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In the context of frequent food crises, Angola needs to improve the efficiency of agricultural production to meet the rigid domestic demand for food consumption. China has accumulated experience and technology in agricultural production over the years, it is a strategic partner for Angola, and Angola has a prominent place in the destination of Chinese investments. Therefore, agricultural cooperation between China and Angola based on mutual benefits will not only help Angola solve the problem of self-sufficiency in food but also provide a broad space for Chinese agricultural technology to “go global”, thereby providing reliable domestic food security solutions. Through the SWOT method, this study analysed Angola’s agricultural development prospects and the current situation of China and Angola’s agricultural cooperation to build a SWOT matrix and formulate reliable agricultural cooperation development strategies for promoting agricultural cooperation between China and Angola.

Scale-up intensive pig farming can increase profitability by economies of large scale, but it also exacerbates environmental pollution caused by the disordered discharge of manure and sewage. Manuresewage management (MSM) is critical to mitigate environmental pressure and reuse livestock waste. However, the corresponding MSM measures adopted by pig farmers are multitudinous in reality, due to the diversity of MSM methods and heterogeneity of farmers' characteristics and behaviors. Thus, this study empirically categorized five typical MSM modes (i.e., traditional simple mode (TSM), mixed processing mode (MPM), semi-biogas mode (SBM), professional processing with simple utilization mode (PPSUM) and professional processing with full utilization mode (PPFUM)) by clustering analysis, based on the field data from 406 pig farms, and further discriminated farmers' heterogeneous characteristics on corresponding mode adoption. Results revealed that each mode was distinctive. The applicability of the corresponding mode was reflected in the synthesis deliberation, involving farming structure, land, farmers' characteristic and their subjective awareness. Farmers' education level and pro-environmental perception are significantly promoted to adopt technology-intensive MSM modes. Scale upgrading has a positive effect on mechanization adoption and diversified strategies application. Land as an unalterable objective factor restricted the extension of MSM modes based on field returning. Conclusions clarified typical MSM modes and provided references to individual pig farms on appropriate mode selection, further enhancing the efficiency of MSM and contributing to the sustainability of green development of pig farming in China.

Planting green manure is an effective way to improve the agricultural environment and the quality of cultivated land in China. However, deviation from green manure planting willingness and behavior (DWB) becomes a serious obstacle to the promotion of green manure planting technology. For economic farmers, whether to plant green manure is a rational choice made after weighing up family endowments. In addition, ecological cognition plays a moderating role in the “willingness-behavior” transformation process of farmers’ green manure planting on the basis of family endowments. We selected four counties in which to conduct a questionnaire survey in Gansu and carried out interviews with 375 farmers. Based on the survey data, our study identified determinants that influence farmers’ DWB and examined the moderating effect of ecological cognition. In our paper, results show that the probability of farmers’ DWB is 41.87%. Farmers’ DWB is not only negatively affected by social network information and ecological compensation (eco-compensation) and positively influenced by the scale of cultivated land, but also restricted by human capital endowment characteristics such as age and education. In addition, ecological cognition played a significant moderating effect on farmers’ DWB. Farmers with high ecological cognition were more aware and capable of promoting green manure planting intentions into practice. Furthermore, different groups of farmers had different characteristics of DWB. The findings are useful and helpful in better understand the influencing factors of farmers’ DWB for policy makers and managers and can provide some effective support for policies designed to encourage farmers to adopt more sustainable green manure.

With the raising awareness of environmental protection, straw burning ban has been implemented to control straw burning phenomenon in China. It has received significant achievement by reducing the fire spots remarkably, but fire spots still cannot be eliminated in farmland. Although considerable papers and reviews on straw burning have been conducted, there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic review of exploring the status, obstacles, implications, and motivations of this phenomenon, especially revealing the unique circumstance and experience in China. The review first summarizes the reasons as well as hazards of straw burning in China, and then explores the dilemma of straw burning ban in terms of farmers' endowments. And then, the review discusses the limitations of subsidy from financial expenditure and suggests two alternative innovative incentives: transferred payment from stakeholders and carbon trading. It is hoped that policy suggestion about straw burning and innovative incentives can enlighten researchers and policymakers who intend to implement straw burning ban effectively in the future.

In China, returning wheat straw to the field (RWSF) is the most popular way of utilizing wheat straw. RWSF can not only improve soil quality, but also help to control agricultural pollution from wheat straw burning. However, the increased production cost caused by RWSF reduces farmers' enthusiasm to adopt this approach. This study estimated farmers' willingness to accept compensation (WTA) for RWSF by using the contingent valuation method (CVM), and identified determinants that influence farmers' WTA by using an ordered choice model (OCM). It aimed to determine how much compensation should be given to farmers for encouraging them to adopt RWSF and which factors affect their WTA. The results showed that, currently, the increased cost caused by adopting RWSF was 743 RMB/ha, and which was fully burdened by farmers. Although more than 90% of the surveyed farmers adopted RWSF, only 3.8% of these farmers were willing to adopt RWSF voluntarily without any compensation. The farmers' WTA of adopting RWSF was 479 RMB/ha, and it was much higher than the current subsidy rate of 300 RMB/ha in Jiangsu, which could not effectively encourage farmers to adopt RWSF voluntarily. Farmers' WTA is not only positively affected by the increasing production cost caused by RWSF and negatively influenced by the benefits resulting from RWSF, but also restricted by social-economic characteristics such as age, education, income etc. It is costly for the Chinese government to subsidize all the farmers adopting RWSF, letting farmers to become aware of the long-term environmental value of RWSF is an effective measure to motivate them to protect environment responsibly by adopting RWSF. These findings are useful in improving the current provincial subsidy policies or designing new subsidy policies nationwide for RWSF, and helpful in encouraging famers more sustainably adopting RWSF and promoting cleaner wheat production.

Currently, the Chinese government is promoting the transformation of clean energy in rural areas to reduce the consumption of coal to cope with the smog. It is mainly based on “coal to gas”. The development of biomass resources in agricultural areas is an alternative means of energy supply. In order to improve rural energy structure, we propose to upgrade “coal to gas” to “coal to biomass” derived from centralized biogas production (CBP) and straw-briquetting fuel (SBF). This study deals with the question of financing such projects. The public–private partnership (PPP) model is seen as a response that can mobilize social capital to finance investments in these new modes of production and energy supply in rural areas. Based on an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the two projects considered above, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was carried out with the assistance of experts in order to clarify the strategic choices which are more suitable for investors. First, we built a PPP strategic-decision model. The decision model was divided into four strategies (pioneering strategy, struggling strategy, conservative strategy and striving strategy) and two development intensities (conservative and proactive). We used this method to construct a SWOT–AHP model of the PPP strategy for CBP and SBF based on the investigation from the experts. The strategic-decision model identified that a pioneering strategy based on opportunity type is promised for SBF, while a more aggressive type strategy in struggling strategy is essential for the CBP. In order to encourage investors to adopt a positive and optimistic attitude towards the two projects, the public authorities have a role of guidance to ensure the mobilization of the social capital necessary for the construction of the projects.

Urban air pollution generated from straw open burning after the harvest seasons in China has been one of the significant problems interfering with the city's proper functioning. This paper applied contingent valuation in a face to face survey to assess the individual willingness of urban residents in Henan, China to pay for corn straw burning ban to policy makers. Such assessments are important for policy makers to determine the investment and policy instruments for regulating environmental impacts of straw open burning. To investigate the determinants of the stated willingness to pay (WtP) a sample of 1890 urban residents in Henan, China was selected. The study used Tobit model. About 62% of respondents stated that they were willing to pay. The expected WtP was about 76.72 Chinese Yuan (RMB) per person per year for the total respondents and 142.70 RMB per person per year for observations with positive WtP bids. Aggregate value was between 3.41 and 3.90 billion RMB indicating that corn straw burning ban is of considerable economic value to Henan. Results from the study show that the experience of environmental protection, expenditure on protecting health from air pollution, influence of straw burning on respondent's health, life, work, household income, education, job place, and family size were significant variables explaining WtP. The results of the study will be useful for policy makers when making up their mind how much funds should be invested and what kinds of policy instruments could be suitable for banning straw burning. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

CONTEXT Farmers' decision-making related to the use of winter fallow fields is an issue of great concern to policymakers in China. An improved agricultural system, the rice-green manure rotation system (RGRS), has attracted more and more attention because of its efficient utilization of these fields and its outstanding comprehensive benefits. Despite the government's growing promotion, unfortunately low adoption has been observed among farmers. OBJECTIVE In this case, exploring the factors that affect farmers' adoption of RGRS has become the key to crack the above dilemma. METHODS This study therefore aims to reveal the factors determining farmers' intention and behavior to adopt RGRS by extending the theory of planned behavior (TPB) based on 1217 samples collected in the southern paddy field region (SPR) of China. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Results firstly validated the applicability of the extended TPB framework in analyzing farmers' intention and behavior to adopt RGRS. Subsequently, we found that farmers' intention to adopt RGRS can be greatly influenced by the perceived behavioral control, especially the control beliefs with regard to capital restriction and the expected environmental benefits of RGRS. Therefore, supportive policies should be formulated to improve farmers' behavioral capacity and, specialized training should be organized to improve their expected environmental benefits. Subjective norm, especially those derived from interpersonal relationships, emerged as another pivotal independent predictor of farmers' intention to adopt RGRS. This observation provides policy makers with enlightenment that strengthening the interpersonal social network is highly valued to improve farmers' adoption intention. Another finding is that there was a highly positive consistency between farmers' intention and behavior to adopt RGRS, which provides a possibility to predict, strengthen and test farmers' behavior based on their intention. More importantly, the comparison between the estimation results of the extended model and the original model shows that eco-compensation significantly increased the probability of intention being converted into behavior by moderating the influence intensity of perceived behavioral control on intention. SIGNIFICANCE These results can help policy makers better understand which influence farmers' adoption of RGRS and what targeted measures can be taken to popularize the improved agricultural system.

The size of the top three leaves of rice plants is strongly associated with yield; thus, it is important to consider quantitative traits representing leaf size (e.g., length and width) when breeding novel rice varieties. It is challenging to measure such traits on a large scale in the field, and little is known about the genetic factors that determine the size of the top three leaves. In the present study, a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and reciprocal single chromosomal segment substitution lines (SSSLs) derived from the progeny of a japonica Asominori × indica IR24 cross were grown under four diverse environmental conditions. Six morphological traits associated with leaf size were measured, namely length and flag leaf, length and flag, second and third leaves. In the RIL population, 49 QTLs were identified that clustered in 30 genomic region. Twenty-three of these QTLs were confirmed in the SSSL population. A comparison with previously reported genes/QTLs revealed eight novel genomic regions that contained uncharacterized ORFs associated with leaf size. The QTLs identified in this study can be used for marker-assisted breeding and for fine mapping of novel genetic elements controlling leaf size in rice.

Rice production holds a significant position in the Thai economy. Although it is the world's largest rice exporter, Thailand&rsquo, s increase in rice production is the result of an expansion in the cultivation area rather than an increase in yield per unit area. The present study was designed to estimate the technical efficiency and its governing factors for certified organic rice-growing farms in Yasothon Province, Thailand. A data envelopment model was employed to assess the technical efficiency of 328 farmer groups. The data revealed that the average technical efficiency was 23% and 28% under constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) specifications, respectively. Farmers can reduce the use of machinery, fertilizer, seed, and labor as input factors by about 80.1%, 25.62%, 24.72%, and 19.15%, respectively, while still achieving the same level of output. Multiple regression analysis was applied to estimate factors that affect the pure technical efficiency score (PTES) in the test regions. Results show that household size, farm size, water source, market accessibility, health symptoms, income, and labor were highly related to the TES and the amount of organic rice production. The regression coefficients of the predictors show that the income was the best predictor of the PTES at a significance level of p &lt, 0.05. It is concluded that the farmers can potentially increase their yields by up to 72%&ndash, 77% under current management practices.

The global dairy farming sector has markedly expanded and intensified over the past decades due to the growing demand for milk and dairy products. The interest in implementing life cycle assessments of various manure and sewage management (MSM) strategies is increasing on a global scale, which is motivated by the concerns of environmental degradation caused by unsustainable MSM and growing awareness of circular economy. Life cycle thinking concept has been widely introduced to favor the comparative studies of different MSM strategies, with the aim of identifying suitable MSM strategies and formulating related policies. This meta-analysis presented comparative results of publicly available dairy MSM pathways, including waste-to-energy, composting, recycling, and other management pathways, aiming to explore potential benefits towards a circular economy. Results showed a consensus that waste-to-energy pathway significantly reduced global warming, eutrophication, and ecotoxicity potential. More specifically, the comparative performances of various detailed technologies belonging to a specified pathway were analyzed. Results indicated that anaerobic mono-digestion decreased global warming and eutrophication remarkably; its integrated management technologies reduced global warming considerably and an obvious decrease in eutrophication potential was observed. It revealed that most of current MSM strategies had limited potential and uncertain consequences to reduce environmental impacts and costs. In terms of influence factors, besides the intrinsic factor (pathway type), key extrinsic determinants including location, country income level, and farm scale were proved to affect mitigation potential of some specific impacts. Overall, it is necessary for the scientific community and policy-makers to focus on more possible trade-offs of different life cycle performances towards sustainability and circularity.

Northeast China (NEC) is the corn granary of China, with average 38% of corn sowing area, 41% of corn production and over 80% corn commodity rate, which makes a great contribution to China's food security. Straw return is the primary way for disposal after harvesting. However, it is controversial in the effect of corn straw return on corn yield, the optimal amount of corn straw return is still unclear. Furthermore, NEC farmers are unwilling to adopt, so these issues require comprehensive regional evaluation. To begin with, this paper studied effects of corn straw return on corn yield increase with meta-analysis. The results illustrated that corn straw return has positive effect on corn yield increase. Secondly, in order to find optimal proportions, n-fold cross-validation method was implemented, and an inventory of corn straw return on corn yield in NEC was compiled. The optimal scheme of corn straw return is 48% of corn straw could bring 5.83% corn yield increase. Finally, results from system dynamics with Monte Carlo (MC) simulation revealed that such production increase potential (around 6.1 million tons of corn) was being blocked by the unaffordable cost for farmers under ordinary scenario. Interestingly, this paper contrived an extreme scenario that corn straw return could be profitable. The flexible adjustment of subsidy could become the motivation for measurement adaptation. This paper concludes that, corn straw return is a sustainable safeguard that can promote corn production in NEC, thus to China's food security in the long run.

Objectives: Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) is one of the most common causes of stroke worldwide and, in particular, has been implicated as a leading cause of recurrent ischemic stroke. We adapted a rat model of atherosclerosis to study brain intracranial atherosclerosis, and further investigated the effect of omega-3 fatty acids (O3FA) in attenuating development of ICAS. Materials and methods: Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into control normal-cholesterol or high-cholesterol diet groups with or without O3FA for up to 6 weeks. During the first 2 weeks, NG-nitro- l -arginine methyl ester ( l -NAME, 3 mg/mL) was added to the drinking water of the high-cholesterol groups. The rats received supplementation with O3FA (5 mg/kg/day) by gavages. Blood lipids including low density lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol (CHO), triglycerides (TG) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured at 3 and 6 weeks. The lumen of middle cerebral artery (MCA) and the thickness of the vessel wall were assessed. Inflammatory molecular markers were assessed by Western blot. Results: A high-cholesterol diet exhibited a significant increase in the classic blood markers (LDL, CHO, and TG) for atherosclerosis, as well as a decrease in HDL. These markers were found to be progressively more severe with time. Lumen stenosis and intimal thickening were increased in MCA. O3FA showed attenuation of blood lipids with an absence of morphological changes. O3FA significantly reduced the inflammatory marker CD68 in MCA and prevented monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) expression in the brain. O3FA similarly decreased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin 6 (IL-6), markers affiliated with monocyte activity in atherosclerosis. Furthermore, O3FA significantly inhibited the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), a marker for endothelial activation. Lastly, O3FA increased ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) protein expression via silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) activation, thus increasing cholesterol efflux from macrophages to HDL. Conclusions: Long-term O3FA dietary supplementation prevents the development of intracranial atherosclerosis. This O3FA effect appears to be mediated by its prevention of macrophage infiltration into the vessel wall, therefore reducing inflammation and intimal thickening. While similar effects in humans need to be determined, O3FA dietary supplement shows promising results in the prevention of ICAS.

Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) is one of the most common causes of stroke worldwide and, in particular, has been implicated as a leading cause of recurrent ischemic stroke. We developed a new rat model to study intracranial atherosclerosis.Twelve-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into a control (on a maintain diet) and a high-cholesterol group (on a daily 1% cholesterol diet) for up to 6 weeks. During the first two weeks, NG-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME, 3 mg/mL) was added to the drinking water in the high-cholesterol group to induce intimal changes making the rats susceptible to atherosclerosis. Blood lipids, including low-density lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol (CHO), triglycerides (TG), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), were measured after 3 and 6 weeks. Histological sections of the brains, including internal carotid artery (ICA), middle cerebral artery (MCA), and basilar artery (BA), were prepared to study intracranial artery morphometry and intimal thickening. The levels of CD68, an inflammatory marker, within the vessel walls as determined by immunohistochemistry were also measured.The high-cholesterol diet increased the levels of classic blood markers of atherosclerosis, LDL, CHO, and TG as well as decreased HDL, which became progressively more intensive with time. Rats showed increased intimal thickening in the ICA, MCA, and BA. This protocol also increased the levels of CD68 immunoreactivity within the vessel walls.A rat model of intracranial atherosclerosis was effectively developed by high-cholesterol diet and L-NAME administration. This clinically relevant model would be beneficial for studying ICAS.

In the highest soil erosion regions of arid and semiarid northwest China, water resource deficits and farmland misuse have further exacerbated soil degradation. Therefore, understanding how farmers in diverse agroclimatic zones perceive and respond to different conservation practices is important to the implementation of sustainable agriculture practices (SAPs). To this end, this study uses a best&ndash, worst scaling approach to examine the adoption preferences for nine SAPs among grain and cash crop farmers and investigates the influence of farm and climatic characteristics on adoption preferences based on a face to face survey of 554 households in Gansu province, which is classified as an arid and semiarid area in northwest China. Both grain and cash crop farmers had stronger preferences for the practices of using organic instead of chemical fertilizers and of improving irrigation practices. In addition, while cash crop farmers also had strong preferences for cover crop-related practices, they preferred long-term fallows least. Household income, livestock, and precipitation influence the potential perceived importance of SAPs. The different perceived importance of these practices suggests new possible combinations or packages for a sustainable agriculture program during the cropping structure adjustment in Gansu.

The size of the top three leaves of rice plants is strongly associated with yield; thus, it is important to consider quantitative traits representing leaf size (e.g., length and width) when breeding novel rice varieties. It is challenging to measure such traits on a large scale in the field, and little is known about the genetic factors that determine the size of the top three leaves. In the present study, a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and reciprocal single chromosomal segment substitution lines (SSSLs) derived from the progeny of a japonica Asominori × indica IR24 cross were grown under four diverse environmental conditions. Six morphological traits associated with leaf size were measured, namely length and flag leaf, length and flag, second and third leaves. In the RIL population, 49 QTLs were identified that clustered in 30 genomic region. Twenty-three of these QTLs were confirmed in the SSSL population. A comparison with previously reported genes/QTLs revealed eight novel genomic regions that contained uncharacterized ORFs associated with leaf size. The QTLs identified in this study can be used for marker-assisted breeding and for fine mapping of novel genetic elements controlling leaf size in rice.

Urban households account for most of the milk consumption in China, but their consumption is hampered by safety concerns. Using survey data collected in Beijing and Harbin in 2010, this paper simultaneously analyses urban households' milk consumption using a multiple linear model and their willingness-to-pay for milk safety using an ordered choice model. The results of this study show that as income increases, urban households consume more milk and are willing to pay a higher premium for milk safety. Modern food marketing channels play a positive role in stimulating milk consumption and building consumers' confidence in milk safety. The growth in the elderly population influences milk consumption positively, but their demand for milk safety is negatively affected by higher price. The combined analysis of households' demand for milk quantity and safety may be useful to the Chinese government in promoting the development of the domestic milk industry and to dairy firms in exploring the milk market in China.

Planting green manure in fallow croplands in winter can bring various economic and environmental benefits, including increased food production, carbon capture and sequestration, soil retention, sandstorm prevention, water retention, and provision of habitat for biodiversity. However, the increased production cost of planting green manure reduces farmers&rsquo, willingness to adopt this approach, which is unfavorable for its sustainability. This research aims to investigate the influence of instrumental variables on farmers&rsquo, perceptions of sustainable agriculture practices, especially the use of rotation fallow, and tries to understand the relationship between farmers&rsquo, perceptions of using rotation fallow and planting green manure under incentive measures adopted by local authorities in Guangxi Province, China. Using simultaneous equation models, the results show that subsidies and planting training were the most important drivers for restoring green manure planting in the target region. These incentive measures could be further enhanced as a priority to restore green manure planting. The study also finds that socioeconomic factors such as farmer&rsquo, s income, area of farmland, and labor for agricultural production have a certain influence on planting green manure planting and on farmers&rsquo, perceptions of using rotation fallow as a form of sustainable agriculture practice.

Key message This article used seven characters from the 2D image analysis to dissect the genetic architecture underlying rice grain shape in onejaponica × indicapopulation consisting of 215 recombinant inbred lines. Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) digital image analysis is efficient for investigating the rice grain shape characters in large genetic and breeding populations. In this study, we used 2D image analysis to investigate seven characters, i.e., grain length (GL), grain width (GW), length-to-width ratio (LW), grain area (GA), grain circumference (GC), grain diameter (GD), and grain roundness (GR), in one japonica × indica genetic population consisting of 215 recombinant inbred lines. GL and GW can be recorded manually as well, and have been extensively used together with LW (i.e., GL/GW) in genetic studies on grain shape. GC and GA can be hardly measured manually, and have not been used together with GD and GR. Results indicated that the seven characters could be precisely measured by 2D image analysis, genotype by environment interaction was low, and heritability was high. Each character was controlled by a few major stable genes and multiple minor additive genes. A total of 51 QTL were detected for the seven characters across four diverse environments, 22 from GL, GW, and LW, the three traditional characters, and 29 from the other four characters. The 51 QTL were clustered in eighteen marker intervals. Comparing with previous studies and analyzing the stability of identified QTL, we found six non-reported marker intervals, one each on chromosomes 2 and 3, and two each on chromosomes 6 and 8. The newly identified loci and the large-scale phenotyping system would greatly improve our knowledge about the genetic architecture and the future rice breeding on grain shape. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00122-015-2560-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.