Carbon compensation and carbon neutrality:Regional variations based on net carbon transfer of trade in China

Inter-provincial carbon compensation is an important means for a country to realize regional environmental protection and achieve coordinated regional development and realize the carbon neutral goal.It is easier to realize inter-provincial carbon compensation compared with the national level.Based on the multi-regional input-output model and the input-output data of 30 provinces in China,this study measured the carbon transfer in,carbon transfer out and net carbon transfer of each province,and based on the undesirable slacks-based measurement model under the common frontier,the provinces were given the shadow price of carbon emission in line with the situation of the local economic development,resource endowment,and industrial structure,and based on which,the amount of carbon compensation of each province was measured.The results show that:China's provinces and regions have a larger share of trade-implied carbon emissions;the net carbon transfer in areas mainly concentrated in the traditional energy provinces,which provide industrial products for other regions and undertake the transfer of carbon emissions,and become the main carbon compensation recipient areas;the net carbon transfer out is mainly concentrated in the economically developed and densely populated areas such as Beijing-Tianjin region and the eastern and southern coasts,which satisfy the end-consumption by purchasing a large number of industrial products and generate a large amount of carbon emissions.Transfer out;becoming the main carbon offset payment area.Based on the results of this study,it is proposed to improve the national provincial carbon offset mechanism and implement a differentiated and synergistic carbon emission reduction cooperation approach.The research program of this study can provide a reference for the development of inter-regional carbon offset programs.

Determinants of Adoption of Improved Rice Varieties in Northern Sindh, Pakistan

Adoption of certified and improved high-yielding crop varieties is important avenue for increasing agricultural productivity and improving the living standard of the farmers in developing countries. The main objective of the current study was to examine factors affecting adoption of improved rice varieties by smallholder farmers in Northern Sindh, Pakistan. The random sampling technique was used to collect data from 220 smallholder rice farmers through the face to face interview. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and probit regression model. The empirical results showed that year of education(P ≤ 0.093), farming experience(P ≤ 0.043), soil quality(P ≤ 0.077), farm machinery ownership(P ≤ 0.000), access to market information(P ≤ 0.055) and contact with extension agents(P ≤ 0.006) had significantly positive influence on adoption of improved rice variety, while age(P ≤ 0.053) had significantly negative effect.

Economic outlook of rice crops in Pakistan:a time series analysis (1970-2015)

Background:The basic objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the rice output,its production area,water availability,and agricultural gross domestic product(GDP)of Pakistan.Annual time series data for 1970–2015 were collected from the National Food Security and Research,Economic Survey of Pakistan,and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics(various publications).Methods:Rice crop data were analyzed using the ordinary least square method and the augmented Dickey–Fuller test.Were interpreted using the Johansen cointegration test.Results:Our study revealed the existence of a long-standing relationship between rice output,its production area,and water availability with the agricultural GDP of Pakistan.Regression results indicate that rice output and cultivated area have a significant and positive relationship with agricultural GDP,while water availability has a negative relationship.Conclusions:The study suggests that the government of Pakistan should design new policies and funding schemes for developing and improving water availability.

Credit margin of investment in the agricultural sector and credit fungibility: the case of smallholders of district Shikarpur, Sindh, Pakistan

Background:This study examines the access to credit,credit investment,and credit fungibility for small-holder farmers and medium-and large-scale farmers in the agricultural sector of the Shikarpur District of Sindh,Pakistan.Methods:A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data from 87 farmers in the Shikarpur District.We investigated the availability of credit and the use of credit fungibility by farmers with small-,medium-,and large-scale holdings by applying a credit fungibility ratio and an ANOVA technique.The factors that influence the farmers’access to agricultural credit were analyzed using a probit regression model.Results:The results revealed that farmers in both study groups used some amount of their agricultural credit for non-agricultural activities.Further,the results of the probit regression analysis showed that formal education,farming experience,household size,and farm size had a positive and significant influence on the farmers’access to agricultural credit.Conclusion:Based on these findings,our study suggests that a strong monitoring of farmers is needed in the study area.

Livestock production and population census in Pakistan:Determining their relationship with agricultural GDP using econometric analysis

Livestock is a subsector of Pakistan agriculture which contributes approximately 56%of value addition in agriculture and nearly 11%to the gross domestic product(GDP).Livestock production makes a major contribution to agriculture value added services.In order to highlight the actual performance of livestock production and livestock and poultry products,the study explored the relationship between agricultural GDP and livestock product output,including milk,beef,mutton,poultry meat,eggs,wool,hair,skins,hides and bones,in Pakistan over the 35 year period from 1980 to 2015.Time series data were collected from the National Food Security and Research,the Economic Survey of Pakistan and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics(various publications).Livestock data were analysed using the ordinary least squares(OLS)method and the Augmented Dickey-Fuller(ADF)test,and the results were interpreted using the Johansen co-integration test.Our study found that the output of milk,fat,eggs,bones and mutton has a positive,significant relationship to the agricultural GDP of Pakistan,while the output of beef,poultry meat,wool,hair,skins and hides has a negative,insignificant relationship to the agricultural GDP of Pakistan.Therefore,the study suggests that the government of Pakistan initiates new funding schemes for the development of the livestock sector.