still remained challenge. Herein, multifunctional (P/SLS-Fe/CA) black mulch film with the sandwich structure was designed by layer-by-layer assembly (LBL) strategy using filter paper (P) as the substrate, sodium lignosulfonate chelated with iron (SLS-Fe) as black factor and cellulose acetate (CA) as the hydrophobic layer. The quinone structure formed by the chelation and redox reaction between Fe3+ and SLS induced the color change from brown-yellow to black of lignin. Moreover, the dynamic reversible physical bonds between P, SLS-Fe and CA endowed the composite with enhanced mechanical performance. The dry and wet tensile strength of the composite were 1.6 times and 21.3 times higher than pristine filter paper, respectively. The water contact angle increased from 58.4º for pure filter paper to 138.7º for the optimized P/SLS-Fe 4 /CA. Furthermore, the prepared black paper-mulch has low water vapor transmittance, heat preservation properties and good water resistance, which promote the growth of cabbage seeds. This work provides a prototype for the design and preparation of black cellulose fiber base membrane, and promotes the green development of agriculture. [Display omitted] • Water resistant and structurally robust black paper mulch film was prepared. • Water contact angle of P/SLS-Fe 4 /CA was increased to 138.7°. • The wet tensile strength of P/SLS-Fe 4 /CA was improved by 21.3 times. • The germination rate of cabbage seeds was improved by covering P/SLS-Fe 4 /CA. • Black mulch films can be degraded in natural soil by microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The hotspots of LDH remediation for HMs and OPs were explored using a bibliometric method. • Photocatalysis and SR-AOPs were hot technologies for OP degradation. • The most common pollutants that LDHs have removed in the last two years were Cr(VI), Cd(II), tetracycline and malachite green. • The synthesis methods and modification techniques of LDHs were summarized. • The prospects and challenges of LDHs in the field were proposed. With the development of industry and agriculture, heavy metals (HMs) and organic pollutants (OPs) have become significant threats to both the ecological environment and human health. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs), possessing large specific surface areas, low K sp , ultrastable mineralization effects, easily modified surfaces and anion embedding characteristics, have distinct advantages in treating HMs and OPs. Utilizing the CiteSpace software and the Web of Science database, we conducted co-occurrence, cocitation, and cluster analyses of 2571 papers published from 2014 to 2023. The most productive countries were China, the United States, India, Iran and Saudi Arabia, among which the largest number of Chinese publications was 1432, accounting for 55.70%, far greater than that of other countries. Seven out of the top 10 institutions were from China, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences leading with 168 papers. Cr(VI), Cd(II), tetracycline and malachite green have attracted considerable attention recently and are anticipated to remain under the spotlight. Challenges impacting the swift progress of LDHs were outlined. This work offers researchers scientific insights into the field's trajectory, enabling them to delve deeper into the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the transition process of cropland-use intensification can help reconcile the relationship between food demand and ecological conservation. The transition of cropland-use intensification is a trend developing in the continuous reorganisation and optimization of factor inputs with the changes in socio-economics, policies and institutions. From the induced factor substitution perspective, a transition of cropland-use intensification occurs when the agricultural entities adjust the structure of factor inputs in response to changes in the relative prices of production factors. This paper established an analytical framework for identifying the transition of cropland-use intensification and conducted an empirical study based on evidence from China between 1978 and 2019. The empirical study revealed a four-phase transition process of cropland-use intensification in China, named the 'labour-force-driven intensification', the 'yield-increasing-factors-driven intensification', the 'labour-saving-factors-driven intensification', and the 'innovation-driven intensification'. This paper also investigated the transition trajectory of cropland-use intensification in nine different agricultural zones and explored the influencing factors that contributed to the heterogeneity of the transition trajectory among different zones. Furthermore, this paper discussed the policy initiative to accelerate the transition of cropland-use intensification to the fourth stage to benefit the ecological environment and farmers' livelihood and ultimately be of great significance in promoting the sustainable development of agriculture in China. • An analytical framework for transition of cropland-use intensification based on induced technological innovation theory. • Four-stage transition process of cropland-use intensification in China during 1979–2019. • The cropland-use intensification is expected to be driven by the innovation factor in the near future. • Policies may help accelerate the transition of cropland-use intensification towards the innovation factor driven stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safe disposal of organic solid waste (OSW) has become a widespread concern. Vermicomposting can convert OSW into high-quality organic fertilizer and is considered a promising technology for biological treatment. Due to the dual characteristics of pollution and resources of OSW, this paper focuses on controlling pollutants and recovering nutrients during the bioconversion of vermicomposting. This paper mainly reviews the phenomenal patterns and related mechanisms of OSW decomposition, pollutant detoxification, and nutrient recovery in the process of OSW conversion by vermicomposting, as well as the agricultural benefits of vermicompost. With the synergistic action of earthworms and microorganisms, pollutants in the substrate are broken down and transformed, nutrients are enriched, and the earthworm gut plays a vital role. In addition, vermicompost has shown excellent benefits in improving soil health and crop production. Finally, a brief discussion and outlook on the efficiency improvement of vermicomposting, pollutant control strategies, and the application of vermicompost were presented. Future research may focus on the development of additives, the application of mathematical models, and the design of vermireactors to improve the processing efficiency of vermicomposting and pollutant control. The promotion of vermicomposting should rely on improving vermicomposting technology, governmental publicity and policy support, as well as developing and unification standards. The study's results facilitate the optimization of vermicomposting technology while promoting the safe management of OSW and the sustainable development of organic agriculture. [Display omitted] • Vermicomposting realizes the harmlessness of organic solid waste (OSW). • Vermicomposting improves the resource properties of OSW. • The mechanism of vermicomposting with OSW was introduced. • The benefits and potential of vermicomposting in OSW recycling were emphasized. • Future research trends and directions for vermicomposting are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examines unique cases: wild burros in America; rewilded donkeys in Europe; street donkeys in Brazil. • Binary framings (e.g. wild/domestic) are inadequate for free-roaming donkeys. • Specifies the 'entangled autonomy' of F-R donkeys using a relational approach. • Builds on scholarship in wild animal geographies and feral political ecologies. • Research on F-R donkeys would benefit from natural and social science collaboration. For thousands of years, the donkey (Equus asinus) has played an essential role in human society, underpinning the earliest forms of civilisation, facilitating critical trade networks, contributing to agricultural development, construction and mining. However, with the rise of motorised transport and agricultural machinery, the donkey was gradually turned loose in many places, and left free to roam. The emergence of freeroaming donkey populations has brought novel challenges for conservationists, land managers and animal welfarists alike. As non-native species that live and breed independently in large numbers, free-roaming donkeys appear as an ambiguous indeterminate group of wild-domestic creatures that sit uneasily with rapidly changing landscapes, societies and economies. This paper explores the status of free-roaming donkeys and the ongoing tension between the wild and the domestic, including the binary thinking underpins it and produces donkeys as non-native or 'out of place'. Using a relational approach and paying attention to the various ways in which freeroaming donkeys are entangled and embedded within cultural historical landscapes, this paper suggests how donkeys might be re-examined in terms of their 'entangled autonomy', building on recent interventions in 'wild' animal geographies and 'feral' political ecologies. In doing so, it reframes the debate around the status of freeroaming donkeys and posits an argument for how they might be considered to 'belong' or have legitimacy within these landscapes, suggesting that more attention needs to be given to the spaces and places that donkeys create or contribute to, as well as those they disrupt and challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development interventions increasingly include women's empowerment and gender equality among their objectives, but evaluating their impact has been stymied by the lack of measures that are comparable across interventions. This paper synthesizes the findings of 11 mixed-methods impact evaluations of agricultural development projects from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa that were part of the Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project, Phase 2 (GAAP2). As part of GAAP2, qualitative and quantitative data were used to develop and validate the multidimensional project-level Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI), which was used to assess the impact of GAAP2 projects on women's empowerment. This paper assesses the extent to which: (1) a two- to three-year agricultural development project can contribute to women's empowerment; and (2) a suite of methods comprising a standardized quantitative measure of women's empowerment and a set of qualitative protocols, can evaluate such impacts. Our synthesis finds that the most common positive significant impacts were on the instrumental and collective agency indicators that comprise pro-WEAI, owing to the group-based approaches used. We found few projects significantly improved intrinsic agency, even among those with explicitly stated objectives to change gender norms. Unsurprisingly, we find mixed, and mostly null impacts on aggregate pro-WEAI, with positive impacts more likely in the South Asian, rather than African, cases. Our results highlight the need for projects to design their strategies specifically for empowerment, rather than assume that projects aiming to reach and benefit women automatically empower them. Our study also shows the value of a suite of methods containing a common metric to compare empowerment impacts and qualitative protocols to understand and contextualize these impacts. • We use pro-WEAI to assess 11 projects' impacts on women's agency and empowerment. • Pro-WEAI comprises quantitative and qualitative protocols co-developed by projects. • Significant positive impacts observed on instrumental and collective agency. • More limited or null impacts detected on intrinsic agency. • Intentionality is important in projects' strategies to empower women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global food system currently requires a transformation in terms of both social and technological norms in order to be environmentally sustainable and productive enough to feed a growing global population. This paper suggests that China has the innovation regime that is the most capable of offering this transformation due the unique dynamic occurring between its top-down policy and bottom-up initiatives. Indeed, it is often the resulting spin-off developments, as a result of these two forces colliding, which creates interesting innovative trajectories that have a transformative potential. This paper identifies land consolidation as the policy most emblematic top-down agricultural process, food safety initiatives as the significant bottom-up equivilent and suggests that the rise of Taobao villages and rural e-commerce are the unintended innovative responses resulting from these forces. The dynamic of this innovation, I argue, can be tentatively mapped out to offer a grounded speculation of where, and how, the most intriguing, and perhaps most likely, developmental trajectories will occur regarding China's agricultural development. As such, this paper argues that Alternative Food Networks are one such evolving example and that the rise of 'enterprise-based recreational agriculture parks' - like Beijing's Xiedao Green Resort - points towards how particular innovative trajectories, through unique forms of scalar practices, could develop and shape, agricultural spaces in China. • o understand how a food system transformation could occur, we need to reimagine food system innovation.. • China argubly has the innovation regime that is the most capable of offering this reimagination. • This paper identifies Taobao Villages and Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) as examples of China's food system innovation. • The scalar practices of these innovations have led to the emergence of Enterprise-Based Recreational Agricultural Parks. • The formation of such projects, highlight how social and technological transformations in the food system are possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the dual challenges of food security crisis and environmental costs, promoting agricultural green development (AGD) is an urgent need. Agricultural cleaner production place-based policy (ACPBP) is an important tool for promoting AGD. Based on the entropy value method to measure the AGD, DID is applied in this paper to investigate whether ACPBP can promote AGD. The conclusions of the paper are as follows: (1) The AGD is impacted differently by various types of ACPBP. The policy of replacing chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers for fruits, vegetables and teas (RCFOFFVT) can inhibit AGD, national agricultural green development pioneer zone policy (NAGDPZP) can promote AGD. There is persistence in the effects of both RCFOFFVT and NAGDPZP. (2) There are regional heterogeneities in the effects of RCFOFFVT and NAGDPZP on AGD. The RCFOFFVT has a stronger inhibitory effect on AGD in low economic development counties and major grain-producing counties. The NAGDPZP has a stronger promotional effect on AGD in high economic development counties and non-major grain-producing counties. For low-carbon policy counties, the inhibitory effect of RCFOFFVT is insignificant and the promotional effect of NAGDPZP is weaker. (3) Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation (ASTI) moderates the impact of RCFOFFVT and NAGDPZP. ASTI would weaken the inhibitory effect of RCFOFFVT on AGD, and would strengthen the role of the NAGDPZP in promoting the AGD. (4) There is a policy mix effect of RCFOFFVT and NAGDPZP that can jointly promote AGD. The conclusions of the paper indicate that ACPBP are effective approaches to deal with the food crisis and environmental pressures, but in the process of policy implementation, different types of ACPBP need to be implemented based on the realities of the situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past two decades, large-scale land transactions (LSLTs), commonly known as land grabs or large-scale land acquisitions, have been pursued by agricultural investors and host-country governments in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) to boost crop yield. Existing knowledge on LSLTs is highly diverse, generated by scholars taking a wide range of perspectives and frameworks. However, the global patterns of LSLT-related research and their potential shortcomings remain under-investigated. In this paper, we analyze 370 peer-reviewed papers on LSLTs to advance this field of knowledge towards a science of 'land grabbing'. Our findings reveal that 1) research on LSLTs displays geographical imbalances; 2) global statistics do not fully capture the complexity of LSLTs on the ground; 3) different disciplinary interests and theoretical traditions result in different use of terms in referring to LSLTs and divergent impressions of their social consequences; and 4) the environmental consequences of LSLTs are under-studied relatively. We suggest that a better understanding of LSLTs could result from greater engagement with each discipline's strength and epistemic frameworks. • Research on LSLTs displays geographical imbalances. • Global statistics may not fully capture the complexity of LSLTs on the ground. • Use of terms in referring to LSLTs is highly diverse. • Environmental consequences of LSLTs are understudied. • Greater engagement with each discipline's epistemic frameworks needed in future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs), which involve the collective action of various institutions such as governments, private companies, NGOs, and donors, have become a popular approach for developing agricultural value chains to improve the sustainability of food systems. However, the growing body of literature presents a range of terms, concepts, and definitions related to MSPs, potentially causing confusion and obscuring the distinctions between different types of partnerships. While the potential benefits of MSPs have been extensively explored in the literature, there remains a need to investigate their realized impacts across regions to enable a more robust synthesis. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature on MSPs in agricultural development, specifically examining the various concepts employed and assessing their realized impacts on farmers, focusing on developing countries. We systematically reviewed the literature on MSPs and identified 147 studies dealing with a different type of MSPs and 79 studies reporting the impact. We found that twelve terms have been used to describe MSPs. However, a single MSP initiative may be referred to by different names in various documents, indicating a lack of consensus on the defining characteristics of such partnerships. Positive impacts were reported on farmers' economic, social, and technological aspects, as well as environmental adaptation practices to address climate change. Nevertheless, the reported impacts tend to focus primarily on economic, technological, and social dimensions while giving less attention to environmental aspects. This paper presents, firstly, a comprehensive overview of the diverse practices of MSPs in developing countries. Secondly, it analyses the contributions made by MSPs across various commodities and regions in the development of agricultural value chains. [Display omitted] • Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have become a popular approach for developing agricultural value chains. • This study examines the various concepts employed and assesses their realized impacts on farmers. • We found that a lack of consensus on the defining characteristics of such partnerships and positive impacts were reported. • This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the diverse practices of MSPs and analyses their contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To design policies for sustainable irrigation planning, public decision-makers need knowledge about the potential environmental impacts of irrigated farming systems. In a previous paper, we proposed to couple Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Agrarian System Diagnosis (ASD) to build the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of a farming region in a context of data scarcity and farming system diversity. This method was applied to the semi-arid irrigated plain of Kairouan (Tunisia). The aim of the present paper is to demonstrate how this new ASD-based LCA method is used to conduct the impact assessment of this farming region, under current conditions and for two prospective scenarios. Two functional units (FU) were used: the area and the gross product generated. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) was conducted based on a multilevel process, by converting LCI data collected for each cropping/ livestock system into LCIA outputs, which were then consolidated at the farming system (FS) and at the regional scales. Two scenarios, based on observed trends, were assessed: the "agrarian" scenario (driven by a shift from family to corporate farming) and the "hydrological" scenario (driven by a water table drawdown). Environmental hotspots were identified at each scale: the most impactful FS was the "mixed family farming" (intermediate access to water), because of its large share of land at the regional scale (45%). In this FS, the most harmful cropping system was input-intensive olive groves intercropped with a melon-pepper/ cereal/ tomato rotation, in which most impacts (35%) were attributable to the input-intensive "melon" crop, and more particularly to "manufacture and transport of fertilizer", including farmyard manure. Globally, the most harmful processes were water and fertilizer use (fertilizer manufacturing and transportation). This downscaling is very useful to inform public policies on the most harmful productions. The impacts in human, ecosystem and resource endpoints increased by 11%, 2%, 9% and 23%, 27% and 40%, for the agrarian and hydrological scenarios respectively. These results show that observed trends in farming practices evolution (more irrigation) should be stopped. Our method has three main strengths: i) inter-farms synergies are accounted for in the LCIA, which is essential to promote circularity; ii) thanks to the innovative and multilevel approach, the origins of environmental hotspots can be investigated and later mitigated by future policies; iii) ASD helps to design sustainable scenarios by identifying current trends and regional thresholds (resources, pollution and workforce) that cannot be overcome. [Display omitted] • Multilevel Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) was conducted in a semi-arid irrigated plain (Tunisia). • Agrarian System Diagnosis and Life Cycle Assessment methods were coupled. • Environmental hotspots are modeled from the plot /herd, up to the regional scale. • Main impacts are caused by water depletion, fertilizer manufacturing and manure transportation. • Environmental impacts may increase by 40% in trend evolution scenarios (watertable depletion and less familial farming). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper investigates the effects of agricultural exports on agricultural growth and overall growth in ECOWAS countries. • The instrumental variables approach is applied to control the cross-sectional dependence and endogeneity issues. • Findings indicate that the agricultural export-led agricultural growth hypothesis is verified. • We show that agricultural export increases the overall economic growth while the combined effect of the agricultural export and agricultural growth does not affect overall growth. • To increase foreign exchange earnings and avoid vulnerability to external shocks, ECOWAS' policymakers should pursue the implementation of outward-looking strategies, and agricultural export promotion and adopt market diversification policies. Given the urgent need to increase farming income and foreign exchange earnings, a substantial expansion of agricultural production for export is often a rational policy in developing countries, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The study analyzes the effects of agricultural exports on agricultural growth and overall economic growth in the ECOWAS region for the period 1996–2018. It also explores the combined effect of agricultural exports and agricultural growth on economic growth. We use the instrumental variables approach to control the endogeneity issue. Findings indicate that agricultural exports significantly enhance agricultural growth and overall economic growth. Moreover, the effect differs considerably from the agricultural growth equation to the economic growth equation. We also find that there is no complementarity nor substitutability effect of agricultural exports and agricultural growth on economic growth. These findings have important policy implications in agricultural development policy design and implementation in ECOWAS countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alginate is the general term of a polysaccharide which is widely used in the area of pharmaceutics and the food industry and is known for its unique biological activities. However, due to the low water solubility and large viscosity of alginate, its development and utilization in the agricultural field are limited. Alginate oligosaccharide (AOS) is a degradable product derived from alginate and has attracted much attention in recent years because of its specific characteristics such as a low molecular weight, high water solubility, and non-toxicity. Boar semen quality, which is affected by various factors, is an important indicator for measuring reproductive performance of boars. With the development of artificial insemination technology, high quality semen has been more and more important. Therefore, increasing semen quality is an important means to improve the reproductive performance in swine industry. In this research review, we used the PubMed database and Google Scholar and web of science to search for relevant literature on the topic of AOS in relation to boar semen quality. Key words used were alginate oligosaccharide, boars, semen quality, microbiota and metabolites. The purpose of this review article was to describe the current knowledge on the relationship between AOS and boar semen quality, and provide an overview of solutions for the decline in the boar semen quality in specific conditions. Based on the existing literature, it is evident that AOS can be used as a new type of food additive. This review paper provides a theoretical basis for the production of high-quality boar sperm and, suggests that, in the future, AOS can even aid in treating human infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is essential for many countries that depend on crops for food production and security. So, evaluating irrigation systems and selecting the best one is critical and gives various benefits such as water use efficiency, productivity, and agricultural development. This paper proposed a framework for conserving water and increasing effectiveness by using a suitable irrigation system. We used the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodology to deal with conflict criteria in the evaluation process. We used two MCDM methods such as Criteria Importance Through Inter-Criteria Correlation (CRITIC) method to compute the weights of the irrigation system criteria, and the spherical fuzzy double normalization-based multiple aggregations (DNMA) method to rank the irrigation systems (alternatives). The main advantage of CRITIC method computes the conflict and variability of the criteria by calculate weights of them. The main advantage of DNMA is used the two normalization method to rank the alternatives. These methods are integrated with spherical fuzzy set (SFS) fuzzy information in the assessment process. It has three values: membership, non-membership, and hesitant degrees to overcome uncertainty in the assessment steps. The proposed methodology is applied to a case study to show its performance. This study used 20 criteria of irrigation systems and 10 irrigation systems (alternatives) to select the best alternative. The results are discussed from the perspective of five experts. The sensitivity analysis is conducted to show the stability of the results. The comparative analysis is performed to show the validity and effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The results show the proposed methodology is more robust compared to other methods. • Irrigation systems are evaluated under uncertainty model. • CRITIC and DNMA methods are used to evaluate the irrigation systems. • The spherical fuzzy set used to deal with uncertainty information in the evaluation process. • Intensive verifications with other challenging approaches are discussed. • A case study is proposed to illustrate the rationality of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homesteads and cultivated land are crucial elements of the rural territorial system. Their coupling characteristics and changing patterns are essential for understanding the evolution of rural human-land systems and for developing coordinated rural development strategies. This study takes Huilong Village and Pingba Village in the TGRR, employing methods such as GIS spatial analysis, comprehensive index evaluation, coupling coordination degree model, and geographic detector model. The analysis focuses on the coupling characteristics and influencing factors of the "HCS" in these villages and proposes optimization strategies to provide scientific guidance for village planning, selection of high-quality rural development paths, and strategy design. The main findings are as follows: (1) The spatial distribution of homesteads and cultivated land in typical villages exhibits clear traffic directionality. The spatial coupling of the "HCS" demonstrates significant convergent evolution and adjacent distribution characteristics. (2) The utilization coupling of the "HCS" in Huilong Village and Pingba Village is predominantly high, with 98.72% and 94.62% of farmers, respectively, being highly coupled. However, the degree of coupling coordination is mostly barely coordinated. (3) The primary factors influencing the coordinated development of the "HCS" in the study area include the utilization conditions of homestead and cultivated land, labor status, and economic status. These factors can be categorized into four types: labor factor restrictions, nonagricultural development disturbance, agricultural development, and lagging farming conditions. Differentiated development strategies are proposed for each type. This research enhances the understanding of the coupling between homestead land and cultivated land, offering valuable insights for regional village planning, high-quality development path selection, and government decision-making. [Display omitted] • This paper introduces a theoretical framework for analyzing the coupling within the "HCS". • Farmers are essential in advancing the coordinated development of homesteads and cultivated land for sustainable rural development. • At present, the balanced development of different types of rural "HCS" is on the verge of imbalance. • The current policy and capital intervention in the development of the "HCS" is not sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate crisis and related events are often in the headline in recent years. The climate agreements reflected these concerns and called the researchers' attention to the urgent need for climate mitigation and adaptation policies. Many countries made new commitments during the latest United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) in November 2021 in Glasgow. In turn, scientists and experts worry that new pledges are not ambitious enough. The first environmental regulation was ratified in Great Britain in 1863. Later, the industrial and agricultural revolution stimulated pollution and brought about the emergence of environmental issues. The first agreement aiming to mitigate environmental pollution and stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere was the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Behind the European Union, the contribution of the biggest polluter countries to climate change is also significant. The objective of the paper is to investigate the explanatory factors of CO 2 emission, focusing on the contribution of economic growth, agriculture, and trade along with free trade and climate agreements on climate change in Non-European Union member states, including the biggest emitters in the past two decades. In addition, it investigates the role of specific free trade agreements in emission cuts. The results showed an increase in CO 2 emissions in third countries, the reduction in the impact of agricultural export on greenhouse gas emissions, underlining the potential hidden effect of trade-related emissions between 2000 and 2018. NAFTA was encouraged while EFTA, ASEAN and MERCOSUR reduced emission growth. The USA, China, and Russia have the highest responsibility in controlling climate change. The findings reflect the limited progress and implementation of climate and trade policies and agricultural-related emissions in Non-EU countries. • Confirmed the validity of the U-shaped EKC curve in Non-EU countries. • Economic development stimulates while agricultural development reduces CO 2 emission. • Agricultural export has a sinking impact on GHGs in the rest of the world. • NAFTA encouraged while EFTA, MERCOSUR and ASEAN hindered CO 2 emission. • The USA, China, Russia have the highest responsibility in controlling emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerating the rate of genetic gain has in recent years become a key objective in plant breeding for the Global South, building on the availability of new data technologies and bridging biological interest in crop improvement with economic interest in enhancing the cost efficiency of breeding programs. This paper explains the concept of genetic gain, the conditions for its emerging status as an indicator of agricultural development and the broader implications of this move, with particular emphasis on the changing knowledge-control regimes of plant breeding, the social and political consequences for smallholder farmers and climate-adaptive agriculture. We analyse how prioritising the variables used to derive the indicator when deciding on agricultural policies affects the relationship between development goals and practice. We conclude that genetic gain should not be considered as a primary indicator of agricultural development in the absence of information on other key areas (including agrobiodiversity, seed systems and the differential impact of climate change on soil, crops and communities), as well as tools to evaluate the pros and cons of the acceleration in seed selection, management and evaluation fostered by the adoption of genetic gain as a key indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We explore the fraught practices of ecological civilization in Yunnan. • Development is constituted by diverse, situated interests, pursuits and relations. • Maca commercialization involves complex discourses and practices of nature. • Farmers evolved from recipients of development to agricultural entrepreneurs. In this paper we argue that research on development in frontier regions needs to incorporate an explicitly environmental and ecological dimension, because economic frontiers are increasingly regarded as ecological frontiers in state and public discourses alike. We elaborate this argument by examining how the state-capital coalition has intervened in the development of Yunnan, a southwestern frontier of China, and how this process has involved the construction of an ecological civilization. This paper conceptualises the campaign of ecological civilization as the performance of state power through the discourses and practices of nature, and in this process, development is a highly situated and contingent process entangled with the complex negotiations between the state's ambition of socio-political assimilation, the volatility of the market and the agency of local communities. In specific, we focus on economic and ecological practices of using land for the plantation of the commercial crop maca. In the past decade or so, maca production in Yunnan has undergone a drastic process of rapid expansion and subsequently an equally rapid decline. Local authorities colluded with large enterprises to domesticate maca and promote maca production for land-based capital accumulation and poverty alleviation. Meanwhile, local farmers underwent a transformation, albeit contested, incomplete and full of back and forth, from passive recipients of development to active agricultural entrepreneurs. This article advances debates on frontier development and the role of nature in such processes, through the specific lens of ecological civilization in contemporary China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The pro-WEAI is a new tool designed to meet projects' impact assessment needs. • Projects identified and field-tested pro-WEAI indicators using mixed methods. • Pro-WEAI is mapped to 3 domains: intrinsic, instrumental, and collective agency. • Pro-WEAI is decomposable into sub-indices, indicators, and by population subgroup. • Women are more disempowered and have a higher intensity of disempowerment than men. With growing commitment to women's empowerment by agricultural development agencies, sound methods and indicators to measure women's empowerment are needed to learn which types of projects or project-implementation strategies do and do not work to empower women. The Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), which has been widely used, requires adaptation to meet the need for monitoring projects and assessing their impacts. In this paper, the authors describe the adaptation and validation of a project-level WEAI (or pro-WEAI) that agricultural development projects can use to identify key areas of women's (and men's) disempowerment, design appropriate strategies to address identified deficiencies, and monitor project outcomes related to women's empowerment. The 12 pro-WEAI indicators are mapped to three domains: intrinsic agency (power within), instrumental agency (power to), and collective agency (power with). A gender parity index compares the empowerment scores of men and women in the same household. The authors describe the development of pro-WEAI, including: (1) pro-WEAI's distinctiveness from other versions of the WEAI; (2) the process of piloting pro-WEAI in 13 agricultural development projects during the Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project, phase 2 (GAAP2); (3) analysis of quantitative data from the GAAP2 projects, including intrahousehold patterns of empowerment/disempowerment; and (4) a summary of the findings from the qualitative work exploring concepts of women's empowerment in the project sites. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned from pro-WEAI and possibilities for further development of empowerment metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Nowadays, the agriculture sector presents relevant opportunities to integrate renewable energy sources as an alternative solution to mitigate fossil-fuel dependence and decrease emissions. Moreover, this sector demands a detailed review of energy uses and other factors that are addressed as priority issues in most developed countries. In this framework, groundwater pumping energy requirements for agriculture irrigation emerge as a relevant topic to be improved in terms of power demand. Actually, this demand is currently supplied by diesel equipment solutions, with relevant drawbacks such as: (i) a large energy dependence on fossil fuels for the agricultural sector and (i i) a lack of participation in reducing CO 2 emissions. This paper proposes a multidimensional characterization to evaluate photovoltaic (PV) solar energy integration into groundwater pumping requirements. Alternative solutions are compared under economic, energy and environmental aspects; thus providing an extensive scenario where the considerable influence of multiple factors such as water needs, irrigation area or aquifer depth are explicitly considered. Extensive results based on a real Spanish aquifer and discussion about the solutions are also included in the paper. Highlights • A multidimensional characterization of groundwater pumping problem is proposed. • Economic, Energy and Environmental values are simultaneously considered. • PV installations, diesel equipment and power system solutions are compared. • An extensive visualization of variable dependences and options are depicted. • Real data from Spanish and Moroccan aquifers are used to validate the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the privileges associated with agricultural land ownership, as reflected in a peri-urban transition process. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 56 land managers in and around a single Scottish parish (municipality), representing over 90% of the land in the region. Multiple intersecting transition processes were identified, resulting (in part) from migration to the region of ex-urban lifestyle property seekers. The author argues that these changes represent gentrification: the replacement of existing land users by those of higher social status, leading to visible changes in the appearance of the locale. Drawing on Lukes' 'three faces of power' and Bourdieu's conceptualisation of capital exchange, the author demonstrates that ownership of agricultural land – achieved through inheritance or direct purchase – enables production of symbolic wealth. The analysis illuminates ongoing processes of horsification, simplification and de-commercialisation of agricultural land, which have altered the visual appearance of the parish. Rising land values restrict access for new entrants to commercial farming, but have enabled environmental gains to be achieved outside of state-funded subsidies. The paper demonstrates the privileges associated with agricultural land ownership, the social differentiation processes embedding access to agricultural affordances, and the assembly of agricultural practices into privileged and recreational experiences. • Agricultural land ownership is omitted from social exclusion debates. • Land owners in Strathben engaged in simplification and de-commercialisation. • Land access enables cultural capital production and intergenerational transfer. • Inheritance of agricultural land reproduces inequalities. • Land owners have the privilege of altering natural and built landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Inclusive Businesses are complex, composite organisational structures, combining standard instruments into unique set-ups. • Resource dependency, transaction cost and agency theory plus failings of individual instruments determine the IB set-up. • Multi-instrument IBs achieve inclusion of smallholders but power imbalance and corporate control over resources remain. • A conducive policy framework and third parties are important to shape dependencies, instruments and to balance power. Abstract Inclusive Businesses (IBs), signifying sustainable and equitable commercial operations linking low-income communities and smallholder farmers with agri-businesses in order to facilitate the former's market integration, are considered to comprise an essential tool for raising smallholders, across the developing world, out of poverty and for stimulating overall rural development. Although often promoted based on anecdotal evidence, IBs are little analysed and understood from a conceptual perspective, nor are they scrutinised when implemented in the field. This paper aims to provide a more precise insight into IBs, from a conceptual perspective and from a more practical one when implemented. Based on extensive fieldwork and assessments of 14 IBs, this paper proposes a new, flexible typology for the institutional set-ups of IBs, which accommodates the complex structures observed in the field. These innovative and hybrid arrangements, explained by a holistic framework that combines aspects of Resource Dependence Theory, Transaction Costs Economics and Agency Theory, are presented as unique combinations of the standard instruments of collective organisation, equity, lease/management contracts, mentorships, and supply contracts. Results show that whereas multiple-instrument IBs do obtain improved inclusiveness of low-income communities and smallholder farmers in commercial value chains, issues related to corporate control over resources, lack of knowledge transfer and marginal benefits remain. The assessed IBs are dynamic in their set-up, however, and allow for adaptations to overcome these issues. The State, which plays an important role through establishing a stimulating policy framework and financial contributions, together with third party engagement, can counter the potential corporatisation under IBs – emphasising that IBs alone cannot constitute the expected panacea for agricultural transformation and rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Examines a fresh case of land and water investment in northern Ghana. • Situates the case in a longer historical context of land grabs in Africa. • Discusses the land/agrarian questions and their resolution in this case. • Interrogates the industrialisation implications of the case for Ghana. • Raises issues for further research on the case. Abstract Despite its hostile climatic conditions, the Northern Ghana has recently attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) in land and water acquisitions for capitalist farming. Drawing on the insights of agrarian political economy, this paper critically analyses a new and under-researched case of such investment in the "Overseas", Northern Region, by The Integrated Water Management and Agricultural Development Ghana Limited (IWAD). The thrust of the analysis is the implications of the business model of IWAD for the social (re)production of peasants and the industrialisation vision of the Ghanaian state. I argue that helpful and important insights into these implications – especially the linkages between land acquisition, capitalist agriculture, agrarian change and industrialisation – can be gained by situating contemporary land acquisitions in the longer historical span of land grabs in Africa. This exercise should focus on the articulation of the (re)production of African rural populace with the global economy through global primitive accumulation. After doing this, the paper then documents and discusses the land question and its resolution in this specific case, and then examines the emerging agrarian change in the Overseas and its significance for industrialisation in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • This paper proposed the wireless sensor networks' development for watering crops to optimize agriculture to design and develop the control system between node sensors in the field of crops and the data management via smartphone and web application. • There are three components consisting of (i) hardware as control box to connect and obtain data of crops, (ii) web application to manipulate the details of crop data and field information, and (iii) mobile application used to control the crop watering. • The data mining technique was applied to analyze the obtained data for predicting the suitable temperature, humidity, and soil moisture of crops in the future plan. • The result showed that this work was suitable for usefulness in agriculture. • The moisture content in the soil was suitable for the vegetables to be converted with good care reducing costs and increasing agricultural productivity. Moreover, this work will be useful to farmers or those interested in agriculture driving by innovation. Abstract In this paper, we propose developing a system optimally watering agricultural crops based on a wireless sensor network. This work aimed to design and develop a control system using node sensors in the crop field with data management via smartphone and a web application. The three components are hardware, web application, and mobile application. The first component was designed and implemented in control box hardware connected to collect data on the crops. Soil moisture sensors are used to monitor the field, connecting to the control box. The second component is a web-based application that was designed and implemented to manipulate the details of crop data and field information. This component applied data mining to analyze the data for predicting suitable temperature, humidity, and soil moisture for optimal future management of crops growth. The final component is mainly used to control crop watering through a mobile application in a smartphone. This allows either automatic or manual control by the user. The automatic control uses data from soil moisture sensors for watering. However, the user can opt for manual control of watering the crops in the functional control mode. The system can send notifications through LINE API for the LINE application. The system was implemented and tested in Makhamtia District, Suratthani Province, Thailand. The results showed the implementation to be useful in agriculture. The moisture content of the soil was maintained appropriately for vegetable growth, reducing costs and increasing agricultural productivity. Moreover, this work represents driving agriculture through digital innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper examines the linkages between cash-crop income and other dimensions of poverty to interrogate assumptions regarding the relationship between agricultural income and poverty alleviation. The analysis treats poverty as a multi-dimensional and socially disaggregated phenomenon. The paper employs a mixed methods approach to case studies of Ghana and Ethiopia to explore two critical issues. First, how income from cash crops is linked with other dimensions of poverty. Second, how income and land are socially disaggregated. The paper then draws on qualitative data to critically reflect on how poverty is understood within studied communities. The results show that some, but not all, indicators of poverty vary across income quartiles and that significant differences exist across social groups. The analysis suggests that although cash crops are essential, focusing on increasing income from cash crops will not necessarily have a predictable or progressive impact on wellbeing. Furthermore, the analysis highlights how contextual factors, such as the provision of communal services, the nature of land holdings and the quality of local governance mediate the potential poverty alleviating outcomes of income increases. Future development of sustainable intensification strategies should focus on the prevalence of trade-offs and the fundamental social relations underpinning poverty dynamics. Highlights • Paper examines linkages between cash-crop income and other dimensions of poverty. • Draws on quantitative and qualitative data collected from Ghana and Ethiopia. • Some, but not all, dimensions of poverty are sensitive to differences in cash income. • Significant differences in income and land exist across different social groups. • Agricultural development policy must extend beyond income/yield concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The failure of the global food system to produce food in a sustainable way needs to change urgently, and a solid push to harmonize low-carbon food production with stable supply security is the right direction in which modern agriculture must evolve, but it is more difficult for large food-producing countries, and finding the right practices or systems to help policymakers or producers address this dilemma is critical. This requires political will, increased financing and top-level design. Digital inclusive finance (DIFI) embodies the financial concept of a community of human destiny, and it is worth examining whether this more inclusive and comprehensive financial service can shoulder the "responsibility" of "ensuring food security and reducing carbon emissions" in agriculture. This paper takes China's grain production system as an example, measures the coordinated development level of food production ensuring supply and reducing carbon emissions, and then analyzes the overall and regional characteristics of it. It is found that the coordinated development trend of China's food production ensuring supply and reducing carbon emissions is relatively stable during 2011–2020, fluctuating slightly above and below 0.9, and the central region has the highest level of coordinated development. The empirical results show that DIFI has led to a 4.3 percentage point increase in the level of coordinated development of food production ensuring supply and reducing carbon emissions during the decade, showing a stronger spatial spillover effect on neighboring regions than the local effect. At the same time, in the research of regional division in China, the impact of DIFI on the level of coordinated development of food production ensuring supply and reducing carbon emissions varies across regions, with typical uneven characteristics, and the promotion effect is more significant in the central and northern regions of China. Overall, this paper provides a simple tool for policy makers or producers to understand the balance between guaranteed output and low-carbon development of agricultural production activities. This paper will provide a methodological basis for assessing and standardizing low-carbon agricultural practices, innovating financial development models and systems, and promoting sustainable agriculture. [Display omitted] • Measuring coordinated development level of ensuring food supply and low-carbon. • Digital inclusive finance had increased the coordinated development level by 4.3%. • Digital inclusive finance also had a significant spatial spillover effect. • The role of digital inclusive finance showed a typical non-equilibrium feature. • The study's results could help to sustainable agriculture in agricultural country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Heilongjiang Province is the largest commodity grain producing area and modern agricultural reform pilot area, its agricultural modernization still has a long way to go. According to the actual situation of 34 regions in Heilongjiang Province, this paper evaluates the agricultural development of Heilongjiang Province from four main aspects: input level, output level, social development ability and sustainable ability. An index system of four first-level indicators and ten second-level indicators has been established. Analytic hierarchy process method and entropy weight method were used to calculate the weight of each index layer. Secondly, the least square method was used to fit the three-dimensional nonlinear value, and the extreme value standardization method was used to evaluate each index. Finally, based on the longitude and latitude data of 34 regions in Heilongjiang Province, the Moran index is calculated and the comprehensive evaluation results of the development level index of agricultural modernization in each region were given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sustainable agricultural development that prioritizes the needs and respects the rights of smallholder farmers is widely framed as a societal goal by both national governments and international institutions. However, in many places this remains an elusive goal, not least in sub-Saharan Africa. The past decades have seen new types of rural social movements emerge, demanding socially just and environmentally sustainable trajectories of agrarian change. But there are also places where this is seemingly not the case, Uganda being one. Based on qualitative research involving civil society organizations at the national and regional level, this paper analyzes contemporary civil society dynamics around agriculture in Uganda against a historical backdrop. Social division and civil society NGOization have contributed to unfavorable conditions for rural social movement emergence, but not irreversibly. Systematic policy advocacy engagement appears to be on the rise amongst agriculture-oriented NGOs, and while it is generally non-confrontational, contentious claims-making does happen. NGOs also aspire to facilitate farmer-led mobilization, although their logics of intervention differ and would benefit from more dialogue and theoretical grounding. For moving forward in NGOized contexts like Uganda, three points are emphasized: NGO-led and farmer-led mobilization is not a simple dichotomy; their relationship need not be antagonistic and there are several possible ways to seek synergies; and fostering capacity for farmers' contentious claims-making must involve counterhegemonic struggle. The paper ends by suggesting three areas for agri-food scholars interested in the complex interactions between NGOs and rural social movements. Highlights • Rural social movements play an important role in agrarian politics in many places. • In Uganda, barriers include NGOization, conflict and state co-optation/repression. • Although limited, NGOs have several roles to play in politicization of agriculture. • This includes both strategic policy advocacy and farmer mobilization. • Key research areas for critically-engaged agri-food scholarship are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is now more than a decade since integrated agricultural research for development (IAR4D) was proposed as a “new approach” or “set of good practices” for organising research to address complex problems of agricultural development, food security and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Since then, there have been efforts to investigate its impact in comparison to traditional research and development approaches. Although a growing number of publications are testifying to positive impacts of IAR4D and related agricultural research for development (AR4D) approaches, there has been limited explicit attention on its underpinning Theories of Change – the mechanisms or pathways by which it brings about impact. With the aim of contributing to a more robust grounding of the theory of change of IAR4D, this paper uses a comprehensive review of literature on IAR4D and related work experience of the authors in East and West Africa to critically engage with the implicit and explicit explanations and pathways for how and why IAR4D helps to achieve impact. This paper finds four emerging impact pathways focused on (1) market linkage, (2) social capital, (3) institutional change or (4) innovation capacity as critical mediating factors. Acknowledging articulation of each of these mediating pathways as encouraging progress, the article suggests putting these together in an integrated theory of change that also draws on established theories such as Multi-Level Perspective (Geels, 2005) and theory of adaptive change (Holling et al., 2002) to provide clear guidance and tools for designing and implementing effective AR4D interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Agriculture grew much faster in output and labour productivity in China than in Australia, Canada, India, Japan and the United States. • The unprecedented growth in China was mainly driven by multifactor productivity improvements. • Agriculture has been playing a diminishing role in the Chinese economy as in all the developed countries. • The diminishing importance is an outcome of market forces in balancing various demands and supplies for goods and services as an economy advances and income rises. Abstract This paper studies the evolution of the agricultural sector in the Chinese economy, with a comparison to a number of selected economies that are at different stages of economic development. It shows that China’s unprecedented agricultural growth comparing to other emerging and developed countries was mainly driven by its world-beating productivity improvement, resulting from a series of fundamental reforms that have been undertaken in the Chinese agricultural sector since 1978. Despite the remarkable achievement, however, agriculture is playing a diminishing role in the growing Chinese economy, including declining agricultural employment. The paper illustrates that, as in other developed countries, the decline trend in China is an outcome of market forces in balancing various demands and supplies for goods and services as income rises. The research results will have important implications for further policy designs that seek to maintain a healthy agricultural growth in China in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market systems interventions are an increasingly common approach to agricultural development. While the impacts of these interventions on poverty reduction and market participation by smallholders has been studied, little is known about their contributions to building climate resilience. This paper analyzes the compatibility of market systems and climate resilience approaches to agricultural development, using the United States government’s Feed the Future program as an empirical case study. Drawing on case studies in Ethiopia and Honduras, the paper examines the synergies and tensions between market systems and climate resilience approaches. The study finds that the market systems interventions have contributed to climate resilience, but also evidence of significant limitations due to fundamental tensions between market system and resilience approaches in terms of what their goals are, who they target, and how they approach their objectives. This study has important implications for the design and implementation of climate resilience programs and policies, as well as the expectations that agricultural development programs will be able to build climate resilience. Recognizing the inherent tensions that exist between market systems approaches and resilience approaches and explicitly discussing the trade-offs between the goals, target audiences, and primary mechanisms of each approach would represent an important step forward if market systems programs are going to contribute to climate resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades agricultural development has been led by a modernisation paradigm based on specialisation, intensification and scale enlargement. This model of development model has been supported by means of price support policies and, often, strong central marketing agencies, which had a stabilising effect on prices and significantly reduced market risks for an array of commodities. The economic rationale of this model is based on the pursuit of economies of scale and highly efficient technical production. This model has led farmers to increasing their technical capacity and to neglect activities such as marketing, which was delegated to specialised marketing agencies. In this paper we argue that such specialisation has weakened the economic resilience of farms. Although a high level of specialisation allows farmers to be technically efficient, acquire highly specific production skills and apply the latest production techniques, it also leads specialised farms to be highly dependent on the commodity market(s) in which they operate, increasing their economic vulnerability. As markets have become deregulated, prices of both inputs and produce have become more volatile, often compromising the economic sustainability of these specialised farms. The weakened economic resilience of such farms has been aggravated by the gradual dismantling of producer price support causing an increase in price volatility, which has become a near-universal phenomenon for almost all agricultural produce. Highly specialised farming is now only viable where markets are stable and this requires the existence of effective market agencies and strong inter-branch organisations and/or the prevalence of contract farming. The increasing market orientation of the CAP, the fragmentation and weakening of marketing agencies and – last but not least– the growing societal demand for a more sustainable agriculture have led many farmers to rethink their farm development strategies. They are rediscovering farm diversification as one way of reducing market risks, as well improving the efficiency of the farm's organisation and resource use. Economies of scope emerge when a farmer can use the same input(s) to produce two or more products, and lower the cost of producing them separately. To achieve this end the inputs have to be complementary. By developing cost complementarities between different crops or livestock species, diversified farms can become more efficient than specialised farms. Another way that diversified farms can increase their economic sustainability is to partially produce for niche markets thereby generating a higher added value. A product mix of high quality products, possibly from the same production sector, but aimed at different, specific, market segments can further contribute to increasing the overall profitability of diversified farms. This paper summarises a series of case studies from EU member states and Israel which illustrate how farmers are experimenting with alternative pathways of development based on diversification. It is also shows the challenges they face. These include learning the skills for marketing high value-added farm products, establishing short food chains and the rebuilding supportive social and economic networks. The latter is particularly important when farms are too small to diversify effectively individually. Farms that participate in these economic networks are more able to internalise external economies generated within these networks and develop their knowledge of marketing and production through close cooperation with other farms. In some of the case studies the success of diversification clearly depended on the ability of farms to collaborate and share knowledge especially when new technical capacities for say, introducing crop diversification or intercropping, needed to be acquired. The knowledge involved in developing new crop rotation patterns, knowing about crop associations and combinations of crop and livestock activities was either developed ex novo or by rediscovering traditional knowledge. At the same time training in marketing food products is also a key to successfully shifting from being a specialised farm to a diversified one. Farmers need encouragement in order to work together and share their knowledge and experiences of diversification strategies. To this end policies that support collaborative networks are needed. Policies are also required to help establish and sustain collective marketing initiatives, especially short and direct supply chains. Finally, public support to assure against market risks is very helpful when farmers are entering into new markets. These policies are essential to support the existing processes of change that are occurring at grassroots level which are leading to a new model of farm modernisation. The specific contribution that this paper makes to the rural social science literature is to empirically highlight the limitations of theories about the benefits of economies of scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhengzhou of Henan province is an important agricultural production base. To improve the performance of the combined drying system and promote the development of agricultural products in Zhengzhou area, a solar assisted multi-source heat pump (SMSHP) drying system was proposed based on a traditional solar assisted air source heat pump (SASHP) drying system. The simulation models were developed for the air source heat pump (ASHP), SASHP, and SMSHP drying system respectively. The coefficient of performance, energy consumption and specific moisture extraction rate of the drying systems under different seasons were analyzed. Moreover, to validate the simulation models, an experimental platform of the combined drying system was designed and set up, and the experimental tests were carried out on the ASHP, SASHP, and SMSHP drying system. The simulation results revealed that the SMSHP drying system had lower energy consumption, higher coefficient of performance and specific moisture extraction rate than that of the SASHP drying system. The most significant performance enhancement was observed in spring, where the SMSHP system demonstrated a 22.69 % increase in coefficient of performance, a 19.2 % increase in specific moisture extraction rate, and a 16.11 % decrease in energy consumption compared to the SASHP drying system. Comparing with the experimental data, the simulation model errors of the energy consumption, coefficient of performance, and specific moisture extraction rate of the SMSHP drying system were 3.19 %, 0.28 %, and 2.27 %, respectively. Therefore, the accuracy of the simulation results was confirmed. To better calculate the heat provided by the solar collection system, the concept of the tank heating guarantee rate was first introduced, and it was found to be more scientific than the solar energy guarantee rate. At last, The economic and environmental benefit of the drying systems were analyzed during the life cycle, and the SMSHP drying system exhibited better comprehensive performance than the SASHP drying system. This paper provides valuable insights into the comprehensive utilization of solar energy and the control logic of solar assisted air source heat pump combined drying system under different seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Biochar modified with polysaccharide has more functional groups and active structures. • Different polysaccharide modifications produce different effects on biochar. • Remediation of pollutants in the environment through multiple mechanisms. • Polysaccharide-modified biochar has promising applications in real-world environments. • Polysaccharide-modified biochar meets the concept of green chemistry. With the rapid development of industry and agriculture, global environmental problems are becoming more and more serious. It is urgent for us to find green solutions to improve the environment. Biochar is a potentially cost-effective carbonaceous resource with a wide range of applications in agriculture and the environment. Modification of pristine biochar can further improve its performance in the target application. Polysaccharides-modified biochar are receiving increasing attention as a promising material for environmental treatment because they can combine the advantages of polysaccharides and biochar. In this paper, the differences and preparation methods of different polysaccharide-modified biochar, as well as the effects and mechanisms of polysaccharide-modified biochar in removing organic and inorganic pollutants from the environment were systematically discussed for the first time by critically analyzing the existing studies. In addition, the recycling capacity and methods of this type of modified biochar, and the current applications and effects in the real environment were also fully summarized and discussed. The future development of polysaccharide-modified biochar should focus on its recycling methods and costs as well as more in-depth exploration of its application in real environments. It is believed that this material can achieve good results in the field of environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing fragmentation of farmland remains a critical agriculture development challenge around the world, specifically in developing countries. Farmland consolidation is one of the most efficient policy instruments, extensively implemented across the world, to deal with the critical issues in agriculture sector associated with farmland fragmentation. Despite this prospect there is a vast gap in literature exploring factors influencing farmers' preference for farmland consolidation in developing countries like Nepal. This research aims to identify the factors influencing farmers' preference for farmland consolidation through a randomized conjoint experiment. For a randomized conjoint experiment, five attributes related to farmland consolidation, i.e., methods of consolidation, development of roads and irrigation, the expected increase in agricultural income, minimum area of farmland for consolidation, and provision of service, with 3–4 levels were identified through literature review, expert consultation, and pretesting. The average marginal component effects of each randomly assigned attribute's levels are estimated. Respondents' willingness to accept farmland consolidation is also assessed based on the choice led by the expected increase in agricultural income. Sixty-five percent of respondent farmers preferred the alternative policy to consolidate farmland over the status quo. The expected increase in income and the development of roads and irrigation through a joint effort of the government and farmers influence farmers' preference for farmland consolidation positively. In contrast, farmers' preference for farmland consolidation is negatively affected by a bigger area of farmland consolidation. The method of farmland consolidation and provision of service does not have a significant impact on farmers' preference for farmland consolidation. Respondent farmers are willing to accept a yearly increase of USD 362 per hectare to consolidate their farmland. This paper suggests any policy targeted for farmland consolidation to focus on ensuring the increased income for the participant farmers mainly through shared effort to develop a connection road and irrigation infrastructure contributing to efficient production practices in the consolidated farmland. The farmers would consolidate their land if their yearly farm income increased by USD 362. Since majority of Nepali farmers are smallholding farmers, they would not prefer the larger size for farmland consolidation as it involves many farmers or require high capital to procure land through buying/selling of land. These policy implications could be extended to other developing countries which are experiencing increasing farmland fragmentation and having the similar socioeconomic context. [Display omitted] • There is a need for farmland consolidation to enhance efficiency of agriculture production in Nepal • Impact of important attributes on farmers' preference for farmland consolidation is assessed • 65% of the respondents prefer the proposed farmland consolidation policy over the status quo • Higher expected increase in income and joint development of important infrastructures increase preference for the policy • A larger area set for farmland consolidation negatively affect the preference [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geogenic contaminated groundwater (GCG), characterized by elevated arsenic, fluoride, and iodine levels, present a significant challenge to public health and government management. Conventional survey-based approaches of collecting groundwater samples, conducting physicochemical tests, and performing spatial interpolation to obtain regional groundwater chemical component maps are inefficient and costly. More importantly, it does not take into account the actual hydrogeological conditions or the characteristics of pollutant transport and enrichment. To address this issue, we utilized Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) to analyze the likelihood of occurrence of arsenic, fluoride, and iodine as well as their spatial distribution in shallow groundwater from the Hetao Basin. Our study incorporated 20 indicators related to meteorology, soil physicochemical properties, and groundwater conditions, along with 1505 labeled samples consisting of groundwater arsenic, fluoride, and iodine concentrations and their corresponding coordinates. Subsequently, the study automatically analyzed the meteorological, soil physicochemical properties and groundwater conditions by constructing a machine learning model using the available data. In order to optimise and select the best prediction model, this paper presents a quantitative evaluation of the prediction performance of various machine learning models. The accuracy (AC), area under curve (AUC) and mean squared error (MSE) were calculated to predict the spatial distribution of CGC. Subsequently, the optimized model for predicting the spatial distribution of GCG was selected. The results showed that the XGBoost algorithm provided optimal predictions for groundwater with arsenic concentrations above 10 μg/L and fluoride concentrations exceeding 1.5 mg/L, whereas the RF model provided the best predictions for groundwater with arsenic concentrations surpassing 50 μg/L and iodine concentrations exceeding 100 μg/L. Subsequently, groundwater health risk zones were delineated based on an optimal prediction model, and demographic analysis was conducted in both the direct and potential groundwater risk zones. Model predictions indicated that hundreds of thousands of people in the Hetao Basin were facing a public health crisis caused by high concentrations of arsenic, fluoride and iodine in groundwater. These findings underscore the significant health challenge in the study area. Considering the agricultural development and increasing groundwater use in the area, our findings can guide local governments in managing the extent of groundwater development, establishing control zones, and enhancing protection measures for populations at risk from groundwater contamination. [Display omitted] • Machine learning methods are used to predict the spatial distribution of GCG. • Quantitatively assessing the predictive accuracy of machine learning models (SVM, RF, AdaBoost and XGBoost) • Statistics on the number of people affected by GCG based on the optimal forecasting model [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional change strategies that prioritize transparency, fairness, and respect will advance inclusive agri-food systems innovation. This short communication posits that institutional change strategies are a linchpin, necessary for International Agricultural Research Centers to implement models promoting inclusive agri-food systems innovation. Models promoting inclusive innovation are pivotal for generating and advancing research for development actions tailored to specific contexts. Context-specific approaches demonstrate superior adaptability compared to universal actions. They contribute to the effectiveness of agriculture research for development, particularly in times of increasing volatility and inadequate progress toward global sustainability and equity goals. Targeted institutional change strategies foster three sister strategies that bolster inclusive innovation: navigating trade-offs; enhancing partnerships; and diversifying measurement. The paper stems from consultations within the Independent Science for Development Council (ISDC) and ISDC's related advising to CGIAR. Institutional change is the linchpin among four strategies identified by ISDC for driving inclusive agri-food systems innovation in Agriculture Research for Development. [Display omitted] • Context specific actions are needed to address gaps in progress toward global sustainability and equity goals. • Inclusive agri-food system innovation models generate and promote context-specific actions. • Strategies exist to advance inclusive agri-food system innovation models in agricultural research for development (AR4D). • Institutional change strategies are a cornerstone for inclusive and effective AR4D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-natural habitats (SNHs) are essential to biodiversity and agroecological conservation. The impact of agricultural policies on the development of SNHs is a matter of substantial importance. This study conducted a comparative analysis to examine the variations of SNHs' quantity, landscape quality, and ecosystem services resulting from the differentiated agricultural policies in China and the EU from 1990 to 2020. The Yangtze River Delta region (YRD) in China and France was selected as the study area. The results revealed that France exhibited a higher proportion of SNHs, along with improved connectivity and diversity in its plains, whereas SNHs in the YRD were limited in quantity and characterized by unstable landscape structure and ecosystem services. Both the YRD and France experienced a shift in the declined SNHs towards higher altitudes. There was noticeable landscape fragmentation and degraded ecosystem services in the hilly areas of YRD and the high plains of France. The agricultural policies of the EU achieved limited success in protecting SNHs, while China's agricultural landscapes were rapidly losing SNHs due to the absence of policy support. Based on these, the paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions for developing SNHs in China and the EU. Our study contributes to the global effort for agroecological conservation. • Comparative analysis of SNHs in China and the EU from 1990 to 2020. • Both YRD and France experienced a shift in declining SNHs towards higher altitudes. • Limited success of EU agricultural policies in SNH protection over three decades. • Rapid loss of SNHs in China's agricultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tremendous amount of ash produced from coal-fired power plants must be disposed and utilized in an economically and environmentally sustainable matiner. This paper conducted a study on the beneficiation of silo ashes and the risk assessment for land ilse. Silo ash samples were collected from six Chinese power plants and segregated into five size fractions by a combination of sieving and air classification. The concentration distributions of nine hazardous elements (i.e., As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) were characterized. The results show that the particle size distributions of hazardous elements in the silo ashes do not exactly agree with the generally accepted models of their release and partitioning in the boiler. Environmental risks were assessed for agricultural and development land use of coal ash, according to related Chinese standards. The results suggest that all the bulk ashes meet the requirements for development land use. Beneficially, for some coal ashes, the coarse fraction (> 10 pm) can be applied to agricultural land while the remaining fraction (< 10 wn) still complies with the standard for development land use. This work demonstrates that a simple air classification is potentially an eco-friendly and value-added approach for the full utilization of coal ash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using 1999 to 2016 agriculture and agricultural insurance data, building VAR model, this paper study the dynamic relationship among agricultural insurance and agriculture in China. We make fool use of VAR tools, such as granger casualty test, impulse response and variance decomposition. Empirical results show that agricultural insurance premium contributes to agricultural GDP and farmers' income in China about 12% in recent years while agricultural GDP is more important to agricultural insurance. 85% of agricultural insurance premium growth due to agricultural GDP. In addition, the increase of farmers' income can not improve agricultural insurance premium. Chinese government should develop agricultural insurance more steadily, help improve farmers' acknowledge about agricultural insurance and subsidizes agricultural insurance continually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analyzed the types and characteristics of multi-agricultural scenes. • Summarized the principles and models of agricultural autonomous navigation technology. • Summarized the agricultural autonomous navigation system and its architecture. • Summarized the research status of autonomous navigation technology in multi-agricultural scenes. • Development challenges and future trends of autonomous navigation technology in multi-agricultural scenes are reported. Due to the increasing demand for food, the global shortage of agricultural labor and the reduction in the utilization of agricultural resources, the demand for agricultural autonomous navigation technology and equipment has become increasingly urgent. Compared to the closed express structured environment for self-driving cars, the agricultural scene is complex and diverse, and its navigation modes and core technologies are also significantly different. In view of this, it is of great value to summarize the development characteristics and trends of autonomous navigation technology in fields, orchards, greenhouses and other scenarios. In this paper, (1) firstly, the types and characteristics of multi-agricultural scenes are analyzed, the principle and mode of agricultural autonomous navigation are expounded, and the agricultural autonomous navigation system and architecture are introduced; (2) secondly, the research status of autonomous navigation technology in open field agriculture, orchard agriculture, facility agriculture, livestock and poultry agriculture and aquatic agriculture is investigated; (3) finally, it is predicted that the differentiated autonomous navigation technology scheme for multi-scene agriculture, multi-dimensional perception, self-understanding navigation technology in agricultural scenarios, selective autonomous navigation technology for task self-matching fusion, the cooperative autonomous navigation technology for multi machine ad hoc network clusters, and the fault self-checking remote diagnosis navigation system are the future research hotspots and development trends. At the same time, it is clear that the in-depth practical application of artificial intelligence, the in-depth research and development of high-precision and low-cost sensors, and the collaborative integration technology of agricultural machinery and agronomy are the critical path to promote the breakthrough of agricultural autonomous navigation technology. The summary and prospect of this paper have positive significance for promoting the overall development of agricultural autonomous navigation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In agricultural research for development adoption of new technology tends to be cast in categories: adoption, partial adoption, dis-adoption or non-adoption. While these may serve for pragmatic classification and measures for project success or impact they fail to properly acknowledge the ongoing and independent efforts of farmers (and others) in experimentation and integration of knowledge across a range of sources. This paper explores responses to practices for cattle management introduced during a research project, at project close, and five years after the project has finished. We consider the perceptions and application of new knowledge by farmers, extension staff, and policy makers. By taking a longer-term view, we demonstrate how farming households adapt and integrate knowledge from different sources into their daily practice, influenced by local institutions and changing cultural expectations, as well as external researchers. We also consider the influence of changing government priorities and incentives in steering farm-management decisions. Results suggest that a focus on measures to build capacity and empower farmers with information to adapt and respond to change, regardless of project activities, is a much more important goal and indicator of impact than measuring adoption. • Considers household decision making process for 'adoption' of new technology. • Analysis years after interventions finish show ongoing farmer adaptation of practices. • Enabling long-term change requires alignment with policy across scales. • A focus on capacity building, rather than adoption, will be more impactful over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of phytoliths (opal silica bodies from plants) from sediment sequences obtained from two tropical forest patches in the Western Ghats of India: a sacred grove (sequence covers last 550 cal BP) and a forest patch in a plantation (sequence covers last 7500 cal BP). The sites are located at mid-elevation (c. 650–1400 m above sea level) in a mosaic landscape showing anthropogenic open habitats and plantations as well as some evergreen forests. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the landscape composition of grassland and forest over time in the region, grassland being invariably shaped by anthropogenic activities, particularly fire for cultivation. We identified and classified phytoliths into 34 morphotypes from five taxonomic groups: Poaceae (grasses), Cyperaceae (sedges), Arecaceae (palms), Pteridopsida (ferns) and woody dicotyledons (broad-leaved trees and shrubs). We also calculated the humidity–aridity index (Iph). First, our results show that grasses are the most represented phytolith types in both sites, followed by broad-leaved trees and shrubs, palms, sedges, and ferns. Second, the highly variable climatic index Iph over the last 1000 years suggest that changes in phytolith percentage (e.g. broad-leaved trees) might be caused by human agro-pastoral activities, such as clearing through fires and irrigation. Prior to these human activities, the phytolith signal for early Holocene climate is congruent with the existing literature. Finally, this study compares new phytolith results with previous pollen data from the same sites. We find good agreement between these two botanical proxies throughout, thus validating our findings. We provide important evidence regarding the history of environmental change due to anthropogenic activities in the Western Ghats. This has important implications because it provides insights into how tropical forest will respond to increased intensity of human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Considering pistachio, a supply chain network is firstly designed in this paper. • A mixed linear mathematical model is formulated based on the proposed problem. • Efficient and well-known old and recent meta -heuristic algorithms are utilized. • Three hybrid meta -heuristic algorithms are developed. • The quality of the proposed algorithms is investigated and compared. Nowadays, recent advances and developments in the agricultural sector have raised concerns regarding the environmental impact of agricultural wastes and the safety of agricultural products. Recently, reverse logistics have been used to address these issues. It is also possible to reduce the environmental impact of these by-products and return them to the network by opening compost centers and designing an optimal supply chain distribution network. In this paper, a new mixed linear mathematical model is developed for an agriculture supply chain network to minimize the total fixed and variable costs of the closed-loop supply chain,. To address the proposed model, efficient and well-known old and recent meta -heuristic algorithms are utilized. Besides, to boost intensification and diversification phases, three hybrid meta -heuristic algorithms are developed. Finally, the quality of the meta -heuristic and hybrid algorithms are investigated and compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiesel is unarguably one of the most considered substitutes for fossil-based liquid fuels. However, the high cost of biodiesel production has been a major inhibitor for its large-scale activity. Apart from the cost of feedstock, catalysts contribute to the high pump price of biodiesel. Wastes derived from agricultural sources have been seen as viable means of synthesizing cost-effective and environmentally friendly catalysts and is an appropriate disposal of wastes. In this study recent trends in converting and utilizing agricultural wastes as heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production were reviewed. Agricultural wastes classifications, types of catalysts for biodiesel production, and the effects of conversion and modification techniques on pore size, acidity, surface area, and other fingerprints that enhance the catalytic activity were discussed. The use of characterization methods to test the suitability of solid catalysts was analysed, and some published works on the use of some agricultural wastes-derived catalysts were scrutinized. The paper concludes that catalysts derived from agricultural wastes offer a cheap, readily available, easy to produce, and environmentally benign replacement for the imported commercial ones. Going forward, more target investigations are needed on the suitability of some unexplored agricultural wastes to convert them to green catalysts. Researchers should explore the use of optimization models and statistical tools to determine the appropriate conditions for effective performance of biofuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate services are integral to climate change adaptation in agriculture. Inclusive innovation prioritises inclusion of marginalised actors, grassroots knowledge and accessibility of use. Yet many innovation processes are multi-stakeholder, complex and may not prioritise inclusion from the outset. In these circumstances, researchers and designers may seek to influence existing projects towards greater inclusivity. This paper explores efforts to increase the inclusivity of existing innovation processes, focusing on the design of My Climate View, an online Australian climate services platform for agriculture. Findings relate to contemporary issues in inclusive innovation literature, including: (1) Who should be included in innovation processes (within given resourcing)?; (2) How requirements for inclusion or exclusion can emerge through the design and use of a technology; and (3) The influence of program level structures upon inclusivity and design. Our approach is informed by Responsible Innovation and Inclusive Innovation theory and enacted through user-centred design. Findings are synthesised from analysis of 60 semi-structured interviews with farmers, advisors and extension officers. We additionally draw on observations as researchers in the multi-actor My Climate View development team, where extensive engagement separate to research activities has included agricultural and Indigenous stakeholders. Engaging with a broad sample of potential target users enabled diverse and sometimes unexpected use cases. Customisation of interface parameters allowed the incorporation of tacit knowledge and positively affected the inclusivity of My Climate View, extending the value of the platform to growers of niche commodities outside of the original scope. Inclusivity in innovation can be impacted by diverse factors, including design team decisions, structural factors, budget and external factors. Requirements for inclusion and exclusion can emerge and evolve throughout a design process, supporting Responsible Innovation's framing of inclusivity alongside principles of reflexivity and responsiveness. The findings enrich the evidence base for climate services and broader agricultural technology development processes by providing insights for those seeking greater impact by practicing inclusivity in innovation. We provide four implications for increasing inclusivity in the design of climate services: (1) Maximising customisation and avoiding prescriptive interpretation enables greater flexibility of use; (2) Sampling broadly within target users to uncover unanticipated values and opportunities for inclusion and exclusion; (3) It is important to embed efforts towards inclusion alongside processes of reflexivity; and (4) Responsible and inclusive approaches to climate services design are valuable even if brought in once development has commenced. [Display omitted] • Explores the challenges of steering a largescale climate services innovation project towards greater inclusivity. • Maximising customisation options for users and avoiding prescriptive interpretation enables greater flexibility of use. • Responsible and inclusive approaches to climate services design are valuable even if adopted once development has commenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Established a dynamical model and conducted coupling mechanism analysis. • Cooperative controller designed based on hierarchical progressive control architecture. • The DAUKF, MVSMC and PSO-VMD algorithms and application scenarios are proposed. • A joint simulation platform was constructed for real-time validation. • Improved drive motor operating points and energy system economics. Fuel cell distributed drive electric tractor (FCDET) is one of the effective ways to solve environmental pollution, energy shortage problems and promote sustainable development of agriculture. Excessive slip of the driving wheels is the main reason that restricts the traction efficiency of electric tractors. This paper proposed a cooperative control strategy for fuel cell tractor distributed drive system based on a hierarchical progressive control architecture. We have established the FCDET 7-degree-of-freedom coupled dynamics model and fuel cell system model, revealing the coupling mechanism of system dynamics and the load law of transfer. The upper-level state estimator design method based on Derived Adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter (DAUKF) algorithm is proposed to observe and obtain the field operation tractor body motion state and tire force state in real time. The lower-level torque distribution controller design method based on Modified Variable Structure Sliding Mode Control (MVSMC) algorithm is proposed to actively distribute the drive wheel demand torque with the optimal slip rate as the control objective. The power distribution strategy based on Particle Swarm Optimization Variable Modal Decomposition (PSO-VMD) algorithm is proposed to improve drive motor operating point and economy. The tractor field operation front wheel steering angle and load information were collected, and a hardware-in-the-loop test platform was built. The results showed that the slip rate and hydrogen consumption of FCDET are optimal for the plowing and transportation operation conditions under the cooperative control strategy. Compared with the average torque distribution strategy, the tractor slip rate was reduced by 45.6% and 45.4%, respectively. Compared with the power-following strategy, the tractor hydrogen consumption was reduced by 28.7% and 38.3%, respectively. This study can provide the theoretical foundation and technical support for the practical implementation of hierarchical progressive control architecture in controlling distributed drive systems for advanced agricultural machinery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ethiopia implemented widespread agricultural inteventions in the past decades. • We estimate the yields and food security impacts of the interventions implemented by the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) between 2011 and 2016. • We combine project and remote-sensing data with a nationally representative household panel survey. • Our identification strategy exploits the temporal and geographic variation in the roll-out of the ATA interventions. • Results show that large-scale agricultural interventions are associated with higher agricultural yields and better food security outcomes. In the past decades, the Government of Ethiopia implemented widespread interventions with the objective of modernizing the agricultural sector and stimulating transformative growth. This paper assesses the agricultural yields and food security impacts of those interventions. Combining project and remote-sensing data with a nationally representative household panel survey, we identify impacts by exploiting the temporal and geographic variation in the roll-out of the interventions implemented by the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency from 2011 to 2016. Results show that large-scale agricultural interventions are associated with higher agricultural yields and better food security outcomes. These outcomes underscore the linkages that persist between agricultural development and food security for rural households living in mostly agrarian economies and the potential for systems-wide interventions to catalyze agricultural transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of capital hindered the development of agricultural production and the residential energy consumption transition in rural areas, but, with the continuous advancement of digital finance technologies, rural digital credit eased the liquidity constraint of agricultural production, which influenced residential energy consumption. However, few studies explored the relationship between rural digital credit and residential energy consumption. Hence, the instrumental variable (IV) method, the mediation effect model and the survey data that covered 295 effective samples were used to analyze the impact of rural digital credit on residential energy consumption from the agricultural production perspective in this study. The results indicated that rural digital credit resulted in a significant decline of the consumption of traditional energy products, but impacts of rural digital credit on electricity consumption and the new-style energy products consumption were not significant. Further, rural digital credit reduced traditional energy products consumption via boosting the level of agricultural mechanization and the adoption of precision fertilizer applying technique. This paper was conducive to not only developing the green credit markets in rural areas, but also enhancing the residential energy consumption transition and sustainable development. • Digital credit resulted in a significant decline of the consumption of traditional energy products. • Impacts of digital credit on electricity consumption and the new-style energy products consumption were not significant. • Digital credit reduced traditional energy products consumption via boosting agricultural mechanization. • Digital credit reduced traditional energy products consumption by adopting precision fertilizer applying technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]