The impact of demographic dynamics on food consumption and its environmental outcomes:Evidence from China

With increasing population and changing demographics,food consumption has experienced a significant transition in quantity and quality.However,a dearth of knowledge remains regarding its environmental impacts and how it responds to demographic dynamics,particularly in emerging economies like China.Using the two-stage Quadratic Almost Demand System(QUAIDS)model,this study empirically examines the impact of demographic dynamics on food consumption and its environmental outcomes based on the provincial data from 2000 to 2020 in China.Under various scenarios,according to changes in demographics,we extend our analysis to project the long-term trend of food consumption and its environmental impacts,including greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions,water footprint(WF),and land appropriation(LA).The results reveal that an increase in the proportion of senior people significantly decreases the consumption of grain and livestock meat and increases the consumption of poultry,egg,and aquatic products,particularly for urban residents.Moreover,an increase in the proportion of males in the population leads to higher consumption of poultry and aquatic products.Correspondingly,in the current scenario of an increased aging population and sex ratio,it is anticipated that GHG emissions,WF,and LA are likely to decrease by 1.37,2.52,and 3.56%,respectively.More importantly,in the scenario adhering to the standards of nutritional intake according to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents in 2022,GHG emissions,WF,and LA in urban areas would increase by 12.78,20.94,and 18.32%,respectively.Our findings suggest that changing demographics should be considered when designing policies to mitigate the diet-environment-health trilemma and achieve sustainable food consumption.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of cultivated land use eco-efficiency and its influencing factors in China from 2000 to 2020

Improving cultivated land use eco-efficiency(CLUE)can effectively promote agricultural sustainability,particularly in developing countries where CLUE is generally low.This study used provincial-level data from China to evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of CLUE from 2000 to 2020 and identified the influencing factors of CLUE by using a panel Tobit model.In addition,given the undesirable outputs of agricultural production,we incorporated carbon emissions and nonpoint source pollution into the global benchmark-undesirable output-super efficiency-slacks-based measure(GB-US-SBM)model,which combines global benchmark technology,undesirable output,super efficiency,and slacks-based measure.The results indicated that there was an upward trend in CLUE in China from 2000 to 2020,with an increase rate of 2.62%.The temporal evolution of CLUE in China could be classified into three distinct stages:a period of fluctuating decrease(2000-2007),a phase of gradual increase(2008-2014),and a period of rapid growth(2015-2020).The major grain-producing areas(MPAs)had a lower CLUE than their counterparts,namely,non-major grain-production areas(non-MPAs).The spatial agglomeration effect followed a northeast-southwest strip distribution;and the movement path of barycentre revealed a"P"shape,with Luoyang City,Henan Province,as the centre.In terms of influencing factors of CLUE,investment in science and technology played the most vital role in improving CLUE,while irrigation index had the most negative effect.It should be noted that these two influencing factors had different impacts on MPAs and non-MPAs.Therefore,relevant departments should formulate policies to enhance the level of science and technology,improve irrigation condition,and promote sustainable utilization of cultivated land.

Asset specificity and farmers' intergenerational succession willingness of apple management

Understanding the factors behind apple farmers’willingness to pass on the management of their farms to their descendants is crucial to the continuity of apple production.Due to the high specificity of the human capital,physical assets,land assets,and geographical location in apple production,this study used a binary logistic regression and a mediating effect model to explore the impact of asset specificity on farmers’intergenerational succession willingness of apple management(FISWAM)and to examine the mediating effects of loss aversion in the impact of asset specificity on the FISWAM.The results showed that about 18.68%of the respondents expressed willingness to transfer their apple business between generations,and the FISWAM was generally weak.In addition to the negative impact of geographical location specificity(GLS),human capital specificity(HCS),physical assets specificity(PAS),and land assets specificity(LAS)can enhance the FISWAM.Loss aversion plays a partial mediating role in the impact of PAS,LAS,and GLS on the FISWAM.

Can Industrial Structure Upgrading Restrain Industrial Land Expansion?Evidence from China

China has made great achievements in industrial development and is transforming into a powerful manufacturing country.Meanwhile,the industrial land scale is also expanding.However,whether industrial structure upgrading achieves the purpose of restraining industrial land expansion remains unanswered.By calculating the industrial land structure index(ILSI)and industrial land expansion scale(ILES),this study analyzed their temporal and spatial distribution characteristics at both regional and city levels from 2007to 2020 in China.Results show that industrial land expansion presents a different trend in the four regions,the ILES in the eastern region is the largest,and the speed of industrial land expansion has declined since 2013,but it has gradually increased since 2016.The ILSI of the eastern and central regions is higher than that of the western and northeastern regions.Furthermore,a spatial Durbin model(SDM)has been established to estimate the spatial effect of industrial structure upgrading on industrial land expansion from 2007 to2020.Notably,industrial structure upgrading has not slowed industrial land expansion.The eastern and western regions require a greater amount of industrial land while upgrading the industrial structure.The improvement of the infrastructure level and international trade level has promoted industrial land expansion.

Regional difference and dynamic evolution of development quality of power industry in China

To achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and maintain high-quality economic growth,China is currently striving to improve the quality of development of its power sector.In this regard,revealing the regional differences and evolutionary trends in the development quality of China’power sector has a high value to inspire the next improvement direction toward how to integrate regional power recourses to an overall optimization level.Motived by this purpose,this paper uses the entropy method to evaluate the com‐prehensive and subsystem indices of the development quality of the power industry,and reveals their re‐gional differences and evolutionary trends with the help of the Dagum Gini coefficient and Kernel density es‐timation methods.The findings show that:There are obvious regional differences in the development quality of China’s power industry,and the differences are steadily declining in all regions except the West.Regional differences are mainly derived from inter-regional differences,with the largest inter-regional differences in the East-Northeast region.Intra-regional differences show a distribution pattern of East>West>North‐east>Center.

High-quality development of China’s power industry: Measurement, spatial pattern, and improvement paths

As the largest manufacturing country,China is striving to improve the development quality of its power industry with the goal of Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality,in order to sustain its high-quality economic growth.In this regard,it is of importance to reveal both the regional development level of China’s power sector and its characteristics in terms of inspiring the next improvement direction.Motived by this purpose,this paper constructs an evaluation indicator system from three dimensions at the province level based on the connotation of high-quality development of the power industry(HDPI).Next,it calculates the HDPI indexes of 30 provinces and explore their development trend and spatial pattern.The results indicate that the total comprehensive performance of all regions was improved in general in the recent decade,but the spatial distribution characteristics of clean,low-carbon,safe and efficient are different.In the aspects of improvement space in future,not only do actively ameliorate the related management regimes or technical fields so as to improve the corresponding indicators’value,but also passively rely on the macro-development such as China’s urbanization level improvement,technological level improvement,and industrial structure upgrading as usual.

Use of Polymerase Chain Reaction for Identification of the Pathogen and Management of Potato Soft Rot with Zinc Application

Effect of different Zinc doses was investigated against Erwinia carotovora ssp. atroseptica, the potato blackleg/soft rot causing organism, during 2009 and 2010 in Department of Plant Pathology and Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar-Pakistan. Out of 200 tested samples, 21 of them were proved to be Eca. However, these tentative Eca isolates showed some characteristics which were unexpected for Eca. We, therefore, decided to perform Polymerase Chain Reaction using Eca-specific primers, Eca1F and Eca2R for confirm identification. For disease management, at the time of sowing, pots containing 5 kg sterilized soil were applied with Zinc in four different treatments i.e. 8 mg, 10 mg, 12 mg and 14 mg along with one control. Results indicated that 12 mg (4.8 kg Zn ha-1) were better doses in controlling the disease up to 73% and increasing the yield up to 117% as compared to control plants.

Water diversion and agricultural production:Evidence from China

Water diversion can alleviate water shortages caused by the uneven distribution of water resources.China’s Southto-North Water Diversion Project(SNWD)is the largest water diversion project worldwide.Based on the prefecturelevel data of China’s Huang-Huai-Hai Plain from 2000 to 2020,this study employs an empirical strategy of Differencesin-Differences(DID)to analyze the impact of SNWD on agricultural production.The results show that SNWD has significantly increased agricultural production,measured by the agricultural value added.The estimated results of the benchmark model remain robust when the contemporaneous policy is addressed,an alternative outcome is used,subsamples are estimated,and alternative estimation techniques are employed.This study argues that the potential impact mechanism may be that SNWD significantly increases the acreage for cash crops but reduces that for grain crops.Heterogeneity analysis shows that in prefectures with high temperature or land potential,SNWD’s impact on agricultural value added is relatively low.In contrast,in areas with prolonged sunshine or high slopes,SNWD’s impact on agricultural value added is relatively large.Given the low added value of grain crops,the government should consider strengthening food security by subsidizing water supply to sustain grain production.

Agricultural Vulnerability to Drought in China's Agro-pastoral Ecotone:A Case Study of Yulin City,Shaanxi Province

Agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China is the prominent area for agricultural production,but it is also the most typical ecological fragile area with frequent drought disasters.Taking Yulin City at Shaanxi Province in China as the case area,the paper aims to investigate the spatio-temporal changes of agricultural vulnerability to drought in China’s agro-pastoral ecotone in the period 2000 to2020.The results show that:1)the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City has shifted from high vulnerability in the period2000–2010 to low vulnerability in the period 2011–2020.2)There exist obvious spatio-temporal differences of the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City during the research period.3)Four sensitive events and 14 resilient events were identified in the research and the crops of Yulin had become more resilient to drought.Finally,the paper put forward with policy implications to make adaptive strategies of agriculture to climate change in China’s agro-pastoral ecotone in the future,e.g.,carrying out agricultural zoning based on agricultural production conditions,intensifying the construction of disaster prevention and relief system,and integrating with modern agricultural technology to develop new type agriculture.

Do Improvements of living standards lead to growth of obesity?Evidence from Chinese adults

This study estimates the impacts of income on body mass indices(BMIs) of male and female adults from both urban and rural areas in China under the neoclassic theory of obesity, using China Health and Nutrition Survey data during 1991–2011.Results of this study show that incomes has a significant inverted U-shaped impact on weight for both urban and rural males while having a negative effect on weight for urban females and positive effect on BMI for rural female, suggesting that further income growth is expected to lead to continuing growth of obesity for both urban and rural male adults as well as for rural female adults. Moreover, the strenuousness of physical activity, which is represented by types of jobs, significantly reduced the BMI for all adults except for urban females, implying that a decrease in the strenuousness of physical activity stemming from economic development and technological changes is an important factor leading to the growth of obesity for all adults and rural female adults.

Current Situation and Demand of Rural Endowment Security in Shaanxi Province

With intensification of population aging and rise in elderly dependency ratio,the demand for endowment security becomes higher and higher,particularly in rural areas.Taking Shaanxi Province as an example,the authors selected people older than 65 in 18 natural villages in north Shaanxi,south Shaanxi and Guanzhong.With the aid of survey data and related official statistical data,they made an evaluation of current situation of the rural endowment security in Shaanxi Province.Results indicate that home-based endowment is the major endowment method of rural elderly,but such method is influenced by family's economic support ability and children's support willingness,thus facing big demand gap.On the basis of analyzing gap problem,the authors recommended that government should increase financial and policy supports,optimize management and monitoring,actively develop non-government organizations,and promote socialization of rural endowment service.

Improve the Competitiveness and Value of Rice Exports of the Mekong Delta Provinces

Purpose: Vietnam rice has long been a product of international stature. In the commodity export of Vietnam, rice always plays as key agricultural commodities, with contributions billions of dollars each year in total export value. It not only contributes to the overall growth of the economy, but also gradually affirms Vietnam’s position on the international rice market. According to General Statistics Office, in 2012, Vietnam produced 43.7 million tonnes of rice and exported record 8.047 million tonnes of rice, contributing to the total export value of $3.689 million. However, it has not still been commensurate with the value and potential of rice from Vietnam. In addition, the fact is that in recent years, although export rice increased sharply, bringing many records for Vietnam, it had lower prices than other rice exporting countries (Thailand, India, Pakistan). So what is the cause and solution to enhance competitiveness and promote export of rice products in Viet Nam? In the increasingly complex international context, besides socio-economic development, security and national defense, food security has become a matter of international concern. The article first discusses the competitiveness, the value of rice exports and the need to improve competitiveness and export value of rice in the Mekong Delta. Then, there are some solutions proposed to improve the competitiveness and export of rice in the Mekong Delta in the coming time.

Optimizing Yield and Quality of Canola Cultivars Using Various Potash Levels

The response of several canola cultivars to different potassium (K) levels was investigated in terms of various agronomic parameters including yields, oil and protein contents in a trial conducted at The University of Agriculture, Peshawar-Pakistan in Rabi 2010-11. Three cultivars including Bulbul-98, Abaseen-95 and Dure-NIFA, with five levels of potassium i.e. 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg&middotha-1 were used in Randomized Complete Block (RCB) design with four replications and factorial arrangement. A larger number of days to 50% flowering (116.6 days), plant height (203.8 cm), leaf area index (4.4), 1000 grain weight (3.5 g), biological yield (13189.3 kg&middotha-1), grain yield (1799.2 kg&middotha-1) and harvest index (13.9%) were obtained in K applied plots than the plots where K was not applied. The highest oil (45.1%) and protein (27.7%) was obtained in plots where K was applied at the rate of 120 and 90 kg&middotha-1, respectively. Among cultivars, Bulbul-98 and Abaseen-95 had higher seed yield and oil percentage. Bulbul-98 had more protein content than Abaseen-95 and Durre-NIFA. On average, cultivars gave higher and at par grain yield at 60, 90 and 120 kg&middotha-1. However, they produced higher and at par oil and protein percentage at 90 and 120 kg&middotha-1. Bul-bul-98 and Abaseen-95 are recommended for higher grain yield and oil content for general culti-vation in Peshawar valley. However, for higher protein content, Bulbul-98 is better. Potassium applied at 60 kg&middotha-1 is recommended for higher grain yield, however, for higher oil and protein content, K at 90 kg&middotha-1 is recommended.

On the Farmers' Role Differentiation and the Effective Implementation of Rural Vitalization Strategy——A Perspective from the Targets,Process and Evaluation of Policy Implementation

During the historical period of securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and striving for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, the 19 th National Congress of the CPC put forward the signi cant deployment of rural vitalization strategy, drawing a great blueprint for the prospect of China's "three issues" of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers and acting as an important focus of these "three issues" in the future. This paper discussed the relationships between farmers' role di erentiation and ve objectives of the rural vitalization strategy on the basis of farmers' role di erentiation and conversion in the process of agriculture and countryside modernization and the interpretation of farmers' role di erentiation and the rural vitalization strategy. Based on the logical relationships between farmers' role di erentiation and the rural vitalization strategy, we discuss the e ective implementation of the rural vitalization strategy in terms of its targets, processes and e ectiveness evaluations. We also propose that the implementation of the rural vitalization strategy can only be implemented when farmers are given the rst priority as strategy subjects, farmers' wills are respected in the implementation process, and farmers' satisfaction is highlighted in the strategy implementation e ectiveness evaluations.

A Positive Mutual Impact between Inclusive Finance and Poverty Alleviation

The contradiction between profitability requirement of commercial finance and non-profitability nature of inclusive finance inhibits bankers' motivation in providing financial services to farmers,further restricting the already narrow financing channels for low-income rural households and preventing them from jumping out of the poverty trap.There is a mutual promotion relationship between inclusive finance and poverty reduction.On one hand,providing affordable and subsidized financial services to farmers can help them increase income steadily; On the other hand,the institutions reap a good payoff by business expansion,a thick base of loyal clients,as well as public recognition,which in turn stimulates the institutes to provide more financial products,improve their service quality and scale up the investment amount for lowincome farmers.Nevertheless,to set off this positive feedback loop process,a forcible intervention by government is needed.On the base of theoretical analysis and practical research,this article brought related advice for financial institutions in order to promote the development of inclusive finance and alleviate the financing difficulties of farmers households to realize poverty alleviation.

Technical efficiency of hybrid maize growers: A stochastic frontier model approach

This study investigated the effect of credit constraints and credit unconstraints on the technical efficiency of hybrid maize growers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province(KPK) of Pakistan. The primary data were collected by a direct elicitation method from 510 maize growers of KPK Province. Stochastic frontier model techniques were used for technical efficiency analyses. The results revealed that the mean technical efficiency difference between the two groups was 10.2%. The results of technical inefficiency effect modeling demonstrated that education of the household head, family size, number of married family members, off-farm income, farming experience, tractor drill, water irrigation through a lined course, certified seed, extension services, household saving variables, and a credit size variable had positive effects on technical efficiency for both credit constrained farmers(CCFs) and credit unconstrained farmers(UCCFs). In addition, age of household head and fragmented land values had negative effects on technical efficiency for both groups. However, the interest rate had positive and negative impacts on the technical efficiency of CCFs and UCCFs, respectively. Our results have significant implications for policies related to land use, interest rate, and banking sector expansion in the rural areas of Pakistan.

Empirical Research on the Developmental Status of Farmer Cooperatives' Function

In the paper, members in farmer cooperatives are selected as investigation subjects. By using fuzzy synthetic evaluation methods, functions of farmer cooperatives, which include six functions as follows: providing technology and information, marketing, processing and transportation, standardized services, and credit services and rights protection, are analyzed. The quantitative analysis is conducted on the developmental status of the functions of farmer cooperatives. The evaluation results are taken as evidence to anticipate the problems in the development of farmer cooperatives and then countermeasures are put forward, including intensifying the construction of actual functions of farmer cooperatives; contracting diversified credit and loan services; improving comprehensive strength of farmer cooperatives and taking the path of combining professional and comprehensive developmental paths. This study improves our knowledge on the development of farmer cooperatives and provides new insights to solve the problems that arise following the development.

Application of optimal harvesting decision model to the analysis of Chinese forestry economic policy

This paper firstly extends the single period forest optimal harvesting decision model to infinite periods,in order to indicate how to determine the optimal rotation period aimed at maximizing forest revenue in all directions when repeat planting and harvesting trees on the same plot of earth till infinite future.The study also analyzes the influence of discounted rates,timber price,harvesting costs,planting costs,and tax on the determination of optimal rotation period;and how the optimal rotation period will change when we introduce the factors of continuously rising timber price and ecological revenue.Secondly,the authors introduce the intergenerational equity principle into the above model to design a resource-exploiting mode which satisfies bom the dynamic efficiency principle and the intergenerational equity principle.Last but not least,the research applies the above model to the analysis of Chinese forestry economic policy and explains the economic theory of institutions such as Government Purchasing Ecological Forest,Tree Compensation,and Forestry Subsidization,which provides a necessary theoretical foundation for future application of these new institutions.Besides,in regard to mis theoretical framework,the authors analyze the necessity of the Natural Forest Protection and Grain for Green projects which are currently being implemented in China.We also point out the emphasis of work to insure the project sustainable and successful.Finally,the research discusses the enterprise's incentive to over-the-quota harvesting and the government's means of restricting such behavior,which highlights the fact mat improved supervision and higher penalties are helpful in restricting over-the-quota harvesting.

The Implementation Path of Professionalization of the Peasantry in Agricultural Modernization

Professionalization of Chinese peasantry is now facing such problems as generally low quality of peasants as a result of talents outflow fragmentation of agricultural production and lack of normal and unified social security system.A series of effective measures should be taken to ensure the achievement of professionalization of the peasantry and agricultural modernization.

On the Consumption Structure of Rural Residents in Xi'an City Based on AIDS Model

Under the background of the financial crisis,expanding domestic demand for stimulating economic role is self-evident. As China has a large rural population,increasing rural residents' income and expanding their consumer demand is becoming the pinnacle of expanding domestic demand. The urban residents have good conditions than more countryside dwellers. Since few articles are dedicated to the research of this group,this article selects rural residents of Xi'an as object,uses AIDS model to analyze the consumption structure of rural residents,and draw the conclusion that increasing cultural recreation,medical and health spending is the main way to increase their incomes.