Farming System In China Research Articles

Technical Efficiency of White Leg Shrimp Production Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Case Study: Jiangsu Province, China

Production of white leg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) is a very important economic activity in the overall farming system in China. In spite of the present successes witnessed by white leg shrimp farming, there are many challenges (disease, overfeeding, effluent discharge, lack of technical knowledge, low educational level, inexperienced managers, the high cost of production among others) continuing to set back the growth of this sector in China. The study was conducted in Jiangsu province because is one of the leading producing provinces of White-leg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) in China. The research examines the technical efficiency level of white leg shrimp production in Jiangsu Province, China. Three seasonal crops data in 2016 crop year were collected from 52 white leg shrimp farmers in the study area. All data were coded in Excel 2007 spreadsheet package and analysed with SPSS version 20 and DEAP version 2.1 software at 95% confidence level. Descriptive statistical, regression and Data Envelopment Analyses (DEA) were used to analyse the data. Results revealed an average technical efficiency score of 83.1%, under a constant return to scale. Majority of the farmers (62%) were technically inefficient in utilising input resources with technical efficiency score less than 1. Twenty farmers were technically efficient with technical efficiency (TE) score equal to 1. Feed, fingerlings and chemical showed significant negative influence on technical efficiency at 5% level of significance while labor, fixed cost and age exhibited strong negative impact at 1% level of significance.

Integrating mechanization with agronomy and breeding to ensure food security in China

Productivity of intensive rice cropping systems plays a pivotal role in national food security in China. By 2030, a 20% increase in rice yield will be required to meet the growing demand for food that will result from population growth. The success of China’s super hybrid rice was expected to provide an opportunity to cope with the increased demand for rice. However, in China the planting area of super hybrid rice is less than 8% of the national total rice planting area and the planting area of hybrid rice has continued to decline since 1996. The decreased planting area of hybrid rice is related to the shift in rice establishment methods from manual transplanting to direct seeding and mechanical transplanting. These shifts can result in increased seeding rates and reduced morphological advantages of heterosis (e.g. reduced panicle size), both of which can influence cultivar choice by rice farmers, who will tend to favor cheaper inbred cultivars. The shifts in rice establishment methods can also eliminate or reduce the seedling nursey period and subsequently shorten the growth duration and negatively affect the yield. We anticipate that the above problems will be resolved by integrating mechanization (e.g. designing high-precision seed sowing machines) with agronomy (e.g. improving management practices for increasing seed vigor) and breeding (e.g. developing high-yielding cultivars with short growth durations). This strategy also has implications for production of other crops in intensive farming systems in China and for other developing countries with rice-based intensive cropping systems.

Wild pollinators enhance oilseed rape yield in small-holder farming systems in China

BackgroundInsect pollinators play an important role in crop pollination, but the relative contribution of wild pollinators and honey bees to pollination is currently under debate. There is virtually no information available on the strength of pollination services and the identity of pollination service providers from Asian smallholder farming systems, where fields are small, and variation among fields is high. We established 18 winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) fields along a large geographical gradient in Jiangxi province in China. In each field, oilseed rape plants were grown in closed cages that excluded pollinators and open cages that allowed pollinator access. The pollinator community was sampled by pan traps for the entire oilseed rape blooming period.ResultsOilseed rape plants from which insect pollinators were excluded had on average 38% lower seed set, 17% lower fruit set and 12% lower yield per plant, but the seeds were 17% heavier, and the caged plants had 28% more flowers and 18% higher aboveground vegetative biomass than plants with pollinator access. Oilseed rape plants thus compensate for pollination deficit by producing heavier seeds and more flowers. Regression analysis indicated that local abundance and diversity of wild pollinators were positively associated with seed set and yield/straw ratio, while honey bee abundance was not related to yield parameters.ConclusionsWild pollinator abundance and diversity contribute to oilseed rape yield by enhancing plant resource allocation to seeds rather than to above-ground biomass. This study highlights the importance of the conservation of wild pollinators to support oilseed rape production in small-holder farming systems in China.

Farming system transformation yields significant reduction in nutrient loading: Case study of Hongze Lake, Yangtze River Basin, China

China dominates aquaculture production accounting for 65.7% of the global total of 76.3milliontonnes. In view of increasing environment concerns resulting from intensification of aquaculture practices there is a notable shift of aquatic farming practices in China. In this study, the gross reduction of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loading into Hongze Lake, 1597km2 (118.48–118.72° E and 33.36–33.38° N), of average water depth of 1.77m, the fourth largest freshwater lake in China, resulting from the transformation of intensive polyculture of Chinese major carps to farming mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis (Milne-Edwards, 1854)) is presented. This transformation occurred since the 1990s. Current mitten crab production is 59,932tonnes, in 40,802ha located in 17 farming areas in the reclaimed wetlands around Hongze Lake. Mass balance models were used to calculate the nutrient loading. The net N and P in effluent from different mitten crab farming areas ranged from 8.2 to 22.6kgha−1cycle−1 (mean 14.2kgha−1cycle−1), and from 1.3 to 3.5kgha−1cycle−1 (mean 2.2kgha−1cycle−1), respectively. The total net N and P in effluent from mitten crab farming sector were 579tcycle−1 and 90tcycle−1, respectively. Compared with fish polyculture prior to 1990s, the net N and P in effluent from mitten crab farming decreased by 2334tcycle−1 and 494tcycle−1, respectively. The above results are discussed in the light of mitten crab farming practices of using macrophytes that improve water quality and also provide refuge and natural food favored by mitten crab. Statement of relevanceThe present study attempts to estimate nitrogen and phosphorus loading and discharge from the mitten crab farming sector around Hongze Lake using the nutrient balance. The changes in nitrogen and phosphorus loading resulting from the transformation of intensive carp polyculture prior to 1990s to mitten crab farming in recent decades in the reclaimed wetlands around Hongze Lake were also evaluated. It is expected that the present study will provide additional information to improve environmental sustainability of aquatic farming system in China.

A comprehensive review of constraints to improved management of fertilizers in China and mitigation of diffuse water pollution from agriculture

Complex and inter-related factors explain the excessive use of fertilizer observed in many intensive farming systems in China, and hence act as barriers to development of a comprehensive policy and intervention framework for mitigation of diffuse water pollution from agriculture (DWPA). This review provides an original and contemporary synthesis of these factors that is broader, deeper and more inter-related than existing assessments. The analysis confirms that DWPA cannot be addressed by single regulatory or policy measures. There is a need to develop a mitigation framework that encompasses central policy directives, reform in governance at local level, an enabling regulatory environment, horizontal and vertical coordination in food supply chains, unbiased incentives for efficient fertilizer use and protection of water resources, enhanced agricultural, food safety and environmental education for farmers and consumers, and engagement of multiple actors beyond government.

Emergy evaluation of environmental sustainability of poultry farming that produces products with organic claims on the outskirts of mega-cities in China

With increasing concerns about food safety and the enhanced purchasing power of people in China, organic agricultural production for domestic consumption is booming, primarily on the outskirts of megacities. The aim of this study was to perform an emergy evaluation of the environmental sustainability of two typical kinds of poultry farms with organic claims in a suburb of Beijing, i.e., a backyard rearing system and an orchard rearing system. The results of a similar evaluation conducted in Italy were also used for reference and comparison. The results show that the two poultry farming systems in China had poor environmental sustainability, with ESI values less than 1, despite the fact that they had used no antibiotics and chemicals, and were trying to increase free range for chickens. The two systems in China were superior to conventional production systems, but inferior to the grass organic farming system used in Italy, as demonstrated by the indicator comparisons of EYR, ELR and ESI. In light of the potential for decreasing environmental pressure, enhancing ecological complexity (indicated by EmExR) and increasing overall sustainability, raising poultry in forests or orchards is a good alternative choice in rural China. Nevertheless, organic farming practices in China are experiencing challenges on many levels: (1) they conflict with China's food safety strategy; (2) they are often having small scale operations; (3) they lack knowledge of best production practices; and (4) they have a bad reputation with the credit system.

Insect Damage Reduction while Maintaining Rice Yield in Duck-Rice Farming Compared with Mono Rice Farming

Rice-duck farming was a traditional farming system in China and reintroduced to China's agricultural practice in recent years. We conducted an experiment to investigate whether rice-duck farming without pesticides can reduce pest damages on rice by comparing “without pesticide” and “with pesticide” in mono rice farming. The results showed that the leaves of rice damaged by pests or rice plants killed by pests were significantly lower in treatments of “rice-duck farming” and “with pesticide” than those in treatment “without pesticide,” but there were no significant differences between treatments of “rice-duck farming” and “with pesticide.” Numbers of filled grain per panicle, grain weight, and yield were significantly lower in “without pesticide” treatment than those in “with pesticide” or “rice-duck farming” treatments, but there were no significant differences between the treatments of “with pesticide” and “rice-duck farming.” The experiment suggested that ducks could replace pesticide use in terms of controlling pest damage without reducing rice yield in a rice-duck system.

Potential Effect of Conservation Tillage on Sustainable Land Use: A Review of Global Long-Term Studies

Although understood differently in different parts of the world, conservation tillage usually includes leaving crop residues on the soil surface to reduce tillage. Through a global review of long-term conservation tillage research, this paper discusses the long-term effect of conservation tillage on sustainable land use, nutrient availability and crop yield response. Research has shown several potential benefits associated with conservation tillage, such as potential carbon sequestration, nutrient availability, and yield response. This research would provide a better perspective of the role of soil conservation tillage and hold promise in promoting application of practical technologies for dryland farming systems in China.

Integrated Farming Systems in China: An Overview.Li Wenhua

<i>Integrated Farming Systems in China: An Overview.</i>Li Wenhua

More on China's New Family Contract System; More on "From Rights to Power"

I have to take issue with you on the question of free choice of farming system in China and the accuracy of your statement (MR, November 1983, p. 1). In your editors' note, you write: The peasants in each commune were called upon to choose whether to adopt the new system or stay with the former collective operation of the land. Now since I know of literally dozens of cases where the peasants had no such choice, your statement cannot be valid. If you had said, The peasants in some communes were called upon…etc., then you would have a case, but you have made a sweeping statement based on investigation in two very special areas, communes on the fringes of two of China's largest cities, and have concluded that all peasants had the same choices. From all the knowledge that I have been able to gather, those who had choices were definitely in the minority and most of them were in the counties controlled by the large municipalities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Canton. It seems that city party committees worried a lot about whether the breakup would be a good thing for local food supplies and took various steps either to protect old collective forms or to ensure that contracting did not interrupt large-scale farming, mechanization, etc. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Vegetable Farming Systems in China.

Vegetable Farming Systems in China.