Study on the Quantity and Age Structure of Rural Surplus Labor Force in China

Based on the data from the Second National Agriculture Census in 2006, this paper analyzed the absolute quantity and age structure of China rural surplus labor force by the classical approach. It showed that the migration of rural labor force was still far away from ＂Lewis turning point＂, and ＂mingong huang＂ （ shortage of peasant workforce） appearing in coastal areas could be explained with the location separation between the labor-intensive industries and rural labor force. It was a feasible and an effective way to push forward the transfer of labor-intensive industries from the east coast to central and Western China to absorb the abundant supply of rural labor force.     

Research of Primary Agricultural Mechanization in Developing Countries

For providing a correct and reasonable strategy to develop agricultural mechanization in developing countries, this paper took China as the representative to analyze the poor agricultural equipment service condition. It also put forward the ecology and social crisis brought out by the long-term and large-scale primary mechanization. According to the characteristics of national condition, this paper brought forward several certain policies and solutions, such as compelling to shorten the continuance cycle of traditional primary stage, seeking for new economic growth poles of high-added-value agricultural production by fully using the abundant labor force, etc. It is a feasible technical program to develop harmonious agricultural modernization in developing countries     

Is the feminization of labor harmful to agricultural production? The decision-making and production control perspective

Even today, academics continue to debate the effect of feminization of agricultural labor force on agricultural output. By considering the dimensions of participation in decision-making and production, this study divides the various agricultural production models into three types:(i) the traditional model of decisions made either jointly by men and women or by men alone while both genders participate in production,(ii) complete feminization of agricultural decision-making and the production labor force, and(iii) feminization of the agricultural production labor force only. This study investigates the effects of combining or separating decision-making and production in regard to agricultural development in the context of feminization of the agricultural labor force. Using follow-up data collected from 2004–2008 by the Ministry of Agriculture of China, we built a comprehensive panel data model to test our hypotheses. Our research shows that in comparison to traditional agricultural households and fully feminized agricultural labor forces, partially feminized production resulted in lower grain yield and technological advancement. The feminization of agricultural labor does not necessarily have a negative impact on agricultural output, especially since heavy manual labor is being increasingly replaced by agricultural machinery and outsourcing of tasks. The degree of feminization of the decision-making and production processes should be an important consideration when evaluating the purported negative effects of the feminization of agricultural labor.     

Productivity Growth in China’s Agriculture During 1985-2010

This paper made an empirical analysis of China＇s agricultural growth path and influential factors using the province-level panel data of agricultural inputs and outputs during 1985-2010.The findings indicate that the increase in agricultural inputs and TFP contributed 40.6 and 55.2% to the agricultural output growth,respectively;China＇s agriculture had jumped out of the pattern which output growth was mainly driven by increasing input.Of the total inputs,chemical fertilizer had the most important contribution to the output growth,followed by mechanical inputs.The contribution of land and labor was negative.China＇s agricultural output growth belonged to the type of induced technology innovation.China＇s agricultural TFP growth had characteristics of fluctuations over time and unbalanced between regions,but the gap between the eastern,the middle,and the western regions has been narrowed.     

Farmer Labor Service Export from Heilongjiang Province to Russia

As contiguous area to Russia, Heilongjiang Province takes advantage of geography and resource superiority to promote the export of farmer labor services to Russia in recent years with trading cooperation between China and Russia. This paper briefly introduced the present situation of the export of farmer labor services from Heilongjiang Province to Russia. Under the background of Russian Far East economic development and development of ＂large agriculture＂ in Heilongjiang Province, Heilongjiang Province would continue to increase labor export to Russia. Then, the paper analyzed the problems of the export of farmer labor services and gave some proposals accordingly. At last, the result showed that well-organized and reasonable farmer labor export to Russia could play a role to the agricultural modernization and urbanization development.     

Journal of South China Agricultural University

Sponsored by South China Agricultural University, Journal of South China Agricultural University publishes a wide range of papers in Agricultural Sciences. Featuring in the Plant Protection Section for publishing regular articles, Journal of South China Agricultural University maintains a leading position in publishing papers in agricultural sciences in China. It is one of China＇s core journals in comprehensive agricultural sciences and in agricultural plant protection, and also the award - winning journal for many times. It is abstracted and indexed in more than 30 digest journals and databases.     

Countermeasures of Reclaimed Municipal Wastewater for Safety of Agricultural Use in China

China is facing a severe water resource crisis, and the shortage of water for agricultural consumption is a prominent problem. Irrigation with reclaimed municipal wastewater that can reach the agricultural recycling standards is an important way to deal with water shortage in agricultural production. Owing to the complex sources of municipal wastewater, there are multifarious pollutants in municipal wastewater. Improper use of wastewater can cause potential risks to agoenvironment, agricultural products safety, and human health. This article deals with the current situation and the development prospects of reclaimed wastewater for agricultural use in China and abroad; the potential risks to human health and environmental pollution from the reclaimed municipal wastewater for agricultural reuse are also discussed. And some countermeasures and advices of reclaimed municipal wastewater for safety of agricultural reuse are provided.     

Developing Agricultural Logistics Based on Agricultural Industrialization

Developing agricultural logistics is important to farm products circulation and it is helpful to solve the problems about agriculture, rural areas and peasantry of China. It is not a negligible countermeasure to increase peasants＇ incomes and enhance the capability of agriculture development in agricultural industrialization, meanwhile it can also raise the efficiency of farm products circulation. This paper firstly expounded that agricultural industrialization should include agricultural logistics, then analyzed the present problems of agricultural logistics and the significance of developing modem agricultural logistics which based on agricultural industrialization in China. Lastly, it put forward the countermeasures to develop agricultural logistics based on agricultural industrialization.     

Industrial and Employment Structural Imbalance in Northeast China and Agricultural Enhancement

Balanced development between industrial and employment structures are important indicators of regional economic and social health. By introducing indicators such as industrial structure deviation, comparative labor productivity, international comparison of relative labor productivity as well as employment elasticity, the paper further probed into intricate causes for the imbalance between industrial and employment structures in this specific region from a new angle which based on the evolution process analyses of both industrial and employment structures in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang in Northeast China. The paper also suggested policy measures to strengthen agricultural developments and to facilitate the balance between industrial and employment structures.     

Managing Climate Change Risk in China’s Agricultural Sector：The Potential for an Integrated Risk Management Framework

Climate change poses a serious threat to the future food security of China, which is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world. This paper discusses the implications of climate change for China＇s agricultural sector. Its main objectives are to identify the agricultural risks associated with climate change, to introduce a conceptual framework for agricultural climate risk management and to enumerate key adaptation strategies, challenges, and recommendations.     

Revealed Comparative Advantage and Competitiveness in Chinese Agricultural Sectors

This paper examined the competitiveness of Chinese agricultural products, in relation to the rest of the world, based on the index of revealed comparative advantage, using lots of data during period of 1980 to 2000. The index is useful in identifying the demarcation between comparative advantage and comparative disadvantage, though a problem exits when using it. China is shown to have a comparative advantage in a range of agricultural products, including edible vegetables and tea. This complements the findings of those studies that have used price and cost based on approaches in identifying competitiveness in agricultural products. Results indicated that the RCA values had been weakening over the 21-year period. These have vastly different implication for the future reform in China＇s agriculture,     

Instructions to Authors

正1.Journal of Yunnan Agricultural University is sponsored by Yunnan Agricultural University and has been published since 1986.The journal was initially published semi-annually,and changed to quarterly in 1989 and bimonthly in 2004.As a comprehensive scientific periodical publication in China and abroad,Journal of Yunnan Agricultural University won the titles of Chinese core journals,the core of China’s science and technology journals,the core of China’s agricultural science journals.It seeks review and original contributions from all areas of agriculture and animal husbandry under the headings of:BiodiversityBiosafety,Plant GeneticsBreeding,Biological Technology,Plant Protection,TillageCultivation,     

SWOT Analysis and Development Strategies of Maize Industry in Heilongjiang Province

With the development of China’s market economy, the international grain supply situation is increasingly tense, and the grain has been regarded as an important international strategic resource in the international market. Due to the reduction of international grain output and expected inflation, the gap between maize supply shortage and increasing demand is apparent in China, so that China is described as a worrying importer country. By using SWOT analysis belonging to the field of enterprise strategic management, this paper analyzed the current maize industry development in Heilongjiang Province as an entry point, the strength, weakness and opportunity and threat were put forward. Thereby, the developing principles and strategies were proposed to stimulate the maize industry development in Heilongjiang Province, which would lay a good foundation of 50 billion kilograms grain production capacity by 2015 in China, as well as the economic development and local farmers’ income increase.     

Research on Spatial-Temporal Characteristics and Driving Factor of Agricultural Carbon Emissions in China

Macroscopic grasp of agricultural carbon emissions status, spatial-temporal characteristics as well as driving factors are the basic premise in further research on China’s agricultural carbon emissions. Based on 23 kinds of major carbon emission sources including agricultural materials inputs, paddy ifeld, soil and livestock breeding, this paper ifrstly calculated agricultural carbon emissions from 1995 to 2010, as well as 31 provinces and cities in 2010 in China. We then made a decomposed analysis to the driving factors of carbon emissions with logarithmic mean Divisia index （LMDI） model. The results show：（1） The amount of agricultural carbon emissions is 291.1691 million t in 2010. Compared with 249.5239 million t in 1995, it increased by 16.69%, in which, agricultural materials inputs, paddy ifeld, soil, enteric fermentation, and manure management accounted for 33.59, 22.03, 7.46, 17.53 and 19.39%of total agricultural carbon emissions, respectively. Although the amount exist ups and downs, it shows an overall trend of cyclical rise; （2） There is an obvious difference among regions：the amount of agricultural carbon emissions from top ten zones account for 56.68%, while 9.84%from last 10 zones. The traditional agricultural provinces, especially the major crop production areas are the main source regions. Based on the differences of carbon emission rations, 31 provinces and cities are divided into ifve types, namely agricultural materials dominant type, paddy ifeld dominant type, enteric fermentation dominant type, composite factors dominant type and balanced type. The agricultural carbon emissions intensity in west of China is the highest, followed by the central region, and the east zone is the lowest; （3） Compared with 1995, efifciency, labor and structure factors cut down carbon emissions by 65.78, 27.51 and 3.19%, respectively;while economy factor increase carbon emissions by 113.16%.     

Policy options and system supplies on socialization standard management of city agricultural laborers

It is a social system engineering to solve problems of city agricultural laborers, inevitably concerning series of social phenomenon and the social issues of the city and countryside relations, the government function, the city management, the fair efficiency, the population flows, the labor employment, the social security, and so on. Furthermore, it also involves the profoundly political and economic system reforms, the transformation of government functions, the system perfection, legal administration, the social stability in China. The city government, as the direct superintendent of the agricultural laborers, should adopt the conception of the system engineering to construct a new mechanism of the city agricultural laborers socialization standard management, which has a profound theoretical and practical significance.     

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Financial Support to Agriculture Based on the DEA Method

Financial support to agriculture is the main driving force to increase farmers＇ income. This paper applied the evaluation DEA （Data-embrasing Analysis） method to evaluate the effectiveness of financial support to agriculture from 1990 to 2005. It is found that the trend of the financial support to agricultural effectiveness in China presented a downward trend in recent years. The results showed that the overall trend of the financial support to agriculture in China wasn＇t high, and some corresponding proposals were put forward to optimized.     

Human Capital of Family and Social Mobility in Rural Areas-Evidence from China

This research focuses on the impact of family＇s human capital on social mobility in China＇s rural community.Empirical research is conducted based on data from surveying a typical rural community in the past 20 yr.The study indicates that social mobility in rural area is active in the past 20 yr,and the human capital of family,represented by primary labor＇s education level,has played an essential role in mobility of low social class.Meanwhile,socio-economic development and the change of supply and demand in labor market dims the signaling role of degree education,but the impact of occupational training is increasingly remarkable.Therefore,the change from sole degree education to multi-leveled education including occupational education and training is a main way for China＇s rural families in low class to realize social mobility.     

Application of Pruning Algorithm on Voice Service Platform of Cow Disease Diagnosis Expert System

Expert System （ES） is considered effective and efficient in agricultural production, as agricultural informationization becomes a main trend in agricultural development. ES, however, is applied unsatisfactorily in most rural areas of China and it has considerably affected and restricted the development of the agricultural informationization. This paper proposed a solution to voice service system of ES, which was suitable for the information transmission, and it especially could help the peasants in remote regions obtain knowledge from ES through the voice service system. As for the disadvantages of massive knowledge data and slow deduction, in this system the classification method could be adopted based on the decision tree. Designing pruning algorithm to ＂trim off＂ the unrelated knowledge to the users in query course would simplify the structure of the decision tree and accelerate the speed of deduction before the inference engine deduced the knowledge required by users.     

Irrigation Water Use Efficiency of Farmers and Its Determinants： Evidence from a Survey in Northwestern China

Irrigation water shortage is becoming an increasingly serious problem in agricultural production. In this case, it is very important for policy makers to take measures to improve irrigation water use efficiency, especially in the water-scarce areas. In this paper, the data envelopment analysis （DEA） techniques, based on the concept of input-specific technical efficiency were used to develop farm-level technical efficiency measures and sub-vector efficiencies for irrigation water use. The Tobit regression technique was then adopted to identify the factors that influence irrigation water efficiency differentials under the shortage of water resources. Based on a sample data of 432 wheat farmers in northwestern China, our experimental results of the DEA analysis showed the average technical efficiency of 0.6151. It suggested that wheat farmers could increase their production by as much as 38.49% by using inputs more efficiently. Further, the mean irrigation water efficiency of 0.3065, suggested that wheat farmers could produce the same quantity of wheat using the same quantity of inputs but with 69.35% less water. The results of the Tobit regression analysis showed that the farmer＇s age, income, education level, and the farm size tended to affect the degree of irrigation water efficiency positively, and the channel conditions and different irrigation methods made a significant impact on irrigation water use efficiency. Furthermore, the arrangements of exclusive water property rights and competitive water price mechanism have effectively encouraged the water saving behavior of farmers. These results are valuable for policy makers since it could help to guide policies towards high irrigation water use efficiency.     

About Agricultural Science & Technology

In China,Agricultural Science & Technology is the first comprehensive agricultural English journal.The editor-in-chief is YUAN Long-ping,and the editorial board members are CHEN Wen-xin,FANG Zhi-yuan,GUAN Chun-yun,WU Chang-xin,WU Ming-zhu and YUAN Long-ping,who are academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences or Chinese Academy of Engineering.The journal(CN43-1422/S;ISSN 1009-4229),sponsored by Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences,aims to enhance international influence of China’s agricultural scientific research.It has a good reputation in the world,and for