Large-scale Adoption of RE Micro-fertilizer in Agriculture in China

Application of rare earths as manure in an agricultural engineering was adopted firstly inChina. In 7Five-year-plan period this practice has spread out widely. Accumulative area, onwhich RE-fertilizer has used, accounted for a cipher of 6.17 millions ha. An yield increase ofgrains, vegetable oils, cotton and legumen accounted to a million tonnes, meantime the sugar in-creased by 0.2 millions tonnes. It is reported that Ministry of Agriculture had taken this techniqueinto account as a subject of "Bumper harvest plan" for more ten Provinces (or Autonomous Re-gions) recently. It is estimated that at the end of 8th Five-year-plan the applied area will account to6.67 millions ha annually.

Does Internet use promote the adoption of agricultural technology?Evidence from 1449 farm households in 14 Chinese provinces

China is characterized as ’a large country with many smallholder farmers’ whose participation in modern agriculture is key to the country’s modern agriculture development. Promoting smallholder farmers’ adoption of modern agricultural production technology is one effective way to improve the capabilities of smallholder farmers. This paper aims to explore the impact of Internet use on the adoption of agricultural production technology by smallholder farmers based on a survey of 1 449 smallholders across 14 provinces in China. The results suggest that Internet use can significantly promote technology adoption, with the probability of adopting new crop varieties, water-saving irrigation technology and straw-returning technology increasing by 0.200, 0.157 and 0.155, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of Internet use is found to be heterogeneous with a greater effect on smallholder farmers having low education levels, limited training, and high incomes. To increase agricultural production technology adoption by smallholders, rural Internet infrastructure and Internet use promotion should be the focus for the Chinese government.

Soil carbon sequestration,carbon markets,and conservation agriculture practices:A hypothetical examination in Mozambique

Payments for Environmental Services(PES)are relatively novel mechanisms whereby the adoption of sustainable management practices by a stakeholder is rewarded by incentives linked to external markets.Adoption of PES for conservation agricultural practices(CAPS)by smallholder farmers may provide opportunities to increase household income or cover the technology costs of adoption if the carbon sequestration benefits of CAPS are quantifiable,adoption rates are accelerated and maintained,a mechanism exists whereby carbon sequestration services can be compensated,and carbon offset exchange markets are viable.This research suggests a methodology to examine a PES market for carbon offsets generated by the adoption of CAPS by farmers in Mozambique.Assuming a cumulative adoption of 60%over a 20-year period,revenue from PES market participation to CA adopters was two times higher than revenue earned when disadoption occurred midway through the simulation.Lower adoption targets are associated with higher per household returns when fertilizer rates typical to the region are increased.Establishing and maintaining a sustainable PES system in the study region would require significant investment in time and resources.The lack of on-the-ground institutions or local support for such a program would also challenge successful implementation.Finally,the programs where participant success depends on external markets,such as the hypothetical one suggested here,are subject to the ebb and flow of foreign demand for carbon offsets.Addressing these three broad constraints to a PES/CAPS program in the region would require grass-roots driven policy initiatives with buy-in at multiple social,economic,and political levels.