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As part of sustainable agricultural innovations and the alternative food movement, agroecology provides important tools to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Yet very few existing studies have explicitly addressed their linkages. Synergies among the SDGs are often examined at the national level, overlooking nuanced opportunities revealed by small agroecology initiatives at the local scale. Based on literature review, field visits and semi-structured interviews with farms and relevant organizations in China, this research investigates how locally embedded agroecology practices lead to advancement of multiple SDG targets and facilitate the synergies among the SDGs. It also highlights their motivations, achievements, and challenges. We argue that the technocentric metrics of SDGs underappreciate the application of traditional knowledge and small-scale low-tech innovations. By bringing visibility to low-tech and small agroecology initiatives, this paper advocates for stronger inclusion of grassroots agroecology initiatives in SDG discussions among researchers and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food supply localization has been extensively studied and advocated in North America and Europe, focusing on its oppositional stance to food system globalization, long food supply chains, the disconnect between producers and consumers, and a desire to reconnect urban consumers with small farmers in the hinterland of cities. The Northern model of city-region food localization has recently been taken up by governments, and promoted by international agencies such as the FAO and embedded in the New Urban Agenda (NUA) of Habitat III and the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. This paper focuses on an alternative conceptualization and practice of food system governance developed in Chinese cities since the late 1980s. This case study of Nanjing focuses on the similarities and differences between the Chinese model of comprehensive food system planning and localization and the Northern model of localization now being exported to the Global South. The Nanjing case offers an alternative model of food system governance could be more appropriate for other countries undergoing rapid urbanization and dealing with growing urban food insecurity. • Models of food system localization are based on Western experience. • Cities in the Global South need to develop more appropriate models. • Alternative models of food system governance can be found in countries such as China. • Nanjing in China has a well-developed system of comprehensive food system planning. • Lessons from the Nanjing model could help inform better food system planning in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few decades, dramatic changes in China's food system have generated economic, social and environmental consequences that jeopardise its sustainability. Both the Chinese state and civil society have responded to these challenges, with diverse initiatives. This special issue is the first to employ a broad "food system" lens to examine some of the critical changes in China's land use, food production and consumption, and the responses of various actors to food system challenges. It sheds light on the top-down and bottom-up forces that shape and politicise the food system transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has experienced notable loss of farmland and increase in food imports during the past three decades. This article provides an econometric examination of the interactions between virtual land use through food trade and farmland loss in China. The results show that net virtual land imports have grown from 2.37 million hectares (Mha) in 1987 to 33.51 Mha in 2013, accounting for one-quarter of China's farmland in 2013. The analysis on causality indicates there has been bidirectional feedback: the aggravated farmland conversion stimulated virtual land imports, which in turn increased construction encroachment on farmland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a survey of 1,210 households in Nanjing, China, the article looks at the purchasing frequency of various food items in different food retail outlets, the accessibility of these outlets and the use of different food sources. We found that while supermarkets are the top venues for purchasing staple grains, dairy products and processed food, wet markets still prevail for purchasing fresh produce and meat. The data also depict the complexity of food sources beyond conventional retailing outlets. We recommend that Chinese food security policies be broadened to incorporate urban food environment considerations and diverse food sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the recent emergence of alternative food networks in China in the context of widespread food quality concerns. Drawing on interviews and public blog posts, we illustrate how participants in these networks are moving beyond instrumental market relations and developing the collective agency necessary to participate in shaping China's food system. We argue that the initiators and participants in these alternative food networks are not only individual shoppers who 'vote with their chopsticks', but are also nascent activists deploying grassroots community organising strategies. We reveal how these networks are using inclusive and reflexive processes to build diverse networks, how they are using internet communications to extend their reach, voice dissent and engage in nascent 'bottom up' policy formation, and how they are building influential connections and actively, but unofficially, expanding linkages to broader emancipatory spaces of global and social justice movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural sociologists and geographers have conceptualised different rural development trajectories including “the agri-industrial model”, “the post-productivist model” and “the rural development model”. Alternative food networks (AFNs) are increasingly recognised as a “forerunner” and a critical component of the emerging “rural development model” in the West. Meanwhile, Marsden and Franklin [2013. Replacing neoliberalism: theoretical implications of the rise of local food movements.Local Environment, 18 (5), 636–641] pointed out that there is a “local trap” in the current conceptualisation of AFNs that overemphasises their local embeddedness and heterogeneity. This “local trap” marginalises AFNs and, therefore, hinders their potential for transforming the industrialised conventional food system. The convergence and scaling-up of fragmented AFNs have been recognised as important ways to address this marginalisation issue and thus have attracted considerable attention. However, current studies of the convergence of AFNs focus mainly on the role of food-centred organisations without recognising the role of the emerging “rural development” initiatives in the convergence of AFNs. Based on in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and analysis of secondary data, this paper uses the New Rural Reconstruction Movement (NRRM), an emerging alternative rural development movement in China, as an example to illustrate how the NRRM opens up a novel space for the convergence of AFNs. We argue that the interrelationship between AFNs and rural development is indeed reciprocal. The NRRM, following the “rural development” trajectory, functions as a hub for the convergence and scaling-up of various alternative food initiatives. Strategies for achieving convergence include constructing a “common ground” for these initiatives, establishing national alliances and organisations, sharing knowledge and exchanging personnel among them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While China's central government has adopted remote sensing technology in land inspection since 2000, little empirical research has been done on its effect. This study aims to measure the effect of satellite imagery-based land inspection (SIBI) on illegal farmland conversion. The data used in this study were collected for the period from 1997 to 2010 at the province-level. The econometrics approach for panel data model was used in this research. The results showed that SIBI has a deterrent effect of approximately 2.42 ha for every increase of 1% in proportion to the area of prefecture-level regions inspected in a province-level region. The results also indicate land inspections with RS (Remote Sensing) technology saved approximately 11,880 ha farmland from illegal conversion during 2000-2010 with an estimated contribution of reducing illegal farmland conversion by nearly 11%. Furthermore, the governance structure change for land inspection has also contributed to deterring illegal farmland conversion. The deterrent effects due to land inspection by the Supervisor of State Land (SSL) are about 7332 ha during 2008-2010 with an estimated contribution of reducing illegal farmland conversion by nearly 33%. In conclusion, although SIBI has strengthened China's central capacity to uncover illegal farmland conversion and weakened local governments' abilities to hide illegal farmland conversion, it has limited impact on illegal farmland conversion since it is just a technical tool. Improvements in the land inspection governance structure have also helped to deter illegal farmland conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an effort to address the growing income disparities between rural and urban residents in China, Chinese authorities introduced a series of rural development policies beginning in 2002 that established as a national goal a xiaokang (all around better off) society and gave top priority to the triad of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. Farmers' cooperatives, consequently, have received substantial government support since 2002 as they are viewed as an important institution for linking small-scale producers to agro-food supply chains, and particularly value-added food chains. Yet little is understood regarding how and to what extent farmers' cooperatives have benefited members and contributed to rural development in China. Using a case study method and in-depth interviews, we evaluated three successful farmers' cooperatives in China. Following the "deepening-broadeningregrounding" typology proposed by van der Ploeg, Long, and Banks (2002), we found that the farmers' professional cooperatives can make important economic, social, and environmental contributions to rural development by adopting alternative strategies and activities. On the other hand, these cooperatives also face great challenges for further development, including limited access to land and capital, a massive loss of laborers, low market competitiveness, weak internal management, and limited government support, which explains why cooperatives are not more widespread in China. This paper offers new insights into the roles of farmers' cooperatives and government in rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] China has stringent food production standards to approach zero ecological impact. [•] State support for eco-agriculture is part of the agricultural modernization agenda. [•] Yet state support fosters high-tech farming that excludes smaller producers. [•] Consumer priorities are food safety, not environmental protection or farmer incomes. [•] Some exceptions include values-oriented CSAs, farmers’ markets, and buying clubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a case study in a village located in suburban Haikou City, Hainan Province, this article suggests the existence of a local development regime that exercises illegal farmland conversion in China's urban periphery. This regime consists not only of state officials and business investors; but also of local farmers anxious for off-farm employment. Our study highlights the broad transitions that led to the rise of local development regimes in China' s urban periphery. These transitions include (1) the development of the local state, (2) farmers' changing relations with local authorities, and (3) the asymmetrical liberalization of land transaction rights in rural and urban areas. Whereas the state government still manages to intervene in the local conversion of farmland, such intervention is increasingly ineffective as economic liberalization intensifies. A series of potential policies are recommended to protect farmland and agricultural livelihoods in the context of rapid urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food subsidies are widely implemented as part of government policies globally to mitigate food insecurity amongst the urban poor. Subsidies to retail outlets are one a type of supply-side subsidy designed to make food more affordable to low-income consumers. China's Affordable Food Shop (AFS) program introduced by the central government in 2011 and implemented by municipal governments is one example. To date, there has been little research examining the effectiveness of the AFS program despite more than a decade of implementation. This paper presents a case study of the program's effectiveness in Nanjing which was one of the first Chinese cities to introduce the program which grew very rapidly in the years that followed. In early 2020, the Nanjing program was closed which raises important questions about its effectiveness and impact. We show that food insecurity in Nanjing is generally low but that increased food insecurity is associated with lived poverty, lower income, and unaffordability of staple foods. Food insecurity is not mitigated by proximity to an AFS Program shop. The paper argues that the program had various deficiencies and a limited effect in reducing food insecurity and increasing food accessibility. These included inappropriate targeting, program redundancy, and competition from supermarkets and public markets. In the circumstances, the decision by the city government to close the program is understandable. • Food subsidy programs in many countries target low-income, food insecure urban populations. • The Chinese central government introduced an Affordable Food Shop (AFS) Program in 2011. • Food insecurity in Nanjing City affects about 20% of the population and varies with level of poverty, income, food expenditure and household type. • The AFS Program in Nanjing has not succeeded in providing cheaper food for low-income, food insecure households. • The limitations of the AFS Program in Nanjing are partly responsible for its closure in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food safety issues in China have received much scholarly attention, yet few studies systematically examined this matter through the lens of trust. More importantly, little is known about the transformation of different types of trust in the dynamic process of food production, provision, and consumption. We consider trust as an evolving interdependent relationship between different actors. We used the Beijing County Fair, a prominent ecological farmers' market in China, as an example to examine the transformation of trust in China's alternative food networks. We argue that although there has been a disruption of institutional trust among the general public since 2008 when the melamine-tainted milk scandal broke out, reconstruction of individual trust and development of organizational trust have been observed, along with the emergence and increasing popularity of alternative food networks. Based on more than six months of fieldwork on the emerging ecological agriculture sector in 13 provinces across China as well as monitoring of online discussions and posts, we analyze how various social factors--including but not limited to direct and indirect reciprocity, information, endogenous institutions, and altruism--have simultaneously contributed to the transformation of trust in China's alternative food networks. The findings not only complement current social theories of trust, but also highlight an important yet understudied phenomenon whereby informal social mechanisms have been partially substituting for formal institutions and gradually have been building trust against the backdrop of the food safety crisis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]