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Extensively managed grasslands are recognized globally for their high biodiversity and their social and cultural values. However, their capacity to deliver multiple ecosystem services (ES) as parts of agricultural systems is surprisingly understudied compared to other production systems. We undertook a comprehensive overview of ES provided by natural and semi‐natural grasslands, using southern Africa (SA) and northwest Europe as case studies, respectively. We show that these grasslands can supply additional non‐agricultural services, such as water supply and flow regulation, carbon storage, erosion control, climate mitigation, pollination, and cultural ES. While demand for ecosystems services seems to balance supply in natural grasslands of SA, the smaller areas of semi‐natural grasslands in Europe appear to not meet the demand for many services. We identified three bundles of related ES from grasslands: water ES including fodder production, cultural ES connected to livestock production, and population‐based regulating services (e.g., pollination and biological control), which also linked to biodiversity. Greenhouse gas emission mitigation seemed unrelated to the three bundles. The similarities among the bundles in SA and northwestern Europe suggest that there are generalities in ES relations among natural and semi‐natural grassland areas. We assessed trade‐offs and synergies among services in relation to management practices and found that although some trade‐offs are inevitable, appropriate management may create synergies and avoid trade‐offs among many services. We argue that ecosystem service and food security research and policy should give higher priority to how grasslands can be managed for fodder and meat production alongside other ES. By integrating grasslands into agricultural production systems and land‐use decisions locally and regionally, their potential to contribute to functional landscapes and to food security and sustainable livelihoods can be greatly enhanced.

With the rapid development of China’s economy, China has become the world’s largest carbon emitter. China not only has an obvious growth rate of industrial carbon emissions but also the intensity of agricultural carbon emissions is hovering at a high level. The development of China’s agricultural economy has largely come at the expense of high emissions. Currently, under the background of global warming and difficulty in controlling greenhouse gas emissions, the development of low-carbon agriculture is an important way to realize the harmonious development of the ecological environment and economic growth and to promote the sustainable development of agriculture. The agricultural production efficiency is the main factor affecting the intensity of agricultural carbon emissions. Based on provincial panel data of China from 2010 to 2019, this paper establishes an indicator system and uses the super-efficiency SBM model to measure agricultural production efficiency. The regional agricultural carbon emissions were estimated using carbon-emission-related agricultural production activities. In order to study the nonlinear relationship between agricultural production efficiency and agricultural carbon emission intensity in the narrow sense, this paper uses a threshold regression model with agricultural carbon emissions as the threshold variable. Based on the analysis of China’s agricultural production efficiency and agricultural carbon emissions from 2010 to 2019, an empirical test is conducted through a threshold regression model. The results show an “inverted U-shaped” relationship between agricultural production efficiency and agricultural carbon emission intensity. In areas with high agricultural production efficiency, the improvement of production efficiency can suppress the intensity of agricultural carbon emissions; in areas with low agricultural production efficiency, the improvement of production efficiency increases the intensity of agricultural carbon emissions. Finally, based on the research conclusions, this paper provides feasible suggestions and countermeasures for China’s agricultural carbon emission reduction and improvement of agricultural production efficiency.

PurposeThis article investigates the mechanism of the direct and indirect effects of epidemics on agricultural production and projects the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural output in China.Design/methodology/approachThis article first adopts a dynamic panel model and spatial Durbin model to estimate the direct and indirect effects, followed by a growth accounting method to identify the channels by which epidemics affect agriculture; finally, it projects the overall impact of COVID-19 on agriculture.FindingsThe incidence rate of epidemics in a province has a negative impact on that province's own agricultural productivity, but the increase in the input factors (land, fertilizer and machinery) can make up for the loss and thus lead to insignificant direct effects. However, this “input-offset-productivity” mechanism fails to radiate to the surrounding provinces and therefore leads to significant indirect/spillover effects. It is projected that COVID-19 will lower China's agricultural growth rate by 0.4%–2.0% in 2020 under different scenarios.Research limitations/implicationsIt is crucial to establish a timely disclosure and sharing system of epidemic information across provinces, improve the support and resilience of agricultural production in the short run and accelerate the process of agricultural modernization in the long run.Originality/valueConsidering the infectivity of epidemics, this article evaluates the mechanism of the direct and indirect effects by introducing a spatial dynamic model into the growth accounting framework. Moreover, besides the impact on input portfolio and productivity, this article also investigates whether epidemics reshape agricultural production processes due to panic effects and control measures.

Agricultural production outsourcing services (APOS) are an important means to promote green and low-carbon development of agriculture in China. Topography is the key factor limiting the development of APOS. There is little research on the influence relationship between APOS and farmers’ chemical fertilizer use from the perspective of topography. Based on the theory of economies of scale, this study empirically evaluated the effect of APOS on chemical fertilizer use and their differences from the perspective of nutrient elements under different topographic conditions by using micro survey data for farmers in China and econometric methods. The results show that APOS can reduce farmers’ chemical fertilizer use, and this effect is more obvious for farmers with large farmland sizes and high education levels. Farmland topography directly affects the fertilizer reduction effect of APOS in China. Compared with plain areas, hilly and mountainous areas weaken this effect. To enhance the fertilizer reduction effect of APOS, China should fully consider farmland topography when promoting APOS development. In plain areas, farmland scale management should be further encourage to better utilize APOS as a means of reducing chemical fertilizer use. In hilly and mountainous areas, high-standard farmland construction and small agricultural machinery use can alleviate the constraints of topographical on the scale expansion of APOS. It is necessary to fully consider the differences in farmers’ resource endowments and their awareness of purchasing agricultural services in promoting APOS development, especially in regard to the farmers with small farmland sizes and low education levels.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of farmers’ agricultural production mode transformation, from the perspective of agricultural division of labor and cooperation, on their agricultural production efficiency including technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes the impact of the agricultural production mode’s transformation on farmers’ agricultural production efficiency, based on the classical theory of division of labor and specialization, transaction costs and cooperation. It uses 2013 survey data from 396 farms in 15 Chinese provinces to explore the contributing factors of agricultural production efficiency using a double selection model (DSM), which can correct the endogenous selection bias in farmers’ decisions.FindingsFarmers that participate in agricultural division of labor and cooperation means transform their agricultural production from a traditional self-sufficient mode to one that is specialized and intensive. Agricultural division of labor measured by farmers’ participation in an agricultural division of labor in the production stages, or in agricultural products, and agricultural cooperation measured by farmers’ participation in farmers’ cooperatives significantly and positively influence their agricultural production efficiency after correcting farmers’ endogenous selection bias.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a unified framework to analyze the impact of farmers’ agricultural production mode transformation on their production efficiency. Further, it builds a DSM for an empirical analysis to avoid the endogenous biases in farmers’ self-selection behavior. This paper also provides ways for policy makers to improve farmers’ agricultural production efficiency from the modern agricultural production perspective.

Purpose Fertilizer overuse is regarded as one of the main contributors to agricultural pollution and environmental problems in China. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate technical efficiency (TE) and fertilizer overuse index (FOI) with respect to China’s arable agricultural production and examine regional variations in terms of fertilizer overuse. Design/methodology/approach The maximum likelihood random effects–time varying inefficiency effects model was applied to estimate TE, fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) and FOI. Findings Over the study period (2011–2015), TE steadily increased for each individual province. Overall, mean annual TE was 0.811, implying that, on average, Chinese provinces could increase output by 18.9 per cent given unchanged levels of inputs and technology. Mean annual FOI ranged from 0.008 to 3.139, with a mean of 0.685, suggesting that there is fertilizer overuse in almost all provinces, and that large regional variation exists. Coastal provinces were found to have the highest TE scores, while the central region showed the highest degree of fertilizer overuse. Originality/value The results indicate that fertilizer use has had a significant positive impact on production in the China’s arable agricultural sector. High TE was not necessarily associated with low FUE.

Understanding the effects of the off-farm employment of rural laborers on agricultural land use is essential to promote farmland transfer and enhance rural development in China. This study aims to investigate the direct impact of off-farm employment on farmland transfer and the mediating role of agricultural production services outsourcing (APSO) by using the Probit and Tobit model approaches. This study uses field survey data of 960 rural households in 12 counties of the four main grain producing provinces of China. Findings of this study show that off-farm employment has a significant positive effect on the transfer of land out from households and a significant negative effect on the transfer of land into households. Furthermore, APSO has a significant mediating effect on the influence of off-farm employment on farmland transfer behavior. Specifically, APSO can reduce the positive impact of off-farm employment on agricultural land transfer and weaken the negative impact of off-farm employment on agricultural land transfer-in. The findings of our study also show that the mediating effect of different outsourcing of production links services on the impact of off-farm employment on agricultural land transfer is heterogeneous. Based on the findings of the study, it is contended that the APSO can reshape the supply and demand structure of rural land rental markets and policymakers should focus on the role of ASPO in shaping policies to promote land transfer.

Smallholder articulation of modern agriculture is an important foundation for the realization of agricultural modernization, and in the context of the market playing a decisive role in resource allocation, can agricultural companies with market advantages promote smallholder articulation of modern agricultural production? By constructing a theoretical framework of agricultural companies and small farmers’ modern agricultural production, and on the basis of the micro dataset of the Third Agricultural Census, the role and influence mechanism of agricultural companies on small farmers’ articulation of modern agricultural production are empirically examined from the viewpoint of production factor allocation. The results of the study show that agricultural companies can significantly influence the resource allocation mode of small farmers and help small farmers connect to modern agricultural production by expanding the cultivation area, improving the mechanization level, and upgrading the specialized planting structure and technology level; however, the influence on the greening production of small farmers is not yet significant. Various robustness tests verified the robustness of the above results. However, heterogeneity analysis reveals differing responses among farmers of varying scales and crop types: small-scale farmers benefit more significantly from scale expansion, while larger-scale farmers and those growing cash crops gain greater advantages from mechanization and technology adoption. These findings provide empirical evidence for agricultural companies to assist smallholder farmers in integrating with modern agriculture and formulating differentiated policies.

Agricultural eco-efficiency is a meaningful index that assesses agricultural sustainable development. Based on the super SBM-DEA approach incorporating agricultural carbon emissions and panel data regression, this study evaluates agricultural eco-efficiency and investigates the influencing factors in the agricultural production zone of Jilin Province. The empirical results show the following. (1) During the observation period, the average agricultural eco-efficiency exhibits a flat “M-shaped” fluctuating trend, a trend of fluctuant growth with phase characteristics, and the agricultural eco-efficiency of each county still has much room for improvement. (2) Significant spatial differences exist in agricultural eco-efficiency across counties. All of the studied counties, except for Nong’an, Huadian, Lishu, Yitong, Gongzhuling, and Qianguo, need to change their input and output structure to optimize agricultural eco-efficiency. (3) The panel data regression estimation results indicate that the agricultural technology extension level, multiple-crop index, agricultural economic development level, agricultural technology extension level, and urbanization level have close correlations with agricultural eco-efficiency. (4) The research findings have important implications for policy makers formulating agricultural environmental policies in accordance with the local conditions of various counties.

Currently, the level of efficiency of an effective agricultural production process is determined by how it reduces natural environmental hazards caused by various types of technologies and means of agricultural production. Compared to conventional production, the aim of integrated agricultural cultivation on commercial farms is to maximize yields while minimizing costs resulting from the limited use of chemical and mineral means of production. As a result, the factor determining the level of obtained yield is the soil’s richness in nutrients. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of soil richness, depending on the production system appropriate for a given farm. The analysis was conducted for two comparative groups of farms with an integrated and conventional production system. The farms included in the research belonged to two groups of agricultural producers and specialized in carrot production.