Research on the Optimization Paths for Outstanding Agricultural Economics and Management Talents under the Background of Curriculum Ideology and Politics

The article aims to discuss how to cultivate outstanding agricultural economics and management talents to meet the needs of agricultural and rural economic development in the new era,within the context of ideological and political education.Through literature review and field research,a series of innovative talent training optimization paths are proposed,and specific suggestions are made for policymakers and educational practitioners.

Unveiling the impact and mechanism of digital technology on agricultural economic resilience

Enhancing the economic resilience of agriculture is essential for promoting sustainable and high-quality agricultural development.The emergence of digital technology has created new opportunities in this field.However,existing research predominantly focuses on traditional agricultural factors and technologies.Therefore,the impact of digital technology on agricultural economic resilience within the broader context of the“production-operation-industry”system in agriculture has not been comprehensively explored.To bridge this gap,this study analyzes panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2020.It employs the static Van Dorn’s law and a dynamic spatial panel model to examine how digital technology empowers agricultural resilience.The findings indicate a continuous strengthening of digital technology development in China,albeit with significant polarization and spatial imbalances.Moreover,the resilience of the agricultural economy undergoes notable fluctuations,initially narrowing and subsequently displaying an upward trend.Digital technology clearly plays a pivotal role in empowering resilience through agricultural scale operation,industrial transformation,and technological progress.Its impact,particularly on the promotion of resilience in the eastern region and non-grain-producing areas and on high-level agricultural economies,also shows regional and technological variations.

Promoting High-quality Development of Grain and Oil in Ethnic Areas of the Yangtze River Economic Belt from the Perspective of Agricultural Power

Accelerating the construction of agricultural power,further promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt,and better supporting and serving Chinese-style modernization are the key issues at present.This paper first introduces the Yangtze River Economic Belt and its ethnic areas,and studies the characteristics of the grain and oil industry in the ethnic autonomous areas of the economic belt,as well as the current situation of various types of intellectual property resources,such as industrial cultural heritage,scientific and tech-nological innovation,and brand marking intellectual property.Besides,it analyzes the main problems in the high-quality development of grain and oil in the Yangtze River Economic Belt ethnic areas.Finally,it comes up with recommendations,including protecting the intellectual prop-erty rights of cultural heritage in the field of grain and oil,leading the inheritance and development of excellent traditional Chinese culture,use scientific and technological innovation intellectual property rights to promote the innovation-driven development strategy of the grain and oil in-dustry,and providing counterpart assistance to ethnic autonomous areas in the Yangtze River Economic Belt to further promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Demography and Socio-Economic Aspects on Irrigated Smallholder Agricultural Enterprises and Their Association with the Cultivation of Maize (Zea mays L.) as a Selected Field Crop

The purpose of this study is to correlate demography and socio-economic aspects at Irrigated Smallholder Agricultural Enterprises and their association with the Cultivation of Maize in order to determine its positive impacts at irrigated smallholders’ agricultural entrepreneurs’ household. Chi-square test was used as descriptive analysis method. The Fischer Exact tests were employed to test demography (gender, age, education, and income) in winter and summer production season of irrigated smallholder agricultural enterprises and their association with the cultivation of selected field crop (i.e. maize). The results show that gender results were not being statistically significant, as measured by the Phi measure of effect size, φ = 0.149, p = 0.011, and φ = 0.05, p = 0.392 in summer. As far as age is concern, it appears to be a statistically significant association between cultivating maize and age in winter, φ = 0.046, p = 0.730 in winter and φ = 0.172, p = 0.013. Education winter result not being statistically significant, the effect size showed a weak association, as measured by the Phi measure of effect size, φ = 0.112, p = 0.305 and φ = 0.035, p = 0.948 in summer. Income result not being statistically significant, as measured by the Phi measure of effect size, φ = 0.049, p = 0.399 and φ = 0.081, p = 0.166 in summer. In conclusion, the study shows that the development of best management practices must be based on a comprehensive analysis of the livelihoods and irrigated smallholder agricultural enterprise farming styles of participating irrigated smallholder agricultural entrepreneurs.

Comparative Study of the Socioeconomic Characteristics and Digital Literacy Level of Agricultural Extension Personnel in Imo and Ebonyi States, South-East, Nigeria

The study comparatively analysed the socioeconomic characteristics and digital literacy level of Agricultural Extension personnel (AEP) in Ebonyi and Imo States, South-East, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of agricultural extension personnel in Ebonyi and Imo States, and to ascertain the digital literacy level of AEP in the studied states. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 312 Agricultural Extension personnel (132 from Ebonyi State Agricultural Development Program and 180 from Imo State Agricultural Development Program) for the study. Data were collected through the use of validated and structured questionnaire, and administered through the help of well-trained enumerators. Data were analysed using simple descriptive statistical tools such as percentages mean score, standard deviation and weighted mean. Findings indicated that they were more male in the both States (55.3% and 57.8%) for Ebonyi and Imo State respectively and that the average age of AEP in Ebonyi and Imo States were 44.7 years and 49.2 years respectively. It was further revealed that the majority (77.3% and 82.8%) had B.Sc./HND as their highest academic qualifications, belonged to professional organisations (62.1% and 75%), and were earning an average monthly income of N58,798 and N62,648 for Ebonyi and Imo State respectively. Also, it was revealed that their mean years of service were 12.4 years and 13.4 years for Ebonyi and Imo State respectively. Almost all of them (87.9% and 95.0%) own a smartphone, had access to the internet (80.3% and 90.0%), but do not own a laptop/ipad (82.6% and 72.8%) for Ebon-yi and Imo State respectively. Results further revealed that Agricultural extension personnel in both Ebonyi and Imo State respectively had low digital literacy level ( = 2.41 and 2.32). The study concluded that AEP in Ebonyi and Imo State respectively had similar socioeconomic characteristics and low level of digital literacy. The study recommended that the management of ADPs in both Ebonyi and Imo State should ensure the training of AEP in digital skills to enhance their digital literacy level to enable them use digital technologies in their work.

Innovation Analysis of Rural Agricultural Economic Management Model in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

[Objectives]To explore innovative strategies for rural agricultural economic development in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative.[Methods]This research adopts the method of literature review and field research,systematically combs the research results related to the Belt and Road Initiative and rural agricultural economic management,and deeply understands the actual situation of rural agricultural economic management.[Results]The research shows that in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative,the rural agricultural economy is facing new development opportunities and challenges,but there are also some problems.In the new period,we should accelerate the innovative development of rural agricultural economy by promoting market-oriented reform,strengthening scientific and technological innovation,optimizing the industrial structure,deepening international cooperation and other measures.The Belt and Road Initiative provides an important opportunity for the innovation of rural agricultural economic management.Rural agricultural economic management should be actively integrated into the Belt and Road construction to improve the level of rural agricultural economic management.[Conclusions]This study provides useful exploration and reference for the innovation of rural agricultural economic management models,which helps to promote the healthy development of rural agricultural economy and achieve the goal of rural revitalization.

Valorization of Agricultural Residues for Hydrogen-Based Electricity Generation towards Circular Bioeconomy

Global crises, notably climate shocks, degraded ecosystems, and growing energy demand, enforce sustainable production and consumption pathways. A circular bioeconomy offers the opportunities to actualize resource and eco-efficiency enhancement, valorization of waste streams, reduction of fossil energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Albeit biomass resources are a potential feedstock for bio-hydrogen (bio-H2) production, Ghana’s agricultural residues are not fully utilized. This paper examines the economic and environmental impact of bio-H2 electricity generation using agricultural residues in Ghana. The bio-H2 potential was determined based on biogas steam reforming (BSR). The research highlights that BSR could generate 2617 kt of bio-H2, corresponding to 2.78% of the global hydrogen demand. Yam and maize residues contribute 50.47% of the bio-H2 produced, while millet residues have the most negligible share. A tonne of residues could produce 16.59 kg of bio-H2 and 29.83 kWh of electricity. A total of 4,705.89 GWh of electricity produced could replace the consumption of 21.92% of Ghana’s electricity. The economic viability reveals that electricity cost is $0.174/kWh and has a positive net present value of $2135550609.45 with a benefit-to-cost ratio of 1.26. The fossil diesel displaced is 1421.09 ML, and 3862.55 kt CO2eq of carbon emissions decreased corresponding to an annual reduction potential of 386.26 kt CO2eq. This accounts for reducing 10.26% of Ghana’s GHG emissions. The study demonstrates that hydrogen-based electricity production as an energy transition is a strategic innovation pillar to advance the circular bioeconomy and achieve sustainable development goals.

Contribution of Garcinia kola to the Productivity and Economic Profitability of the Community Agricultural Area of Kedougou: Financial and Comparative Analysis of Production Factors

Inland fishing predominates in the Kedougou region, which has no coastline. This type of fishing does not yet meet the local population’s demand for fish products. In response to this concern, a Community Agricultural Estate housing an integrated fish farm was set up in the commune of Bandafassi, in the village of Itato. Since its creation, this production unit has been faced with the problem of sourcing high-quality, low-cost, monosex male Oreochromis niloticus fry. In order to overcome this constraint, the present research focuses on the contribution of Garcinia kola to the productivity and economic profitability of the Itato farm. The aim of the research is to assess fish production in the experimental set-up and the production costs of tilapia in a controlled environment. The comparative study of the various production factors shows disparities only in the input factor, where scenarios 2 and 3 use additional products. These are 17-α-methytestosterone for scenario 2 and Garcinia kola for scenario 3. These products significantly interfere with fish production, with a fairly high mortality rate for scenario 2 (25% for two production cycles/ cohort2 (B5, B6, B7 and B8) treated with 17-α-methytestosterone). As for scenarios 1 and 3, mortalities are 5% with or without recourse to additional products (G. kola). In addition, average fish production for the three (03) scenarios is estimated at 28687.5 kg/2 cycles. It varies from one scenario to another, i.e. 30937.5 kg/2 cycles for scenarios 1 and 3 and 24187.5 kg/2 cycles for scenario 2. It is therefore higher in scenarios 1 and 3 than in scenario 2. This difference is due to the fairly large losses of individuals in scenario 2. Furthermore, the analysis of the profit and loss accounts for tilapia production varies from one scenario to another depending on the type of farm: 476 Franc CFA for scenario 1, 610 Franc CFA for scenario 2 and 472 Franc CFA for scenario 3 (F CFA = franc of the French Colonies of Africa). The Average operating income for all the fish farming units is 34,726,142 Franc CFA. The highest (41,638,075 Franc CFA) and lowest (29,281,075 Franc CFA) ERs were observed in scenarios 3 and 2 respectively. It was 33,259,275 Franc CFA for scenario 1. The difference between the NERs of the three scenarios is more or less significant in terms of results. The operating result (OR) is positive in all 3 scenarios in our study. However, the scenario 3 system generates a higher rate of return (the ratio between an income and the capital employed to obtain that income) (74%) than that generated by the scenario 1 system (69%). As for the scenario 2 system, it generates a lower financial return than the two previous systems (67%). Above all, this work made it possible to construct an approach that would make it possible to answer such a question by relying successively on various methods: a typology, according to the production factors involved in the operation of the Community Agricultural Estate fish farm.

Evaluating Sugarcane Bagasse-Based Biochar as an Economically Viable Catalyst for Agricultural and Environmental Advancement in Brazil through Scenario-Based Economic Modeling

The increasing global demand for sustainable agricultural practices and effective waste management has highlighted the potential of biochar as a multifaceted solution. This study evaluates the economic viability of sugarcane bagasse-based biochar in Brazil, focusing on its potential to enhance agricultural productivity and contribute to environmental sustainability. While existing literature predominantly explores the production, crop yield benefits, and carbon sequestration capabilities of biochar, there is a notable gap in comprehensive economic modeling and viability analysis for the region. This paper aims to fill this gap by employing a scenario-based economic modeling approach, incorporating relevant economic models. Findings include that biochar implementation can be economically viable for medium and large sugarcane farms (20,000 - 50,000 hectares) given the availability of funding, breaking even in about 7.5 years with an internal rate of return of 18% on average. For small farms, biochar can only be viable when applied biochar to the soil, which in all scenarios is found to be the more profitable practice by a large margin. Sensitivity analyses found that generally, biochar becomes economically feasible at biochar carbon credit prices above $120 USD/tCO2e, and at sugarcane bagasse availability percentages above 60%. While the economic models are well-grounded in existing literature, the production of biochar at the studied scales is not yet widespread, especially in Brazil and uncertainties can result. Reviewing the results, the land application scenario was found to be the most viable, and large farms saw the best results, highlighting the importance of scale in biochar operations. Small and medium farms with no land application were concluded to have no or questionable viability. Overall, sugarcane bagasse-based biochar can be economically viable, under the right circumstances, for agricultural and environmental advancement in Brazil.

Construction of Ideological and Political Micro-Courses of Western Economics in Agricultural Economics Major

As a new means and way of combining media convergence and ideological and political education,ideological and political micro-courses play an important role in the process of cultivating the socialist core values of college students and qualified successors of the socialist cause.For western economics as the core course of agricultural economics major,how to construct ideological and political micro-courses in the era of media convergence to give full play to the effective function of micro-courses in ideological and political education in western economics has good practical significance at present.

Feeding Effect of Different Levels of Agricultural and Food Waste on Growth Performance and Economics in Pig Production

This study was undertaken with the objectives to determine the feeding effect of different levels of agricultural and food waste on growth performance and cost effectiveness in pig production.This study was conducted at Manokwari regency,West Papua Province,Indonesia.The agricultural and food industry by-products used were collected from two traditional markets,five restaurants and 15 small-scale food industries.All materials used as ration were proximally analyzed to determine their nutritional values.Average daily gain(ADG),feed consumption and feed conversion ratio(FCR)were taken to determine the pigs’performance.Feed cost using local market prices was estimated in knowing the ability of agricultural waste product and food industry to substitute commercial feed.Tabulation was used to analyse the data.The result of this research indicates that the usage of agricultural and food industries’wastes as the alternative components of pigs’feed to substitute the commercial ones does not reduce the pigs’performance and production.Among three rations that use agricultural and food industry wastes,ration with the combination of 25% waste and 75% commercial feed had the best FCR.On the other hand,a mixture of 75% waste and 25% commercial feed is the most economic one,and able to reduce the cost of feeding up to 35.86%.

Perception of Agricultural Science/Home Economics as a Career among Senior Secondary School Students in Abia State, Nigeria

Ibeku High School in Umuahia Municipality was chosen for this project based on the criteria set by the supervising bodies; the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria （ARCN）, and the coordinating Research Institute; the National Root Crops Research Institute （NRCRI）, Umudike. Adopting a participatory approach involving the research team, students and agricultural science teachers, some tuber and root crops-based technologies were demonstrated at the school farm. One hundred and nine respondents drawn for the study was to assess their interest and career in agriculture and occupational values. Students make important decisions that are strongly linked to their attitudes towards such activities. Poor student enrolment into agricultural professionals have been blamed on poor emolument of agricultural personnel and lack of motivational incentives in accordance with the nature of the profession among others, resulting to the profession＇s unattractiveness to young minds. In Nigeria, the attitude of youths towards agriculture as a profession has been responsible for the low level of agricultural production in the country. The main solution to the problem is getting young people involved in agriculture despite the fact that many people portray agriculture as a life of penury; thus the urgent need to change the negative view of agriculture and encourage them to embrace the vocation. The young people or youth have been identified as constituting the major resource base for any country which wants to embark on any meaningful agricultural and rural development projects. The focus of this study was to assess the influence of students＇ attitudes, enrolment and choice of agriculture as a profession in Ibeku High School in Umuahia Municipality. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents were males, while 41.0% were females and they were all single. About 9.1% of the respondents belonged to the Young Farmers＇ Club （YFC） at school, while a greater percentage of the students had interest in the pursuit of other careers than agriculture. The Government should enforce policies of establishing farms in schools, well equipped and with experienced teaching staff in agriculture to advance the profession to a higher level.

Characteristics and Functions of Cooperative Economic Organizations for Water-saving Irrigation in Agricultural Development in Arid Areas

Agricultural cooperative economic organization for water-saving irrigation in arid areas is a new form of economic organization in production,operation and management during the application process of water-saving irrigation technologies.Currently,there are few researches on this cooperative economic organization.In this study,connotations of cooperative economic organizations for water-saving irrigation are specifically defined,and the characteristics and functions of this cooperative economic organization are analyzed.Based on that,several suggestions are proposed on the continuous development of cooperative economic organizations for water-saving irrigation.

Bottleneck of Modern Agricultural Development and Countermeasures in Qinzhou in the Context of Beibu Gulf Economic Zone

The situation of agriculture in Qinzhou was introduced firstly.And then,the bottleneck of the development of modern agriculture in Qinzhou was pointed out,which including considerable effects of natural disasters,insufficient agricultural investment,backward infrastructure,inadequate agricultural ST innovation and promotion,low industrialization,incomplete agricultural chain,poor capacity in resisting market risks,and lagged manpower resources in rural areas.Finally,the countermeasures were proposed for development of Qinzhou＇s modern agriculture,including defining the characteristics of agricultural products,formulating scientific agricultural planning,strengthening agricultural science and technology innovation,training and on-site guidance,cultivation and brand strategy of agricultural leading enterprises,establishing agricultural disaster prevention mechanism and vigorously developing ecological agriculture tourism.

Global Change in Agricultural Flash Drought over the 21st Century

Agricultural flash droughts are high-impact phenomena, characterized by rapid soil moisture dry down. The ensuing dry conditions can persist for weeks to months, with detrimental effects on natural ecosystems and crop cultivation. Increases in the frequency of these rare events in a future warmer climate would have significant societal impact. This study uses an ensemble of 10 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP) models to investigate the projected change in agricultural flash drought during the 21st century. Comparison across geographical regions and climatic zones indicates that individual events are preceded by anomalously low relative humidity and precipitation, with long-term trends governed by changes in temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture. As a result of these processes, the frequency of both upperlevel and root-zone flash drought is projected to more than double in the mid-and high latitudes over the 21st century, with hot spots developing in the temperate regions of Europe, and humid regions of South America, Europe, and southern Africa.

Design of an agricultural economic statistical digitalized system

To improve the efficiency of the management of large farms, a digitalized system of economic statistics is designed based on the Internet platform of the digitalized agricultural integrated system of Friendship Farm, the largest farm in the world. The system can also realize data storage by using the access databank technology. A dynamic website system, based on ASP technology, is used to implement the on-line inquiry of the statistical index of the agricultural economy and the diagrams of the index every year. Furthermore, it can provide the value of comprehensive indicators of farms' economic profits for every year and a trend chart of the comprehensive appraisal of economic development, by using principal component analysis. An early-warning indicator boundary is decided based on the majority principle. The system can realize the farm's terminal data input with effective data-collecting channels and a normative gathering scope and system. This system breaks through the stand-alone database system in agricultural digitalized research to realize the database system in the Internet environment by integrating the existing technologies in China. The system lays a foundation for the further integrated research on the network platform of the digitalized agricultural integrated system in Friendship Farm.

Construction of Eco-agricultural Tourist Product Mode from the Perspective of Circular Economy

Concepts and connotations of circular economy and eco-agricultural tourism were introduced,and feasibility of applying circular economy in eco-agricultural tourism was further studied.It was stressed that development of eco-agricultural tourism complies with the theme of resource recycling,moreover,both eco-agricultural tourist products and circular economy value environment protection,and target at the win-win of ecological and economic benefits.From the perspective of circular economy,the construction of eco-agricultural tourist product mode was studied,construction of eco-agricultural tourist areas,catering and accommodation areas and traffic construction of eco-agricultural scenic areas were discussed.The study stressed that connotations of circular economy can be used to restrain eco-agricultural tourism,and realize recycling and sustainable development of resources.

Health risk assessment of trace metal(loid)s in agricultural soils based on Monte Carlo simulation coupled with positive matrix factorization model in Chongqing, southwest China

This study aimed to investigate the pollution characteristics, source apportionment, and health risks associated with trace metal(loid)s(TMs) in the major agricultural producing areas in Chongqing, China. We analyzed the source apportionment and assessed the health risk of TMs in agricultural soils by using positive matrix factorization(PMF) model and health risk assessment(HRA) model based on Monte Carlo simulation. Meanwhile, we combined PMF and HRA models to explore the health risks of TMs in agricultural soils by different pollution sources to determine the priority control factors. Results showed that the average contents of cadmium(Cd), arsenic (As), lead(Pb), chromium(Cr), copper(Cu), nickel(Ni), and zinc(Zn) in the soil were found to be 0.26, 5.93, 27.14, 61.32, 23.81, 32.45, and 78.65 mg/kg, respectively. Spatial analysis and source apportionment analysis revealed that urban and industrial sources, agricultural sources, and natural sources accounted for 33.0%, 27.7%, and 39.3% of TM accumulation in the soil, respectively. In the HRA model based on Monte Carlo simulation, noncarcinogenic risks were deemed negligible(hazard index <1), the carcinogenic risks were at acceptable level(10^(-6)<total carcinogenic risk ≤ 10^(-4)), with higher risks observed for children compared to adults. The relationship between TMs, their sources, and health risks indicated that urban and industrial sources were primarily associated with As, contributing to 75.1% of carcinogenic risks and 55.7% of non-carcinogenic risks, making them the primary control factors. Meanwhile, agricultural sources were primarily linked to Cd and Pb, contributing to 13.1% of carcinogenic risks and 21.8% of non-carcinogenic risks, designating them as secondary control factors.

Economic evaluation of agricultural pollution control options for China

Environmental sustainability has become a policy priority in China. In agriculture, China has had major success in rehabilitating desertified lands through programs to convert steeply-sloped cropland to forest and limit grazing on sensitive grasslands. However, little has been done in terms of policies for agricultural nutrient management. Runoff and leaching of nutrients in chemical fertilizers and livestock manure are widely acknowledged as significant problems in China. This paper presents an evaluation of agricultural nonpoint pollution control options for China. Options analyzed include design standards（command ＆ control）, performance standards, and design and performance incentives. Evaluation criteria include economic efficiency and effectiveness, environmental impact and risk, and social criteria such as equity and food security. The evaluation indicates that the best options for China involve subsidies to farmers for changing production practices in order to reduce nonpoint emissions, combined with appropriate farmer education and technical assistance.

Research on Agricultural Economic Development under the Background of Urbanization

Agriculture is the basic industry of China and the support of all other industries. In order to clarify the impact of urbanization on China＇s agriculture, a cointegration test was conducted between the urbanization rate and the total agricultural output value in China during the past 30 years of 1986-2015. The results showed that the development of urbanization and agricultural economy had no severe effect on weakening the agricultural economy in China, while on the contrary, there was a long-term equilibrium relationship between the two, which was only limited to a certain range, and in the future high development of urbanization of China, the development of agricultural economy would face great challenges. Therefore, China should specify cultivated land use, strengthen the supervision standard of land circulation; increase investment in science and technology, improve the efficiency of agricultural output; optimize financial support for agriculture, enhance the enthusiasm of farmers; cultivate new agricultural operators, promote the process of agricultural industrialization, so as to form economies of scale and explore a new road of urbanization which is not at the expense of the cost of agricultural economy.