Sustainable Development of Agriculture in Northwestern Ecologically Fragile Desert Oasis——A case study of Guazhou County of Gansu Province

Guazhou County of Gansu Province is a typical ecological fragile area lying in the transition area of desert and oasis.The development of its agricultural economy is highly dependent on natural resources and environment.Contradiction of resources characterized agriculture and the fragile ecological environment has become one of the main barriers to log the impact of local agriculture to achieve sustainable development.Aiming at fragile ecological environment and limiting factors of agricultural sustainable development,thoughts and countermeasures of realizing agricultural sustainable development have been proposed.

Agriculture Development in Agriculture Oriented County Based on Territorial Function ——A Case Study of Long’an County in GuangXi Zhuang Autonomous Region

[Objective] The aim was to research development plan of major agriculture-oriented county （MAOA or MAOC hereafter） based on territorial function. [Method] The relationship between Major Function Oriented Zoning （MFOZ hereafter） and agricultural development is explored with the case of Long＇an County in Guangxi. [Result] In the research, agricultural function, featured by composition and diversification, is considered one of territorial function typs, contributed by ecology, land, industries and population. With Long＇an as a study case, it can be concluded that the plan of major agriculture-oriented counties is as follows： With guidance of territorial function, the counties should formulate the strategies of major function oriented zones, strive for more social and economic resources for agricultural development, extend agricultural functions, enhance the role of agricultural additional functions, strengthen ecological conservation, improve agricultural productivity and transportation, reinforce exchange of countryside with other regions. In addition, attention should be paid to reconstruction of population and industry pattern for redistribution on the basis of evaluation on bearing capacity of resources and environment. [Conclusion] In future, major agriculture oriented county should coordinate relationship among agriculture, industries, ecology and population with rational distribution of territorial function in county to guarantee stable and sustainable agricultural development.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN SALINE-ALKALI SOIL AREA OF SONGNEN PLAIN,NORTHEAST CHINA

There is great potential for agriculture in saline-alkali soil area in Songnen Plain, Northeast China. But the sustainable crop production in this area has been restricted by a few of main factors, such as less precipitation, h igher evaporation and frequent drought, high salinity and alkalinity, high excha ngeable sodium content and poor infiltration of the soil, and insufficiency and low availability in nutrition. It is also considered that there are a few of fav orable conditions for agricultural development in this region, such as sufficien t light and heat resources, rich ground water resources, plenty of manure produc ed by livestock, and so on. At the same time, scientific management and measurem ents have been employed; rational irrigation and drainage system has been establ ished; reclamation, amendment and fertilization of soil, and suitable strategies of cropping practices have been made for the sustainable development of agricul ture. Great progress has been made during 1996-2000.

Development Stage and Evolution Cause of European Union Agriculture and Suggestions for Chinese Agricultural Development

Agriculture is a basic industry related to national economy and people’s livelihood,and is also the cornerstone of national economic development. European Union(EU) is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world,and its agricultural production change has international influence. In this paper,starting from two angles of EU agricultural development scale and target,development stage of its agricultural production is explored,and development and evolution causes of EU agriculture are analyzed: efficiency and benefit targets cause change of EU agricultural management model; change of agricultural product supply-demand pattern leads the evolution of EU agricultural development idea; the reflection of agricultural development target impels the transformation of EU agricultural development. On this basis,the below conclusions are obtained: agricultural development could evolve according to the changes of economic and social conditions; it is a necessary requirement of promoting internal market stability and international market harmony to actively use agricultural support policies adapting to agricultural development at each stage; it is an important measurement of impelling agricultural modernization process to promote innovation of agricultural management model and development of market integration; it is an inevitable road of realizing sustainable development of agriculture to develop ecological agriculture and emphasize equal development of agriculture and countryside. On this basis,it could provide the reference for agricultural development of China based on EU agricultural development experience.

Eco-environment contribution of agroforestry to agriculture development in the plain area of China—Huai'an Prefecture, Jiangsu Province as the case study area

For improving the environmental quality and ensuring supply of wood and non-timber forest products, many forests have been planted in plain areas of China. Scientists have studied their benefits, almost all of the approaches were based on fixed-point data, and few was considered on the non-efficient factors and temporal scale effects. This paper studies the positive and negative benefits at a large temporal scale, and the effects of plain afforestation on stockbreeding and rural economy. The benefits of plain afforestation, correlation coefficiency of agroforestry and production factors are analyzed via stochastic frontier modeling in Huanghuaihai Plain Area of China; elastic coefficient of agroforestry, husbandry, farming, and total output of agricultural sector are calculated through adopting partial differential equation. Some conclusions can be drawn that, plain forests have an important effect on the development of plain agriculture. But shelterbelts and small-scale forests have different effect on the development of agricultural economy. Shelterbelts have negative effect on the industries, but small-scale forest has positive effect. On the whole, contribution of forest resource to value of animal husbandry and gross production value of agriculture is positive, and to the value of farming is negative.

Relationship between the Ecological Livability and the Green Development of Agriculture

Ecological livability is one of the important tasks and objectives of the rural revitalization strategy proposed at the 19 th National Congress of the CPC.The most precious wealth of the countryside is the excellent ecological environment,and China must unswervingly follow the route of green agricultural development.Based on current research on the relationship between ecological livable and agricultural green development,comprehensive policy documents,journal literature and related reports,this paper explored the background and connotation of ecological livable,the current situation of agricultural green development and existing problems,and profoundly analyzed ecological livable and the internal connection between agricultural green development,aiming to provide theoretical reference and scientific reference for the final realization of ecological livable goal.

Considerations on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Dryland Areas

Drylands of the world cover 41%of the Earth＇s land surface and are a direct source of livelihood for 6.5 billion people, especially in developing countries. However, nearly all drylands are at risk of land degradation as a result of human activities. Poverty and desertification in dryland areas are major problems threatening sustainable agriculture and rural development in dryland areas. Several topics that are significant for sustainable agriculture and rural development for food security and environmental rehabilitation in dryland areas were stressed in this paper.

High-quality Development Path of Henan Agriculture and Rural Areas Empowered by Digital Inclusive Finance

By studying high-quality development process of Henan agriculture and rural areas empowered by digital inclusive finance,it is found that the construction of digital financial infrastructure in Henan Province is relatively complete,and the level of deposit and loan of rural enterprises and farmers is constantly improving,and the market and government are constantly upgrading the financial risk insurance compensation mechanism.At the same time,there are also problems such as insufficient demand and supply of digital finance,single digital financial products,and weak market supervision.Based on this,some implementation paths are proposed,such as continuing to strengthen the construction of rural financial infrastructure in Henan Province,improving farmers’financial literacy,and enriching digital financial products and services.The government should continue to improve the construction of market system,and broaden the market supervision and management,to actively promote the digitalization of agricultural finance to enable the high-quality development of agriculture and rural areas in Henan Province.

Selenium Enriched Trionyx sinensis : A New Choice for the Sustainable Development Model of Modern Agriculture

Based on the analysis of the current situation and existing problems of traditional Chinese soft shelled turtle(Trionyx sinensis)breeding industry,combined with the fact that selenium enriched functional agriculture is the future demand of mankind,this paper put forward the necessity of developing selenium enriched Chinese soft shelled turtles and promoting the sustainable development of modern agriculture:the development of selenium-enriched Chinese soft-shelled turtle is the need of the consumer market for food safety,the need to reduce the production cost of soft-shelled turtles and improve the production efficiency of soft-shelled turtles,the need to enrich the Chinese soft-shelled turtle market,and the need to promote the sustainable development of modern agriculture(fishery).

GUO BOSHENG,PIONEER FOR DEVELOPING RARE EARTH APPLICATION IN AGRICULTURE IN CHINA

Guo Bosheng, senior engineer/professor, is now a member of the Expert Group of the State Council Rare Earth Leading Group, PRC., director of Rare Earth Development Center for Agricultural Technique. He graduated from Moscow Fine Chemical Industry University in the Sovi-

Developing Modern Agriculture

CHINA produced more than 589 mil- lion tons of grain in 2012, an 18 million ton increase from the previous year. This was the ninth consecutive year of in- creased grain harvests, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

AGRICULTURE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN TIBET:Status Quo and Future Development

Development of agri-culture and animalhusbandry in Tibetover the past 50years has played animportant role in local eco-nomic development. However,with China’s accession to theWTO,the goal of agriculturalproduction and livestockbreeding is changing fromproviding the public with foodto increasing the income offarmers and herders. Whilethe public shows more con-cern for market economicdevelopment and protection

Guarantee Strategy for the Safety of Agricultural Industry in Hunan Province

The safety of agricultural industry in Hunan Province shows an upward trend from"basically safe"to"very safe",but the state in the"safe"or"very safe"range is still unstable.In view of this,Hunan Province should guarantee the agricultural production ability,cultivate and enhance the core competitiveness of agriculture,firmly grasp the agricultural control power,attach importance to the export quality of agri-cultural products and other aspects to ensure the safety of agricultural industry.

Effects of Straw Returning to Fields on Soils and Current Status in Anhui Province

In the research, effects of straw returning to fields on soil temperature, water, volume-weight, porosity, trace elements, and organic matters were reviewed and countermeasures were proposed to promote straw returning on basis of straw resources and present status in Anhui Province.

Prospects of China's Agricultural Development

Remarkable achievements have been made in China＇s agricultural development since the late 1970s. Nevertheless, deep-rooted problems are arising from inefficient farming practices. From mid- and long-term perspectives, migration of China＇s agricultural labor will slow and large-scale operation of farmland will accelerate. Although grain supply and demand have maintained a tight balance, new potentials still exist in improving grain production. Under the pressures of resource and environmental constraints, advancing the green and efficient transition of agriculture will become a new trend in China＇s agricultural development. In this context, the treatment of agricultural pollution, supply-side structural reform and innovation of agricultural subsidy policy are of strategic significance to the transition and upgrade of China＇s agriculture.

Assessing Agricultural Sustainable Development Based on the DPSIR Approach: Case Study in Jiangsu, China

According to the contemporary ecosystem approach, the linkages of human actions with their environment have to be assessed in an integrative manner. The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response （DPSIR） model is applied to identify and describe processes and interactions in human-environmental systems. An example application from a research project dealing with the development of sustainable management strategies for the agriculture in Jiangsu, China, illustrates the potentials and limitations of its sustainable development. The concept and indicators of ecological integrity are used to assess the indicators in the dimensions of DPSIR between 2003 and 2006. The main drivers included population growth which caused increasing demand for food, growing environmental demands, and rapidly decreasing of land and other natural resources. The main environmental problem was water pollution. The results show that in the dimension of driver, total grain output and agricultural land productivity both increased. Labor intensive agriculture has been promoted to increase agricultural land productivity. In the dimension of pressure, on the positive side, infrastructure got greatly improved, the input level such as total power of machinery, and level of fertilizer use increased, and level of pesticides use decreased, but on the negative side, cultivated land per capita and irrigation rate decreased, natural resources keep decreased. Environmental pollution indicators such as industrial wastewater discharge and acid rain rate increased in Jiangsu Province. In the aspect of state, ecosystem state was improved, plant coverage index increased, biological abundance index increased, fertilizer productivity increased, eco-environmental quality index increased, but land degradation index also increased. In the aspect of impact, output level increased, output efficiency enhanced, farmer＇s social economic benefit improved. In the aspect of response, social support was greatly improved, input for environmental governance increased. To assess the effects of environmental governance, Jiangsu government was successful to increase compliance rate of sulfur dioxide emissions, but not so efficient in compliance rate of industrial wastewater discharge.

Seven Decades of China's Agricultural Development:Achievements,Experience and Outlook

Over the past seven decades since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949,China's agriculture has been transformed beyond recognition.Tremendous progress has been made in China's agricultural output.China has made all-round achievements in its agriculture,forestry,livestock and fishery sectors,vastly improved agricultural production conditions,fostered new types of agricultural operators,increased opening-up,and delivered better living conditions for rural residents.China's agricultural development experience over the past seven decades can be summarized as follows:the Party's leadership over the work on agriculture,farmers and countryside,policy support and protection for agriculture,agri-technology innovation,and agricultural product market reform.In the new era,China's agriculture must follow a green and quality-oriented approach,and develop multifunctionality.China'should foster new-type agricultural operators and service entities,promote large-scale agriculture,encourage capital inputs in agriculture,integrate primary,secondary and tertiary agricultural industries,and bring about a new patter of agricultural opening-up.

Feeding More People on an Increasingly Fragile Planet: China's Food and Nutrition Security in a National and Global Context

Developing and developed countries alike are increasingly facing the dififcult question of how to feed more people amidst a host of emerging demographic, environmental, and health challenges. At the same time, in addition to food quantity, increased attention is being given to food quality attributes, in particular nutrition and safety. This is especially evident in China, where concerns are on the rise regarding the ability of China’s food production systems to deliver nutritious and safe food to a growing, urbanizing and more aflfuent population. These food and nutrition concerns come at a time when China is an increasingly inlfuential actor within the global food security network through activities such as production, consumption and trade. We argue that China has the opportunity to increase food and nutrition security both nationally and globally through a comprehensive policy agenda that focuses on institutional reforms, investments for and in agriculture, productive social safety nets, mutually beneifcial trade, and the exchange of know-how and technologies among developing countries and donors. This agenda will help China adapt its food production systems to the changing face of agriculture and to play a vital role in addressing the emerging challenges facing food and nutrition security within and beyond China in the coming decades.