Financing Problems in China＇s Rural Areas

Solving the financing problem in rural areas and improving the level of economic development in rural areas become important guarantees for the expansion of domestic demand. This research, through studying the current situation of rural financing, pointed out the main factors restricting the financing in rural areas, such as high risk credit, slow income growth, high financing cost and difficult mortgage and guaranteed loans. Based on those, the author worked out the objectives and direction of China＇s rural financing reform, from two aspects of path selection of reform and innovation and specific embodiments for adjusting the overall reconstruction, and put forward some relevant countermeasures.     

The short- and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on family farms in China – Evidence from a survey of 2 324 farms

Family farms are considered the most desirable form of Chinese agriculture. Studies on the risk management of family farms are rare, while the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to explore how family farms respond to risks. Based on an online survey of 2 324 family crop farms, we examine for the first time the short-term impact (immediate impact or short-term fluctuation, and farms' instantaneous response) and long-term impact (on farms' future or long-term production) of the COVID-19 pandemic on family farms' production and operation in rural China. By using factor analysis and dummy variable regression, we find that the severity of the pandemic, the lockdown of the village, and farmers' knowledge of the pandemic contribute significantly to the short-term impact, but not on the long-term impact. Farmers' characteristics such as gender, age, and education are not related to the short-term impact, but family farms with male owners or owners with high school education or below are more likely to be diversified and large-scale. The number of years the farm has existed for and agricultural insurance affect both short-term and long-term impacts. We suggest that the government needs to pay more attention to stability-enhancing policies, the market environment, vocational training and the agricultural insurance market.     

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.     

Effects of Site-Specific Nitrogen Management on Yield and Dry Matter Accumulation of Rice from Cold Areas of Northeastern China

The effects of yield increase and mechanism of site-specific nitrogen management （SSNM） in five rice varieties from cold areas of northeastern China were studied. Plot experiment for critical SPAD value and experiments of two fertilization methods, SSNM and farmer＇s fertilization practice （FFP） were conducted to study their effects on the quality and dry matter accumulation of rice population, as well as N uptake. Compared with FFP, SSNM significantly decreased the average N rate by 33.8%, significantly increased average ear-bearing tiller rate and LAI for grain-filling stage by 12.3% and 14.1-27.6%, correspondingly, improved dry matter weight and N uptake after heading period by 4.3-29.1% and 11.8-55.1% （P 〈 0.05）, and heightened recovery efficiency and agronomic efficiency by 38.5-133.4% （P 〈 0.05） and 39.8-194.3% （P 〈 0.05）, respectively, as well as increased the average yield by 9.8% in 2004 and 2005. The results indicated that the accumulation rate of dry matter and N increased the rice yield and N use efficiency, because of improving rice population quality and increasing LAI after heading period.     

Effects of Plastic Film Mulching of Millet on Soil Moisture and Temperature in Semi-Arid Areas in South Ningxia of China

The effects of film mulching of millet on soil water content were studied in semi-arid areas in the Loess Plateau of South Ningxia, China. Different mulching methods including water micro-collecting farming （WF）, water micro-collecting farming in winter fallow （WW）, hole seeding on film （HF）, hole seeding on film in winter fallow （HW） were compared to determine the effects of mulching methods on soil water collecting and conservation during millet growth periods of 2003-2004, as well as the variation tendency of water content after rainfall, output of millet and water use efficiency （WUE）. The experimental results in the two successive years indicated that water micro-collecting farming had a better function of collecting water after rainfall, and side infiltrated water was stored under the ridges and the top layer 0-40 cm soil water changes were great. WF had obvious role in water collection and preservation of soil moisture. It effectively improved the water supply capacity by about 19.05% in the end of growth seasons. The storage of HW and WW increased by 24.9 and 7.1 mm compared with CK, and output of yield were obviously increased. Film mulching increased the yield of millet and enhanced water use efficiency （WUE）. During different growth periods, WF exhibited better water storage function with lower water consumption, and demonstrated optimal social and ecological benefits.     

Micromorphological Features of Old Cultivated and Modern Soils in Guanzhong Areas, Shaanxi Province, China

Using the data obtained from the LGT soil profile, this article attempts to illustrate the process of modem soil formation in the Guanzhong areas and its micromorphological features. The micromorphology is observed under a petrographic microscope, and its image is quantitatively measured by LEICAL Qwin 2.6 software. Micromorphological observations of the thin sections show that the assemblage of minerals in different horizons is very similar, which is mainly composed of Q and P1. However, there are obvious differences in C/F15μm ratio, mineral content, and coarse features. The pedofeatures is mainly composed of clay, calcite, and amorphous Fe. Ap horizon is characterized by abundant needleshaped secondary calcite, secondary clay, and earthworm fecal pellet. BC horizon is characterized by a large quantity of secondary calcite with various shapes. Bt1and Bt2 horizons are characterized by abundant clay hypocoatings and a small quantity of secondary calcite. All the results of this research suggest that Earth-cumulic Orthic Anthrosols consist of both the upper Ap horizon, which cause loessal dung and eolian dust deposition, and cultivation occurs simultaneously during the process of Ap horizon-formation, and the lower BC horizon, which is aeolian sedimentary at the time of relative aridity during late Holocene.     

Consumers’ experiences and preferences for plant-based meat food: Evidence from a choice experiment in four cities of China

This paper examined consumers’ experiences in and preferences for plant-based meat (PBM) food and their respective correlates, based on data from an online survey of 579 consumers in four major cities in China in early 2021. We first described consumers’ experiences in consuming and purchasing PBM food and their correlates, and then analyzed consumer preferences using hypothetical choice experiment. The experiment offered consumers various options to purchase burgers made from PBM or animal-based meat (ABM), combined with different countries of origin (COO), taste labels, and prices. Our data showed that respondents hold overall positive attitudes toward PBM food; 85 and 82% of respondents reported experience in eating and purchasing PBM food, respectively. More than half of them ate PBM food because they wanted to try new food (58%), or were interested in healthy food (56%). Income, religion, and dietary restrictions were significantly correlated with consumers’ experiences in PBM food consumption. Results from the Random Parameter Logit Model based on the hypothetical choice experiment data showed that 79% of respondents chose PBM burgers and were willing to pay an average of 88 CNY for a PBM burger. We also found that 99.8 and 83% of respondents are willing to buy burgers made in China and those with a taste label, with a willingness to pay (WTP) of 208 and 120 CNY, respectively. The heterogeneity test revealed that females and those with at least a bachelor’s degree, higher income, religious beliefs, and dietary restrictions are more likely to buy PBM burgers than their counterparts.     

Uncertainty aversion and farmers’ innovative seed adoption: Evidence from a field experiment in rural China

Based on the microdata of 705 wheat farmers in the Loess Plateau, this study empirically analyzes the impact of uncertainty on farmers’ adoption of innovative seeds using a field experiment. The results indicate that farmers are generally ambiguity-averse and risk-averse. In addition, farmers with higher ambiguity aversion and risk aversion are less likely to adopt innovative wheat seeds, where their risk aversion plays a dominant role. Enhancing information access will alleviate the negative influence of ambiguity aversion on farmers’ adoption of innovative seeds, and interlinked insurance and credit contracts will be beneficial to ease the adverse effect of risk aversion on the adoption of innovative wheat seeds. Meanwhile, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the inhibitory effects of ambiguity aversion and risk aversion on innovative seed adoption are more significant among farmers with lower education and household income. The government can establish both ex-ante and ex-post relevant guarantee mechanisms to help farmers preferably cope with various uncertainties in the production process, remitting farmers’ ambiguity aversion and risk aversion to enhance new agricultural technology adoption rates.     

To Withstand Loneliness in the Process of Urbanization——Research on the Construction and Planning of Metropolitan Suburban Rural Tourism Scenic Areas

Abstract The conflicts between rurality and urbanization,tradition and modernity,industry and environmental resource in the rural tourism have become major difficulties of its sustainable development in China.This paper analyzed the characteristics and difficult situations of metropolitan suburban rural tourism,put forward four kinds of region-city functions in the development of metropolitan suburban rural tourism,and researched on the construction of rural tourism scenic areas in metropolis suburb—to Withstand Loneliness in the Process of Urbanization—as the following aspects:the space organization mode,localization,social organization and management,the product organization and spatial planning modes and contents.     

Necessity and Strategy of Development of Energy-Oriented-Agriculture in China

中国已成为继美国之后的全球第二大能源消费国,能源问题已成为制约一个国家经济发展的首要因素之一。目前,中国在解决能源问题方面,所采取的措施尚不能从根本上解决这一问题。提出能源农业的概念,系统阐述了能源农业的特点以及中国在发展能源农业方面所要采取的能源作物的筛选、培育、标准化栽培管理制度的建设、加工设备和加工工艺、能源转化设备转化效率和转化机制以及区域发展规划制定等一系列的基础及基础应用研究措施。     

Identification and Distribution of Bacillus thuringiensis Isolates from Primeval Forests in Yunnan and Hainan Provinces and Northeast Region of China

Ninety-two Bacillus thuringiensis isolates were screened from 683 soil samples collected from tropical and semitropical primeval forests in Yunnan and Hainan provinces of China. Several shapes of crystals, including bipyramidal, square, ovoid, spherical, and amorphous, were observed in the B. thuringiensis isolates. Twenty-six pairs of primers were used to identify 31 holotype cry genes at primary rank of the B. thuringiensis cry gene nomenclature system. The cry gene-types of 92 B. thuringiensis isolates and 33 B. thuringiensis isolates screened from Northeast region of China were identified by PCR-RFLP and SDS-PAGE methods. Fifty-eight isolates harbored cry1 genes, 32 isolates cry2 genes, 12 isolates cry8 genes, 3 isolates cry9 genes, 12 isolates cry11 genes, and 13 isolates cry30 genes. Of the tested isolates, 42 produced no reaction product with 26 pairs of primers and also exhibited no toxicity against 8 insect species tested. The isolate Z2-34 harbored a novel cry30 gene, exhibited insecticidal activity against Aedes albopictus of Dipterans. The accession number of the novel genes in this study is AY916046. Isolation and identification of B. thuringiensis and cry gene are important for investigating the diversity of B. thuringiensis resources and cloning new cry gene.     

Farmers’ precision pesticide technology adoption and its influencing factors: Evidence from apple production areas in China

The research aimed to understand farmers’ willingness to adopt (WTA) and willingness to pay (WTP) for precision pesticide technologies and analyzed the determinants of farmers’ decision-making. We used a two-stage approach to consider farmers’ WTA and WTP for precision pesticide technologies. A survey of 545 apple farmers was administered in Bohai Bay and the Loess Plateau in China. The data were analyzed using the double-hurdle model. The results indicated that 78.72% of respondents were willing to apply precision pesticide technologies provided by service organizations such as cooperatives and dedicated enterprises, and 69.72% were willing to buy the equipment for using precision pesticide technologies. The results of the determinant analysis indicated that farmers’ perceived perceptions, farm scale, cooperative membership, access to digital information, and availability of financial services had significant and positive impacts on farmers’ WTA precision pesticide technologies. Cooperative membership, technical training, and adherence to environmental regulations increased farmers’ WTP for precision pesticide technologies. Moreover, nonlinear relationships between age, agricultural experience, and farmers’ WTA and WTP for precision pesticide technology services were found.     

Detection and Characterization of ?-Lactam Resistance in Haemophilus parasuis Strains from Pigs in South China

To characterize the ?-lactam resistance in veterinary clinical isolates of Haemophilus parasuis, 115 isolates were examined for the ?-lactam resistance, the possession of ?-lactamase, and the presence of ?-lactamase genes. The genetic relationship among isolates was evaluated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Overall, the commonly detected resistance phenotypes were resistant to ampicillin (26.09%), penicillin (22.61%), amoxicillin (21.74%), cefazolin (14.78%), cefaclor (12.17%), and cefotaxime (6.96%). These strains showed high minimal inhibitory concentration (MICs) to oxacillin. 20.87% strains produced ?-lactamase, and 4.35% strains showed extended-spectrum b-lactamase (ESBL) phenotype. Moreover, 19 strains harboured bla genes including TEM-1 (n=5), TEM-116 (n=10), and ROB-1 (n=5). Significantly, one strain possessed both TEM-1 and ROB-1, and displayed resistance to cefotaxime (MIC=8 mg L^-1). The epidemiological analysis of PFGE revealed high genetic diversity among bla-positive isolates. This work shows that TEM- and ROB-type ?-lactamases are prevalent in H. parasuis isolates in China.     

Commercial cash crop production and households’ economic welfare: Evidence from the pulse farmers in rural China

Whether promoting cash crop production can increase household welfare has long been the focus of the food policy debate. This study first investigated the determinants of household behavior in commercial pulse farming. It then examined how households’ commercial pulse production improves their economic welfare. We used a dataset of 848 households collected from 2018 to 2019 to estimate the determinants of household behavior in commercial pulse farming by the Heckman two-step model. The endogenous treatment regression (ETR) method was employed to examine the impact of commercial pulse farming on household economic welfare. The results showed that factors such as market purchase prices, agricultural technology services, farmers’ access to loans, and government subsidies promoted smallholders’ commercial pulse farming; production costs and perceptions of climate change risks constrained smallholders’ commercial pulse production. Overall, commercial pulse production has increased household farm income but there was a limited impact on household off-farm income. Our findings suggest that policies aiming to increase households’ cash crop production and market access could significantly improve the economic welfare of pulse farmers.     

Is the crop insurance program effective in China? Evidence from farmers analysis in five provinces

This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Chinese crop insurance program in terms of farmers' utility and welfare. A simulation model based on the power utility function was first developed to evaluate the effectiveness of crop insurance. Then, the Monte Carlo approach was used to generate the datasets of area, price, yield, cost, and income based on the characteristics of representative farmers, which were clustered and calibrated using the farm-level data of 574 individual farmers from five Chinese provinces. Finally, the effectiveness of Chinese crop insurance was evaluated by comparing the certainty equivalence(CE) of farmers' utility/welfare under alternative crop insurance scenarios. Government subsidy is a necessary premise for implementing the crop insurance program. The government should subsidize more than 50% of the crop insurance premium to motivate more farmers to participate in the program. The findings also show that the current crop insurance program in China has increased the farmers' welfare but still need to be improved to achieve the Pareto improvement and to make full use of the financial fund of the government. This paper is believed to not only extend academic research but also has significant implications for policymakers, especially in the context of rapid development of Chinese crop insurance with much issues such as rate, subsidy and coverage level needed to be improved.     

Does nature-based solution sustain grassland quality? Evidence from rotational grazing practice in China

Rotational grazing is considered as one of the nature-based solutions (NbS) to grassland protection by natural scientists. However, its effects on improving grassland quality are still unclear when it is adopted by herders. Using a household-level panel data from field survey in two main pastoral provinces of China, empirical results from fixed-effect model and instrumental approach show that rotational grazing practices have insignificant short-term effects on grassland quality, but have positive long-term effects. In addition, rotational grazing practices can improve grassland quality when villages invest public infrastructure or herders have private supporting measures for more efficiency livestock production. Further analysis shows that herders adopting rotational grazing have higher grazing intensity, higher supplementary intensity and more livestock-house-feeding days, which indicate herders can utilize more efficient livestock management without increasing pressure on natural grassland. We also find that herders with pastoral income are more likely to adopt rotational grazing practice. These insightful findings offer policy implications on promoting grassroot NbS for ecosystem protection and resource utilization in developing pastoral countries.     

Farmers＇ Character and Behavior of Fertilizer Application - Evidence from a Survey of Xinxiang County, Henan Province, China

Agricultural chemical use has caused a public concern over environmental issue while decisions about applying chemicals are made by individual farmers. The critical decision-making role of farmers relative to agricultural chemical use creates a need for accurate information on their perceptions of various chemical-related hazards and the factors that may influence such judgments. Based on data collected from 177 land operators at Xinxiang County in Henan Province of China, an empirical analysis is conducted to examine the relationship between farmers＇ character and the behavior of fertilizer application. Study findings reveal that： the characteristics of household head and household, and the nature of farming management positively affect the amount of fertilizers applied; information on fertilizers and the knowledge about environmental impact of fertilizer application have negative impacts by contrast. To formulate effective pollution control policies at the farm level, it is imperative for policy-makers to convey information to producers by demonstration projects, technical assistance, and education programs. Under a changed political environment, some combination of education and economic incentives could be lower cost and more effective tools for achieving desired environmental conservative goals.