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Land
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Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions
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Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 28659

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Le Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Trilateral Cooperation Studies Center, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
Interests: agrarian change; rural livelihood transition; land use/land cover change
Prof. Dr. Yasuyuki Kono

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Southeast Asia Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Interests: agricultural systems; land and water resources management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agriculture is an essential industry that provides products (food, biofuel and fiber, etc.) for sustaining human life. Changes in agricultural systems have a profound impact on food security and environmental health. As one of the most densely populated regions in the world, East Asia has evolved into having a relatively stable mode of smallholder agriculture and homogeneous rural societies in the past forty centuries. However, subsistent smallholder agriculture has been abandoned due to the massive industrialization and urbanization in this region since the end of the 20th century.

A livelihood is a means of gaining a living and encompasses the capacity, assets, and activities required for achieving livelihood goals. The livelihood enterprises of rural households can generally be divided into agricultural production and off-farm employment, while farmers must carefully consider how to invest their resources in the two enterprises since they are extremely limited in time and capital. Thus, farmers’ attitudes and behaviors toward agricultural production essentially depend on their livelihood choices. As the carrier of agricultural production, the quantity and quality of land is another key factor that affects the form of agricultural systems; for example, large farms usually occur in plain areas, and banana cropping can only be grown in tropical regions. Therefore, the dynamic change in agricultural systems is essentially driven by rural livelihood transitions in the context of socioeconomic transformation, such as the reform of agricultural and land policy, and the process must be based on the state of land resources.

This Special Issue aims to clarify how the interactions of rural livelihoods and land create diverse and dynamic agricultural systems across the different socioeconomic and biophysical backgrounds in East Asia. We encourage authors to submit interdisciplinary manuscripts that are based on field surveys in a wide range of geographical contexts.

Prof. Dr. Le Zhang
Prof. Dr. Yasuyuki Kono
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. Land 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

  • agrarian change
  • new agriculture
  • food security
  • land resource
  • rural livelihood
  • land use/land cover

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1857 KiB  
Article
Farm Business Model on Smart Farming Technology for Sustainable Farmland in Hilly and Mountainous Areas of Japan
by Haruhiko Iba and Apichaya Lilavanichakul
Land 2023, 12(3), 592; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land12030592 - 01 Mar 2023
Viewed by 2951
Abstract
Farmlands in Japan’s hilly and mountainous (HM) areas face the critical challenges of aging farmers, depopulation, and disadvantageous conditions for farm management and economic performance, leading to the abandonment of farmland. Rice farming in HM areas is rarely profitable; however, it occupies 40% [...] Read more.
Farmlands in Japan’s hilly and mountainous (HM) areas face the critical challenges of aging farmers, depopulation, and disadvantageous conditions for farm management and economic performance, leading to the abandonment of farmland. Rice farming in HM areas is rarely profitable; however, it occupies 40% of Japanese agricultural production and affects food security. We proposed a farm business model to utilize smart farming technology (SFT) for rice production in the HM areas and analyzed the financial performance of the case study. The farm business model applying SFT has three stakeholders: collective activity by the farmers, farm operations by the enterprise, and a government subsidy. The model conceptualizes diversifying farm business into rice farming and other business units. Three scenarios of SFT in the farm business model consist of combinations of conventional and SFT machines: conventional machines, intermediate SFT, and advanced SFT. The results of the financial analysis on the case study were consistent with the theoretical framework of farm business models. This study revealed that the elasticity of labor productivity on fixed assets of advanced SFT (0.94) was more productive than intermediate SFT (0.63). To utilize SFT to sustain farmland in HM areas, balance between financial security and profitability, and linkage of the enterprise and community are indispensable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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17 pages, 2631 KiB  
Article
Is Land Expropriation to Keep Agricultural Use an Effective Strategy for the Conservation of an Urban Agricultural Heritage System? Evidence from China
by Fei Zhao, Changqiao Zhu, Jia’en Zhang, Shiming Luo, Yueyi Feng, Huimin Xiang, Yichen Jiang, Xiali Lu and Yi Tian
Land 2023, 12(2), 363; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land12020363 - 29 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1684
Abstract
Urbanization is one of the major threats to the dynamic inheritance of the agricultural heritage system (AHS). The ability to achieve sustainable development in intra-urban areas is an essential proposition related to the innovation of AHS conservation principles. The Haizhu high bed-low ditch [...] Read more.
Urbanization is one of the major threats to the dynamic inheritance of the agricultural heritage system (AHS). The ability to achieve sustainable development in intra-urban areas is an essential proposition related to the innovation of AHS conservation principles. The Haizhu high bed-low ditch agroecosystem (HHBLDA), a China-Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage System site located at the center of Guangzhou City, is taken as an example in this study. The effect of implementing the Land Acquisition to Keep Agricultural Use (LAKAU) on intra-urban AHS conservation is assessed through literature collection and review, field survey, and in-depth interviews. The results show that the LAKAU was implemented because of a three-decades-long struggle between ecological conservation and urban sprawl. Because of the important functions of ecosystem services, the AHS can coexist with urban land use in the course of rapid urbanization. The LAKAU mode can ensure that the nature of farmland remains unchanged, which is an effective strategy for the conservation of an urban AHS. The resulting problems, such as high operating costs, insufficient agricultural outputs, and insufficient local farmers in the AHS site because of off-farm opportunities, should be addressed by establishing an effective self-sustaining mechanism. Realizing the compatibility of management concepts between the AHS and nature reserves, adapting to the changing role of farmers, and strengthening the acceptance of the AHS by urban managers should attract the attention of decision-makers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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14 pages, 1484 KiB  
Article
Maintaining Agricultural Production by Building Local Distribution Systems in the Northern Area of Japan
by Noriaki Kawasaki, Tamaki Washio, Katsunori Nakamura and Ken-Ichiro Nagahama
Land 2023, 12(2), 320; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land12020320 - 24 Jan 2023
Viewed by 2031
Abstract
In the field of vegetable farming, it has become a common approach for farmers to advance into the secondary and tertiary industries to increase their income, an initiative known as the sixth industrialization. Under these circumstances, a growing trend is to outsource a [...] Read more.
In the field of vegetable farming, it has become a common approach for farmers to advance into the secondary and tertiary industries to increase their income, an initiative known as the sixth industrialization. Under these circumstances, a growing trend is to outsource a part of the sixth industrialization activities in order to improve consumer satisfaction, strengthen market competitiveness, and avoid investment risks. However, owing to a mismatch between farmers and processors, there are few cases that result in collaboration. Under such circumstances, a new distribution channel called local distribution systems have been born, and its importance is increasing in Japan. This paper demonstrates how a local distribution system for farmers living in rural areas could address this distortion. The concept of local distribution systems has been used since the 1990s, and yet, its significance and importance are still increasing in relevancy in today’s Japanese agriculture. In this study, the subject is an intermediary (Company A) that originated from farmers, so it was able to understand the behavioral principles of farmers and to identify businesses that could not be covered by the management resources of farmers themselves. Through the entrustment of the business, company A could support the production and sales activities of the farmers. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) the company does not directly involve members in the decision-making of sales methods but instead provides a number of options for decision-making, and (2) the needs on the production side will match those on the consumer side and play the role of communication. By building such a collaboration system, the company succeeded in establishing a local distribution system. In the distribution of vegetables, which is characterized as perishable items, it is essential to pursue efficiency and rationality through a wholesale market system to distribute the products from producers to a large number of consumers. However, constraints in the wholes system limit the extent to which this local distribution functions. This paper demonstrates how a local distribution system for farmers living in rural areas could address this distortion. The concept of local distribution systems has been used since the 1990s, yet its significance and importance are still increasing in relevancy in today’s Japanese agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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14 pages, 1024 KiB  
Article
The Transformation of Fishermen’s Livelihoods in the Context of a Comprehensive Fishing Ban: A Case Study of Datang Village at the Poyang Lake Region, China
by Hongzhi Ma, Yexi Zhong, Minghui Ou, Wenhui Wang and Xinghua Feng
Land 2022, 11(12), 2262; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11122262 - 10 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1864
Abstract
How fishermen produce and live has been a hot topic of academic concern in recent years. However, existing research has focused excessively on marine fishermen. Inland fisheries make a significant but often overlooked contribution to rural livelihoods in developing countries. In this paper, [...] Read more.
How fishermen produce and live has been a hot topic of academic concern in recent years. However, existing research has focused excessively on marine fishermen. Inland fisheries make a significant but often overlooked contribution to rural livelihoods in developing countries. In this paper, we constructed a framework for fishermen’s livelihood strategies and used questionnaires and in-depth interviews to study 275 households of inland fishermen in a professional fishing village at Poyang Lake. The results show that (1) the impact of the comprehensive fishing ban has led to significant changes in the livelihood capital of inland fishermen, leading to fishermen being forced to change their livelihood strategies. (2) The current livelihood strategies can be divided into four categories, which are non-fishing employment, self-employment, public welfare positions and retirement respectively. (3) Livelihood capital such as age, education, social interaction and fishing rights influence their choice of livelihood strategies. (4) The fishing ban proposal generally meets the interests of fishermen, but there is some capacity for improvement in terms of implementation details and policy flexibility. Based on these findings, we recommend that the government conducts further in-depth research and adjusts and improves its policy options in good time. To the satisfaction of all parties, the current policy protects the environment and achieves sustainable human development, making Chinese contributions and proposing Chinese plans to address global environmental change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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19 pages, 1574 KiB  
Article
Smallholders’ Livelihood Resilience in the Dryland Area of the Yellow River Basin in China from the Perspective of the Family Life Cycle: Based on GeoDetector and LMG Metric Model
by Xueping Li and Xingmin Shi
Land 2022, 11(9), 1427; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11091427 - 29 Aug 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1486
Abstract
Farm households’ sustainable livelihoods in the dryland area of the Yellow River basin is an important guarantee of ecological protection and high-quality development for the Yellow River basin. However, farm households in this region have been facing frequent droughts, water resource shortages, severe [...] Read more.
Farm households’ sustainable livelihoods in the dryland area of the Yellow River basin is an important guarantee of ecological protection and high-quality development for the Yellow River basin. However, farm households in this region have been facing frequent droughts, water resource shortages, severe soil erosion and other problems; their livelihood security has been seriously threatened. This study used a livelihood resilience framework to evaluate farm households’ livelihood resilience in dryland areas through the field survey data and identified the influencing factors of livelihood resilience using the GeoDetector and the Lindeman, Merenda and Gold method (LMG) from the family life cycle perspective. The results revealed the following points: (1) there were significant differences in livelihood resilience, adaptive capacity and anticipatory capacity at each stage of the family life cycle at a 5% significant level. (2) The top two variables of livelihood resilience were preparedness and planning, and substitutable assets, followed by household characteristics. With the evolution of the family life cycle, the impacts of family assets and basic service access on livelihood resilience showed a “U” trend. On the contrary, savings and safety nets showed an inverted “U” shape. (3) Both the GeoDetector and LMG metric models could identify the key influencing factors, but the variable importance rankings of the two models were different to some degree. Finally, based on the results of the analysis, this study proposed targeted policy recommendations for building livelihood resilience of farm households. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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16 pages, 2336 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Policy-Driven Transformation in the Livelihoods of Fishermen on Agricultural Landscape Patterns: A Case Study of a Fishing Village, Island of Poyang Lake
by Minghui Ou, Yexi Zhong, Hongzhi Ma, Wenhui Wang and Manyu Bi
Land 2022, 11(8), 1236; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11081236 - 04 Aug 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2010
Abstract
The agricultural landscape patterns of fishing village have undergone visible transformations in recent decades. Scholars pay less attention to fishermen with diverse livelihoods. Therefore, it is necessary to sort out the changing characteristics of fishermen’ livelihoods and agricultural landscape patterns under different policy [...] Read more.
The agricultural landscape patterns of fishing village have undergone visible transformations in recent decades. Scholars pay less attention to fishermen with diverse livelihoods. Therefore, it is necessary to sort out the changing characteristics of fishermen’ livelihoods and agricultural landscape patterns under different policy periods. We use in-depth interviews, remote sensing technology, and mathematical analysis to systematically study the changes in fishermen’s livelihoods and in agricultural landscape patterns in a typical fishing village. The results show that policy have profoundly affected fishermen’ livelihoods. Livelihood transformation have altered local land use practices, which had a direct impact on agricultural landscape patterns. The livelihood of fishermen has changed from diverse to single, and their cropping structure were gradually becoming simpler and more specialised. After grazing ban and comprehensive fishing ban, many fishermen migrated to towns and cities, it accelerated the loss of population in the fishing village, which caused the amount of abandoned land increasingly. Left-behind fishermen became rice farmers by contracting abandoned paddy fields. The expanses of abandoned land and bamboo woodland had increased, which caused agricultural landscape patterns gradually becoming fragmented, heterogeneous and complex. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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22 pages, 3323 KiB  
Article
Social Capital, Crop Specialization and Rural Industry Development—Taking the Grape Industry in Ningling County of China as an Example
by Nalin Wu, Erling Li, Yihan Su, Li Li and Li Wang
Land 2022, 11(7), 1069; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11071069 - 13 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1995
Abstract
Village-level social capital is an important factor to promote rural revitalization, but it is often ignored by existing researches. Based on the field investigation on 357 grape industry villages in Ningling County of Henan Province, decomposed village social capital into three dimensions (social [...] Read more.
Village-level social capital is an important factor to promote rural revitalization, but it is often ignored by existing researches. Based on the field investigation on 357 grape industry villages in Ningling County of Henan Province, decomposed village social capital into three dimensions (social network, social norm and social trust), this paper aims to discuss how village social capital influences rural industry development by promoting crop specialization. Results showed that the social network affects the transmission of grape planting information and technology. The richer the social network, the faster the diffusion of grape planting and the faster the realization of crop specialization. However, different types of social network play different roles. Social norms affect whether villages participate in grape production decisions. Proper risk awareness and efficient and reliable social organization services can help village farmers participate in grape planting and improve the level of crop specialization. Social trust affects the scale and duration of grape planting in a village; that is, the higher the level of social trusts, the higher the degree of crop specialization. In short, social capital can effectively promote the rapid cultivation of superior crops, enhance the specialization level of agricultural production and drive the coordinated development of upstream and downstream industries, thereby promoting the development of rural industries. This study emphasizes that, in the process of rural revitalization, developing countries should consider the social environments of different regions, fully mobilize the power of local social capital and develop reasonable and feasible technology popularization, adoption and implementation programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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18 pages, 672 KiB  
Article
Household Livelihood Strategy Changes and Agricultural Diversification: A Correlation and Mechanism Analysis Based on Data from the China Family Panel
by Jiguang Zhu, Yaru Sun and Yunxing Song
Land 2022, 11(5), 685; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11050685 - 04 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2553
Abstract
Social and economic transformations have a profound impact on farmers’ livelihood strategies, and changes in these strategies, in turn, deeply impact the agricultural system. Based on four waves of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) tracking data, this paper uses a Markov transfer probability [...] Read more.
Social and economic transformations have a profound impact on farmers’ livelihood strategies, and changes in these strategies, in turn, deeply impact the agricultural system. Based on four waves of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) tracking data, this paper uses a Markov transfer probability matrix to explore changes in farmers’ livelihood strategies and builds multiple logit and fixed-effect models to empirically analyze the impact and lag effect of these changes on agricultural diversification. The results show that (1) farmers who choose not to shift away from an agricultural livelihood show no significant change in agricultural diversification. Compared with households showing an increase in the agricultural diversification index, households showing a decrease in this index are more inclined to diversify if they choose to maintain an agricultural livelihood either part-time or full-time. For households with an unchanged agricultural diversification index, their index value is more likely to remain unchanged if they choose to maintain a part-time or full-time agriculture-oriented livelihood. Moreover, (2) the impact of livelihood strategy changes on agricultural diversification displays regional heterogeneity. The index value of farmers in the central region shows no statistically significant change over the sample period, while the index value of farmers in the eastern region increases. Farmers in the eastern and central regions with unchanged index values are more inclined to show persistent index values. (3) Changes in farmers’ livelihood strategies have a lag effect on agricultural diversification that becomes significant at two lag periods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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18 pages, 1884 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Rural Resilience in a Tea Town of China: Exploring Tea Farmers’ Knowledge Production for Tea Planting, Tea Processing and Tea Tasting
by Xudan Lin, Hong Zhu and Duo Yin
Land 2022, 11(4), 583; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11040583 - 15 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2779
Abstract
Rural areas have undergone visible transformations in recent decades. It leads to some ecological problems. Enhancing rural resilience is necessary in the face of these changes. However, previous literature often ignored the roles of indigenous actors in this process. Consequently, we conduct participant [...] Read more.
Rural areas have undergone visible transformations in recent decades. It leads to some ecological problems. Enhancing rural resilience is necessary in the face of these changes. However, previous literature often ignored the roles of indigenous actors in this process. Consequently, we conduct participant observation and in-depth interviews to explore the process by which local farmer knowledge is produced in Fenghuang, a rural area that concentrates on the tea industry in China, and how this process contributes to the agriculture resilience of individual and rural areas. We find that local knowledge is a dynamic composition of daily practice highlighting the nature of adaptability in farmers’ pursuits. Such knowledge is found to be constructed, exchanged, and then reshaped into a new and heterogeneous form that involves a mix of scientific forces and local practices, building a solid basis for individual and rural resilience. In addition, both sustainable agriculture and successful market promotion can be achieved by knowledge production. In this way, the meaning of “place” is reconstrued, morphing from a barren and backward rural area to a green and unique land with idyllic beauty. This metamorphosis offers belongingness to tea farmers and imposes on them the responsibility to contribute their efforts to the land. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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13 pages, 534 KiB  
Article
Farmer Heterogeneity and Land Transfer Decisions Based on the Dual Perspectives of Economic Endowment and Land Endowment
by Ying Cheng, Yuan Hu, Weizhong Zeng and Zhongbao Liu
Land 2022, 11(3), 353; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11030353 - 27 Feb 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2154
Abstract
Guiding qualified farmers to transfer their land is an important way to alleviate the problem of land abandonment, improve land use efficiency, and achieve moderately large-scale land management. Based on the dual perspectives of economic endowment and land endowment, this paper uses the [...] Read more.
Guiding qualified farmers to transfer their land is an important way to alleviate the problem of land abandonment, improve land use efficiency, and achieve moderately large-scale land management. Based on the dual perspectives of economic endowment and land endowment, this paper uses the 2015 data of the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), using the semilogarithmic ordinary least-squares method and the logit model, to explore differences in land transfer decisions under the effect of farmer heterogeneity. The circulation trading market was further improved to provide a reference. The heterogeneity of economic endowment and land endowment significantly affects the decision-making behavior of farmers in transferring land. The higher the land endowment is, the greater the probability that farmers transfer the land out and successfully trade, and they are more inclined to transfer the cultivated land to cooperatives, village collectives, and other institutions through formal channels, leading to a higher unit income of the transfer. Further research shows that land endowment has no significant difference in the impact of land endowment on whether farmers with different livelihood endowments transfer their land, but under the same land endowment, farmers with economic endowment advantages are more able to use their own endowment advantages to transfer their land out through formal channels and obtain higher gains income. Therefore, focusing on improving the conditions of land resources and increasing the endowment of farmers are important means to promote successful transactions in the land transfer market, ensure its sustainable operation, and promote further increase in the income of transfer farmers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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18 pages, 2097 KiB  
Article
Spin-Offs, Innovation Spillover and the Formation of Agricultural Clusters: The Case of the Vegetable Cluster in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, China
by Erling Li, Yanan Xu, Shixin Ren and Jay Lee
Land 2022, 11(2), 279; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11020279 - 11 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2723
Abstract
Agricultural clusters play a powerful role in promoting the agricultural transformation and rejuvenation of rural areas. However, no in-depth exploration has been made on how agricultural clusters form and evolve, especially in the context of China’s long-term small-scale rural economy. The purpose of [...] Read more.
Agricultural clusters play a powerful role in promoting the agricultural transformation and rejuvenation of rural areas. However, no in-depth exploration has been made on how agricultural clusters form and evolve, especially in the context of China’s long-term small-scale rural economy. The purpose of this article is to reveal the formation process and evolution mechanism of agricultural clusters by case study research. With the knowledge flow as the starting point, this article takes the Vegetable Cluster in Shouguang City of Shandong Province, China as an example to construct a theoretical framework in the three dimensions of points (spin-offs of enterprises or farmers), lines (network-spillovers of various innovation) and planes (the formation of new regional industry spaces) and put forward theoretical hypotheses. It is shown that: (1) The local spin-off of seed farmers is the main path in the transformation of traditional farmers into enterprises. (2) The network-spillover and adoption of innovative knowledge promote the derivation of specialized farmers or enterprises and realize regional agricultural specialization and spatial agglomeration. (3) The formation of the agricultural cluster resulted from the joint effects of spin-off derived from the entrepreneurial spirit of the farmers, network-spillover of various agricultural innovations and spatial integration of the agricultural landscape. The formation of local agricultural innovation systems marks the maturity of an agricultural cluster. This article contribute to the field by studying one source of Alfred Marshall’s knowledge of external economy from the perspective of spin-offs and innovative spillovers, analyzing the agricultural increasing returns to scale neglected by Krugman, and exploring the micro mechanism of farmers’ enterprise-oriented evolution and the formation of agricultural clusters in underdeveloped rural areas. The research results are of profound referential significance for the cultivation of agricultural clusters in developing countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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28 pages, 3456 KiB  
Article
Coupling Coordination Analysis of Livelihood Efficiency and Land Use for Households in Poverty-Alleviated Mountainous Areas
by Fang Su, Jiangbo Chang and Haiyang Shang
Land 2021, 10(11), 1115; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land10111115 - 21 Oct 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1832
Abstract
The interaction between livelihood means and land use pattern of households is the core of the interactive coupling of the human-land system. This study focuses on Qinba mountainous area in southern Shaanxi province, a typical poverty-alleviated mountainous area. With the help of the [...] Read more.
The interaction between livelihood means and land use pattern of households is the core of the interactive coupling of the human-land system. This study focuses on Qinba mountainous area in southern Shaanxi province, a typical poverty-alleviated mountainous area. With the help of the coupling coordination degree model, kernel density estimation, and trend surface analysis, this study constructs the coupling coordination degree of livelihood efficiency and land use for households, and analyzes the differences between households’ livelihood efficiency and land use level, as well as the coupling coordination relationship between households livelihood efficiency and land use in different types and regions. The research conclusions are as follows. (1) For households in the Qinba mountainous area, southern Shaanxi province, the livelihood efficiency is at a medium level of 0.681, the land use is at a low level of 0.127, while the coupling coordination degree 0.526 is at the primary coordination state. (2) With the increase of nonagricultural degree, the coupling coordination degree of households increases first, and then decreases. (3) The coupling coordination degree for households east-to-west is “sagging”, while south-to-north diagram is “hogging”. (4) The distribution of the coupling coordination degree for agriculture-dependent households east-to-west (the “sagging” diagram) is opposite to the other types of households. By analogy, the distribution of the coupling coordination degree for nonagriculture and agriculture-dependent households north-to-south (the “hogging” diagram) is opposite to the other types of households. The coupling coordination between the households’ livelihood efficiency and land use level is affected by the households’ regional development level, natural resources, geographic location, infrastructure availability and many other factors. Making appropriate livelihood development plans based on the types of households and regional space can both effectively improve the livelihood conditions, as well as offer guidance in promoting regional human-land activity coordination and ensuring sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Agriculture in East Asia: Land-Livelihood Interactions)
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