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Agriculture
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Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities
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Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 46231

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alvydas Baležentis

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Public Governance and Business, Mykolas Romeris University, 08303 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: rural development; innovation management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Tomas Baležentis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics, 01113 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: agricultural economics; energy economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Dalia Štreimikienė

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Guest Editor
Institute of Economics and Rural Development, Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, 03220 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: sustainable development; integrated analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural development spans over multiple interrelated domains, including rural population, resource markets, agricultural production, and environmental systems. The proper balancing of the needs of different stakeholders requires policy interventions that may be facilitated at different levels (international, national, and subnational policies). Therefore, it is important to address multiple social, economic, and environmental issues across different contexts to propose effective guidelines for development of agricultural policies. The spatial differences are crucial for understanding agricultural systems worldwide. Thus, experiences from different corners of the world need to be considered to streamline global agrifood markets and increase the resilience of farms. This Special Issue deals with the complex problematics of agricultural development, with a focus on local policies, sociological considerations, and economic analyses. The quantitative and qualitative approaches can be taken to address the most relevant challenges for contemporary agricultural systems, stemming from sustainability goals, supply chain disruptions, and resilience objectives. The topics to be addressed in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Resource efficiency and productivity in agriculture;
  • Agricultural finance and trade;
  • Agricultural policies and measures;
  • Implementation of cross-cutting objectives in agriculture;
  • Sustainable agricultural development;
  • Sustainable rural development;
  • Local action towards agricultural development;
  • Sociological analysis of rural development issues.

Prof. Dr. Alvydas Baležentis
Prof. Dr. Tomas Baležentis
Prof. Dr. Dalia Štreimikienė
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • rural development
  • agricultural systems
  • resources
  • resilience
  • sustainability

Published Papers (19 papers)

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26 pages, 759 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Information Acquisition Ability on Farmers’ Agricultural Productive Service Behavior: An Empirical Analysis of Corn Farmers in Northeast China
by Shoumin Yue, Ying Xue, Jie Lyu and Kangkang Wang
Agriculture 2023, 13(3), 573; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13030573 - 27 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1810
Abstract
Agricultural productive services are an important means to achieve effective allocation of regional resources and play an important role in ensuring food security and improving farmers’ welfare. However, the development process of agricultural productive services still faces problems such as large differences in [...] Read more.
Agricultural productive services are an important means to achieve effective allocation of regional resources and play an important role in ensuring food security and improving farmers’ welfare. However, the development process of agricultural productive services still faces problems such as large differences in service levels in different segments and low participation rates in the full service. In order to investigate the influential paths of the low participation rate of farmers in the full-service process, this study takes maize farmers in northeast China as the research object. Based on 937 survey data from six cities in three northeastern provinces, we used the Item Response Theory (IRT) model to measure farmers’ information acquisition ability and constructed the Heckman two-stage model and the IV-Heckman model to analyze the logical framework of “information acquisition ability—farmers’ choice of productive agricultural services”. The main findings are as follows: firstly, the more channels there are, the stronger the farmers’ channel internalities; the higher the degree of channel differentiation, the stronger the farmers’ channel internalities. Second, after addressing the sample selection bias and endogeneity, there is a small rise in the facilitation effect of information acquisition ability on farmers’ productive agricultural service behavior. Third, this facilitation effect is achieved through farmers’ perceived usefulness of productive agricultural services, and the mediating effect of perceived ease of use is not significant. Therefore, fostering farmers’ self-perceptions and optimizing information delivery strategies are effective ways to promote farmers’ choice of agricultural productive services and to facilitate the modernization of Chinese agriculture. In general, this study helps to reveal the theoretical mechanism of farmers’ information asymmetry, and provides empirical evidence for how to promote the development of agricultural productive services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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17 pages, 1330 KiB  
Article
Research on the Effect of Digital Economy on Agricultural Labor Force Employment and Its Relationship Using SEM and fsQCA Methods
by Fulian Li and Wuwei Zhang
Agriculture 2023, 13(3), 566; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13030566 - 26 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2323
Abstract
The development of the digital economy has alternative and complementary effects on employment in the agricultural labor force. While replacing a large part of the agricultural labor force, digital agricultural technology is also expected to create new jobs and multiply the economic development [...] Read more.
The development of the digital economy has alternative and complementary effects on employment in the agricultural labor force. While replacing a large part of the agricultural labor force, digital agricultural technology is also expected to create new jobs and multiply the economic development effect. Finally, it will have a large number of positive spillover effects on rural development. To better understand the effects and relationships of digital agriculture on agricultural labor employment in this process, we gathered microdata from 1098 agricultural laborers in 122 counties (cities and districts) of 16 cities in Shandong Province, China. Compared with previous research, the advantage of our study is that structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) are jointly applied to assess the effects of digital agriculture on agricultural labor force employment and the combinatorial path of inter-effect relationships. The analysis results demonstrate that the effects of digital agriculture on agricultural labor force employment mainly include substitution, complementary, flywheel, agglomeration, structural, synergistic, and spillover effects. Through substitution and complementing effects in a chain reaction, which have effects through intermediate links, the first six effects can lead to spillover effects. We determine two modes with a total of eight configurations that can trigger the spillover effect of digital agriculture on agricultural labor force employment. Therefore, it is necessary to choose an effective combination of paths to improve the utilization rate of agricultural resources and promote the diffusion of improved agricultural technologies. If the positive effects of digital agriculture on agricultural labor force employment are reasonably exerted, the development of sustainable agriculture could be accelerated. This would promote the overall development of the agricultural labor force and lead to the revitalization of rural areas and the integration of urban and rural areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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16 pages, 591 KiB  
Article
Geographical Indication, Agricultural Products Export and Urban–Rural Income Gap
by Sihui Zhang, Yong Sun, Xuzhou Yu and Yafeng Zhang
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 378; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13020378 - 04 Feb 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2724
Abstract
The Nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the implementation of a rural revitalization strategy, which is an important way to achieve common prosperity for all the people, as promoting farmers’ income increase and narrowing the urban–rural income gap [...] Read more.
The Nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the implementation of a rural revitalization strategy, which is an important way to achieve common prosperity for all the people, as promoting farmers’ income increase and narrowing the urban–rural income gap are key to promoting rural revitalization and common prosperity. So, under the background of vigorously promoting the rural revitalization strategy in China, it is very important to explore the effect and realization mechanism of geographical indication (GI) on reducing the urban–rural income gap. Based on the statistical data of 31 provinces in China from 2008 to 2019, this empirical study uses the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to analyze the relationship between GI and urban–rural income gap, and the stepwise regression method is used to explore the mediating effect of agricultural product exports on it. The results show that: (1) The potential economic value of GI branding can reduce the urban–rural income gap, and each additional unit of GI in this region will reduce the urban–rural income difference of this region by 0.160 units, and the urban–rural income difference of neighboring regions by 0.133 units. The result is still consistent after changing the proxy variable of urban–rural income gap for robustness test; (2) The brand effect of GI can form a stronger competitive advantage in foreign trade and promote the export level of agricultural products; (3) GI can narrow the urban–rural income gap through the export of agricultural products, and agricultural product export plays an important mediating effect. In the future, the government should not only strengthen the management and protection of GI but also actively market GI products. Promoting the international mutual recognition and mutual protection of GI can ensure the agricultural product export of GI and improve the foreign trade level of GI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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16 pages, 1180 KiB  
Article
Impact of Digital Platform Organization on Reducing Green Production Risk to Tackle COVID-19: Evidence from Farmers in Jiangsu China
by Lishi Mao, Junfeng Song, Siyuan Xu and Degui Yu
Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 188; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13010188 - 11 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1817
Abstract
The agricultural organization based on digital platforms in C2F (Company–Platform–Farmers) may be an effective way to reduce the increased risk of green production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the specific mechanism and impact involved are unclear. Applying risk cognition and decision theory, [...] Read more.
The agricultural organization based on digital platforms in C2F (Company–Platform–Farmers) may be an effective way to reduce the increased risk of green production caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the specific mechanism and impact involved are unclear. Applying risk cognition and decision theory, we built the theoretical framework on platform organization, pandemic risk, perception value, and green production continuity, and ascertained the impact effects and path using the PLS-SEM method. We found that the risk of COVID-19 overflow had a significant impact on farmers’ green production continuity by mediating perception value, especially regarding reduced green technology adoption intention and increased cost of living. Utilizing perfect platform value cognition, participation co-operation, access and benefit distribution, and safeguard and restraint measures of platform organization in C2F, we offered a new approach to reduce the green production risks caused by COVID-19, such as material and labor shortages, financial pressure, sales channel blockages, and price volatility. We explained the behavior-moderating motivation of farmers with different risk preferences and subjective norms in relation to tackling COVID-19. We should aim to perfect the functions of digital platform organizations to optimize the benefit linkages in C2F, accelerate farmers’ digitization ability cultivation to increase the cognitive risk level, and strengthen the policy guidance of COVID-19 prevention to reduce the influence of farmers’ subjective norms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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16 pages, 3199 KiB  
Article
Factors Affecting Farmers’ Environment-Friendly Fertilization Behavior in China: Synthesizing the Evidence Using Meta-Analysis
by Hao Li, Huina Liu, Wei-Yew Chang and Chun Wang
Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 150; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13010150 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1419
Abstract
Excess fertilization is a major cause of agricultural environmental pollution. However, different studies attribute farmers’ fertilization behavior to different factors, hindering theoretical and empirical development. Using a meta-analysis of 64 empirical studies on Chinese farmers’ fertilization behavior, this study first systematically collects, combines, [...] Read more.
Excess fertilization is a major cause of agricultural environmental pollution. However, different studies attribute farmers’ fertilization behavior to different factors, hindering theoretical and empirical development. Using a meta-analysis of 64 empirical studies on Chinese farmers’ fertilization behavior, this study first systematically collects, combines, and analyzes the existing studies to identify the key influencing factors that may affect farmers’ environment-friendly fertilization behavior (FEFB) in China. A meta-regression analysis is further applied to explore how the effects of the factors identified have changed over time. The results showed that the key factors include gender, health status, risk attitude, family size, farm size, environmental concern, social norms, cadre status, and policy propaganda. Over time, the influence of family size, environmental concern, cadre status, and policy propaganda is stable; the influence of social norms gradually strengthens; and the influence of risk attitude weakens. Although household income and the proportion of agricultural income have no significant effect, their influence gradually increases and changes positively and significantly over time; hence, they may become important factors in the future. Our results provide important policy implications for policymakers and agricultural managers to develop appropriate strategies to reduce the usage of chemical fertilizers in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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21 pages, 1077 KiB  
Article
Ukraine’s Market of Certified Seed: Current State and Prospects for the Future
by Oleksandr Zakharchuk, Andrii Hutorov, Oksana Vyshnevetska, Vitalii Nitsenko, Tomas Balezentis and Dalia Streimikiene
Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 61; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13010061 - 25 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1797
Abstract
The production of high-quality seeds and planting material is the basis for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of crop production. The main aim of this article is to develop proposals to ensure that supply meets the demand in the seed and planting material [...] Read more.
The production of high-quality seeds and planting material is the basis for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of crop production. The main aim of this article is to develop proposals to ensure that supply meets the demand in the seed and planting material market Ukraine. The future prospects are also discussed. The paper uses statistical and comparative analysis. The patterns of foreign trade in seeds and planting material to and from Ukraine are analyzed. The high level of import dependence of Ukraine leads to excessive exposure to instability in the world seed market. The development of seed production in Ukraine is discussed and analyzed along with the ways for improving commercial circulation of seeds and planting materials. The export volumes of grains and oilseeds in 2020 were the highest of those over the last three decades and amounted to USD 18.7 million, which is almost twice more than in 2019. Corn seeds dominate in exports (72%). The volume of imports of seeds of grains and oilseeds exceeded exports by 22 times in value and, in 2020, amounted to USD 409.4 million. In the total volume of imports, imports of sunflower seeds accounted for 53%. The upward trend of seed imports has been maintained since 2010. It was the result of increased demand for imported seeds by large- and medium-sized agricultural producers. In 2020, COVID-19 gave impetus to the development of domestic seed production and foreign breeding companies within the country. Prospective ways to accelerate the development of the organization of the Ukrainian seed and planting material market are outlined. Ukraine has prospects for increasing the export of seeds of grains and oilseeds by expanding its production by foreign companies operating in Ukraine. Solving problems of competitiveness seed production in Ukraine will make it possible to strengthen the role of domestic breeding in the seed market, as well as to use the best foreign varieties through their commercial circulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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13 pages, 275 KiB  
Article
Explanation of the Phenomenon “Different Prices on the Same Land” in the Farmland Transfer Market—Evidence from China’s Farmland Transfer Market
by Jia Chen, Jingwen Xu and Hongxiao Zhang
Agriculture 2022, 12(12), 2087; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12122087 - 05 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1305
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in farmland rent prices between land transferors and different transferees when considering the quality supervision cost of the transferred farmland. Moreover, the impact of the intervention of township governments, village committees, and other [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in farmland rent prices between land transferors and different transferees when considering the quality supervision cost of the transferred farmland. Moreover, the impact of the intervention of township governments, village committees, and other intermediary organizations on the rent price differences is also taken into consideration. The treatment effect model (TEM) and grouping regression model were used. The results showed that: (1) Owing to the different transaction costs, when leasing to village transferees, the land rent was significantly lower than when leasing to non-village transferees. (2) With the intervention of intermediary organizations, such as township governments and village committees, the constraints of the reputation mechanism between acquaintances were weakened, and the cost of information identification when land transferors searched for out-of-town transferees was reduced. As a result, the differences in land rent when transferring to the village and non-village transferees were narrowed. This study presents a different view to explain the transaction characteristics of the rural land transfer market in China. Further, it is of paramount importance to implement an effective public intervention, including strengthening the intermediary role of township governments and village committees, which is conducive to improving the rural land transfer market of most developing countries, including China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
22 pages, 309 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the European Green Deal Policy in the Context of Agricultural Support Payments in Latvia
by Irina Pilvere, Aleksejs Nipers and Aija Pilvere
Agriculture 2022, 12(12), 2028; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12122028 - 27 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2113
Abstract
The European Green Deal policy will significantly affect the resilience and development of agriculture, which will be determined by the 2021–2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms, entering into force in 2023. Therefore, the European Commission determines that at least 25% of the direct [...] Read more.
The European Green Deal policy will significantly affect the resilience and development of agriculture, which will be determined by the 2021–2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms, entering into force in 2023. Therefore, the European Commission determines that at least 25% of the direct payments should be earmarked for eco-schemes, while 35% of the funding for rural development should be allocated to climate and environmental support measures. Support payments constitute a significant part of farmers’ income and guide their decision-making for production development. Therefore, the goal of the research was set by analysing the existing CAP support payment system in 2019 to determine the possible impact of the reform envisaged for 2023 on farms of various specialisations and sizes in Latvia. The analysis revealed that in Latvia in 2019, 83% of the total number of farms received support, the amount of the support was EUR 5616 per year per farm on average, and within the Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS), the support was higher by 24%. Among the funding recipient farms, the support accounted for 28% of the farms’ income, calculated per 1 hectare. The detailed calculations carried out indicate that the possible base support payments as a result of the CAP 2023 reform are expected to be higher specifically in cattle breeding and dairy farming, which may contribute to even greater greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the future and thus reduce the likelihood of achieving the goals of the European Green Deal policy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
16 pages, 620 KiB  
Article
Influence of Attachment Theory on Pro-Environmental Behavior and Well-Being: A Case of Organic Agricultural Tourism in Taiwan Hualien and Taitung
by Ching-Cheng Shen, Dan Wang, Jennifer Pasion Loverio, Hsi-Lin Liu and Hsing-Yi Wang
Agriculture 2022, 12(12), 2022; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12122022 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1915
Abstract
Organic agricultural tourism is an environment-friendly tourism that has emerged in recent years. However, no comprehensive dependency theory discusses the tourists’ pro-environmental behavior and well-being from the perspective of the public sphere. This research aims to verify the effect of the four dimensions [...] Read more.
Organic agricultural tourism is an environment-friendly tourism that has emerged in recent years. However, no comprehensive dependency theory discusses the tourists’ pro-environmental behavior and well-being from the perspective of the public sphere. This research aims to verify the effect of the four dimensions of attachment and its impact on pro-environmental behavior. This research substantiated that the four aspects of attachment theory had a positive and significant influence on pro-environmental behavior and well-being. Furthermore, place and activity attachment had the highest impact. The results serve as a basis for understanding and motivating tourists’ pro-environmental behaviors and assist them in achieving well-being through organic agriculture tourism. This research also suggests sustainable development practices for destination operators or managers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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22 pages, 1074 KiB  
Article
Does the Agricultural Productive Service Embedded Affect Farmers’ Family Economic Welfare Enhancement? An Empirical Analysis in Black Soil Region in China
by Yuxuan Xu, Jie Lyu, Ying Xue and Hongbin Liu
Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1880; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12111880 - 09 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1805
Abstract
The modernization of agriculture in China has begun to take shape, but some groups of farmers still have relatively weak access to welfare and live in poverty, which is closely related to national food security and sustainable agricultural development. Based on survey data [...] Read more.
The modernization of agriculture in China has begun to take shape, but some groups of farmers still have relatively weak access to welfare and live in poverty, which is closely related to national food security and sustainable agricultural development. Based on survey data from northeastern China, this study analyzes the logical framework of “Agricultural Productive Services (APS) Embedded—Farmers’ Family Economic Welfare Enhancement” by the endogenous switching regression model. The main findings are as follows. First, the purchase of APS brings a significant positive impact on farmers’ family economic welfare improvement, mainly through the income effect and the substitution effect. Second, with the income effect, there are significant differences in the strength of the “pulling power” of different forms of APS for farmers’ family economic welfare. Compared with farmers who purchase APS for the entire production chain, farmers who purchase only some of the services are more likely to increase their welfare in the later stages. Third, with the substitution effect, the re-employment behavior of the rural surplus laborers who are “squeezed out” under the embedding of APS is promoted, which makes farmers’ income channels, income types, and income opportunities diversify, and their welfare will be more obviously strengthened after purchasing services. In order to enhance farmers’ welfare more efficiently and meet their needs for a better life, this study suggests a combination of farmer information archiving and labor market information transparency to reduce service risks, expand employment channels, and enhance the effectiveness of the linkage between farmers and service providers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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19 pages, 598 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Land Transfer and Agricultural Green Production: A Collaborative Test Based on Theory and Data
by Dungang Zang, Sen Yang and Fanghua Li
Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1824; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12111824 - 01 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1559
Abstract
Under the background of tighter resource and environmental constraints, whether and how land transfer can promote the green development of agriculture has become a realistic question that needs to be answered urgently. This paper analyzes the internal mechanism between land transfer and agricultural [...] Read more.
Under the background of tighter resource and environmental constraints, whether and how land transfer can promote the green development of agriculture has become a realistic question that needs to be answered urgently. This paper analyzes the internal mechanism between land transfer and agricultural green production by using property rights theory and sustainable development theory. Taking the data of the “investigation on household energy consumption and green agricultural development” in Sichuan Province in 2022 as a sample, it empirically analyzes the impact of land transfer on agricultural green production by using OLS and 2SLS models. The results show that: (1) land inflow significantly improves the level of agricultural green production, with a unit impact of 22.3%; (2) whereas land outflow will inhibit agricultural green production, with a unit impact of 5.46%; (3) the family’s long-term agricultural labor, social capital, migrant experience, non-agricultural income, and household clean energy use have a promoting effect on agricultural green production; (4) age, education level, health level and agricultural subsidies inhibit agricultural green production; (5) the heterogeneity analysis found that the inflow of land would significantly promote the level of green agricultural production of farmers who have environmental awareness, have been village cadres, have purchased agricultural insurance, and have not suffered from agricultural disasters; (6) agricultural training, farmers’ digital literacy, and agricultural related loans have a positive and strengthened regulatory role in the impact of land transfer on agricultural green production. Based on this, this paper gets policy enlightenment from the government, market, and farmers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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18 pages, 1400 KiB  
Article
Individual and Village Level Factors Affect Farmers’ Satisfaction with Sustainable Rural Development Practices: Evidence from Guangdong Province in China
by Xiaojuan Zhang and Zhengxi Yang
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1702; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12101702 - 15 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2359
Abstract
Farmers are the most important stakeholders in the sustainable development of rural areas. Studying farmers’ satisfaction with sustainable rural development (SRD) practices can help us to understand how to mobilize farmers’ enthusiasm and initiative, such that they can play a major role in [...] Read more.
Farmers are the most important stakeholders in the sustainable development of rural areas. Studying farmers’ satisfaction with sustainable rural development (SRD) practices can help us to understand how to mobilize farmers’ enthusiasm and initiative, such that they can play a major role in SRD. This study aimed to identify the factors influencing farmers’ satisfaction with SRD practices. Based on the survey data of 599 farmers in 57 villages in the Guangdong Province, Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) was used to identify the influencing factors of farmers’ satisfaction with SRD practices in Guangdong Province at the individual and village levels. This study found that there was spatial heterogeneity in farmers’ satisfaction with SRD practices in the Guangdong Province, and factors at the individual level and village level jointly affected the farmers’ satisfaction. At the individual level, farmers’ college education, identity of Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and participation have positive predictive effects on farmers’ satisfaction. At the village level, the improvement of public services, village infrastructure, and grassroots governance has a positive predictive effect on farmers’ satisfaction. However, the improvement of the village living environment and the income of the village’s collective economy were not significant determinants of farmers’ satisfaction. The results provide practical implications for policymakers to guide farmers to actively participate in SRD practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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15 pages, 1199 KiB  
Article
Study on the Livelihood Vulnerability of the Poor Relocated Households in Karst Area: A Case Study of Liupanshui Area
by Changxiang Wang, Zhongfa Zhou, Quan Chen, Qing Feng and Changli Zhu
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1577; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12101577 - 30 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1668
Abstract
Relocation for poverty alleviation has become a vital means for the elimination of rural poverty in China. Research on livelihood vulnerability and its influencing factors of relocated farm households before and after poverty alleviation in Karst areas would contribute to the sustainable development [...] Read more.
Relocation for poverty alleviation has become a vital means for the elimination of rural poverty in China. Research on livelihood vulnerability and its influencing factors of relocated farm households before and after poverty alleviation in Karst areas would contribute to the sustainable development of rural households in mountainous areas, which remains unclear. In this paper, the livelihood vulnerability evaluation index system and evaluation model in Karst areas were constructed based on questionnaire data of relocated households in Liupanshui collected in 2020. Then, the degree of livelihood vulnerability of households before and after relocation was measured, and the analysis of the difference between livelihood vulnerability index and dimension of households with different resettlement methods, relocation time, and livelihood diversification index was carried out in detail. Afterward, stepwise linear regression analysis was chosen to screen the main factors affecting the livelihood vulnerability of rural households subject to different resettlement methods and different relocation time. Results show that the livelihood vulnerability of rural households decreased significantly after relocation, and the risk of rural households returning to poverty was reduced. At the same time, it reveals that the family income level and livelihood diversification index have significant positive effects on the livelihood vulnerability index of rural households before and after relocation. In addition, among the three village resettlement methods, urban resettlement is the most effective way to alleviate the livelihood vulnerability of rural households. With increasing time since relocation, the adaptability of rural households to the new environment is enhanced, and their ability to withstand the impact of risks is also significantly improved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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15 pages, 894 KiB  
Article
Influence of Consumer Landscape on Place Attachment in Agritourism—The Case of Huatung, Taiwan
by Ching-Cheng Shen, Dan Wang and Jennifer Pasion Loverio
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1557; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12101557 - 27 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1851
Abstract
The offerings and demand for agritourism have increased in the past four decades as farms seek to expand and diversify their income and urban dwellers pursue a slower pace during travel. Taiwan’s Huatung area organic agricultural tourism is an environmentally friendly type of [...] Read more.
The offerings and demand for agritourism have increased in the past four decades as farms seek to expand and diversify their income and urban dwellers pursue a slower pace during travel. Taiwan’s Huatung area organic agricultural tourism is an environmentally friendly type of tourism that has emerged in recent years, and more and more tourists are engaged in agricultural tourism. Developing the landscape resources of organic agricultural tourists to make them stand out and attract more tourists is not an easy task. This research establishes a comprehensive model to explore how the consumer landscape (LAN) affects place attachment (PAT), with attention recovery theory (ART) as a mediating variable. A quantitative questionnaire survey was conducted, and the LISREL was used as an analysis tool to verify the relationship between variables. The result shows that attention restoration substantially influences PAT, and the LAN positively affects attention restoration and PAT. In addition, this research found that the impact of LAN on PAT through attention recovery was more significant than that of LAN directly, which verified that attention recovery was an important mediating variable. The findings not only break through the theoretical gap but also provide practical suggestions for developing organic agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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21 pages, 1083 KiB  
Article
Intentions of Farmers to Renew Productive Agricultural Service Contracts Using the Theory of Planned Behavior: An Empirical Study in Northeastern China
by Yuxuan Xu, Jie Lyu, Ying Xue and Hongbin Liu
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1471; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12091471 - 14 Sep 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2293
Abstract
Maintaining stable linkages between farmers and APS service providers is conducive to cutting transaction costs, increasing service organizations’ willingness to invest in the long term and motivation to innovate on their own, improving agricultural production and resource use efficiency, and safeguarding farmers’ welfare [...] Read more.
Maintaining stable linkages between farmers and APS service providers is conducive to cutting transaction costs, increasing service organizations’ willingness to invest in the long term and motivation to innovate on their own, improving agricultural production and resource use efficiency, and safeguarding farmers’ welfare and national food security. The willingness of farmers to renew their contracts is a key factor in long-term APS partnerships. Based on research data from the Northeast region in 2018, this study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to construct a two-stage decision-making framework for the contracting-renewal and to determine how the process influences the formation of willingness. The Heckman two-stage model is applied. The results indicate that the mechanism of farmers’ willingness to renew APS is formed in accordance with TPB’s conceptual analysis framework with the dual logic of “stimulus” and “constraint”. In the first stage, individual and family characteristics have a significant influence on farmers’ contracting behavior. In the second stage, three exogenous latent variables, behavioral attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms, have a better explanatory role in the formation of farmers’ willingness to renew APS. The stronger the perceived control that is generated by farmers during the decision-making process, the more pronounced the behavioral attitudes were, and the stronger the inducement of willingness to renew the service. The findings suggest that governments should strengthen APS outreach and improve the regional economy and natural environment. Overall, this study helps to uncover the farmer’s TPB mechanism and provide an empirical basis for how to promote APS development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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13 pages, 1701 KiB  
Article
Tourists’ Perceived Attitudes toward the Famous Terraced Agricultural Cultural Heritage Landscape in China
by Xiaopiao Yang, Yuluan Zhao, Jia Zhao, Chao Shi and Bailu Deng
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1394; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12091394 - 05 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1687
Abstract
Terraces are the major vehicle for agricultural activities in mountainous areas and are an important component of the agro-cultural heritage landscape. This work explores tourists’ perceived attitudes toward, and characteristics of terraced agro-cultural heritage landscapes based on online web travel notes. A framework [...] Read more.
Terraces are the major vehicle for agricultural activities in mountainous areas and are an important component of the agro-cultural heritage landscape. This work explores tourists’ perceived attitudes toward, and characteristics of terraced agro-cultural heritage landscapes based on online web travel notes. A framework of visitor perception types of terraced agricultural cultural heritage landscapes was constructed, and each type was analyzed in a targeted manner. The results obtained can provide a reference for the conservation of heritage farming culture and the development of strategies to improve landscape quality for such sites. This study used crawler software to collect online travelogue data from 3991 notes by visitors to seven note-worthy terraced agro-cultural heritage sites in China and used the ROST Content Mining 6 tool to analyze high-frequency feature words, semantic networks, and sentiment distribution and ten-dency. We found that the tourist perception of the diversity of terraced agro-cultural heritage landscape is rich, with a high overall evaluation. The tourists‘ perceptions focused on four elements: landscape, ecology, culture, and service. They were more likely to have a high perception of the landscape than service, which in turn was higher than culture and ecology. The emotional tendency of tourists‘ perceptions is mainly highly positive and neutral, and negative emotions account for a lower proportion and are mostly mild. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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22 pages, 959 KiB  
Article
An Empirical Investigation into Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Agricultural Economic Performance in Baltic Countries: A Non-Linear Framework
by Daiva Makutėnienė, Algirdas Justinas Staugaitis, Valdemaras Makutėnas, Dalia Juočiūnienė and Yuriy Bilan
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1336; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12091336 - 29 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1724
Abstract
The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy has for decades been geared towards sustainable agricultural development, not only to ensure a fair income for farmers but also to tackle climate change and environmental degradation, emphasizing the link between agricultural economic activity and the importance of [...] Read more.
The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy has for decades been geared towards sustainable agricultural development, not only to ensure a fair income for farmers but also to tackle climate change and environmental degradation, emphasizing the link between agricultural economic activity and the importance of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The importance of research in this area is reinforced by the EU’s ever-increasing sustainability ambitions in recent years, as set out in the European Green Deal, which has found a place in the new 2023–2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) policy to meet the EU’s 2050 target to achieve climate neutrality. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and economic performance for the agricultural sector in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) from 1998 to 2019. These three countries have similar agricultural structures and similar natural conditions, so the research provides comparable results. The relationship was analyzed by using the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model that allows the estimation of short-term dynamics using a distributed delay component and long-term dynamics using a single cointegrating vector. The analysis of the research data showed that gross value-added changes influence greenhouse gas emissions in all three countries. The results of the research, on the other hand, suggested that there is evidence supporting the reverse ‘U-shaped’ impact of the environmental Kuznets curve (ECK) when assessing data from Lithuania and Estonia, but not from Latvia. The study’s findings have significant policy consequences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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20 pages, 500 KiB  
Article
Non-Cognitive Skills and Farmers’ Entrepreneurial Performance: Evidence from Chinese Family Panel Studies
by Shasha Zhang, Huaquan Zhang, Ghulam Raza Sargani, Qian Liu, Jin Tang and Xungang Zheng
Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1143; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12081143 - 02 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1994
Abstract
Improving the entrepreneurial performance of farmers is conducive to increasing their income, reducing poverty, and securing livelihoods. In the quest for sustainable livelihoods, non-cognitive skills are becoming increasingly significant. Based on data from the 2018 Chinese Family Panel Study, this paper uses the [...] Read more.
Improving the entrepreneurial performance of farmers is conducive to increasing their income, reducing poverty, and securing livelihoods. In the quest for sustainable livelihoods, non-cognitive skills are becoming increasingly significant. Based on data from the 2018 Chinese Family Panel Study, this paper uses the ‘Big Five’ personality traits and a cross-sectional regression model to construct an indicator system to analyze farmers’ non-cognitive skills empirically and determine how these skills affect entrepreneurial performance. The results are as follows: (1) non-cognitive skills that significantly affect farmers’ entrepreneurial performance are, in order of influence, openness, extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. After considering endogeneity and substitution-explained variables, the above conclusions are still robust. (2) Heterogeneity analysis finds that farmers over 40 and those who start their businesses in cities have higher returns on non-cognitive entrepreneurship. (3) The paper confirms that non-cognitive skills improve farmers’ entrepreneurial performance through human and social capital effects. Therefore, entrepreneurs should consciously improve their non-cognitive skills by cultivating an enterprising and innovative spirit and social skills. The government’s entrepreneurship training for farmers should also focus on setting up courses in non-cognitive skills development to enhance farmers’ entrepreneurial literacy and skills. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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19 pages, 2604 KiB  
Systematic Review
A Systematic Review of Agricultural Sustainability Indicators
by Ahmad Bathaei and Dalia Štreimikienė
Agriculture 2023, 13(2), 241; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13020241 - 19 Jan 2023
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 10274
Abstract
A rapidly expanding field, sustainable agriculture aims to produce food and energy for people today and future generations. The sustainability concept is different in every field; thus, the indicators are unique in any area and country. Sustainable agriculture contains three main dimensions: economic, [...] Read more.
A rapidly expanding field, sustainable agriculture aims to produce food and energy for people today and future generations. The sustainability concept is different in every field; thus, the indicators are unique in any area and country. Sustainable agriculture contains three main dimensions: economic, environmental, and social. Sustainable agriculture has been the focus of researchers for the past twenty-five years and has attracted much attention. Many researchers tried to identify these dimensions, but there is a lack of new research concerned with grouping all indicators together. Moreover, the indicators will change every year, so the indicators list needs to be frequently updated. This study follows the protocol for SALSA (Search, Appraisal, Synthesis, and Analysis) and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Web of Science (WoS) was used for the literature search. A total of 101 indicators were found from previous studies for the three dimensions: social, environment, economic. In order to measure the most important indicators for sustainable agriculture, the paper proposes an appropriate set of indicators, as well as providing the previous papers analyzed by year of publication, continent, and topic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Local Development, Social Anthropology, and Economic Activities)
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