Farmers' Behaviors on Agricultural Technology Inputs and the Influencing Factors of Their Behaviors——Based on the Investigation of 276 Rural Households in Deyang City, Sichuan Province

On the basis of expounding farmers' behaviors on agricultural technology inputs studied by the foreign scholars; relying on the investigation data of 276 rural households in Deyang City, Sichuan Province and by using the Logistic Regression model, the farmers' behaviors on agricultural technology inputs and the influencing factors on their behaviors are analyzed. The results show the main factors that influence farmers; behaviors on agricultural inputs are whether they have the assistance of agricultural technology personnel; the choices of plantation; non-agricultural income; area of land management; the expectation on land ownership, whether it has township enterprises and the proportion of the non-agricultural labor forces and some other factors. The influencing degree of these factors descends from strong to weak. On the strength of the study results, the countermeasures on increasing local farmers' inputs on agricultural technology are put forward from the aspects of stabilizing rural land property, establishing scientific land transfer mechanism and intensifying the governmental functions of agro-technical station.

Bioavailability of Agricultural Pesticides on the Land Snails in the Commune of Kerou in the North of Benin

The present study was conducted in the commune of Kérou in North Benin to measure the bioavailability of agricultural pesticides heavily used in the production of cotton on snails. The test was conducted in peasant environment in two villages of the commune. In each site, there are three cages containing 6 snails each. The snails are exposed to soil and plants without special protection and are therefore exposed to environmental conditions. Firstly it’s to evaluate the presence or absence of agricultural pesticides in the viscera of snails after exposure. Secondly it consists to compare the different doses found in the viscera of snails in the different sites. And finally it’s to evaluate the effect of the toxicity of the pesticides on the reproduction of snails. The tests consisted of placing steel cages in the two experimental sites. In each site, there are three cages containing 6 snails each. Snails are exposed to soil and plants without special protection and are therefore exposed to environmental conditions. The observations were made in order to establish a study of transfer kinetics. After the analysis of the data, it appears generally that the accumulation of mineral elements highlighted is not proportional to the mineralogical composition of the soil in which the snail is exposed. Total nitrogen and nitrate were significantly accumulated in the flesh of site 2 snails compared to site 1 snails. These different measures show the bioavailability of soil minerals for living organisms. Accumulations are not necessarily accompanied by toxic effects in terms of survival for snails after 28 days of exposure. However, the absence of immediate toxic effect on snails does not imply a lack of effect in food chains due to the trophic availability of contaminants. The use of snails as bio-indicator of soil quality has therefore proved relevant in the context of soils polluted by minerals.

Evaluating agricultural water-use efficiency based on water footprint of crop values: a case study in Xinjiang of China

Efficient agricultural water use is crucial for food safety and water conservation on a global scale. To quantitatively investigate the agricultural water-use efficiency in regions exhibiting the complex agricultural structure, this study developed an indicator named water footprint of crop values(WFV) that is based on the water footprint of crop production. Defined as the water volume used to produce a unit price of crop(m^3/CNY), the new indicator makes it feasible to directly compare the water footprint of different crops from an economic perspective, so as to comprehensively evaluate the water-use efficiency under the complex planting structure. On the basis of WFV, the study further proposed an indicator of structural water-use coefficient(SWUC), which is represented by the ratio of water-use efficiency for a given planting structure to the water efficiency for a reference crop and can quantitatively describe the impact of planting structure on agricultural water efficiency. Then, a case study was implemented in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. The temporal and spatial variations of WFV were assessed for the planting industries in 14 prefectures and cities of Xinjiang between 1991 and 2015. In addition, contribution rate analysis of WFV for different prefectures and cities was conducted to evaluate the variations of WFV caused by different influencing factors: agricultural input, climatic factors, and planting structure. Results from these analyses indicated first that the average WFV of planting industries in Xinjiang significantly decreased from 0.293 m^3/CNY in 1991 to 0.153 m^3/CNY in 2015, corresponding to an average annual change rate of –3.532%. WFV in 13 prefectures and cities(with the exception of Karamay) has declined significantly during the period of 1991–2015, indicating that agricultural water-use efficient has effectively improved. Second, the average SWUC in Xinjiang decreased from 1.17 to 1.08 m^3/CNY in the 1990 s, and then declined to 1.00 m^3/CNY in 2011–2015. The value of SWUC was highly consistent with the relative value of WFV in most prefectures and cities, showing that planting structure is one of the primary factors affecting regional agricultural water-use efficiency. Third, the contribution rate of WFV variations from human factors including agricultural input and planting structure was much more significant than that from climatic factors. However, the distribution of agricultural input and the adjustment of planting structure significantly differed among prefectures and cities, suggesting regional imbalances of agricultural development. This study indicated the feasibility and effectiveness of controlling agricultural water use through increasing technical input and rational selection of crops in the face of impending climate change. Specifically, we concluded that, the rational application of chemical fertilizers, the development of the fruit industry, and the strict restriction of the cotton industry should be implemented to improve the agricultural water-use efficiency in Xinjiang.

Agricultural Machinery Input,Labor Resource Allocation,and Rural Household Land Transfers

This paper explores the impact of agricultural machinery input on rural households’land transfers,which is conducive to the acceleration of agricultural modernization,agricultural production at scale,and rural revitalization.By using the micro-data on rural households(2014–2018)from China Family Panel Studies(CFPS),we made an empirical analysis of the impact of agricultural machinery input on land transfers and drew three conclusions.First,agricultural machinery input has a positive impact on land transfers,which means the more rural households invest in agricultural machinery,the more willing they are to participate in land transfers.Second,the impact of agricultural machinery input on land transfers is mainly exerted by adjusting the allocation of labor resources for rural households,or rather by increasing the number of farmers engaged in agriculture and reducing the number of farmers-turned traders and workers to facilitate land transfers.Third,the impact of agricultural machinery input on land transfers concerns both the positive transfers-in and the negative transfers-out,and such an impact stays stable across income groups.Accordingly,we should further increase agricultural machinery-related subsidies,improve the agricultural machinery service outsourcing market,and help rural households to reasonably allocate their labor resource endowments and invest in agricultural machinery to increase land transfers.

Productivity Growth in China's Agriculture During 1985-2010

This paper made an empirical analysis of China＇s agricultural growth path and influential factors using the province-level panel data of agricultural inputs and outputs during 1985-2010.The findings indicate that the increase in agricultural inputs and TFP contributed 40.6 and 55.2% to the agricultural output growth,respectively;China＇s agriculture had jumped out of the pattern which output growth was mainly driven by increasing input.Of the total inputs,chemical fertilizer had the most important contribution to the output growth,followed by mechanical inputs.The contribution of land and labor was negative.China＇s agricultural output growth belonged to the type of induced technology innovation.China＇s agricultural TFP growth had characteristics of fluctuations over time and unbalanced between regions,but the gap between the eastern,the middle,and the western regions has been narrowed.

Development of the straw biochar returning concept in China

Biochar produced from straw has been shown to improve soil physicochemical properties.This review introduces the fundamental concepts,the broad applications,and underlying theory of straw biochar returning.Current developments in biochar industry and the production practices prevalent among enterprises in China are critiques.This review analyzes current knowledge gaps,challenges,and opportunities in the industrial application of straw biochar returning.Biochar standards,the quantitative and qualitative analysis methods for biochar,and high-value-added products that are based on biochar are critically examined with goal of providing recommendations for future studies.We propose production and modification of biochar that is application oriented to enhance its fitness for purpose as well as long-term and large-space-scale field study to better understand its impact on soil properties and ecotoxicology.Finally,we make prospects for the future development of SBR,including constructing a standard system about straw biochar returning and promoting self-discipline of biochar industry and the establishment of a biochar-based agricultural production model.