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Sustainable agricultural progress is one of the world's greatest challenges in the twenty-first century as the global population is estimated to rise to over nine billion by 2050. Over the years, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the African Union (AU) have sought prosperous African Policies based on sustainable agriculture and inclusive growth. Additionally, the AU has adopted the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) policy framework. Given the growing need for innovative policies and studies to reduce the negative environmental effects of agricultural development in Africa, this paper investigates the significance of green finance and digital technologies on green agricultural growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2003 to 2018. Analysis of panel co-integration estimates indicates all variables are integrated. Using the panel-corrected standard errors estimator for long-run equilibrium co-integration assessment, the outcomes indicate mitigated green finance (MGF), internet and mobile phone use (IMU), as well as sustainable energy utilization (RE), individually and collectively exert a positive effect on agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (AVA). Additionally, panel causality estimates indicate (i) a bi-directional causality between MGF and AVA. (ii) A uni-directional causality running from IMU towards AVA without any rebound effect. For policy insights, the AU could urge member states to implement macro-policies to increase agricultural green credit to sustain food production and employment generation. Similarly, the FAO and AU could provide technical support in digital agricultural research and value chains towards ensuring sustainable agriculture development in SSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anthrax is a zoonotic disease that is still regarded as a public health issue in developing nations. This paper aims to discuss the epidemiology of anthrax in Africa, the current outbreaks in Ghana and Nigeria, clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment of anthrax, challenges associated with the transmission of the disease to both countries and recommendations to reduce this current outbreak and curb future outbreaks in Africa. Online databases (PubMed, and Google Scholar) and Nigeria Ministry of Agriculture report were used to provide detailed information on the paper. On June 1, 2023, two suspected human cases of anthrax were reported, via a letter sent to all stakeholders in the country, with one death in Binduri District, Upper East region of Ghana. The cases were due to the consumption of dead cattle. Four cattle were reported dead at the time, and eleven suspected human cases were identified through contact tracing. Afterward, on July 17, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nigeria announced the first case of anthrax disease in Nigeria. The National Veterinary Research Institute confirmed the case from samples collected from a suspected livestock farm in Niger State, Nigeria. No human case has been reported. Short conclusion: Anthrax poses significant challenges to public health and requires cooperation between nations, especially in regions like Ghana and Nigeria, where animal movement and ecological changes can impact disease transmission. Challenges attributed to the spread of anthrax in both countries were discussed, focusing on the role of government and the general public in addressing this public health concern. Given the endemicity of certain transboundary animal diseases such as anthrax in sub-Saharan Africa, the control of animal movement across intra- and international borders in the region needs to be tightened. Regulations governing the transboundary movement of animals should be based on the World Organisation of Animal Health Terrestrial Code and should be strictly enforced to prevent ongoing and future outbreaks in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the data of 30 provinces (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan regions and Tibet) at the provincial level from 2010 to 2019 as the research object, this paper analyzes the current situation and characteristics of China's agricultural modernization and response to carbon emissions. Agricultural modernization is decomposed into production modernization, management modernization, and ecological modernization. This study uses the spatial Dobbin model to demonstrate the impact of agricultural modernization on carbon emissions and analyzes the impact of agricultural modernization on carbon emissions in the East. The direct effect and spatial spillover effect of the three western regions are to different degrees. The results show that agricultural carbon emissions are spatially dependent. The development of agricultural modernization and transportation of neighboring provinces and cities will have an impact on agricultural carbon emissions in this region. Therefore, under the background of rural revitalization and low-carbon agriculture, this paper further analyzes the impact of agricultural modernization on the spatial distribution of carbon emissions in the eastern, central, and western regions. Recommendations are proposed with a view to giving better play to the process of agricultural modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new video based multi behavior dataset for cows, CBVD-5, is introduced in this paper. The dataset includes five cow behaviors: standing, lying down, foraging,rumination and drinking. The dataset comprises 107 cows from the entire barn, maintaining an 80% stocking density. Monitoring occurred over 96 h for these 20-month-old cows, considering varying light conditions and nighttime data to ensure standardization and inclusivity.The dataset consists of ranch monitoring footage collected by seven cameras, including 687 video segment samples and 206,100 image samples, covering five daily behaviors of cows. The data collection process entailed the deployment of cameras, hard drives, software, and servers for storage. Data annotation was conducted using the VIA web tool, leveraging the video expertise of pertinent professionals. The annotation coordinates and category labels of each individual cow in the image, as well as the generated configuration file, are also saved in the dataset. With this dataset,we propose a slowfast cow multi behavior recognition model based on video sequences as the baseline evaluation model. The experimental results show that the model can effectively learn corresponding category labels from the behavior type data of the dataset, with an error rate of 21.28% on the test set. In addition to cow behavior recognition, the dataset can also be used for cow target detection, and so on.The CBVD-5 dataset significantly influences dairy cow behavior recognition, advancing research, enriching data resources, standardizing datasets, enhancing dairy cow health and welfare monitoring, and fostering agricultural intelligence development. Additionally, it serves educational and training needs, supporting research and practical applications in related fields. The dataset will be made freely available to researchers world-wide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of agricultural output is an important issue in the digital development of modern agriculture. Using embedded technology, this paper designs a multimedia platform for digital estimation of agricultural output. The terminal design of the multimedia platform selects the Intel Xscale series PXA255 processor as the core processor, uses multiple sensors to collect agricultural output-related environmental parameters and selects the digital media processing chip TMS320DM642 for multimedia processing. The software used selects the grey relational Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm to estimate agricultural output. First, the collected agricultural sown area, labor force, mechanical power, irrigated area, agricultural production environment and other parameters are collected as input to grey relational SVM. Second, the estimated results are outputted. Finally, the results of agricultural output estimation are digitally displayed by a display interface on the embedded multimedia terminal. The experimental results show that the prediction error is less than 1%, and the prediction accuracy is higher than 99%, which validates that the method can accurately predict agricultural output with an abundance of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulation models have co-evolved with agricultural research methods over the last 60 years and they are now a widely accepted and deployed component of agricultural research and development. Modelling supports research in a very diverse range of disciplines and situations, but nowhere more so than in farming systems research. The complex interactions in space and time in the face of climate variability and change that characterise contemporary farming systems research create a situation in which farming systems models are vital tools in interpreting and generalising research results. This review examines the evolution of one of the most widely used farming systems modelling platforms, the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM). The review sets the scene for APSIM development with an account of research approaches in agronomy during the 1960s and 1970s. The early innovations in crop and soil modelling in the 1980s are covered briefly and a more explicit history of APSIM development is reported from the 1990s. Reports of APSIM use and impact are reviewed over the 2000s and 2010s. The review concludes with reflections on the forces that have shaped and enabled this more than 30-year history of APSIM development and use, together with a look forward to future challenges. Recent developments in proximal and remote sensing together with advances in the power of empirical models arising from machine learning are not seen as threats but more so opportunities for sound bio-physical models to be deployed with greater effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of agriculture and tourism is very important. On the basis of the index system of the predecessors, the development effect index after the integration of the subsystems is added, so as to construct the evaluation index system of the integrated development of agriculture and tourism in Inner Mongolia. The entropy weight method is used to set the weight value for each index, and the panel data from 2001 to 2019 collected from the Inner Mongolia Statistical Yearbook and the China Yearbook are analyzed with the coupled coordination degree model. The research results show that the development of agriculture and tourism in Inner Mongolia has been highly coupled since 2004; it has been reluctantly coordinated from 2007 until 2019 to achieve high-quality coordination; from 2001 to 2011, the development of tourism lagged behind the development of agriculture, while after 2012, the development of agriculture has been lagging behind the tourism industry. Wang (Asia Pac J Tour Res 24(6):550–562, 2019), Li and Du (Sustainability 13(10), 2021) had got similar conclusions. The article puts forward suggestions from two aspects. On the one hand, using the tourism as the trigger for the development of agriculture tourism by developing more agricultural-related tourism products so as to fully tap the tourism attributes of agriculture. The marketing of tourism products should be consciously inclined to agriculture; on the other hand, the promoting the development of tourism can be realized by adopting modern agriculture, which includes cultivating new types of large agricultural households, supporting the development of large and medium-sized farms, promoting the development of green agriculture and industrialized and three-dimensional agriculture. The modern agriculture can be deeply integrated with the tourism industry, thereby promoting the development of tourism. The research results and suggestions put forward in this paper have certain reference significance for the coordinated development of agriculture and tourism in Inner Mongolia and Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research of plant seeds has always been a focus of agricultural and forestry research, and seed identification is an indispensable part of it. With the continuous application of artificial intelligence technology in the field of agriculture, seed identification through computer vision can effectively promote the development of agricultural and forestry wisdom. Data is the foundation of computer vision, but there is a lack of suitable datasets in the agricultural field. In this paper, a seed dataset named LZUPSD is established. A device based on mobile phones and macro lenses was established to acquire images. The dataset contains 4496 images of 88 different seeds. This dataset can not only be used as data for training deep learning models in the computer field, but also provide important data support for agricultural and forestry research. As an important resource in this field, this dataset plays a positive role in modernizing agriculture and forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development of agriculture is the basis for achieving social sustainable development. As the basic industry of national economy, green development of agriculture has become an important support for building an environment-friendly society. Agricultural fiscal expenditure is a direct channel for the government to support agriculture and promote agricultural transformation. It is important to analyze the impact of agricultural fiscal expenditure (AFE) on agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) for sustainable agricultural development. Therefore, this paper employs the random effect model and spatial Durbin model to empirically analyze the direct effect and spatial spillover effect of AFE on AGTFP by using the agricultural panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2008 to 2020. Then, by taking the policy proposal as the time node, this paper also conducts a time heterogeneity analysis to measure the impact of policy enactment on AFE and AGTFP. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) AGTFP exists significant positive spatial spillover effect. The "radiation effect" of agricultural green development is significant. (2) AFE can significantly reduce the AGTFP in the local area, that is, 1% increase of AFE in the local area will reduce AGTFP by 0.037%. At present, agriculture is still yield-oriented. The improvement of AFE in the local area will lead to the expansion of local agricultural production and increase pollution emission. (3) AFE has a significant negative spatial spillover effect on AGTFP, that is, for every 1% increase in AFE, the AGTFP will decrease 0.123% in geographically similar areas, while the AGTFP will decrease by 0.116% in economically and geographically similar areas. It is obvious that AFE will promote the optimization of agricultural production conditions in the province, with the "demonstration effect" on the surrounding areas, the enthusiasm of production in the surrounding areas will increase, thus expanding the pollution emission. (4) According to the analysis of different periods, AFE has a negative impact on AGTFP mainly before the reform innovation is proposed in 2015. It indicates that reform policies have a significant impact on agricultural sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial effects of agricultural market integration on industrial agglomeration are an important field of regional economic. This paper collected the data of agricultural market integration and industrial agglomeration in 31 provinces in China from 2010 to 2019, analyzed the spatial effects of the two by constructing a dynamic spatial Dubin model, and explored its long-term and short-term effects of the spatial effects. The results show the following: (1) the primary terms of agricultural market integration were negative and the secondary terms were positive. The impact of agricultural market integration on local industrial agglomeration had a "U-shaped" characteristic. Whether in the short-term or long-term, there was a significant direct effect of "suppression to promotion." (2) The agricultural market integration had a spatial spillover effect on industrial agglomeration in the neighboring areas. This effect had an "inverted U-shaped" characteristic. Whether in the short-term or long-term, there was a prominent spatial spillover effect of "promotion to suppression." (3) For direct effects, the short-term direct effects of agricultural market integration on industrial agglomeration were − 0.0452 and 0.0077, and the long-term direct effects were − 0.2430 and 0.0419. For spatial spillover effects, the short-term spatial spillover effects were 0.0983 and − 0.0179, and the long-term spatial spillover effects were 0.4554 and − 0.0827. The long-term effects were greater than the short-term effects. This paper provides empirical evidence for the effects of agricultural market integration on industrial agglomeration in different regions, and exploring the development of agricultural agglomeration in the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding out how to scale innovations successfully is high on the agendas of researchers, practitioners and policy makers involved in agricultural development. New approaches and methodologies seek to better address related complexities, but none of them include a systematic perspective on the role of capacity in (partnerships for) scaling innovations. We posit that this has left an important topic insufficiently addressed in relation to partnerships for scaling innovations. The need to address this gap became apparent in the context of the CGIAR Roots, Tubers, and Bananas (RTB) Scaling Fund initiative. This paper presents how we explored ways forward in relation to this by combining three methodological approaches: The Five-Capabilities, Scaling Readiness, and the Multi-Level Perspective on socio-technical innovation. This combined approach—dubbed Capacity for Scaling Innovations (C4SI)—was applied in three projects related to scaling innovations for sweet potato, cassava and banana, involving five countries in Africa. It then discusses implications for a partners-in-scaling perspective, the contribution of scaling innovations to sustainable development, the importance of research organisations considering their own capabilities in partnerships for scaling, and the extent to which C4SI was helpful in the three cases—for example, in decision making. The paper concludes that a capacity perspective on the scaling of innovations should be an essential part of a 'science of scaling'. Finally, it provides recommendations for using the approach or parts of it in research and intervention practice for scaling, pointing in particular to the need for context-specific adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the global food crisis and resulting food insecurity have made sustainable food supply a challenge for many countries, sparking global geopolitical competition. In regard to the geopolitization of food, this study proposes strategies to enhance food security. The model has been developed using grounded theory and data have been collected through interviews with 17 experts and review of 43 official reports and papers. Research findings reveal that food access has declined due to food shortages and unfair distribution in recent decades; as a result, food has become a source of competition and power struggles among countries. Therefore, food has been raised as a geopolitical issue. Changes such as the scarcity of water and soil resources, climate change, environmental degradation, insufficient investment in agriculture, and consumerism in societies have all contributed to the geopolitical importance of food worldwide. A number of strategies have been developed by countries in response to the geopolitization of food to improve their citizens' food security, including sustainable agriculture development, overseas cultivation, importing virtual water, reducing food waste, and diet modification. The success of these strategies, on the one hand, is influenced by the natural, human, technological, economic, political and military potentials of countries, and on the other hand, the conditions of the global environment. The most important achievements of the principled management of geopoliticization of food include enhancing food security, community health, reducing socio-cultural problems, improving political stability, reducing dependence on foreign countries, and preventing the destruction of natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources are the source of life for people to survive, especially in agriculture. Water resources provide necessary support for agricultural economic development and irrigation management. Using the panel data from 2013 to 2019, this paper uses the coupled coordination model to explore the degree of synergy between agricultural water resources efficiency (AWRE) and agricultural economic development level (AEDL), and analyzes the spatial correlation of coupling coordination degree (CCD) between the AWRE and AEDL, and further predicts the relationship between the two. The results are as follows: (1) There are superb variations in the CCD among provinces, and the diploma of coordination is greater in the south than in the north; (2) In the spatial correlation pattern, high–high agglomeration areas exhibit an growing trend, and the variety of low–low agglomeration areas is small; and (3) Through the prediction, it is found that in the further, the CCD will show a trend of slow increase in future. For purpose of the coordinated perfection of the two systems, we need to completely discover the connotation of coordinated improvement and promote regional cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Recent agricultural policies require the complementary use of area-based and product-based environmental indicators to assess agricultural system transitions because both alleviating productivity-environment trade-offs and increasing food value chain sustainability are crucial in successful policy decisions. However, there is a dilemma due to the exclusiveness between representing trade-offs in the transition paths and connecting the calculated results to the assessment of downstream food products. Here, this paper proposes a procedure to resolve the dilemma. Methods: The dilemma-resolving procedure is to partition product footprint changes into yield and environmental improvement effects in the same unit as the product footprint. After specifying a typology of transition toward agricultural sustainability, the partitioning procedure was developed on the basis of mapping from a two-dimensional space (area-based indicators) to a one-dimensional space (product-based indicators). To demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of the partitioning procedure, this paper applied it to the three categories of agricultural system transitions, including those to organic agriculture, integrated production, and production systems involving new agricultural inputs such as microbial inoculants and biostimulants, using the cases of the impact category of global warming (carbon footprint). The transition dataset (matched pairs) was constructed using a bibliographical survey. Results and discussion: The results indicate that the partitioning procedure is effective and has good performance: (1) it was able to apply to all the cases in the dataset and to classify all the cases into six specified transition types; (2) it was differentiable between the three transition categories; and (3) it was able to explain the features of each transition category. These results imply that the perspective on agricultural system transitions can be integrated with the perspective on food value chains. Therefore, productivity-environment trade-offs during the research and development phase of agricultural technologies can be linked to environmental mitigation practices along the food value chains. Conclusions: The results imply that, by applying the partitioning procedure, the recent agricultural policy framework contained two exclusive perspectives can be explained consistently. Every stakeholder related to agricultural policy making should be explicit about product-environment trade-offs during agricultural system transitions, as well as about food value chain sustainability. The partitioning procedure facilitates such stakeholder practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to espouse the policy promptings of climate change and food security-based researches that would lend appropriate solutions to avert the risks of food insecurity, due to climate variability and change in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design and methodological approach used a systematic review of preponderantly existing research findings. The paper discussed within the context of systematic discourse analysis, policy research uptake dynamics for food production and climate variability and change in SSA. The results indicated that the threats of adverse impacts of climate change are expected to be higher on Sub-Saharan Africa's food systems, notwithstanding, little effort is given to the implementation of policy recommendation by sub-Saharan African countries' agriculture sectors. This paper further argues broadly that there is still growing levels of policy implementation ambivalence towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 13, which enjoins nations to take immediate action to combat climate change through the institutionalization of sustainable adaptation and mitigation strategies, among many Sub-Saharan African countries. Government departments of food and agriculture, as well as meteorological agencies, require proactive inter-sectorial responses and collaboration to address the scourge of climate variability and change in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa. The paper recommends prompt and dispassionate implementation of climate change policies, as an imperative need for sustainable food production systems, in response to changing climatic patterns in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the impact of urbanization on agricultural development in shrinking areas is important for maintaining food security and promoted agricultural development in China. Based on the measurement results of the shrinking cities in the three provinces of Northeast China, this paper selects 15 shrinking cities as the research object, and constructs a multi-dimensional index system to explore the impact of the urbanization level of the shrinking areas on the agricultural development in the region since 2007–2019, analyzes the influencing factors and their differences by using the geographically-weighted regression model and Geodetector, and proposes a targeted regulation strategy. The results show that: 1) overall, there is a negative correlation between the urbanization level and the agricultural development level in the contracted areas of the three northeastern provinces. The urbanization level in these areas has a certain negative impact on the overall level of agricultural development; 2) regarding the time dimension, the impact of urbanization level on the agricultural development level in the contracted areas of the three northeastern provinces gradually increases over time; 3) regarding the spatial pattern, the overall impact of shrinking urbanization levels in the three provinces of Northeast China on the agricultural development shows a significant distribution pattern of high in the east and low in the west; 4) the total population and natural population growth rate at the end of the year were the main factors influencing a certain level of urbanization on agricultural development in the shrinking cities while population density and the urban fixed asset investment rate were the secondary factors; and 5) the main reasons why the level of agricultural development in different cities was affected by the level of urbanization were different. However, they can be categorized into areas of population loss and spatial construction, which can be further divided into area of population loss in the northeast, areas of negative population growth in the west, and areas of urban spatial change in the south. According to the causes of the impact, this paper adopted targeted regulation strategies and formulated relevant policies and solutions that cater to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land resources and market-oriented reforms are crucial for high-quality agricultural development. This paper constructs a theoretical framework between land resources, market-oriented reforms and high-quality agricultural development by drawing on the relevant research results of new institutional economics; moreover, it empirically tests the impact of land resources and market-oriented reforms on high-quality agricultural development by using provincial panel data from China for the 2010–2020 period and utilizing the extended C-D function and spatial Durbin model. The results show that land resources and market-oriented reform can significantly and positively affect the level of high-quality agricultural development, while having significant negative spatial spillover effects on high-quality agricultural development. Therefore, this paper puts forward policy recommendations to promote high-quality agricultural development in terms of the rational use of land resources, promotion of agricultural market-oriented reforms, strengthening cooperation and exchanges among regions and developing agriculture according to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization path is a complicated issue to manage the manufacture and distribution of fresh food, influenced by several parameters, such as its perishability. Producers cannot ensure that manufacturing and distribution decisions will be efficient and accurate. Using 15 prefecture-level cities in China as a case study, this paper gathers and organizes relevant data indicators of rural economy and agricultural ecological environment economic recovery for the period between 2008 and 2020, builds the composite evaluation index, determines the development index using the reporting system function, and finally employs a novel digital evaluation scheme to assess the coupling and coordination between the cities over time. The following inferences are made. To begin, linear growth with uneven regional development may be seen in the rural economy's complete level index (values from 0.422 to 0.622). The objective of the study is to address the two-stage collaborative planning challenge to maximize farmer income by promoting the economic recovery. This article offers a mixed-integer processing paradigm to account for these restrictions. Calculations show that the suggested collaborative planning model may increase farmers' distributing revenue by 7.98% compared to the existing independent decision-making distribution channel. Management thoughts have been developed based on various decision scenarios. Agricultural producers must sort and bundle their products with care and work with a fast and reliable delivery business and on time to deliver their items. Furthermore, the approach can assess the influence of distribution routes on producers' revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization efficiency of agricultural water resources has an overall and long-term impact on agricultural development. However, owing to serious wastage of agricultural water resources for a long time, low utilization efficiency of such water resources has become a common problem in developing countries. Past studies have paid scant attention to the impact of soft factors, namely farmers' educational level and market-oriented reforms, especially in a quantified form, on the improvement of agricultural water utilization efficiency. This study adopted the system Generalized Method of Moments estimation method of a dynamic panel model and used provincial panel data from China for 2007–2020 period. The results show that the utilization efficiency of agricultural water resources can indeed be improved by either promoting farmers' education levels or deepening market-oriented reforms. However, with the advancement of market-oriented reforms, the influence of farmers' education level on the utilization efficiency of agricultural water resources gradually weakens, which is due to the "agricultural to non-agricultural" effect. Finally, this paper proposes policy suggestions to improve the utilization efficiency of agricultural water resources from three perspectives: improving the education level of farmers, optimizing the agricultural water pricing system, and improving the agricultural water rights trading system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to explore how participatory communication can be used as an instrument for interventions enhancing agricultural production to improve the livelihoods of rural people. Specifically, it was designed to explore the nature of participatory approaches in the Ethiopian agricultural sector. The top-down approach that prevailed in the past lost its faith, and consequently, stakeholders practiced a participatory communication approach. Thus, explorative qualitative research was applied through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to collect data. Data were transcribed, documented, coded, and thematically analyzed based on recurring themes. The findings show that if properly implemented, development agents and agricultural experts believe that participatory communication is instrumental in mobilizing the community. However, the routine does not allow development agents and experts to use the participatory approach. Besides, farmers are not given sufficient time due to insufficient interaction and communication on agricultural issues. Farmers and development agents have no ongoing, programmed, and frequent contact. The communication between development agents and higher-level agricultural experts is mainly top-down. Provincial and regional experts do not regularly visit and observe farm sites; they depend on the monthly paper report to execute modifications to the annual plan. There is no practical obligation with the consensus that demands farmers, development agents, and experts accomplish their tasks and duties on time with maximum effort. No dialogical session is available for the community to discuss their matters. Therefore, we suggest stakeholders use a multilevel and inclusive intervention in rural agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to promote the rapid development of the use of straw resources in China has become one of the important ways to achieve high-quality development in society. This paper adopts econometric methods and takes Shandong Province as the research object to build a set of "financial expenditure—intermediate path—straw resource utilization level" promotion path methodology system, aiming to consider the impact intensity of financial expenditure (as an important means for the government to stimulate the development of straw resource industry) on straw resource utilization level through different paths. The results show that the impact of the two intermediate paths of the development level of waste resources and the development level of infrastructure development are the most obvious. For every 1% increase in fiscal expenditure, the utilization level of straw resources will increase by 2.693% and 2.437%, respectively. The financial expenditure has a positive impact on the level of straw resource utilization through education level, agricultural development foundation, energy conservation and environmental protection investment, and innovative R&D investment, that is to say, the financial expenditure through the above paths is of positive significance for improving the level of straw resource utilization. Among them, the path with the lowest impact intensity is innovation R&D investment, and it is suggested that innovation R&D investment should be inclined to straw utilization technology. The above conclusions can provide scientific theoretical guidance for the further improvement in the utilization level of straw resources in Shandong Province, and also provide reference for the government departments when formulating industrial adjustment plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic development level of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is relatively high, and the modern agricultural production has brought serious pressure to the agricultural ecological environment. At present, there is no research on the sustainable status of agroecosystem in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, based on the emergy theory, this paper analyzes and evaluates the input–output structure and sustainable status of the Yangtze River Economic Belt by calculating the input–output factors and relevant emergy indexes from 2010 to 2018. The results show that the total input and output emergy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt shows an upward trend from 2010 to 2018. The input of non-renewable industrial auxiliary emergy is too high which has been more than 80%, and the structure of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery industry is unreasonable, which makes the net emergy yield rate of the system very low, its value was only 0.23 in 2018, far less than 1, and the agroecosystem is in an unsustainable state. Except for Shanghai, most provinces and cities of the Yangtze River Economic Belt are in an unsustainable state, and the status of the agricultural ecological environment is not optimistic. From 2010 to 2018, the overall ecological environment of the agricultural ecosystem in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is not optimistic. Among them, the most affected agricultural ecosystem's sustainable development index is the cash-crop area, total population, and agricultural fixed asset investment. Relevant departments and agricultural practitioners need to change the resource input structure of the agricultural ecosystem, reduce the dependence on industrial auxiliary energy, improve resource utilization efficiency, adjust the industrial structure of agricultural output and increase the production of high-emergy products, to realize sustainable development of the agricultural ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although improving both the ecological and social conditions of agriculture are central pillars of agroecology, emerging empirical research has focused largely on exploring its ecological contributions. Key among the less studied social aspects is gender (in)equity. Drawing data from northern Malawi, this paper investigates the relationship between agroecology and women's autonomy in smallholder farming households. Overall, our findings showed participatory agroecology with a gender transformative lens can promote women's autonomy. Although there was no observed significant difference in women's autonomy at the baseline, women in agroecology practicing households (β = 0.20, p < 0.05) had significantly higher autonomy than their counterparts in non-agroecology households at the endline. These findings suggests that the broader gender-transformative praxis of agroecology which emphasizes the engagement of both men and women in deliberative dialogue and community-led education on social inequalities can contribute to improving household gender relations. In the context of widespread gender inequality in sub-Saharan Africa, and the limits these inequalities have on agricultural development, our findings provide promising entry points for development policy and the emerging sub-field of feminist agroecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the comprehensive evaluation system of agricultural green development index (AGDI), this paper uses entropy weight method and linear weighted sum method to measure the agricultural green development level of 31 provinces in China from 2013 to 2018. We then incorporate spatial correlation into the traditional convergence test model, study the spatial convergence of AGDI, and explore the reasons for regional differences in AGDI. The results show that the level of AGDI in China showed an overall growth trend during the sample survey period, but there were significant differences in the rate of AGDI among different regions, mainly manifested as "eastern > western > central." The AGDI shows a significant positive spatial correlation on the whole, and its overall spatial distribution is characterized by high-high agglomeration and low-low agglomeration. The provinces with higher and lower level of AGDI still maintain the original relatively concentrated distribution in geographical space. On this basis, the study examines the regional differences of AGDI and its evolution by Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition and spatial convergence. The results showed that the overall difference of AGDI showed a fluctuating downward trend. The intra-regional difference of AGDI in the western region was the largest, and that in the eastern region was the smallest. The contribution rate of intensity of transvariation among regions was the main source of the relative difference of AGDI. Meanwhile, the AGDI of the overall, eastern, central, and western regions present significant σ convergence and conditional β convergence. Except for the central region, the overall, eastern, and western regions present significant absolute β convergence. The low-level areas of AGDI have significant "catch-up effect" on the areas with high-level AGDI. Based on the above results, this paper also puts forward some policy suggestions from the perspective of cross-regional collaborative governance to improve China's agricultural green development mode and narrow the regional differences of China's agricultural green development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to a new reference period of 1991–2020 requires updating the estimates of agroclimatic resources in agricultural regions. The paper summarizes the results of the annual monitoring of agroclimatic conditions over 1961–1990 and 1991–2020 obtained by both the statistical analysis and the Climate–Soil–Yield simulation system and provides their comparative evaluation. It has been noted that along with growing aridity of the most fertile areas of the steppe and forest-steppe zones, there is an almost universal growth of spring precipitation, which compensates to some extent the negative impact of high summer temperatures on the yield. A significant decrease in the climate-driven productivity of spring wheat from the period of 1961–1990 to the new reference period of 1991–2020 has been revealed for the main grain-producing regions. Estimates of productivity trends for major grain crops, spring and winter wheat, are given in connection with climate change and the development of agricultural technologies. Estimates of changes in the wintering indices and sown areas for winter wheat are also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fund allocation in agricultural sector in India is heavily tilted toward input subsidies provision; however, researchers seem to favor investment expenditure instead. The present paper seeks to compare the usefulness of input subsidies as compared to investment with regard to agricultural productivity so that policy makers hit the right tool and avoid less productive state expenditure. We investigated a total of four regression models using autoregressive and distributed lag cointegration in a time series framework covering period from 1983 to 2019. The first model considers all input subsidies in aggregate form, and the rest three models take input subsidies in disaggregate forms, namely fertilizer subsidy, irrigation subsidy and power subsidy, respectively. It is observed from the results that input subsidies still contribute more than what public investment does to agricultural productivity. It is also found that power subsidy is the most effective component of input subsidies followed by fertilizer subsidy. Hence, government expenditure on input subsidies is justified on the ground that it ensures all farmers to have access to affordable agricultural inputs. Targeted subsidies combined with adequate investment in agricultural infrastructure could deliver long-term agricultural development in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building a more resilient response system to climate change for sustainable development and reducing uncertainty in China's food markets, requires access to historical research gaps and mapping future research progress for decision making. However, the lack of quantitative and objective analyses to ensure the stability and development of agroecosystems increases the complexity of agro-climatic mechanisms, which leads to uncertainty and undesirable consequences. In this paper, we review the characteristics of climate change in China (1951–2020), reveal the mechanisms of agroecosystem structure in response to climate, and identify challenges and opportunities for future efforts in the context of research progress. The aim is to improve the scientific validity and relevance of future research by clarifying agro-climatic response mechanisms. The results show that surface temperature, precipitation, and frequency of extreme weather events have increased to varying degrees in major agricultural regions of China in 1951–2020. And they have strong geographic variation, which has resulted in droughts in the north and floods in the south. Moreover, climate change has complicated the mechanisms of soil moisture, Net Primary Productivity (NPP), soil carbon pool, and crop pest structure in agroecosystems. This lends to a reduction in soil water holding capacity, NPP, soil carbon content, and the number of natural enemies of diseases and insects, which in turn affects crop yields. However, human interventions can mitigate the deterioration of these factors. We have also realized that the methodology and theory of historical research poses a great challenge to future agroecosystem. Historical and projected climate trends identified current gaps in interdisciplinary integration and multidisciplinary research required to manage diverse spatio-temporal climate change impacts on agroecosystems. Future efforts should highlight integrated management and decision making, multidisciplinary big data coupling, and numerical simulations to ensure sustainable agricultural development, ecological security, and food security in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the scenario of the complex external environment and internal structural changes in agricultural development, exploring the synergistic relationship between agricultural green efficiency (AGE) and agricultural economic resilience (AER) can offer a new path for fostering sustainable regional agricultural development. This paper fills the research gap in the interaction between efficiency and resilience in agriculture. We explore the synergistic mechanism of the two based on the perspective of sustainable development, providing a reference for constructing a synergistic theoretical system of AGE and AER. Moreover, we apply the Haken model to the field of the agricultural economy and scientifically evaluate the level of AGE and AER synergy in Northeast China from 2010 to 2020. Finally, we analyze the influencing factors of AGE and AER synergy in Northeast China from three dimensions: economic, social, and natural. The results show that AER is dominant in the AGE-AER synergistic system. The synergy level of AGE and AER in Northeast China is mainly in the higher and advanced synergy stages, with obvious spatio-temporal differences and insufficient inter-regional radiation effects. Social factors are the main factors of spatial differentiation of AGE and AER synergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of science and technology has also led to the progress of rural digital economy. In China, the construction of new countryside has always been an important part of economic development. The application of big data technology in rural areas can not only promote the development of rural economy, but also improve the results of environmental protection. Using the matching coefficient method of agricultural water and soil environmental characteristics, it match the rural water and soil environmental characteristics and the impact of the water environment in the autonomous region. An indispensable driving force in the process, agricultural digitalization will update the rural economic development model, weaken the barriers to the dual structure of urban and rural areas, stabilize agricultural production, promote sustainable rural development, and promote rural economic development. The current government policy support, the urgent need for new development momentum for rural economic development, and the advancement of changes in the lifestyle of urban and rural residents are promoting high-quality development of the rural economy. At the same time, we are facing challenges such as the lack of local network coverage, the lack of logistics, sales systems, and the lack of talents with digital skills. Expanding rural network coverage, optimizing rural logistics and distribution, promoting the development of agricultural big data, and strengthening the development of digital human resources are important ways for agricultural digitalization to promote rural economic development. The research focus of this paper is the parallel development of rural digital economy and environmental protection under the big data economy, and its application in the current agricultural development can achieve a win–win situation between man and nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of the new development concept, compared with the absolute impacts, the relative impacts of climate change on agricultural growth deserve more attention. Based on the data from China for years 1991 and 2018, this paper uses historical fluctuations in temperature within cities to identify the heterogeneous effects on aggregate agricultural outcomes during farming and fallow periods. The results show that: first, as temperature rises reduce the economic growth rate of each agricultural sector, and the areas that are relatively vulnerable (i.e., areas where disposable income of farm households is below the sample mean) are more significantly affected by the negative impact of temperature rise; second, the impact of temperature rise on agricultural economic growth is mainly concentrated in the farming period, while the marginal damage of temperature rise is on a decreasing trend; third, the heterogeneous impact of temperature rise on agricultural economic growth during the agricultural fallow period is also not negligible. At the same time, its impact on agricultural economy is still in the primary stage, that is, its marginal damage tends to increase with the increase in temperature fluctuation. These results inform identifying the climate's role in agricultural development and provide a theoretical and operational perspective for further optimizing the adaptive policy systems. With wide coverage of adaptive technology, we should pay more attention to the even distribution of technological dividends and continuously improve the coping ability of vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the research paper is to investigate the relationship between agricultural development and agricultural energy-driven CO2 emissions. To achieve this purpose, we have taken Bangladesh as the subject of our case study, and appraisal is done by two methods, the Tapio decoupling method, and the logarithmic mean Divisia index method. The result discloses that Bangladesh's agricultural sector was strongly and weakly decoupled from agricultural sector development in most of the periods between 1990 and 2017. The population factor, the agricultural energy intensity factor, and the agricultural economic activity factor are the responsible factors to increase CO2 emissions. On the other hand, the agricultural economic structure factor, the agricultural energy structure factor, and the agricultural emissions factor are accountable for the decrease of CO2 emissions. Finally, this paper provides some policies to create practical strategies for agricultural CO2 emission reduction. This research paper will help Bangladesh's agricultural sector to form sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of zero chemical fertilizer growth, using organic instead of chemical fertilizers is the inevitable future of agricultural production, and social capital may be an important factor that affects whether farmers choose organic or chemical fertilizer. Based on a survey data from 1116 farmers in Hubei Province, this paper analyzes the influence of social capital and its three sub-dimensions (political identity, interpersonal trust, and relationship network) on farmer fertilizer choice. It also explores the mechanism and the degree of influence and examines how the primary effect differs across three sub-dimensions of social capital. The results show the following: (1) Social capital has a positive and statistically significant effect on the adoption of organic manure; (2) Three sub-dimensions of social capital promote the use of organic manure, although there are large differences in their degrees of influence. In detail, interpersonal trust had the greatest effect, followed by political identity, while relationship network was less effective; (3) Social capital has a positive influence on farmers' opportunity perception, risk aversion, production skills, and production supply, which further affect farmers' fertilizer choices. This paper enriches the research findings of social capital theory on the micro level of farmers' green production behavior. The conclusion is of great practical significance to activate the substitution of organic fertilizer for chemical fertilizer and promote the green transformation of agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources are important in large basins which are important places for human habitation and industrial and agricultural development. The background of editing this thematic issue was introduced and the general water resources situation and water quality status in four major large river basins in the Asian and African continents were briefly summarized to give readers general pictures of water resources development and management in these basins, and these large river basins are the Yellow River Basin, the Yangtze River Basin, the Indus Basin, and the Nile Basin. The thematic issue papers were classified into four clustered topical categories, and the main points of the papers in this thematic issue were summarized. Finally, the perspectives of future sustainable water resources development and management in large river basins were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decoupling of crop-livestock systems increases the risks of pollution, waste of nutrient resources, and biodiversity loss. Crop-livestock integration (CLI) is an effective solution to these problems, and motivating farmers to adopt CLI is the key. Many countries have implemented environmental regulations (ER) aiming to influence farmers' CLI adoption decisions. Based on a field study of 316 hog farmers from Shaanxi Province of China, this paper applies the triple-hurdle model to empirically examine the impacts of economic expectations (EE) and ER on CLI adoption decisions. It also verifies the income effect of CLI. The results are as follows: 90.5% of farmers are willing to adopt CLI, but the adoption rate is only 40.8% and the average integration degree is only 0.236; CLI not been widely popularized. EE and ER promote farmers' CLI adoption significantly, while the impact of interaction between EE and ER on CLI adoption differs. IER weakens the positive impact of EE on farmers' CLI integration degree, which has a "crowding out effect." GER negatively moderates the impact of EE on farmers' adoption willingness of CLI. CER strengthens the positive effect of EE on farmers' adoption behavior and CLI integration degree. CLI increases the farmers' income. These results contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of CLI adoption decisions and sustainable policy optimization for green agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper examines a model of agricultural development specifically centered on the role of cooperatives in augmenting social capital. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of agricultural cooperatives on social capital formation and improved livelihoods in eight villages in the Aegean Region of Turkey (Bademler, Bağarası, Börezli, Gödence, Karakuzu, Kızıklı, Kuyumcu and Tire). We collected data using face-to-face semi-structured surveys. The results from frequency tables and social network analysis (SNA) support the hypothesis that membership in an agricultural development cooperative is a significant factor, which not only affects trust and augments social capital but also improves livelihoods in terms of income perception and eating habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important and perilous groundwater contaminants is nitrate. The study area is the unconfined (free) aquifer of Karaj, located in central Iran, which is subject to quantity and quality hazards due to unbalanced urban, industrial, and agricultural developments. Evaluation of the vulnerability condition of this aquifer against nitrate as the contamination index is essential since the most consumed water in the area is provided by groundwater. This paper describes a new model that integrates vulnerability of aquifer obtained by DRASTIC + L model (V), extraction rate (E), head changes (H), aquifer media (A), and transmissivity (T), i.e., Modified VEBHAT model. The study aims to detect vulnerable zones of the unconfined aquifer of Karaj using DRASTIC + L and Modified VEBHAT vulnerability models. The weighting of the parameters has been performed employing the recent Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods, including Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Best Worst Method (BWM). The results indicated that the highest levels of vulnerability occurred from the east to the south of the aquifer (high to super-critical), including urban and residential areas, regarding both of the vulnerability models' plots. The plots of the two methods were similar and did not exhibit significant differences. In addition, the Modified VEBHAT had more certainty than the DRASTIC + L and has optimized and improved the DRASTIC + L model because the most vulnerable zone in the output plots of the Modified VEBHAT model was in the east of the aquifer, which had good agreement with the nitrate contaminant mass with the highest concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of climate variables and financial development on agricultural value-added and cereal production in selected Southeast Asian economies from 1970 to 2016. The current research applies second-generation advanced techniques to accomplish robust and reliable outcomes. The findings from the FM-OLS estimation disclose that climatic factors, for instance, CO2e and average temperature, impact both agricultural value-added and cereal production negatively, and financial development has an inverted U-shaped influence on both agricultural value-added and cereal production. Meanwhile, other important factors, including cropped area, income level, and rural labor force, significantly improve agricultural value-added and cereal production. Furthermore, the FM-OLS estimator's D-H panel causality test outcomes are reliable. The findings of our study reveal that both the short- and long-run risks of climatic changes to the agricultural sector pose a large-scale threat to food security in Southeast Asian economies. As a result, a robust and stable financial development in terms of governance of climate change finance in the agriculture sector must be achieved to enhance farmers' ability to adapt to current and future climate change adverse impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saline-alkali stress is a serious abiotic factor which negatively impacts agricultural production and the ecological environment. Thus, improving the development of saline-alkali soil and reducing the effects of saline-alkali stress is a key issue for sustainable agricultural development and environmental protection. As such, it is unsurprising that researchers have lately focused on how to improve saline-alkali soil, increase the agricultural yield of saline-alkali land, and promote the adaptive growth of plants in saline-alkali soil. This paper reviews the latest research concerning nutrient content changes in saline-alkali soil, along with the associated changes in key nutrients in plants, to summarize which methods are most effective for improving the plant growth under saline-alkali stress. Finally, the prospects for alleviating saline-alkali stress and improving saline-alkali soil are put forward as a theoretical foundation for the stabilization of plant growth in saline-alkali soil, expansion of arable land area, crop yield improvement, and effective environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aimed to assess the impact of the intensive use of biological control on the technical efficiency of the Brazilian agricultural sector. The study also considered the influence of factors such as technical assistance, rural financing, and membership in cooperatives or class entities on efficiency measures. It was estimated stochastic production frontiers for regions intensively using and not using biological control, considering potential selection bias. Results demonstrate that areas with intensive use of biological pest management have a 0.863 technical efficiency score, while this score is 0.823 for nonintensive areas. This means that the intensive regions would be closer to their efficiency frontiers. Additionally, technical assistance and membership in cooperative or class entities increase efficiency by 6 and 2.5%, respectively. It can be concluded that the intensive adoption of biological control can raise the productive performance of the Brazilian agricultural sector. Therefore, it must be highlighted the importance of formulating joint policies (e.g., credit+rural extension) for the adoption of biological control to be a feasible option to promote the sustainable development of the Brazilian agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International civil society and non-government organisations (NGOs) play a role in implementing agricultural projects, which contribute to the mitigation, adaptation, and food security dimensions of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). Despite the growth of CSA, it remains unclear how CSA is designed, conceptualised, and embedded into agricultural development projects led and implemented by NGOs, creating a lack of clarity as to the direction of future of agricultural development interventions. This paper examines the extent to which development programmes from the NGO sector actively incorporate CSA principles to benefit smallholder farmers under the major pillars of CSA. Drawing from six projects’ documentation since 2009, we conducted a thematic analysis to reveal the alignment of projects with the pillars of CSA and discuss the extent to which CSA allows for localised adaptability given the diverse agricultural contexts in which civil society and NGOs work. We find that despite a lack of clarity in CSA definition and focus, the agricultural practices in the six projects make heterogenous contributions to the adoption of CSA principles. We illustrate the diversity of ways in which CSA is ‘done’ by a global NGO across six areas: greening and forests, practices and knowledge exchange, markets, policy and institutions, nutrition, carbon and climate, and gender. We discuss the need for balance in contextual adaptability across the three pillars of CSA with explicit consideration of trade-offs to reduce unintended outcomes from CSA initiatives. We conclude with reflections on the role of civil society and NGOs as boundary agents in the agricultural development sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the key challenges to project procurement in public-sector agricultural development projects in Bangladesh. Being exploratory in nature, the study applied the modified Delphi method, the best worst method (BWM), and the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach sequentially for the investigation. Ten key procurement challenges were identified and validated through the use of a literature review and two rounds of modified Delphi with the input of 15 experts in the field. Then the BWM was applied to assess the responses of eight industry experts to estimate the relative importance of the challenges. After that, a second panel of ten experts was interviewed using ISM to look at the contextual relationships between the challenges. This led to a four-layer interpretive structural model and MICMAC (cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification) analysis of the challenges. Among the 10 key challenges, 'lack of competent procurement staff' is found to be the most significant challenge; whereas, based on the inter-relationships among the challenges, 'political influence' is identified as the most influential challenge. As a result, it is recommended that relevant professionals and policymakers address these challenges in terms of their relevance, relative dependencies, and influences in a holistic manner. This study addresses a knowledge gap by offering a thorough investigation of the challenges associated with public-sector agricultural project procurement in a developing country's context. This makes it useful for professionals in the field, academics, policymakers, and future researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of agricultural, industrial, and urban activities creates an increase in pollution loading in rivers that may violate water quality standards which in its turn results in damages to the river systems. An efficient model of waste-load allocation plays a significant role in improving the water quality of the rivers. In this paper, a cost-based waste-load allocation model (C-WLA) is applied to guarantee the optimal management of both costs and river water quality. To determine the optimal loading pattern and threshold limits, the trade-off between treatment cost and pollution loss from the river is considered. In this regard, the MIKE11 model is coupled with the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm and applied to the Karoon River in Iran to demonstrate its practicality and efficiency. The sum of water treatment cost and pollution loading loss is minimized and the monthly optimal treatment percentages and threshold limit were determined. Then, different strategies under various operations of the river system are given with insights into the impacts of the trade-off policy between costs and losses for the discharger's TDS removal. The results demonstrated that the C-WLA model can achieve optimal management of pollution load in various operating of the river system. In addition, it is also shown that the proposed method is expected to offer better decision support to reasonable waste-load allocation where it can encourage dischargers to improve loading performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a new agricultural development pattern to address future food crises. Since CSA was proposed in 2010, it has attracted the attention of scholars from all over the world. It is of great significance to scientifically summarize the overview and emerging trends of CSA research, providing ideas for scholars concerned about CSA to engage in research in this field. Based on bibliometrics and CSA-related literature data in the WOS database, this paper used CiteSpace software to draw knowledge maps to scientifically analyze publications in the field of CSA. Our study found that (1) CSA research is showing a rapid upward trend, focusing on the environmental sciences and agricultural economic management; (2) international organizations such as the FAO, World Bank, and the international agricultural research institute have made significant contributions to CSA research; (3) among the nine clusters in the CSA literature, CSA practice, conservation agriculture, smallholder farmers, and sub-Saharan Africa have been consistently given high attention; (4) CSA research can be divided into three phases, and the research hotspots have transferred from essential elements of CSA to household and carbon emissions. We believe that in future research, more attention should be paid to the trade-off and synergy of the three pillars of CSA, as well as the investment, finance, and evaluation criteria of CSA. Such strengthening is of great significance to the sustainable promotion of CSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the empirical literature on the determinants of farmer adoption of sustainable intensification technologies in maize agri-food systems of the Global South. The attributes of the technology and the dissemination institutions interact with farm/farmer-specific variables, leading to heterogeneous impacts, making the prediction of technology adoption challenging. However, most empirical studies oversimplify the adoption process and examine only the farm/farmer-specific variables as the determinants of adoption, thereby limiting the scope of learning on how the attributes of the technology and the dissemination system could have been altered to realize a more efficient and more inclusive technological change. We argue for a realignment of empirical adoption analysis for better implications through a conscious rejection of the assumption that the onus of technology performance rests solely with the farmer. Here we review the studies published between 2007 and 2018 on the adoption of sustainable intensification technologies in maize systems of the Global South to examine how the adoption models are currently dependent on the farm/farmer attributes vis-à-vis the attributes of technologies and disseminating institutions. The main findings from a synthesis of 137 adoption studies are threefold. (1) Limited information access and technologies not suitable for the small landholdings were the major constraints of farmer adoption of technologies. (2) The criticisms on the conventional adoption analysis concerning oversimplification and decontextualization of the decision-making process are reaffirmed. (3) The empirical adoption research needs to incorporate the attributes of technologies and the socio-institutional context to develop better research strategies toward inclusive agrarian development. We examine how the framework of the socioeconomic analysis can be reconstructed to facilitate the research and development (R&D) institutions to overcome the major hurdles of rapid and inclusive dissemination. Evaluation of the degree to which the attributes of technology favor its adoption requires increased research attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) has gained prominence in global agriculture and climate agendas for its perceived "triple win" contributions to food productivity, adaptation, and mitigation to climate change. This paper highlights three important challenges for CSA activities in Africa which provide insights into contested debates surrounding CSA's ability to respond holistically to the complex realities facing resource-constrained farmers in the global South. These are (1) prevailing neoliberal market policies that emphasize private-sector driven agricultural development in the face of rising input costs and falling commodity prices; (2) an expansion in diversified livelihood strategies amongst smallholder households as a response to the highly unpredictable biophysical environment and economic climate under which they live; and (3) a growing competition for land and other productive resources. A deeper dive into political economy processes surrounding these three issues aims to bring critical attention to factors relevant to African agricultural development that highly impact farm-level practices and carry important implications for rural livelihood outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations are spatial entities that promote the development of ‘new urbanization’ processes within China. In this context, the concept of ‘multiscale urban agglomeration spaces’ encompasses three linked levels: macroscale urban agglomerations, mesoscale cities, and microscale urban centers. Applying a series of multidisciplinary integrated research methods drawn from geography, urban planning, and architecture, this paper reveals two intensive utilization laws that can be generalized to apply to multiscale urban agglomeration spaces, top-to-bottom ‘positive transmission’ linkage and inside-to-outside ‘negative transmission’ movement. This paper also proposes optimization transmission theory and policy decision technical pathways that can be applied to these three urban agglomeration spatial scales. Specific technical pathways of transmission include intensive expansion and simulated decision-making in macroscale urban agglomerations, ecology, production, and living space intensive layout and dynamic decision-making in mesoscale cities, and four cores (i.e., ‘single, ring, axis, and pole core’) progressive linkage and intensive optimization decision-making in microscale urban centers. The theory and technical pathways proposed in this paper solve the technical problem of optimization and provide intensive methods that can be applied not only at the individual level but also at multiple scales in urban agglomeration spaces. This study also advances a series of comprehensive technical solutions that can be applied to both compact and smart growth cities as well as to urban agglomerations. Solid theoretical support is provided for the optimization of Chinese land development, urbanization, agricultural development, and ecological security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the changes of China's rural land management system in the past 70 years from the three dimensions of land scale, management subject, and land property rights structure. The results show that the moderate scale of land management is affected by many factors. However, the essence results from the dynamic adjustment to adapt to economic and social development changes. China's household-based contracting responsibility is still the primary entity of agricultural production. However, the rapid development of new agricultural management subjects will positively improve national agricultural modernization. The "three rights separations" is another innovation in China's rural land system reform, which plays a huge role in effectively allocating rural resources and tapping the potential of rural development. It has reference significance for the development of capitalist countries and socialist countries. China has a vast territory and significant regional differences, so it is difficult to find a fixed "model" or "standard" in reforming the land management system. Therefore, while attracting successful experience, combining the characteristics of national economic structure and capital endowment is the key to the prosperity of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity and management of this problem are increasingly acknowledged in development policies as well as in adaptation and migration discourse. In South Mediterranean countries, insufficient water supplies in oases are the biggest limitation on yields of sufficient quantity and quality and increase in arable land, in short, the development of agriculture. Insufficient income from agriculture, when it is the main source of revenue, can push people to migrate. However, migration does not have to be the measure of last resort. Proper adaption to this limitation, including proactive migration, can reduce forced movements from this region in the future. The main aim of this paper is to identify and analyse household strategies, including migration, to cope with and adapt to the impact of environmental changes and limitations on agricultural development in the South Mediterranean. This paper is based on field research carried out in the El Faouar oasis area in Tunisia using a mixed-method approach. The results show that the inhabitants of El Faouar must cope with unforeseen crop destruction limiting their daily expenses by selling livestock or, in years of drought, migrating to look for additional sources of income. The results also show that local households try to increase their resistance to climate change, environmental limitations, and permanent migration by developing their agricultural capacity, provided they have additional resources from such endeavours as work outside El Faouar or remittances. Moreover, migration has become part of a wider process of socio-economic transformation in which people leave in order to cope with or adapt to environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As driving forces in agricultural development, science and technology, along with innovation in agricultural science and technology, are crucial to food security and socioeconomic development. The National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone is a major initiative of the Chinese government to promote the modernization of agriculture with Chinese characteristics and aims to improve the level of regional agricultural development through policy guidance and financial support. However, few studies have explored the impact of the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone on agricultural science and technology innovation from a policy perspective. In this context, this study is based on the panel data of 696 regions in China from 2007 to 2017. Difference-in-differences is used to study the impact and mechanism of the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone on agricultural science and technology innovation. The results show that the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone policy can significantly improve the level of agricultural science and technology innovation, and the impact effect is more significant in regions with high fiscal autonomy, western regions, and those with better transportation infrastructure. Mechanism analysis shows that the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone enhances agricultural science and technology innovation mainly through increasing financial resource allocation, improving financial support for agriculture, and increasing human capital. This study evaluates the policy effects, provides theoretical support for the public value of the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone, and offers lessons for agricultural science and technology innovation in similar economies in China and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]