How neighbourhood effects shape grape farmers’ storage decisions: the moderating role of risk aversion

Storage of high-value agricultural products is essential to increase their added value. Exploring growers’ storage strategies for high-value agricultural products is helpful in developing the agricultural industry. In this paper, we analyzed the factors affecting growers’ storage decisions using Probit and Tobit models based on field data from 1026 grape growers in China. We conclude that the in-season price has a negative effect on growers’ storage decisions. Expected price, market risk perception and grape quality have a positive effect on storage decisions. Borrowing behavior has a positive effect on the storage decisions of large-scale growers. In addition, the higher the expected price and the greater the market risk perception, the more growers prefer long-term storage; and the better the quality of the grapes, the more growers tend to store grapes in the short term.

Water and land resources are related to the security and stability of agricultural production, and the degree of matching in time and space directly affects regional agricultural production capacity and sustainable agricultural development. This paper intends to use the panel data of nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2019 and incorporate the static and dynamic spatial Durbin models with spatial effects under the geographical adjacency matrix and the comprehensive weight matrix of economic geography, so as to explore the direct effects and indirect effects, short-term effects and long-term effects of the matching coefficient of agricultural water and land resources on the agricultural economic growth in the Yellow River Basin. The results show the following: (1) The matching situation of agricultural water and land resources in different provinces along the Yellow River Basin are different; some are relatively short of water resources, some are relatively balanced in water and land resources, and some are relatively short of land resources. (2) The static spatial Durbin model shows that the direct effect of the matching coefficient of agricultural water and land resources on the agricultural economic growth of the province is not significant; the indirect effect and the total effect of the spatial spillover is significantly positive. (3) The dynamic spatial Durbin model under the two matrix forms shows that the short-term total effect of the matching coefficient of agricultural water and land resources on agricultural economic growth is significantly positive, while the long-term total effect is significantly negative, and the direction and degree of the short-term and long-term effects are inconsistent. This study provides a comprehensive analysis framework from the perspective of local and neighborhood effect, and short-term and long-term effect, which can provide a reference to reasonably adjust the matching of agricultural water and land resources to promote agricultural sustainable economic growth, especially for developing countries.

Promoting farmers’ participation in rural industrial integration and driving farmers’ agricultural production with cooperatives and agribusinesses are conducive to realizing cost saving, efficiency, and green production and guaranteeing food security and sustainable agricultural development. Based on the microsurvey data of 1039 grain farmers in Henan Province, China in 2022, this paper examined the impact of contractual choices of farmers’ participation in rural industrial integration on agricultural green productivity while analyzing the mechanism of action by using OLS regression, a causal mediation analysis of instrumental variables, propensity score matching, and two-stage least squares (2SLS). The study found that: (1) farmers’ participation in a contract, driven by cooperatives or agribusinesses to carry out agricultural production, is conducive to improving their agricultural green productivity, but the effect of each main body to drive farmers varies; (2) farmers’ participation in a contract, through cooperatives or agribusinesses to obtain all kinds of agricultural production services—such as agricultural machinery services, agricultural supply services, and technical guidance services—improves the use of agricultural machinery, the standardization of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and other agricultural materials’ use, increases technical guidance, and improves agricultural green productivity. The findings of this paper suggest policy and practical implications for safeguarding food security and promoting sustainable agriculture, as well as enriching research on agricultural productivity.

Purpose: The aim of the research is to identify and assess the opportunities and processes of implementing sustainable development in agricultural activities. It is also to assess farmers’ awareness and knowledge of the principles of sustainable development in agriculture. Design/Methodology/Approach: Research on the application of the principles of sustainable development in agricultural production was carried out in 2019. Data was collected in four voivodships using the interview questionnaire. The research area was chosen deliberately. They were voivodships with the largest share of sown crops. The collected material was analyzed in terms of farmers’ knowledge of the principles of sustainable development in agricultural production and the level of their application on the farm. Findings: Based on the collected information, it was found that the respondents had a high level of knowledge about the sustainable development of agriculture. The results show significant differences in the application of sustainable development principles. It was also found that there is a relationship between the level of education and age of farmers and the application of sustainable development principles among them. Knowing the principles of sustainable development has not always coincided with the application. Practical Implications: The results obtained may be used for development of the agricultural policy, aimed at agricultural farms, as well as in programming agricultural development and shaping farmers’ income. Originality/Value: The results are original because they can be used to develop future agricultural policy scenarios in terms of compensation for conducting agricultural production in a sustainable way.

In this article, the authors analyze the laws and policies of China and Israel regarding inventions in the agricultural sector, as well as the situation of sustainable agricultural development in Vietnam. Based on that, suggestions for Vietnam's experience in the process of perfecting legal regulations, the process of establishing intellectual property rights for inventions and setting forth policies for technology development in the agricultural sector are proposed. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on all aspects of socio-economic life. In that context, the agricultural sector has had solutions to tackle and affirmed its role as the "supporting platform" of Vietnam's economy, as well as ensures jobs and social welfare for the working force. Sustainable agricultural development is an essential goal for Vietnam, in which it is necessary to quickly apply science and technology to the agricultural production process. In order to do this, the very important role of invention cannot be ignored. Indeed, countries in the world with developed agriculture have applied technologies to the production process to resolve natural problems such as drought, saltwater intrusion, as well as post-harvest technologies to increase productivity and value of agricultural products in a sustainable way. Therefore, completing changes in the procedures for establishing intellectual property rights for inventions and policies to encourage the development of inventions in agriculture will help Vietnam actualize the sustainable agricultural development.

Improving agricultural total factor productivity is essential to achieving the high-quality and sustainable development of agriculture. As major global agricultural producers, the G20 countries play an important role in agricultural product trade and development. As such, it is well-positioned to play a positive role in improving agricultural total factor productivity. This paper uses the DEA-Malmquist index method to measure agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) in G20 countries from 2010 to 2019, and analyzes the impact of agricultural trade on TFP using the two-way fixed effects model. It finds that (1) the main source of agricultural TFP growth in G20 countries is technical progress, while the effect of technical efficiency on agricultural TFP is not obvious. (2) Agricultural trade can significantly improve agricultural TFP growth in G20 countries, and the effect is more obvious in developed countries. From the perspective of trade flow, the positive effect of export trade on agricultural TFP is stronger. (3) The institutional environment strengthens the improvement effect of agricultural trade on agricultural TFP. Thus, this study not only provides valuable insight into the relationship between agricultural trade and agricultural productivity, but also offers a strong argument in favor of the formulation of relevant policies to improve agricultural productivity and promote a more sustainable agricultural sector.

The sustainable development of agriculture is significant in protecting natural resources, protecting the ecological environment, ensuring food security, and eliminating poverty. Rural road construction promotes the flow of labor and capital between urban and rural areas, and plays a vital role in agricultural production and rural revitalization. This study aims to analyze the effect of rural road construction on the sustainable development of regional agriculture in China. We select five-dimensional indexes of population, society, economy, resources, and environment and use the entropy method to calculate the agricultural sustainable development index of each province in China. Then, we construct the spatial econometric model to explore the influence based on the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2002 to 2018. The benchmark results show that rural road construction significantly promotes the sustainable development of agriculture; however, it has a negative impact on environmental sustainability, and the influence is lagging. The results are also heterogeneous among regions. Rural road construction has significantly promoted the sustainable development of agriculture in eastern and central areas, but has no significant impact on western regions. The reason is that the siphoning effect caused by the construction of rural roads has led to a loss of talents and capital in the western region, which harms the sustainable development of the population and resource system. This effect offsets the positive effect of the other three systems. This research has substantial policy implications for promoting rural revitalization and agricultural development.

China’s agricultural sector is transitioning from extensive management to intensive management, and land transfer brings about changes in land use and management methods, which may encourage the agricultural sector to enter a sustainable development track, but this mechanism has not been effectively proven. Using the SBM-GML index to construct a green total factor productivity index to measure the level of sustainable agricultural development in each province (or autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government) and provincial panel data from 2010 to 2022, we applied a panel interactive fixed-effects model to empirically test the impact of land transfer on sustainable agricultural development, with a focus on analyzing the heterogeneity and related mechanisms of this impact. The results indicate that (1) land transfer significantly promotes sustainable agricultural development, and this conclusion still held true after robustness tests such as controlling for regional omitted variables, replacing dependent variables, changing the sample size, IV estimation, and GMM estimation. (2) The mechanism testing found that land transfer mainly promotes sustainable agricultural development by increasing the desirable output, and has no significant effect on reducing non-point source pollution. At the same time, land transfer mainly improves the desirable output through factor allocation effects rather than scale operation effects, thereby promoting sustainable agricultural development. (3) The heterogeneity analysis found that the higher the quantile of agricultural development level is, the weaker the role of land transfer in promoting sustainable agricultural development, indicating that land transfer has a greater impact on areas with poor agricultural development foundations, and areas with poor agricultural development foundations are more likely to obtain sustainable development space through land transfer. The impact of different land transfer methods and land transfer objects on sustainable agricultural development was heterogeneous. Compared with non-market transfer methods such as exchange and transfer, market-oriented transfer methods such as leasing and equity had a more significant impact on sustainable agricultural development. Compared to transferring land to ordinary farmers, transferring land to new business entities such as family farms, professional cooperatives, and enterprises can significantly promote sustainable agricultural development.

Modern agriculture, plant breeding, and agrochemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, and technological improvements have increased agricultural productivity sharply, but at the same time these technological improvements have caused widespread environmental damage and an increased negative impact on human health associated with organic organic consumption. The agricultural practice is a foundation for all global development. Increasing its production and productivity may affect the land capacity in the future if not managed sustainably. Sustainable agriculture could be one way to preserve land use potential. Agriculture could become sustainable with careful management of its components. The major components of sustainable agriculture are building healthy soil and preventing erosion, managing water wisely, increasing carbon sequestration, increasing resilience to extreme weather, and promoting biodiversity. Food and nutrition security could result from sustainable agriculture without harming the environment for future generations. Sustainable agricultural development seeks not only to conserve and conserve natural resources, but also to develop them, because future generations will demand more in quantity and quality in terms of agricultural and food products. Hence, challenges and opportunities were discussed to support decision-making related to land and water resource management as a prerequisite for sustainable development. In the Indian agriculture sector, the challenges facing sustainable agricultural development. So, improving agricultural productivity, while preserving and enhancing natural resources, such as water, is a prerequisite for farmers to increase global food supplies on a sustainable basis. The role of small farmers and their families in sustaining sustainable agricultural productivity growth will be crucial.

Exploring the "Double-Edged Sword" effect of the digital economy on sustainable agricultural development: Evidence from China

At present, China’s agricultural development presents problems such as increasingly tight constraints on water and soil resources, increased pollution in the process of agricultural production, and noticeable degradation of agricultural ecosystems. So, it is urgent to promote the sustainable development of agriculture. From the perspective of land transfer policy, based on the panel data of 30 regions in China from 2006 to 2020, this paper uses the entropy weight method to calculate the level of sustainable agricultural development. Based on the analysis of the impact mechanism of land transfer policy on sustainable agricultural development, the relationship between land transfer policy and sustainable agricultural development is empirically tested by the continuous difference-in-difference method. The study found that the overall level of sustainable agricultural development in China is relatively low but shows an upward trend. The land transfer policy significantly promoted the sustainable development of agriculture in China. This conclusion is still valid after a series of validity tests and robustness tests. Finally, the corresponding policy suggestions are put forward according to the theoretical analysis and empirical results. Future research will focus on indicators challenging to quantify in agricultural sustainable development and find effective methods to incorporate them into the indicator system. At the same time, find the data of Prefecture-level cities in major grain-producing areas and further improve the measurement and research of agricultural sustainable development.

Improving agricultural green total factor productivity is important for achieving high-quality economic development and the SDGs. Digital inclusive finance, which combines the advantages of digital technology and inclusive finance, represents a new scheme that can ease credit constraints and information ambiguity in agricultural production. First, this study focused on agro-ecological functions; we incorporated total agricultural carbon sequestration and emissions extraction into the evaluation system and used the mixed-direction-distance function to calculate agricultural green total factor productivity. Then, based on panel data from 31 provinces in China collected from 2011 to 2021, we used the two-way fixed effect model, the interactive fixed effect, and the plausibly exogenous variable method to test the impact of digital financial inclusion on agricultural green total factor productivity, and its mechanism of action. The panel-corrected standard error and fixed effect Driscoll–Kraay methods were used to account for the unobserved heterogeneity and cross-section dependence in the panel data. The results showed that digital financial inclusion can significantly improve agricultural green total factor productivity. This conclusion remained valid following robustness tests using the spatial econometric model and the method of changing explanatory variables. Digital financial inclusion can improve agricultural green total factor productivity by facilitating the transfer of agricultural land. Sound digital infrastructure and strict green credit policies enhance the role of digital inclusive finance in promoting the green development of agriculture. These conclusions could help the financial sector to formulate flexible, accurate, reasonable, and appropriate financial policies and products that would support agriculture, and enhance the role of digital inclusive finance in promoting sustainable agricultural development.

Efficient soil microorganisms: A new dimension for sustainable agriculture and environmental development

Improving resource use efficiency is an effective way to accelerate the realization of “carbon emission peak” and “carbon neutrality.” To perform a thorough analysis of the temporal and spatial variations in Zhejiang’s agricultural sustainable development, the present study adopted the entropy weight TOPSIS method and built a RUE-based evaluation index system for sustainable agriculture. The system covered six evaluation aspects: agricultural resource endowment, the agricultural production and agricultural science and technology levels, and ecological, economic, and social benefits. Based hereon, the present study evaluated the agricultural sustainable development of Zhejiang province from 2013 to 2019, and that of its 11 prefecture-level cities and 25 national agricultural sustainable development pilot demonstration zones in 2019. The results showed that chronologically, Zhejiang made steady progress in its agricultural sustainable development from 2013 to 2019, despite slight fluctuations, and spatially, evident regional disparities were found across its 11 prefecture-level cities and 25 pilot demonstration zones. Moreover, resource use efficiency had a significant impact on agricultural sustainable development. Zhejiang’s practices in the efficient use of cultivated land, water resources, forest resources, agricultural labor force, agricultural material goods, and agricultural science and technology offer valuable references for sustainable agriculture worldwide.

IntroductionThe rapid advancement of digital technology has catalyzed the emergence of “digital villages,” presenting both new opportunities and challenges for the digital transformation of agriculture. This transformation has become a core driving force behind sustainable agricultural development. This paper utilizes panel data from 30 provincial-level administrative regions of mainland China (excluding Tibet) for the period 2011 to 2020 to explore how digital rural development (DRD) impacts agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) and examines its underlying mechanisms.MethodsRegarding variable measurement, the study employs the entropy weighting method to quantify the DRD and uses an extended Data Envelopment Analysis-Malmquist model to assess AGTFP. For the research approach, the study constructs a two-way fixed effects model to evaluate the impact of DRD on AGTFP and explores the underlying mechanisms. Specifically, the study conducts benchmark regression analysis, endogeneity tests, robustness tests, mechanism examinations, and heterogeneity tests.Results(1) DRD significantly enhances AGTFP, a conclusion that remains robust following the province-year clustering robust standard error estimates, winsorization tests, and excluding COVID-19-affected years. (2) Mechanistic analysis indicates that DRD primarily boosts AGTFP by promoting the development of digital inclusive finance (DIF) and facilitating the integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries (IPST). (3) Heterogeneity tests show that the positive impact of DRD on AGTFP is more pronounced in regions with higher levels of informatization and central regions of China.DiscussionTo harness DRD’s potential more effectively in fostering sustainable agricultural development, policymakers should concentrate on DIF and the IPST. Additionally, the government should pay close attention to disparities in informatization levels and resource allocation across regions and develop targeted strategies accordingly. Fundamentally, this study aims to elucidate China’s efficacy in rural digitalization and the green transformation of agriculture to an international audience. It seeks to provide insights and guidance on formulating more scientific, efficient, and sustainable strategies for agricultural development worldwide, thereby promoting green agricultural growth and supporting rural revitalization.