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Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development
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Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 6985

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Fotios Chatzitheodoridis

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Guest Editor
Department of Regional and Cross-Border Development, University of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece
Interests: regional development; rural policy; rural development; energy and development; management of integrated rural development programmes
Prof. Dr. Efstratios Loizou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Management Science and Technology, University of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece
Interests: applied economics; regional development models; bioeconomy; agricultural economics; rural development; rural policy
Dr. Achilleas Kontogeorgos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, International Hellenic University, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: agricultural economics; marketing; management of agricultural enterprises; agricultural cooperatives; quality assurance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global agricultural economy is changing as both the dynamics of world trade and international instabilities and crises directly and catalytically affect it. The disparities between rich and poor countries are essentially reflected in the structure of their agricultural sector, while environmental and economic crises, epidemics, and war conflicts have direct effects on prices and supply chains, but also on people's quality of life. Although these difficulties create a global gloomy environment, the agricultural economy is also changing in a positive way as national and supranational formations, such as those of the European Union, has consistently followed a changing agricultural policy for decades, so as to address the dynamics of events. In this context, this Special Issue aims to highlight both the problems of changes, but also the solutions for achieving sustainable development in the rural area, with a focus on the rural economy, as well as its various aspects and differentiations.

The scope and focus of this Special Issue are specifically presented in the keywords/topics that follow. The transformation of the agricultural economy is fully linked with integrated sustainable development and touches on aspects related to agro-food strategies, bioeconomy, precision agriculture, organic farming, and the marketing of agricultural products, among other things. In this Special Issue, we also aim to cover all aspects under the concept of agricultural economy transformation and we do not follow the existing literature that usually studies the topics separately.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality theoretical or empirical research papers that highlight aspects of the agriculture economy transformation and agricultural policies. International or country-specific research is welcomed.

Dr. Fotios Chatzitheodoridis
Prof. Dr. Efstratios Loizou
Dr. Achilleas Kontogeorgos
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • agriculture resilience and sustainability
  • agricultural policy
  • CAP reform
  • farm-to-fork strategy
  • rural development
  • LEADER and CLLD strategies
  • tourism alternative forms and sustainability
  • protected designations of origin and geographical indications (PDO and PGI)
  • sustainable rural development and culture
  • climate change
  • EU green deal
  • biodiversity and agriculture
  • organic agriculture
  • bioeconomy and circular economy
  • agricultural economy
  • precision agriculture
  • international trade of agro-food products
  • impacts of international crises and instabilities on agricultural products markets and supplies chains
  • sustainability, farm management, and informatics
  • marketing of agricultural products
  • consumer behavior

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 829 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of China’s Marine Aquaculture Sector’s Green Development Level Using the Super-Efficiency Slacks-Based Measure and Global Malmquist–Luenberger Index Models
by Deli Yang and Qionglei Wang
Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3441; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16083441 - 19 Apr 2024
Viewed by 353
Abstract
Given China’s rapidly expanding marine aquaculture industry, the associated ecological issues have garnered widespread attention. Therefore, it is crucial to speed up the green growth of marine aquaculture in order to save the environment and use resources sustainably. In order to statically assess [...] Read more.
Given China’s rapidly expanding marine aquaculture industry, the associated ecological issues have garnered widespread attention. Therefore, it is crucial to speed up the green growth of marine aquaculture in order to save the environment and use resources sustainably. In order to statically assess and dynamically analyze the green development efficiency levels of marine aquaculture in nine coastal provinces of China from 2012 to 2021, this study uses the non-expected output super-efficiency Slacks-Based Measure model and the Global Malmquist–Luenberger index method. Additionally, it integrates input–output redundancy rates to analyze the causes of efficiency loss. Static efficiency primarily reflects whether a region’s inputs and outputs at a given point in time reach an effective efficiency level, while the level of dynamic efficiency mainly gauges the dynamic changes in the efficiency of green production. The results show that, from 2012 to 2021, China’s marine aquaculture industry’s average static efficiency of green output was 0.705. The southern marine economic zone exhibited the highest static efficiency value in the green development of marine aquaculture, displaying a stepped distribution pattern of “south–north–east” in decreasing order. The input–output redundancy analysis reveals that the primary causes of static efficiency loss in China’s marine aquaculture industry are attributed to varying degrees of redundant inputs and carbon emission outputs. Looking through the lens of the GML index, the annual average growth rate of the green total factor productivity in China’s marine aquaculture stands at 11.1%, with an annual average change in technical efficiency of 1.8%, while the annual average change in technological progress amounts to 9.1%, suggesting that technological advancement is the primary driver of the rise in green total factor productivity in China’s marine aquaculture sector. According to the study, in order to encourage China’s marine aquaculture industry to grow sustainably, efforts should be made not only to accelerate technological advancements but also to enhance technical efficiency. Policies that are specifically designed for the local environment should be developed to support the sustainable development of the marine aquaculture sector and to make resource allocation easier. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development)
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19 pages, 12932 KiB  
Article
The Spatiotemporal Impact of Digital Economy on High-Quality Agricultural Development: Evidence from China
by Qi Li and Zhijiao Liu
Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2814; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16072814 - 28 Mar 2024
Viewed by 493
Abstract
China’s high-quality economic development is strongly supported by the high-quality development of agriculture, and the digital economy has emerged as a key driver for promoting shared prosperity and high-quality economic development. Against this backdrop, investigating the connection between high-quality agricultural development and the [...] Read more.
China’s high-quality economic development is strongly supported by the high-quality development of agriculture, and the digital economy has emerged as a key driver for promoting shared prosperity and high-quality economic development. Against this backdrop, investigating the connection between high-quality agricultural development and the digital economy holds significant importance. This study utilized the entropy-weighted TOPSIS model to evaluate comprehensive evaluation indicators of the two according to panel data from 30 provinces in China between 2011 and 2021. Subsequently, GIS spatial analysis and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) were employed to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution features and spatial correlations. Finally, the spatiotemporal geographically weighted regression (GTWR) model was constructed to examine the spatiotemporal impact of the digital economy on the advancement of high-quality agricultural growth. The results indicate that: (1) from 2011 to 2021, China’s high-quality agricultural development and digital economy both demonstrated a general increasing trend. In terms of spatial distribution, there were significant spatial variations, with a general trend of “Southeast is higher, whereas the Northwest is lower”. The regions with significant value were primarily clustered in the coastal areas in the east and several provincial capitals. (2) Both of the two exhibited significant global spatial self-correlation, and there were also significant spatiotemporal clustering effects in high-quality agricultural growth, gradually forming a high-value cluster centered around Shanghai and a low-value cluster centered around western provinces. (3) The digital economy positively influences the enhancement of high-quality agricultural development, demonstrating notable spatial and temporal heterogeneity. In contrast to the southeastern areas, the influence is more pronounced in the northern and central-western areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development)
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16 pages, 2554 KiB  
Article
Innovations in Agricultural Bio-Inputs: Commercial Products Developed in Argentina and Brazil
by Gabriel da Silva Medina, Rosana Rotondo and Gustavo Rubén Rodríguez
Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2763; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16072763 - 27 Mar 2024
Viewed by 652
Abstract
Innovations in agricultural bio-inputs can lead to sustainable alternatives to replace synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. However, there is no clear understanding of what technologies can become available to farmers as commercial products, particularly in developing countries. This study summarizes the innovations used in [...] Read more.
Innovations in agricultural bio-inputs can lead to sustainable alternatives to replace synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. However, there is no clear understanding of what technologies can become available to farmers as commercial products, particularly in developing countries. This study summarizes the innovations used in commercial products in Argentina and Brazil based on the countries’ official data and on in-depth surveys conducted with 14 bio-input private companies. The results reveal ongoing development efforts to improve traditional products, such as inoculants that help plants fix nitrogen. There is also progress in mastering the formulation of new bio-inputs, such as bio-fertilizers that promote plant growth and bio-pesticides for pest control. Lastly, the next generation of bio-inputs composed of phytovaccines promises to help prepare plants’ immune systems against the attack of pathogenic fungi and bacteria, while bio-herbicides can potentially reduce the use of synthetic herbicides to prepare fields for harvest. Domestic companies based in Argentina and Brazil play an important role in these innovations that can underpin bio-economy growth in developing countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development)
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30 pages, 928 KiB  
Article
Relationship of Arable Land Scale and High-Quality Development of Farmers’ Cooperatives: Evidence from Grain Production Cooperatives in China
by Yang Xu, Yujia Huo and Xiangyu Guo
Sustainability 2024, 16(6), 2389; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16062389 - 13 Mar 2024
Viewed by 564
Abstract
Sustainable agricultural development relies significantly on the high-quality progression of farmers’ cooperatives. While growing in number, farmers’ cooperatives are still facing the dilemma of improving the quality of their development. Land endowment is the foundation of agricultural production and the farmers’ cooperatives. Clarifying [...] Read more.
Sustainable agricultural development relies significantly on the high-quality progression of farmers’ cooperatives. While growing in number, farmers’ cooperatives are still facing the dilemma of improving the quality of their development. Land endowment is the foundation of agricultural production and the farmers’ cooperatives. Clarifying the correlation between arable land scale and the high-quality development of farmers’ cooperatives is conducive to the optimization of land use and the adoption of scientific land management measures to improve the quality of the development of farmers’ cooperatives. Based on the micro-survey data of 448 farmers’ cooperatives in three major grain-producing provinces, namely Heilongjiang, Henan, and Shandong in China, this paper constructs an evaluation index system for the high-quality development of farmers’ cooperatives and theoretically and empirically explores the impact mechanism of arable land scale on the high-quality development of farmers’ cooperatives. The results suggest the following: (1) there exists a significant “inverted U-shaped” association between the arable land scale and the development quality of cooperatives, and this result remains robust after testing through substitution variable and instrumental variable methods; (2) further research on the “inverted U-shaped” association reveals that the impact of arable land scale on the high-quality development of cooperatives undergoes four stages: “weak impact—rapid improvement—diminished growth effect—decline in development quality”; and (3) mechanism tests suggest that the “inverted U-shaped” association between the arable land scale and the development quality of cooperatives is mainly constrained by industrial development input, and arable land scale and industrial development show a strong complementary relationship. Therefore, in the course of enhancing the quality of farmers’ cooperatives, it is crucial to select appropriate land management strategies based on to their stage, paying special attention to the compatibility between arable land scale and industrial development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development)
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33 pages, 1359 KiB  
Article
The Regional Heterogeneity of the Impact of Agricultural Market Integration on Regional Economic Development: An Analysis of Pre-COVID-19 Data in China
by Xinru Miao, Shaopeng Wang, Jiqin Han, Zhaoyi Ren, Teng Ma and Henglang Xie
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1734; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16051734 - 20 Feb 2024
Viewed by 871
Abstract
The abrupt onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 significantly disrupted China’s domestic agricultural production and supply chain stability. Local governments, responding to urgent circumstances, implemented various trade restrictions that profoundly affected regional economic development. This study, covering data from 2010 to [...] Read more.
The abrupt onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 significantly disrupted China’s domestic agricultural production and supply chain stability. Local governments, responding to urgent circumstances, implemented various trade restrictions that profoundly affected regional economic development. This study, covering data from 2010 to 2019 across 31 provinces, investigates agricultural market integration and regional economic development. Employing a dynamic spatial panel Durbin model, it systematically analyzes the complex relationship between these variables. International trade variables related to agricultural products are then introduced to examine their “substitution effect” in promoting regional economic development through agricultural market integration. The research findings are summarized as follows: (1) disregarding international agricultural trade, a one-unit increase in the agricultural market integration index corresponds to a 0.156% rise in regional economic development. (2) In an open economy, the substitution coefficients for agricultural imports, exports, and total trade concerning market integration are −0.00097, −0.0012, and −0.0038, respectively. (3) The strength of the substitution effect from the international agricultural market to the domestic market varies regionally, with coefficients of −0.00099 and −0.00217 for the eastern and western regions, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development)
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20 pages, 1755 KiB  
Article
Technological Integration and Obstacles in China’s Agricultural Extension Systems: A Study on Disembeddedness and Adaptation
by Xinran Hu, Bin Xiao and Zhihui Tong
Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 859; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16020859 - 19 Jan 2024
Viewed by 681
Abstract
In light of China’s evolving agricultural technology extension system, this study investigates a critical issue known as “technological disembeddedness”. This phenomenon, observed in the context of the country’s push towards administrative and market-oriented extension, reflects a significant disconnect between the formalized methods of [...] Read more.
In light of China’s evolving agricultural technology extension system, this study investigates a critical issue known as “technological disembeddedness”. This phenomenon, observed in the context of the country’s push towards administrative and market-oriented extension, reflects a significant disconnect between the formalized methods of technology extension, such as classroom instruction, and the practical needs of farmers. As a consequence, the envisioned improvements in agricultural production efficiency have not materialized as expected. The analysis, based on fieldwork conducted in Shandong Province from 2019 to 2020, identifies that different stakeholder interests have further exacerbated the situation. Agricultural technology extension, driven by diverse agendas, has been utilized as a tool for profit, resulting in a stark disparity in farmers’ access to technology and the emergence of multiple, formalized extension models. This marginalized small-scale farmers and undermined the initial objectives of the extension system. The study proposes a fundamental shift in approach. It advocates for a social-centric perspective on technology extension, suggesting that the solution lies in harnessing local community dynamics to gradually build a technology extension system that aligns with the practical realities of farmers’ production and daily lives. In summary, the study identifies “technological disembeddedness” as a primary challenge within China’s agricultural technology extension system. It underscores the need to reorient the approach towards a more socially connected model, with a focus on the local community’s role in creating a technology extension system that genuinely serves the needs of farmers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development)
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20 pages, 2019 KiB  
Article
Integration of Water Resources Management Strategies in Land Use Planning towards Environmental Conservation
by Stavros Kalogiannidis, Dimitrios Kalfas, Grigoris Giannarakis and Maria Paschalidou
Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15242; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su152115242 - 25 Oct 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2621
Abstract
Water resources management is a critical component of environmental conservation and sustainable development. This study examines the integration of water resources management strategies into land use planning and its impact on environmental conservation, with a focus on the case of Greece. This study [...] Read more.
Water resources management is a critical component of environmental conservation and sustainable development. This study examines the integration of water resources management strategies into land use planning and its impact on environmental conservation, with a focus on the case of Greece. This study employed a quantitative research methodology using a cross-sectional survey research design. The target population consisted of environmental experts in Greece, and a sample of 278 participants was selected based on the Krejcie and Morgan table for sample size determination. Data were collected through an online survey questionnaire, and the statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23. The relationships between the study variables were examined through regression analysis. The findings support the hypotheses, demonstrating the importance of integrating water resources management strategies into land use planning to achieve both sustainable development and environmental conservation. This paper discusses various strategies and approaches that can be adopted to effectively manage water resources while considering the impacts of land use decisions on the environment. Better public awareness and better enforcement of water conservation rules result from this integration, which makes it possible for land use authorities and water management agencies to collaborate more effectively. This study acknowledges the need for strategic planning and cooperation between water management and land use authorities to address the growing challenges of water resources management and environmental protection. Emphasizing stakeholder participation, adaptive management, and continuous monitoring can lead to successful outcomes and a more resilient and sustainable future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development)
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