Determinants of cooperative pig farmers' safe production behaviour in China——Evidences from perspective of cooperatives' services

Farmers' production behaviour is a key to ensuring the safety and quality of their final products, and cooperatives play an important role in shaping that behaviour. This paper aims to explore the determinants of pig farmers' safe production behaviour, giving special focus from the perspective of cooperatives' services. This study adopted cross sectional survey data from 27 pig cooperatives and their 540 farmers in China to test the influence of cooperatives' services on farmers' safe production behaviour. The hypotheses were tested using a logit regression model. The findings indicated that although the number of services is not a key determinant of farmers' safe production behaviour, service quality matters. When a cooperative is strongly capable of involving more farmers in certain services, and provides certain services in more frequency, member farmers behave more safely. The results also show that veterinarian and pig-selling services play an important role in ensuring farmers' safe production behaviour. For this study, the quality of cooperatives' services is implied to have a positive impact on farmers' safe production behaviour. Leaders/managers of cooperatives must try to improve the quality of their services instead of merely attempting to provide a large number of services. For government officials and policy makers, designing policies that encourage cooperatives to improve their service quality is important. This research contributes to the scant literature on how cooperative services could help farmers engage in safer production behaviour, which would improve the safety of pork products in the future.     

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.     

Technical and environmental efficiency of hog production in China—A stochastic frontier production function analysis

This article analyses the technical and environmental efficiency of hog production in China using data from the China Agricultural Product Cost-Benefit Compilation(NDRC 2005–2013) and the First National Census of Pollution: Manual of Discharge Coefficient of Livestock and Poultry Industry(IEDA and NIES 2009). The empirical results show a great variation in environmental efficiency, ranging from 0.344 to 0.973 with a mean value of 0.672 that declines over time. Southwest China is found to be the most environmentally efficient region, while the Northeast and the Northwest are the least efficient. Another finding is that technical and environmental efficiencies are highly correlated in hog production; the most environmentally efficient regions are usually found to have high technical efficiency, and vice versa. In addition, we computed the output elasticities with respect to each factor input. The results show that feed is the most efficient input, with an output elasticity of approximately 0.551, which is much higher than the elasticity of the nitrogen surplus, other capital or labour. The output elasticity with respect to the nitrogen surplus is 0.287 on average. Finally, the scale elasticity in hog production is slightly higher than 1.     

Does Internet use promote the adoption of agricultural technology? Evidence from 1 449 farm households in 14 Chinese provinces

China is characterized as ‘a large country with many smallholder farmers’ whose participation in modern agriculture is key to the country's modern agriculture development. Promoting smallholder farmers’ adoption of modern agricultural production technology is one effective way to improve the capabilities of smallholder farmers. This paper aims to explore the impact of Internet use on the adoption of agricultural production technology by smallholder farmers based on a survey of 1 449 smallholders across 14 provinces in China. The results suggest that Internet use can significantly promote technology adoption, with the probability of adopting new crop varieties, water-saving irrigation technology and straw-returning technology increasing by 0.200, 0.157 and 0.155, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of Internet use is found to be heterogeneous with a greater effect on smallholder farmers having low education levels, limited training, and high incomes. To increase agricultural production technology adoption by smallholders, rural Internet infrastructure and Internet use promotion should be the focus for the Chinese government.     

Including growers in the “food safety” conversation: enhancing the design and implementation of food safety programming based on farm and marketing needs of fresh fruit and vegetable producers

Experts identified water quality, manure, good handling practices (including personal hygiene and equipment sanitation), and traceability as critical farm problem areas that, if addressed, are likely to decrease risk associated with microbial contamination of fresh produce from all scales of agriculture. However, the diverse nature of production strategies used by produce farmers presents multiple options for addressing foodborne illness issues while simultaneously creating potential complications. We use a mental models methodology to enhance our understanding of the underlying factors and assumptions of small, medium, and large produce growers that influence their decision-making processes for contamination prevention and control. This empirical evidence demonstrates how challenges and opportunities to food safety are related to the scale of production and marketing strategies. We believe that refining the development of standards and existing extension and outreach food safety programs are important to both consumer protection and supporting agricultural communities. Additionally, this approach will help develop and refine food safety programs that will result in empirically grounded recommendations based on identified grower information needs.     

Comparison of energy consumption and economic performance of organic and conventional soybean production——A case study from Jilin Province,China

Modern agriculture heavily depends on energy consumption, especially fossil energy, but intensive energy input increases the production cost for producers and results in environmental pollution.Organic agricultural production is considered a more sustainable system, but there is lack of scientific research on the energy consumption between organic and conventional systems in China.The analysis and comparison of energy use between the two systems would help decision-makers to establish economic, effective and efficient agricultural production.Thus, the objectives of the present study are to analyze energy inputs, outputs, energy efficiency, and economic benefits between organic and conventional soybean(Glycine max(L.) Merrill) production.A total of 24 organic farmers and 24 conventional farmers in Jilin Province, China, were chosen for investigation in 2010 production year.Total energy input was 71.55 GJ ha–1 and total energy output was 96.18 GJ ha–1 in the organic system, resulting in an energy efficiency(output/input) of 1.34.Total energy input was 9.37 GJ ha–1 and total energy output was 113.4 GJ ha–1 in the conventional system, resulting in the energy efficiency of 12.1.The huge discrepancy in energy inputs and respective efficiencies lies in the several times higher nutrient inputs in the organic compared to the conventional production system.Finally, the production costs ha–1 were 33% higher, and the net income ha–1 25% lower in the organic compared to the conventional soybean production system.It is recommended to improve fertilizer management in organic production to improve its energetic and economic performance.     

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.     

Genomic characteristics of Dickeya fangzhongdai isolates from pear and the function of type Ⅳ pili in the chromosome

Dickeya fangzhongdai, the causal agent of bleeding canker of pear, is a new member of the Dickeya genus and the only one that infects woody plants. Recent studies have reclassified several Dickeya isolates as D. fangzhongdai, which were isolated from various environments, including water, Phalaenopsis sp. and Aglaonema sp. To provide genomic characterization of D. fangzhongdai isolates from pear, the genomes of D. fangzhongdai strain JS5(=China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center, CGMCC 1.15464 ~T=DSM 101947 ~T), along with two other isolates, LN1 and QZH3, were sequenced and compared to those of other Dickeya spp. Homology greater than 99% was observed among three D. fangzhongdai strains. Plasmid, type IV secretion system(T4 SS) and type IV pili(TFPs) were found in genomes of D. fangzhongdai isolates. Comparative analysis of the type Ⅲ secretion systems(T3 SS), type Ⅲ secretion effectors(T3 SE), plant cell wall degradation enzymes(PCWDE) and membrane transport proteins of Dickeya spp. showed some differences which might reflect the variations of virulence, phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics of Dickeya spp. In addition, deletion mutant of TFP in D. fangzhongdai JS5 showed no twitching motility and reduced virulence and biofilm formation. The fingdings of the distinctive plasmid, T4 SS and TFPs, as well as the differences of T3 SE, PCWDE and membrane transport proteins make D. fangzhongdai isolates unique. These results also suggested that acquisition of virulence genes by horizontal gene transfer might play some role in the genetic variation of D. fangzhongdai.     

Towards sustainable intensification of apple production in China—Yield gaps and nutrient use effi ciency in apple farming systems

China is in a dominant position in apple production globally with both the largest apple growing area and the largest export of fresh apple fruits.However,the annual productivity of China’s apple is significantly lower than that of other dominant apple producing countries.In addition,apple production is based on excessive application of chemical fertilizers and the nutrient use efficiency(especially nitrogen)is therefore low and the nutrient emissions to the environment are high.Apple production in China is considerably contributes to farmers’incomes and is important as export product.There is an urgent need to enhance apple productivity and improve nutrient use efficiencies in intensive apple production systems in the country.These can be attained by improved understanding of production potential,yield gaps,nutrient use and best management in apple orchards.To the end,priorities in research on apple production systems and required political support are described which may lead to more sustainable and environmental-friendly intensification of apple production in China.     

Fishers weigh in: benefits and risks of eating Great Lakes fish from the consumer’s perspective

Three decades of concern over consumption of potentially contaminated Great Lakes fish has led government agencies and public health proponents to implement risk assessment and management programs as a means of protecting the health of fishers and their families. While well-meaning in their intent, these programs––and much of the research conducted to support and evaluate them––were not designed to accommodate the understandings and concerns of the fish consumer. Results from a qualitative component of a multi-disciplinary, multi-year research project on frequent (average 108 meals per year) consumers of Great Lakes fish tell the fishers’ side of the story. We present data from 87 tape recorded interviews conducted with Vietnamese, Chinese, and English-speaking participants that underscore the quality of freshly caught Great Lakes fish and the important social and cultural benefits of fish and fishing to the consumer. We also outline the participants’ understandings of risk from eating Great Lakes fish and the way in which fishers and their families manage this risk. The paper concludes with a discussion of these benefits, risks, and risk management strategies as ways that Great Lakes fish consumers “construct” rather than “perceive” risk. We advocate for risk assessment and management protocols that involve those who will be affected the most, such as frequent consumers of Great Lakes fish, from the initial “risk characterization” stage through to any necessary risk communication.

Analysis of sex pheromone production and field trapping of the Asian corn borer(Ostrinia furnacalis Guenée) in Xinjiang,China

Identifying the sex pheromone systems of local pest populations facilitates their management, especially for moth species that show significant geographic variation in sex pheromone communication. We investigated the pheromone production and behavioral responses of the Asian corn borer(Ostrinia furnacalis Guenée; ACB) in Xinjiang, China. The ACB produces three compounds:(Z)-12-tetradecenyl acetate(Z12-14:Ac) and(E)-12-tetradecenyl acetate(E12-14:Ac)which are two sex pheromone compounds, and n-te...     

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.     

Can food security and low carbon be achieved simultaneously? —An empirical analysis of the mechanisms influencing the carbon footprint of potato and corn cultivation in irrigation areas

Irrigated agriculture has tripled since 1950, accounting for 20% of the global arable land and 40% of food production.  Irrigated agriculture increases food security yet has controversial implications for global climate change.  Most previous studies have calculated carbon emissions and their composition in irrigated areas using the engineering approach to life-cycle assessment.  By combining life cycle assessment (LCA)-based carbon emissions accounting with econometric models such as multiple linear regression and structural equation modeling (SEM), we conducted an interdisciplinary study to identify the influencing factors and internal mechanisms of the carbon footprint (CFP) of smallholder crop cultivation on irrigation reform pilot areas.  To this end, we investigated corn and potato production data in the 2019–2020 crop years for 852 plots of 345 rural households in six villages (two irrigation agriculture pilot villages and four surrounding villages as controls) in Southwest China.  The crop CFP in the irrigation agriculture pilot areas was significantly lower than in non-reform areas.  Irrigation reforms mainly impacted the crop CFP through four intermediary effects: the project (implementation of field irrigation channels), technology (improving adoption of new irrigation technologies), management (proper irrigation operation and maintenance), and yield effects.  All effects inhibited the CFP, except for the project effect that promotes carbon emissions.  Among them, yield increase has the greatest impact on reducing CFP, followed by management and technology effects.  Furthermore, planting practices, individual characteristics, and plot quality significantly impacted the crop CFP.  This study has policy implications for understanding the food security–climate nexus in the food production industry.     

Genetic diversity center of cultivated soybean(Glycine max) in China——New insight and evidence for the diversity center of Chinese cultivated soybean

Information on the center of genetic diversity of soybean(Glycine max) will be helpful not only for designing efficient strategies for breeding programs, but also for understanding the domestication and origin of this species. Here, we describe an analysis of genetic diversity based on simple-sequence repeat(SSR) variations within a core collection of 2 111 accessions of Chinese soybean landraces. Prior to the diversity assessment, the geographic origin of each accession was mapped. The map was then divided into grids each 2.5° in latitude and 5° in longitude. We found two regions that had higher number of alleles(NA) and greater polymorphic information content(PIC) values than the others. These regions are adjacently located within grid position of 30°–35°N×105°–110°E, which includes the valley of the middle and lower reaches of the Wei River, and the valley of the upper reaches of the Hanjiang River. It was also observed that in many regions, genetic diversity decreased with the increase in distance from the center. Another region, in northern Hebei Province(115°–120°E×40°–42.5°N), was observed having higher diversity than any surrounding regions, indicating that this is a sub-center of soybean diversity. Based on the presented results, the domestication and origin of soybean are also discussed.     

The Susceptibilities of Oxya chinensis （Orthoptera： Acridoidea） to Malathion and Comparison of the Esterase Properties from Three Collected Populations in Tianjin Area,China

The susceptibilities of Oxya chinensis to malathion were studied in three populations collected from outskirt of Tianjin, China, using bioassays and biochemical analysis. Populations were chosen to represent different exposure to insecticides： BDG （Beidagang; low exposure）, BD （Baodi; high exposure previously but low exposure now）, and JN （Jinnan; high exposure）. The results showed that the LD50 values of BD and JN populations were 3.95- and 12.02-fold and 3.64- and 10.07- fold higher than that of BDG population in females and males, respectively. The LD50 values in females were higher than those in males. The results of biochemical analysis indicated that the esterase （EST） activities in JN population were higher than those in BD and BDG populations. They showed that when α-NA, α-NB, and α-NA were used as substrates, females＇ EST activities of JN population were 1.11-, 1.30-, and 1.14-fold and 1.39-, 1.59-, and 1.54-fold higher than those of BD and BDG populations, respectively. When α-NA, α-NB, and β-NA were used as substrates, males＇ EST activities of JN population were 1.13-, 1.12-, and 1,00-fold and 1.20-, 1.14-, and 1.07-fold higher than those of BD and BDG populations, respectively. The results also showed that the specific activities of the females were higher than those of the males in the BD and JN populations, whereas the specific activities of the males were higher than those of the females in the BDG population. The results of bioassay were consistent with those of biochemical analysis. Thus, it was inferred that the elevated ESTs activities might play an important role in conferring the differences of susceptibility of O. chinensis to malathion in the three collected populations. Enzyme kinetic studies indicated that the Km and Vmax values were different among the three collected populations and between the females and the males. The observed changes in the kinetic parameters might be explained by differential expression patterns of isozymes so that the insect esterases have different affinities and maximum velocities toward the same substrate.