Transfer of Chinese Farming Labourers Accelerates

The results from a recent s tudy show that in the past five years,the transfer of rural labourers from agri-cultural work to non-agricultural sectors has accelerated and some 50 million rural labourers have made the switch.This figure was produced by the State Statistical Bureau(SSB)based on data from Chind s 1%popu-1ation sample survey and annual popu-lation statistics.

Analysis of Labour-Use Patterns among Small-Holder Cocoa Farmers in South Western Nigeria

Labour is generally in short supply in peasant production particularly in the rural areas in Nigeria. There is also an unpredictable pattern of use of labour in cocoa farms. This has a negative implication on the level and quality of farm output among small holder farmers. The study investigated the effects of labour use patterns on productivity of cocoa farms in south western Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select the respondents and the data were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics and stochastic efficiency frontier function. Many farms （80%） were less than 5 hectares in size and sharecropping was the most dominant of the labour types on the farms. Adult male labour constituted about 69% of the total labour- use on the plantations and the majority of the labour was involved in the application of agrochemicals and harvesting of cocoa pods. The quantity of harvested cocoa beans, size of cleared understoreys and quantity of applied agrochemicals significantly affected （at 5% level） the labour-use efficiency in cocoa plantations. Poor remunerations often discourage prospective farm labour from participating in cocoa production. Better farm labour supply level could be achieved if the remuneration for farm labour is handsomely increased.

Labour and Multi-factor Productivity Analysis and Their Impact on Operations： A Case Study of a Large Poultry Farm

This paper investigates a large integrated poultry farm in terms of its operations, its labour, and multi-factor productivity based on the operations data received from two processing plants over a period of 15 months. The purpose of this paper is to： （a） identify and classify various types of costs that impact the operational success of the farm; （b） collect data, compute labour productivity, multi-factor productivity, rejects, and losses for the two plants; （c） compare the two processing plants of the company from various perspectives, such as rejection in products, process losses, and different types of costs; and （d） recommend ways to improve the productivity and operations of the processing plants to produce good quality products and reduce wastes during the production.

Going Home, Staying or Emigrating： Former WWII-Forced Labourers in Ukraine, Great Britain and Germany

Former WWII-forced labourers have dealt with their experiences in various ways. Migrations before, during and after the war have made a lasting impact. So there are individual and collective ways of dealing with these experiences. In an internationally comparative approach, commonalities and differences of these ways will be analysed within the contexts of the respective societal structures, political systems and of the evolving cultures of commemoration since 1945 in three different countries： （1） Ukraine as it was the origin of one of the biggest single national groups of forced labourers; （2） Germany as it was the country that initiated and orchestrated the Europe-wide system of forced labour, but also coerced some of its own citizens to work; and （3） England as it was the most important immigration country for former forced labourers within Europe, while there were also British Prisoners of War who had to perform forced labour; the relation between individual and collective memories with regard to the specific experiences of the former forced labourers is also taken into consideration. Finally, the understanding of the term ＂forced labour＂ that has been developed within historiography is contrasted with the subjective evaluations of the people concerned.

Tide of Migrant Labourers:Transfer of Surplus Rural Labour Force

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Major Characteristics for the Transfer of Rural Surplus Labourers

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The Impacts and Causes of Land Fragmentation on Farm Productivity: Case Review of East African Countries

This report provides an overall assessment of land fragmentation problems in East Africa. Many parts of East Africa have become highly fragmented, putting development systems and activities in these areas at risk of complete collapse. Land fragmentation occurs when land gets converted for agriculture, industrialization, or urbanization, invaded by non-local plants, or enclosed for individual use and by subdividing farmlands into subsequent smaller units called parcels with varying average farm sizes. Fragmentation results from inappropriate agricultural development processes and ineffective land use planning that fails to recognize how farmland is used, and the importance of its interconnected areas. Insecurity of tenure and resource rights are key factors in making this possible. Land fragmentation is one of the key reasons why the ability of most resources in East Africa becomes scarcer, and those remaining become “privatized” by more powerful community members—keen to maintain their access to them. Such individualistic attitudes are new and disadvantage the poorest even further by affecting the traditional customary safety nets and agricultural outputs. Neither the government nor customary governance systems effectively protect resource access for the poorest. This review summary report identifies the key causes, measures, and implications, government interventions, and the common remedies to land fragmentation problems in the East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania including neighboring Ethiopia, and the Sudan. The findings indicated from 2005 to 2015, the population kept increasing for all the named countries in East Africa with Rwanda and Uganda having a substantial increase in population density. The study review further explores the trend in the performance of agriculture by average farm sizes within the intervals of five years by highlighting their strong linkages and found that the average farm size has declined drastically, especially for Kenya. This can only mean that small farms kept becoming smaller and smaller and that there were more small-scale farmers. The results further depicted that the major and commonly cultivated food crops among the East African countries include maize, sorghum, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, Irish potatoes, beans, peas, etc., with maize yields (Mt/ha) in 2003 for Uganda being the highest (1.79 Mt/ha) and the lowest in Rwanda (0.77 Mt/ha) respectively. Therefore, from the review results, recommendations are being made as to how the negative impacts of land fragmentation on agricultural productivity can be reduced or mitigated. One way is by community sensitization and awareness about the importance of land consolidation and its proposition on farm productivity.

Wind farms increase land surface temperature and reduce vegetation productivity in the Inner Mongolia

Wind power has been developing rapidly as a key measure to mitigate human-driven global warming.The under-standing of the development and impacts of wind farms on local climate and vegetation is of great importance for their rational use but is still limited.In this study,we combined remote sensing and on-site investigations to identify wind farm locations in Inner Mongolia and performed landscape pattern analyses using Fragstats.We explored the impacts of wind farms on land surface temperature(LST)and vegetation net primary productivity(NPP)between 1990 and 2020 by contrasting these metrics in wind farms with those in non-wind farm areas.The results showed that the area of wind farms increased rapidly from 1.2 km2 in 1990 to 10,755 km2 in 2020.Spatially,wind farms are mainly clustered in three aggregation areas in the center.Further,wind farms increased nighttime LST,with a mean value of 0.23℃,but had minor impacts on the daytime LST.Moreover,wind farms caused a decline in NPP,especially over forest areas,with an average reduction of 12.37 GC/m^(2).Given the impact of wind farms on LST and NPP,we suggest that the development of wind farms should fully consider their direct and potential impacts.This study provides scientific guidance on the spatial pattern of future wind farms.

Smart Farming for Sustainable Rice Production:An Insight into Application,Challenge,and Future Prospect

Rice has a huge impact on socio-economic growth,and ensuring its sustainability and optimal utilization is vital.This review provides an insight into the role of smart farming in enhancing rice productivity.The applications of smart farming in rice production including yield estimation,smart irrigation systems,monitoring disease and growth,and predicting rice quality and classifications are highlighted.The challenges of smart farming in sustainable rice production to enhance the understanding of researchers,policymakers,and stakeholders are discussed.Numerous efforts have been exerted to combat the issues in rice production in order to promote rice sector development.The effective implementation of smart farming in rice production has been facilitated by various technical advancements,particularly the integration of the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.The future prospects of smart farming in transforming existing rice production practices are also elucidated.Through the utilization of smart farming,the rice industry can attain sustainable and resilient production systems that could mitigate environmental impact and safeguard food security.Thus,the rice industry holds a bright future in transforming current rice production practices into a new outlook in rice smart farming development.

Farm buildings and agri-food transitions in Southern France:Mapping dynamics using a stakeholder-based diagnosis

This study's goal is to present a dynamic portrait of the farm-buildings environment in Occitania,in Southern France,in order to better identify the transitions underway in agri-food chains.To this end,we undertook a ter-ritorial diagnosis based on actor statements,using 28 semi-structured interviews across Occitania.This diagnosis was enriched by graphic modelling,which enabled the spatialization of the dynamics described.We show that the process of standardisation of farm buildings prevails in the majority of the territories studied.This phenomenon has intensified in recent years with the development of vast photovoltaic-roofed sheds,accentuating the farm-land conversion and soil sealing.At the same time,in areas with strong environmental,landscape and heritage contexts,a'new adventure in farm buildings'(2022 survey)is taking shape.It is primarily driven by local short food chains,which rely on self-construction,repurposing and refurbishment,the sharing of tools and equipment,and which favour the use and reuse of local resources.This study shows that farm-buildings dynamics crystallise many challenges confronting the reterritorialisation of agriculture and food production.

Mobile genetic elements facilitate the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes in multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae from duck farms

Multidrug-resistant(MDR)Enterobacteriaceae critically threaten duck farming and public health.The phenotypes,genotypes,and associated mobile genetic elements(MGEs)of MDR Enterobacteriaceae isolated from 6 duck farms in Zhejiang Province,China,were investigated.A total of 215 isolates were identified as Escherichia coli(64.65%),Klebsiella pneumoniae(12.09%),Proteus mirabilis(10.23%),Salmonella(8.84%),and Enterobacter cloacae(4.19%).Meanwhile,all isolates were resistant to at least two antibiotics.Most isolates carried tet(A)(85.12%),blaTEM(78.60%)and sul1(67.44%)resistance genes.Gene co-occurrence analysis showed that the resistance genes were associated with IS26 and integrons.A conjugative IncFII plasmid pSDM004 containing all the above MGEs was detected in Proteus mirabilis isolate SDM004.This isolate was resistant to 18 antibiotics and carried the blaNDM-5 gene.MGEs,especially plasmids,are the primary antibiotic resistance gene transmission route in duck farms.These findings provide a theoretical basis for the rational use of antibiotics in farms which are substantial for evaluating public health and food safety.

Technical efficiency of cocoa farms at varying elevation levels in Davao City, Philippines: implications to sustainable upland farming systems

Elevation is one of many components that influence agriculture, and this in turn affects the level of both inputs and outputs of farmers. This article focuses on the productivity and technical efficiency of 100 cocoa farms using cross-sectional data from areas ranging from 190 to 1021 m above sea level which were classified as low, medium, and high elevation in Davao City, considered as the chocolate capital of the Philippines. Using stochastic frontier analysis, the results showed that the cost of inputs per ha and the number of cocoa trees per ha significantly increase yield. Farms at high elevations were less technically efficient, as this entails lower temperatures and increased rainfall, and cocoa farming in those areas and conditions can be more challenging, especially with changes in farming practices, terrain, and distance to markets. Other significant variables were age of cocoa farms, married farmers, and age of the farmers. Older farms may be more developed, farmers who are married benefit from their spouses being able to readily contribute as farm labor, and lastly, older farmers' inefficiency may likely stem from nonadaptation of newer farming practices. With an average technical efficiency of 0.61, 0.63, and 0.26 in low, medium, and high elevation areas, respectively, farmers therefore have an incentive to improve farm practices and consider topographical variations found in high elevation areas. Recommendations for the improvement of technical efficiency of cocoa farms are better connectivity to markets, enhancing farm practices, and continuation and improvement of government programs on cocoa with an added emphasis on research. For farmers in high elevation areas, mitigating solutions such as sustainable agriculture practices and ecolabelling are key to improving efficiency and minimizing the potential negative impact on upland farming systems. Moreover, such adaptation measures may also contribute to sustainability of cocoa farming in high elevation areas.

Transient Stability Preventive Control of Wind Farm Connected Power System Considering the Uncertainty

To address uncertainty as well as transient stability constraints simultaneously in the preventive control of windfarm systems, a novel three-stage optimization strategy is established in this paper. In the first stage, the probabilisticmulti-objective particle swarm optimization based on the point estimate method is employed to cope with thestochastic factors. The transient security region of the system is accurately ensured by the interior point methodin the second stage. Finally, the verification of the final optimal objectives and satisfied constraints are enforcedin the last stage. Furthermore, the proposed strategy is a general framework that can combine other optimizationalgorithms. The proposed methodology is tested on the modified WSCC 9-bus system and the New England 39-bussystem. The results verify the feasibility of the method.

Contour Farming Suitability of the Black Soil Region in Northeast China and Its Spatial Characteristics

Contour farming technology plays a key role in reducing soil erosion,enhancing water use efficiency,and fostering sustain-able agricultural development,Despite being a straightforward yet efficacious farming technique,it has not seen widespread implement-ation in China.Considering the deteriorating quality of arable lands in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China(BSR-NEC),it is ne-cessary to investigate spatial patterns and identify suitable areas for contour farming in this region.To achieve this objective,spatial autocorrelation and grouping analysis methods were employed to classify the land into four categories of suitability for contour farming:highly suitable,moderately suitable,generally suitable,and unsuitable.The results reveal that:1)the contour farming suitable area in BSR-NEC covers 89861.32 km^(2),accounting for 21.59%of arable land as of 2020.Heilongjiang Province owns the largest suitable area of 32853.68 km^(2),and Inner Mongolia has the highest proportion of 28.89%.2)In terms of the spatial distribution,regions with higher suitability for contour farming are concentrated in the Da Hinggan Mountains region,particularly Nenjiang City(Heilongjiang Province),which has the highest area of 2593.07 km^(2).Areas with a high proportion of suitable arable lands for contour farming are mainly found in the Da Hinggan Mountains and Changbai Mountains regions,with Ergun City(Inner Mongolia)having the highest pro-portion at 47.2%.Regions with higher suitability and proportion are concentrated in the Da Hinggan Mountains region,primarily cover-ing the Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang.3)Regarding spatial clustering,both the area and proportion of suitable contour farming areas exhibit noticeable clustering effects,though not entirely consistent.4)Group analysis results designate 148 counties in BSR-NEC as highly suitable areas,predominantly located in the Changbai Mountains region,Liaodong Peninsula,Hulun Buir Plateau,and the north and south regions of the Da Hinggan Mountains.The zoning of suitable areas for contour farming in BSR-NEC informs the strategic de-velopment of policies and measures,allowing for the implementation of targeted policies in distinct areas suitable for contour farming.This provides a valuable reference for promoting contour farming technology more effectively and efficiently.re effectively and effi-ciently.

GNN Representation Learning and Multi-Objective Variable Neighborhood Search Algorithm for Wind Farm Layout Optimization

With the increasing demand for electrical services,wind farm layout optimization has been one of the biggest challenges that we have to deal with.Despite the promising performance of the heuristic algorithm on the route network design problem,the expressive capability and search performance of the algorithm on multi-objective problems remain unexplored.In this paper,the wind farm layout optimization problem is defined.Then,a multi-objective algorithm based on Graph Neural Network(GNN)and Variable Neighborhood Search(VNS)algorithm is proposed.GNN provides the basis representations for the following search algorithm so that the expressiveness and search accuracy of the algorithm can be improved.The multi-objective VNS algorithm is put forward by combining it with the multi-objective optimization algorithm to solve the problem with multiple objectives.The proposed algorithm is applied to the 18-node simulation example to evaluate the feasibility and practicality of the developed optimization strategy.The experiment on the simulation example shows that the proposed algorithm yields a reduction of 6.1% in Point of Common Coupling(PCC)over the current state-of-the-art algorithm,which means that the proposed algorithm designs a layout that improves the quality of the power supply by 6.1%at the same cost.The ablation experiments show that the proposed algorithm improves the power quality by more than 8.6% and 7.8% compared to both the original VNS algorithm and the multi-objective VNS algorithm.

Identification of Microorganisms in Poultry Farms in N’djamena and the Border Areas of Hadjer-Lamis and Chari-Baguirmi Chad

Introduction: On the outskirts of Ndjamena, semi-industrial poultry farming and traditional poultry farming are practised informally on almost all poultry farms in Chad. This type of poultry farming is faced with real health problems attributable to a lack of monitoring of the vaccination schedule, inadequate compliance with biosecurity measures and poor application of the Ichikawa rule based on the 5 M’s. Objective: The aim of this article is to identify the microorganisms responsible for contamination of poultry farms in the study area. Method: The study was carried out from 28/04/2022 to 31/01/2023 on the basis of 300 samples taken from feed, drinking water, droppings and scrapings from poultry housing surfaces in the 30 farms that served as a framework for our research. Sampling was of the simple random type, and farms were selected on the basis of the farmers’ consent. The data were recorded on pre-established survey forms. Our study was cross-sectional, descriptive and prospective. Bacteria were isolated using the reference method NF EN ISO 6579 for Salmonella spp. and cultured on the specific medium eosin methylene blue (EMB) for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas and Citrobacter freundii. Results: The following results emerged from this study: Escherichia coli (5.33%), Pseudomonas (1.33%), Citrobacter freundii (12%) and Salmonella paratyphi (21.68%). Conclusion: Of the 300 samples analysed, 121 (40.33%) were contaminated with pathogens. This high level of contamination is a health problem. The study shows that biosecurity is less satisfactory on the farms visited. Nevertheless, farms with a very satisfactory level of biosafety ensure food safety and variety for the population.

基于遗传Data Farming的公共政策优化仿真模型

为了解决公共政策优化仿真时考察点不全面及耗费时间大的问题,提出了基于遗传Data Farming的公共政策优化仿真模型。所提出的模型中,Data Farming被用于全面地考察输入参数空间中各输入参数水平对应的输出响应,通过把仿真过程的输出过程看作适应度的计算,遗传算法被用于优化仿真过程,提高优化效率。分析了公共政策作用效果的影响因素,并介绍了传统的Data Farming技术,然后从仿真目标、模型框架、算法等三方面介绍了所提出的优化仿真模型。最后进行了实验,证明了所提出模型的有效性。

Landscape Design of Folk Workshop Garden in Jifa Leisure Farm of Beidaihe

In view of the problems in the landscape design of present leisure farms,Folk Workshop Garden in Jifa Leisure Farm of Beidaihe is taken for an example,general conditions of the base,design layout and functional zoning are analyzed to provide advices for the landscape design of similar leisure farms.

区域经济发展Data Farming决策支持技术及其应用

为解决现有的决策支持技术不能解决的区域经济历史数据稀少的问题,提出了区域经济发展Data Farming决策支持技术。所提出的技术采用基于智能体仿真的Data Farming技术,对参数空间进行遍历搜索,以利用各个参数值对应的仿真结果来获取大量的数据,使决策者可以有效地识别到系统的最优控制值,并了解在控制值下的系统风险性。最后,以江门市社会消费品零售总额的控制优化为例,说明了该技术的有效性。

基于FARM的我国股市流动性溢价的实证研究

流动性风险和流动性溢价是影响资产价格的重要因素。基于自由流通量调整的收益模型假设系统流动性风险为资产价格的风险因子,资产的流动性价差与其自由流通额的倒数成比例。中国股票市场全流通条件下的股本结构为利用FARM模型研究流动性风险与流动性溢价提供了十分有利的条件。文章通过选取2006年7月至2010年6月深圳股票市场与上海股票市场共1168只样本股进行实证分析。