Goal Evolution and Promotion Strategies of Rural Revitalization in the View of Common Prosperity

Rural revitalization is not only an important development goal for the Chinese government, but also a path to development. It is a crucial strategic choice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in a new epoch that to achieve both urban-rural and intrarural prosperity in the course of promoting rural revitalization. In the context of common prosperity, the key to achieving rural revitalization is to strive for the year 2050 long-term objectives of “robust agriculture, beautiful countryside and well-off farmers”, while also accelerating efforts to meet the mid-term targets of “improving the quality and efficiency of agriculture, making rural areas suitable to live and work, and ensuring farmers are affluent and well-off”. In terms of a strategic path, it is vital to combine endogenous growth with a sharing mechanism, with the former aiming to stimulate the internal vitality of rural areas and unleash their growth potential, and the latter to ensure that wealth is shared among all people and access to basic public services is made equal. To implement the strategy, it is suggested to take a regionally differentiated approach and a classification differentiated approach by scientifically grasping rural differences and identifying policy priorities, and explore innovative and diversified mechanisms of rural common prosperity.

Study on Connotations and Development Strategies of Creative Agriculture

Creative agriculture is a new agricultural type with originality as a key element, integrating agricultural production activities into creative activities such as culture and art, broadening functions of agriculture and improving added value of agricultural products. Creative agriculture is characterized by external economy, technology integration, art appreciation, high efficiency and value, and it is significant for promoting inheritance of traditional culture, optimal allocation and regeneration of resources, optimal distribution of elements, expansion of agricultural functions, construction of beautiful countryside, cultural construction of rural areas, transformation of agricultural and rural economic growth mode. With agricultural resources as the foundation, sightseeing and leisure agriculture as the breakthrough point, by means of science and technology, many regions in China have explored products of creative agriculture and presented several typical cases of creative agriculture. However, these projects are mostly restricted by problems such as poor development concept, lack of supportive policies, and ineffective industrial integration. Taking Zhejiang Province as an example, we proposed path choice, supportive system and relevant policy suggestions for the development of creative agriculture.

Assessment of Gender Policy in Selected Tertiary Agricultural Education Institutions in Africa

The paper assesses the existing gender policy document in fourteen (14) selected agricultural faculties and colleges in tertiary institutions in Africa. This paper is an output of research report on Programme of Strengthening Africa’s Strategic Agricultural Capacity for Impact on Development (SASACID) implemented by the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE). Data for the study were collected from 207 respondents (8 deans of ANAFE SASACID pilot institutions, 36 academic staff/lecturers of SASACID pilot institutions and 163 students of SASACID pilot institutions) through the use of online survey. Data collected were analysed and presented using frequency, percentage and charts. Results of the survey revealed that 25.0% of the institutions studied indicated that they had a formal gender policy document in place in their institutions with regards to staff recruitment and students’ admission, while about 25.0% had an informal gender practices on staff recruitment and students’ admission. Higher proportion (60.0%) of the institution had neither a formal policy document nor informal practices as regards staff recruitment and students admission. Some of the constraints faced by the Institutions with a gender policy were insufficient female applicants in agricultural courses, societal norms and remote location of some of the faculties/colleges of agriculture. To encourage both males and females to study agriculture in higher institutions of learning and to create and sustain a fair and just academic environment where both have equal opportunities, there is a need to have a gender policy document and the need to create awareness.

China’s Rural Development in the 14^(th) Five-Year Plan Period

The 14^(th) Five-Year Plan period(2021-2025)is a critical transition for China’s social and economic development.After achieving moderate prosperity and eradicating absolute poverty in 2020,China will embark upon a new journey towards an affluent society with rural revitalization replacing poverty eradication as a new priority of government agenda on agriculture and rural affairs.In the 14^(th) FYP period,China should increase rural prosperity in all respects,modernize agriculture and the countryside,address food security challenges,raise farmers’incomes,and roll out rural reforms.

The Realization of Common Prosperity through Relative Poverty Alleviation:Gradient Development and Optimization

Relative poverty alleviation is explicitly consistent with common prosperity.Relative poverty alleviation,which is part of the modernization of national governance capacity,is both an objective requirement of effective poverty alleviation and an inevitable approach to the realization of common prosperity.The alleviation of relative poverty and the realization of common prosperity are intrinsically coupled because they feature overlapping time sequences,monistic values,superimposed fields,similar systems,and homogeneous elements.The relationship between the two is essentially symbiotic,coexistent,and synergistic.Consequently,how to effectively alleviate relative poverty and build a dynamic long-term mechanism for relative poverty alleviation will be one of the major challenges for China to tackle before it can make more obvious and substantial progress toward common prosperity for all by 2035.This paper proposes relevant countermeasures and suggestions,which mainly concern the building of a dynamic,multi-dimensional mechanism for relative poverty alleviation and a coordinated mode for the two missions.The aim is to achieve a balanced integration of the academic logic,social logic,and policy logic.

Phytochemical Composition and Insecticidal Property of Native Plants against the Cowpea Weevil Callosobruchus maculatus Fab. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) for Natural Preservation of Cowpea Seeds

About 80% of cowpea seeds are lost along with 30% of their weight after six months of unprotected storage due to attacks by Callosobruchus maculatus. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of applying bioinsecticides on the biological parameters of C. maculatus to reduce its damage to cowpea stocks. Four treatments including an untreated control and three doses of powdery extracts of C. nigricans, Z. zanthoxyloides and H. suaveolens, were compared in a Fischer block with four completely randomized repetitions. One hundred undamaged cowpea seeds were mixed with doses of each extract in Petri dishes and then fed as food substrates to ten pairs of C. maculatus for eight days. The extracts of H. suaveolens, C. nigricans and Z. zanthoxyloides all contain active ingredients including polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins and alkaloids, etc. The extract of Z. zanthoxyloides was found to be more active on adults (100.00% mortality) followed by C. nigricans (98.75% mortality) and H. suaveolens (97.50% mortality) at 80 mg/g. Fecundity per female decreased significantly in the treated batches of 13.82 eggs for H. suaveolens at 10.12 eggs for C. nigricans at a dose of 80 mg/g. Germination rate of seeds was statistically raised to 100% at 60 and 80 mg/g by C. nigricans powder and lowered to 83.00% at 20 mg/g by Z. zanthoxyloides extracts. The application of Z. zanthoxyloides extract would be a less expensive alternative for the sustainable management of C. maculatus in cowpea stocks.

Crop production changes and the impact of Grain for Green program in the Loess Plateau of China

Since the Grain for Green(GFG)program was implemented in 1999,most steeply sloping farmlands in the Loess Plateau of China have been returned to forestland and grassland.To understand its impact on the food production,this study analyzed the spatiotemporal changes of food crop production(FCP)in the plateau and quantified the contribution of sown area and yield changes to the total FCP during 1998–2014 using factor decomposition models,and then discussed the impact of GFG program on the FCP based on literature data.With the implementation of GFG program,total sown area in the Loess Plateau quickly deceased by 17.3%from 1998 to 2003,and then gradually restored to 1.03×107 hm2 in 2010.Thereafter,it slightly decreased to 1.02×107 hm2(94.6%of the area in 1998)in 2014.By contrast,total FCP generally showed an apparent growth trend,averagely increased by 1.71%per year in the whole plateau during 1998–2014.This increase was jointly contributed by the improved yield of individual crops,and the adjustment of cropping structure,i.e.,the expansion of high yield maize crop.The factor decomposition analysis results indicate that the sown area shrinkage only reduced the growth rate of total FCP by 0.29%per year during 1998–2014,although a significant impact was found for the early stage of 1999–2003.The results suggest that the implementation of GFG program would not induce an obvious risk of the food security.Therefore,it is suggested that the GFG program should be set as a long-term strategic policy,by not only supporting the conversion of slope farmlands,but also helping local farmers to seek sustainable ways of land use to improve the income and livelihood.It can be combined with the poverty eradication program,to simultaneously achieve the national goals of ecological civilization building and the livelihood improvement of rural people in the Loess Plateau.Considering rainfall limitation,the conversion of slope farmlands should be prioritized to grasslands.

Antimicrobial peptides act on the rumen the performance of castrated bulls

Background Many countries have already banned the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry,making it extremely difficult to maintain animal health in livestock breeding.In the livestock industry,there is an urgent need to develop alternatives to antibiotics which will not lead to drug resistance on prolonged use.In this study,eighteen castrated bulls were randomly divided into two groups.The control group(CK)was fed the basal diet,while the antimicrobial peptide group(AP)was fed the basal diet supplemented with 8 g of antimicrobial peptides in the basal diet for the experimental period of 270 d.They were then slaughtered to measure production performance,and the ruminal contents were isolated for metagenomic and metabolome sequencing analysis.Result The results showed that antimicrobial peptides could improve the daily weight,carcass weight,and net meat weight of the experimental animals.Additionally,the rumen papillae diameter and the micropapillary density in the AP were significantly greater than those in the CK.Furthermore,the determination of digestive enzymes and fermentation parameters showed that the contents of protease,xylanase,andβ-glucoside in the AP were greater than those in the CK.However,lipase content in the CK was greater than that in the AP.Moreover,the content of acetate,propionate,butyrate,and valerate was found to be greater in AP than those in CK.The metagenomic analysis annotated 1993 differential microorganisms at the species level.The KEGG enrichment of these microorganisms revealed that the enrichment of drug resistance-related pathways was dramatically decreased in the AP,whereas the enrichment of immune-related pathways was significantly increased.There was also a significant reduction in the types of viruses in the AP.187 probiotics with significant differences were found,135 of which were higher in AP than in CK.It was also found that the antimicrobial mechanism of the antimicrobial peptides was quite specific.Seven low-abundance microorganisms(Acinetobactersp.Ac1271,Aequorivita soesokkakensis,Bacillus lacisalsi,Haloferax larsenii,Lysinibacillussp.3DF0063,Parabacteroidessp.217,Streptomycessp.So13.3)were found to regulate growth performance of the bull negatively.Metabolome analysis identified 45 differentially differential metabolites that significantly different between the CK and the AP groups.Seven upregulated metabolites(4-pyridoxic acid,Ala-Phe,3-ureidopropionate,hippuric acid,terephthalic acid,L-alanine,uridine 5-monophosphate)improve the growth performance of the experimental animals.To detect the interactions between the rumen microbiome and metabolism,we associated the rumen microbiome with the metabolome and found that negative regulation between the above 7 microorganisms and 7 metabolites.Conclusions This study shows that antimicrobial peptides can improve the growth performance of animals while resisting viruses and harmful bacteria and are expected to become healthy alternatives to antibiotics.We demonstrated a new antimicrobial peptides pharmacological model.We demonstrated low-abundance microorganisms may play a role by regulating the content of metabolites.

Optimization Model of Cold-Chain Logistics Network for Fresh Agricultural Products —Taking Guangdong Province as an Example

Cold-chain demand of fresh agricultural products is increasing in China, while network layout of cold-chain logistics is in disorder and its cost is huge. To address this problem, this paper casts an optimal model of cold-chain logistics network and tackles it with genetic algorithms. This optimal model takes running total cost of logistics network as the objective, and embeds a nonlinear mixed integer programming including two assignment issues. The model determines optimal layout and logistics management for pre-cooling stations and logistics center for fresh agricultural products. Our main contribution is to consider construction cost and operation cost of cold chain logistics simultaneously. Case study illustrates the effectiveness of the model.

Construction of a high-density SSR genetic linkage map and identification of QTL for storage-root yield and dry-matter content in sweetpotato

Sweetpotato(Ipomoea batatas(L.)Lam.)is a widely grown food crop especially in developing countries.Increasing storage-root yield and dry-matter content has been the main breeding objective of the crop,and DNA marker-assisted breeding is needed for this purpose.In this study,using a mapping population of 500 F1 individuals from a cross between Xushu 18(female)and Xu 781(male),we constructed a highdensity genetic linkage map of sweetpotato using 601 simple-sequence repeat(SSR)primer pairs.The Xushu 18 map contained 90 linkage groups with 5547 SSR markers and spanned 18,263.5 cM,and the Xu 781 map contained 90 linkage groups with 4599 SSR markers and spanned 18,043.7 cM,representing the highest genome coverage yet reported for sweetpotato.We identified 33 QTL for storage-root yield and 16 QTL for dry-matter content,explaining respectively 6.5%–47.5%and 3.2%–18.9%of variation.These results provide a foundation for fine-mapping and cloning of QTL and for marker-assisted breeding in sweetpotato.

Phytodiversity and Vulnerability of Protected Areas in Burkina Faso: Case of Péni Classified Forest

Protected areas contain most of Burkina Faso’s plant biodiversity which confer different benefits for the communities. However, the composition of some of them remains unknown. In a context of overexploitation and climate change, it is important to have a detailed knowledge of the vegetation of forests that have not been studied, such as Péni Classified Forest (PCF) to develop better preservation protocols. The aim of this study is to contribute to the knowledge of the flora of Burkina Faso. Phytosociological surveys were carried out in 213 plots, have identified 475 species distributed in 321 genera and 87 families. We identified during this study 201 woody species representing 38% of the woody flora of Burkina Faso. 64% of this flora is confined to shrub savannahs and 61% to tree savannahs. Among the vegetation units, shrub savannahs and tree savannahs have respectively 56.21% and 44.67% of very rare species. Poaceae (11.90%), Fabaceae-Faboideae (11.27%) and Rubiaceae (6.26%) are the most dominant families. The dominant biological types of the flora are phanerophytes (42.32%) and therophytes (30.32%), and Sudanian species (20.63%) are the best represented. Logging is the most frequent disturbance factor (100%) in the PCF. The PCF is a particular ecosystem with a great diversity but subject to many disturbances. Actions to strengthen its protection are necessary.

Empirical Study on Factors Influencing Farmland Circulation in Economically Developed Areas

Farmland circulation is the foundation of development of regional farmland market.With the aid of survey data of Jiangsu Province and using Heckman two-stage method,this paper analyzed factors influencing farmland circulation from supply and demand of land.Results showed that non-agricultural employment,social security level,and regional economic development level are key factors.In view of these factors,it is recommended to improve rural labor quality,establish perfect rural social security system,and constantly improve rural security level,which are fundamental ways to promoting farmland circulation and improve circulation market.

Web Enabled Multi-Layer Geo-Database for Moinabad Mandal in Rangareddy District, Telangana

The importance of Web-based GIS applications for government is to analyze the information they produce and to establish their impact on efficiency, effectiveness and transparency. The potential of Remote Sensing and GIS provides cost and time-effective resource database. An attempt was made to develop a Web enabled Geo database for the Moinabad Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana. Further this database was used to develop a web enabled multi-layer geo database using ArcGIS Server. It enables the users to know the information and take better decisions, better planning in different rural development sectors.

Natural Barriers to Eco-environmental Vulnerability in a Complex Ecosystem

Natural features such as mountain ranges, steep slopes and vegetation prevent human movement from one habitat to another. They prevent the ecological harm from natural phenomenon like erosion and landslide. Forests destruction has brought about deterioration of ecological environment such as increasing soil and water losses. RS （Remote Sensing） and GIS （Geographic Information System） technology have enhanced the eco-environment assessment procedure using eco-environment quality index tool. This paper presents results of the research on the investigation of the potentials of different landscapes on the complex ecosystem of Makeng Village in Fuj Jan Province to act as natural barrier to eco-environmental vulnerability. Vulnerability factors analysed were soil erosion, vegetation cover, land use types, slope and elevation. To see how one factor acts as natural barrier eco-environment stressors, factor maps were overlaid in pairs using ArcGIS 9.2 software and the matrix statistics exported for analysis in Microsoft Excel. The results showed steep slopes naturally limit human activities, growth of big trees and increase soil erosion. Flat and gentle slopes are less vulnerable to erosion. Elevation is among natural barriers to human activities. Human activities decrease with increasing elevation, hence making the eco-environment naturally stable/undisturbed. In this study, eco-vulnerability to erosion decreases with increasing vegetation cover.

Conservation of the Important Agricultural Heritage Systems in the Economically Developed Area:Experiences,Problems and Solutions——A Case Study of Zhejiang Province

Zhejiang Province,located in the Yangtze River Delta region,is representative of China’s economically developed areas.It enjoys superior natural conditions and a long history of agriculture,and is a comprehensive agricultural area with integrated development of agriculture,forestry,animal husbandry and fishery.It has nurtured the farming culture represented by Hemudu culture and Liangzhu culture,which have given rise to numerous precious Agricultural Heritage Systems.At present,Zhejiang Province has three of the world’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS)and 12 China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(China-NIAHS),so it not only has the largest number of heritages in China,but it has also attained remarkable achievements in heritage conservation.Taking Zhejiang Province as an example in combination with the rural revitalization strategy,this paper summarizes the achievements in the protection of Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(IAHS)in Zhejiang Province during the past 15 years from the aspects of increasing farmers’income,cultural Inheritance and industrial upgrading,as well as the conservation experiences in government promotion,community initiative,enterprise participation,technology driving and social linkage.Further,in view of the problems that exist in the current heritage protection,such as imperfect management of heritage sites,low participation of community residents,lack of special protection funds,and imperfect provincial management system,the following countermeasures and suggestions are put forward:(1)Improve the management mechanism for the conservation and development of Agricultural Heritage Systems;(2)Develop regional public branding of agricultural products in Agricultural Heritage System sites;(3)Increase the Agricultural Heritage System science education as well as cultural and creative product development;(4)Carry out the evaluation and recognition of IAHS at the provincial level;and(5)Provide substantial support and input to the conservation and utilization of IAHS.This study can provide some guidance for the conservation of IAHS in Zhejiang Province and it provides important reference for IAHS in the economically developed areas in China.

Tanning capacityof Tessmannia burttii extracts:thepotentialeco-friendlytanning agents fortheleatherindustry

In the present study,the tannins from stem and root barks of Tessmannia burttii Harms(Caesalpiniaceae),a plant species abundantly growing in Tanzania and other parts of Africa,were investigated for their suitability in hides tanning.Tannin powder was extracted at selected temperatures(30,50 and 80°C)and the influence of each temperature on the crosslinking capacity was evaluated.The interaction mechanism between hide powder collagen and the tannins was studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry(DSC),trinitrobenzensulfonic(TNBS)acid assay and amino acid hydrolysis methods.Extraction temperatures showed low influence on crosslinking capacity of the tannins.However,extract obtained at 50°C exhibited best performance in terms of gap size between T onset and T peak.The stem bark extract yield was higher than that from the root bark,but both were within the recommended ranges.The tannin content(61%)of T.burttii stem bark extract was above recommended value(10%),whereas its total phenolic content and total flavonoic content were found to be above that of commercial Acacia mearnsii tannin.The study of cross-linking parameters as a function of pH showed cross-linking to occur via a covalent mechanism at the basic amino groups.However,the bonds were not resistant to acid hydrolysis.The observed interaction mechanism indicated that tannins from stem and root barks of T.burttii belong to the condensed tannin,similar to A.mearnsii(black wattle),a commercial tannin source that was used in this study as a reference.Findings from this study depict that T.burttii extracts are auspicious eco-friendly alternative source of vegetable tannins to overcome the use of chromium salts in the leather industry.

Who Lost Most Wages and Household Income during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poor Rural China?

China managed to eliminate all extreme poverty in rural areas in 2020.Poor households,however,may risk falling back into poverty due to the COVID-19.This paper examines the impacts of the pandemic on wages and household incomes among different groups in poor areas of rural China.Using a unique dataset from five poverty-stricken counties,we found that the pandemic has had large negative effects on wage income for migrant workers and workers in manufacturing,the private sector,and small enterprises.Compared with households relying on wage income,households relying on small businesses have suffered much more from the pandemic,whereas households depending on farming or transfer payments have been less affected.Although poor and ethnic minority households lost significant amounts of wage income due to the pandemic,they did not lose more household income than nonpoor and nonminority households.We conclude that support from the government has kept vulnerable households from suffering more than other households from the effects of COVID-19.Our findings suggest that the government can play a strong role in alleviating the negative impacts of the COVID-19.

Evaluating and predicting social behavior of arsenic affected communities:Towards developing arsenic resilient society

This study uses six machine learning(ML)algorithms to evaluate and predict individuals'social resilience towards arsenicosis-affected people in an arsenic-risk society of rural India.Over 50%of the surveyed communities were found to be resilient towards arsenicosis patients.Logistic regression with inbuilt cross-validation(LRCV)model scored the highest accuracy(76%),followed by Gaussian distributionbased naïve Bayes(GNB)model(74%),C-Support Vector(SVC)(74%),K-neighbors(Kn)(73%),Random Forest(RF)(72%),and Decision Tree(DT)(67%).The LRCV also scored the highest kappa value of 0.52,followed by GNB(0.48),SVC(0.48),Kn(0.46),RF(0.42),and DT(0.31).Caste,education,occupation,housing status,sanitation behaviors,trust in others,non-profit and private organizations,social capital,and awareness played a key role in shaping social resilience towards arsenicosis patients.The authors opine that LRCV and GNB could be promising methods to develop models on similar data generated from a risk society.

Study on the adaptability of traditional architecture in agricultural heritage sites after tourism intervention—a case study of Huzhou Digang Food Street in China

Traditional architecture in agricultural heritage sites(AHSs)embodies the livelihood of local communities and residents,which is an important part of the AHS.However,with the intervention of tourism,some of the traditional architecture in AHSs has gradually transformed into simple use for tourism,without refecting the cultural connotations of agricultural heritage systems,as well as the farming wisdom of the AHS.This paper takes Digang Food Street in Huzhou,China as an example,which is in the core protection area of the Huzhou mulberry-dyke and fsh-pond system,combining comparative analysis and geographical system analysis to explore the adaptive transformation in decoration,structure,spatial layout and functional form of buildings after the development of the tourism industry.The dynamic relationship among traditional architecture,sustainable development of tourism and conservation of agriculture heritage is also analysed,expecting to provide some experience and reference for the conservation of other AHSs.

People's Mobility and Guanxi Networks:A Case Study

The increase in the movement of people from rural to urban areas since the mid-1980s represents the largest labor migration ever experienced in China. Because migration is a process of selection, it is imperative that the major dynamics determining the selection are studied. What are the critical characteristics of migrants that help them to realize their mobility from rural areas to urban areas？ While educational attainment, gender, age, marital status and personal skills are important variables in the selection process, the present paper examines how social networks （guanxi connections） play a significant role in the process of migration selection in China. A case study from one of the northern villages in rural China is used to explore how social networks have shaped and given meaning to migration. The present paper elaborates on how people＇s social mobility has coincided with and been reinforced by people＇s physical mobility.