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Farming has a unique role to play in shaping the landscape and enhancing our environment. In recent years, the industry has declined and no longer makes a significant contribution to the national economy. The impact of animal diseases such as BSE and Foot and Mouth has reduced consumer confidence in the quality of food produced. The UK Government, through the introduction of funding schemes, is aiding the recovery of the industry by encouraging farmers to diversify their farming enterprise. One option is the conversion from intensive to organic farming practices, a decision that involves a high level of risk and uncertainty. This research proposes a role for GIS as a decision support tool for a farm manager exploring the options for organic conversion. Where data is captured and held in multiple applications, the GIS-based Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) must integrate data and models. The use of the GIS must be intuitive, allowing the farm manager to explore different scenarios for land allocation effectively. The interface must allow the amendment of input parameters and present the results from each scenario in a clear, understandable format. This functionality raises important data handling issues that are investigated through the development of a prototype GIS. The identification and assessment of relevant datasets and the seamless integration of data are fundamental to the design of the GIS. Metadata, adhering to international guidelines, are identified as the chief means for discovering, exploring and acquiring spatial datasets from diverse sources. An assessment of the quality and accuracy of the data is essential if they are to be the basis for decision support. Interoperability issues are discussed and suggestions are proposed for the successful integration of data and models for the SDSS through the GIS interface. By providing a visual medium in which alternative strategies can be evaluated, the GIS will enhance the quality of the final decision made by the farm manager.

This dissertation is concerned with trends in poverty, inequality and living standards among the counties and villages of Anhui and Yunnan since 1978. Trends in absolute poverty, measured by both income- and nutrition-based poverty lines, show only a small decline during the 1980s. Based on province-specific poverty lines, there is a substantial increase in the incidence of poverty during the late 1980s, over the incidence based on a national poverty line. The overall trend in living standards is of increasing dispersion, for Anhui and Yunnan relative to the national average, and between the counties of the two provinces. Living standards show little change for the counties of Yunnan, with declines outnumbering increases. In Anhui, the large increase in mortality between the 1982 and 1990 censuses contribute to declines in absolute living standards as well. Increases in spatial inequality are apparent from the output data; differentials in the rate of economic growth fuelling this increase in the 1980s. In essence counties thrive or languish based on the performance of their agricultural sector. Rapid improvements in yields for basic food stuffs, and expanding cash crop production in many regions, together cause income levels to rise, and therefore living standards, based on commodities, to increase as well. Where this is not the case, there is a lack of investment funds for the establishment of private and collective rural enterprises, and a lack of consumer demand. The low level of income, and the small size and slow growth in the xiangzhen give sector in disadvantaged areas also means that local governments are short of revenue, and therefore the costs of health care and education are left to the individuals requiring these services, exacerbating the gap between rich and poor in terms of achieved functioning. The question of how to increase the profitability of the agricultural sector in poor areas of China remains unsolved. Without a source of investment funds and increasing incomes to foster modern sector enlargement growth in rural areas, it is difficult to imagine an increase in either commodity or non-commodity based functioning in the poor regions of rural China in the near future.