Agricultural Economic Benefits Research Articles

A Conservation Approach of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): Improving Traditional Agricultural Patterns and Promoting Scale-Production

Heritage conservation is an important recurring research theme on agricultural heritage systems. Improving the income of farmers from agriculture is regarded as an effective conservation approach. This study examined how the improved rice-fish-duck coculture (IRFDC) promotes the protection of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraced System (HHRTS) by keeping farmers farming in their hometowns. A semi-structural interview and a questionnaire survey were used to collect data on agricultural input–outputs and household employment in HHRTS. As a result, a fairly large proportion of HHRTS rice terraces were used for the hybrid rice monoculture (HRM) with chemical inputs, and most of these rice terraces were wasted for half a year on account of being left unused; the IRFDC requires considerable time input for farming and breeding, but barely needs any chemical inputs. IRFDC entails a higher cost than HRM, but also has a higher return than HRM. Driving a family to do full-time farming requires extra more than 0.71 ha rice terraces for IRFDC. In conclusion, Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHSs) can be used for protecting terraces from abandonment and destruction by improving agricultural economic benefits for farmers. At present, a shortage of laborers in HHRTS sites is false. Agricultural heritage sites do not actual need so many people if peasant households can do large-scale farming.

Legislation in Pollution Prevention and Control of Large-scale Breeding of Livestock and Poultry

At present, the contradiction between economic and social development and environmental protection is becoming more and more serious and tenses, the high-speed development of the livestock industry has brought enormous pollution in promoting agricultural economic benefits at the same time. The legal implementation of pollution prevention and control work environment of livestock and poultry breeding is the fundamental work in environmental protection. The country should be combined with “the implementation of large-scale breeding of livestock and poultry pollution control regulations”, construct the legal framework for the livestock and poultry breeding, must realize the livestock and poultry breeding Law Based on the suit one’s measures to local conditions and refinement of the law, gradually change the status quo, bull management strict government responsibility, improve livestock and poultry science planning system, improve the review and approval system, and implement a clear policy of government support, so that livestock breeding pollution rate to a minimum to achieve the goal of sustainable development of livestock and poultry breeding.

Uncertain and multi-objective programming models for crop planting structure optimization

Crop planting structure optimization is a significant way to increase agricultural economic benefits and improve agricultural water management. The complexities of fluctuating stream conditions, varying economic profits, and uncertainties and errors in estimated modeling parameters, as well as the complexities among economic, social, natural resources and environmental aspects, have led to the necessity of developing optimization models for crop planting structure which consider uncertainty and multi-objectives elements. In this study, three single-objective programming models under uncertainty for crop planting structure optimization were developed, including an interval linear programming model, an inexact fuzzy chance-constrained programming (IFCCP) model and an inexact fuzzy linear programming (IFLP) model. Each of the three models takes grayness into account. Moreover, the IFCCP model considers fuzzy uncertainty of parameters/variables and stochastic characteristics of constraints, while the IFLP model takes into account the fuzzy uncertainty of both constraints and objective functions. To satisfy the sustainable development of crop planting structure planning, a fuzzy-optimizationtheory-based fuzzy linear multi-objective programming model was developed, which is capable of reflecting both uncertainties and multi-objective. In addition, a multiobjective fractional programming model for crop structure optimization was also developed to quantitatively express the multi-objective in one optimization model with the numerator representing maximum economic benefits and the denominator representing minimum crop planting area allocation. These models better reflect actual situations, considering the uncertainties and multi-objectives of crop planting structure optimization systems. The five models developed were then applied to a real case study in Minqin County, north-west China. The advantages, the applicable conditions and the solution methods of each model are expounded. Detailed analysis of results of each model and their comparisons demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of the models developed, therefore decision makers can choose the appropriate model when making decisions.

Integrated Hydrologic-Economic-Institutional Model of Environmental Flow Strategies for Rio Yaqui Basin, Sonora, Mexico

An integrated hydrologic-economic-institutional water model was developed for the Rio Yaqui Basin, located in northwest Mexico, with the objective of assessing the impacts on agricultural economic benefits from strategies for allocating environmental flow. This paper focuses on the creation of simulation models that estimate the agricultural net benefits under different environmental flow scenarios and surface water allocation strategies. The results illustrate a trade-off between interannual variability of environmental flows and variability in agricultural benefits, corresponding to economic risk, for three allocation strategies. Results also show that environmental flow allocations affect groundwater levels through impacts on surface-ground water interactions.