The morality behind sustainability

The concepts of sustainable agriculture, organic agriculture, regenerative agriculture, and alternative agriculture are receiving increasing attention in the academic and popular literature on present trends and future directions of agriculture. Whatever the reasons for this interest, there nevertheless remain differences of opinion concerning what counts as a sustainable agriculture. One of the reasons for these differences is that the moral underpinnings of a policy of sustainability are not clear. By understanding the moral obligatoriness of sustainability, we can come to understand precisely what must be sustained, and by implication, how. This article discusses the arguments that can be advanced for sustaining anything and initially concludes that our obligations to future generations entail sustaining more than just sufficient food production or an adequate resource base. Indeed, a tradition of care and community must underlie whatever agricultural and resource strategies we are to develop under the rubric of sustainability. A consideration of the larger social and environmental system in which agriculture operates and the constraints this system places on agriculture forces us to recognize that sustainability has to do with larger institutional issues, including our ability to incorporate our common morality democratically into our institutions, practices, and technologies.     

电子商务能改善农业生产的环境负效应吗?-来自上海青浦的证据

电子商务在农村农业领域的快速发展带动了农民收入的增加,但是其作用路径和环境效应有待检验.以上海市青浦区为典型案例,利用264份新型农业经营主体的问卷调查数据,采用IV-ordered Probit模型和夏普利值分解法,研究了"电子商务+农业"模式的经济效应和环境效应.结果表明：电子商务的引入具有显著的农民增收效应,但主要以产量扩大型传导机制为主,反而加剧了农业生产的环境负效应.电子商务并非农民增收的关键因素,其贡献率仅为12%;发挥决定性作用的是新技术、新方法的应用带来的效率提升,以及生产规模扩大带来的规模经济效应,相应的夏普利分解贡献了达到31%和25%.这表明当前的"电子商务+农业"模式仍处于初级发展阶段,需要加强相应的规制和引导,实现从产量驱动阶段向质量驱动阶段转型.     

中国农田土壤Cd累积分布特征及概率风险评价

通过检索2000~2022年国内外公开发表的文献资料,获得31个省240个市（县）区域160446个农田土壤样点的镉（Cd）含量数据,利用单因子污染指数、地累积指数和概率风险评价方法从整体上分析了我国农田土壤Cd污染时空分布特征及其健康风险,为农田土壤Cd污染治理和风险管控提供了科学依据.结果表明,我国农田土壤ω（Cd）范围在0.012~23.33 mg ·kg^-1,几何均值为0.473 mg ·kg^-1,是我国农用地土壤Cd风险筛选值（6.5华南>西北>东北>华东>华北;从时间尺度来看,我国农田土壤Cd含量在各时间段并无统计学意义的显著性差异（P>0.05）.我国农田土壤Cd对儿童、青年、成年人和老年人尚无非致癌风险,但其对成年人和老年人存在潜在致癌风险,约5.81%和4.49%的成年人和老年人的致癌风险超过美国环保署规定的限量值（1E-06）.为提高农田土壤Cd健康风险评价的准确性,概率生态风险评价中还需要进一步考虑土壤Cd的生物有效性和农产品的摄食暴露途径.     

论生态农业与中国农业现代化

本文首先分析了我国农业生态环境存在的一系列严重问题，潜伏着巨大的危机。继而指出造成这种现象的原因是多方面的，既有不可忽视的自然因素，更有人为作用的因素。既有历史原因，也有现实障碍。京山县生态环境建设案例的剖析再一次证明生态农业是我国农业现代化的必然选择。最后本文在分析我国生态农业建设障碍因素的基础上，提出了发展生态农业的对策措施。     

广西农业可持续发展的策略和措施

广西地处亚热带，光热水资源丰富，具有农业发展的良好条件。近年来，广西采取了一系列的改革措施，农业经济得到了较快发展。但在农业经济发展的同时，也面临着许多资源与环境问题。本文在分析广西农业经济发展的现状及其存在问题的基础上，提出了广西农业可持续发展的策略和措施     

Introduction: Natural Capital, Poverty and Development

Can development occur without running down natural resources in an unsustainable way? The concept of natural capital offers a way for those with divergent views (ecologists and economists for example) to discuss this difficult question. Four aspects are examined in detail. First, the role of institutions in facilitating sustainable development is discussed, with examples from forestry. Then examples from (eco)tourism illustrate the potential – and limits – of applicability of the concept. Measurement issues for natural capital are then considered in detail. Finally, the concept is applied to agricultural strategy in fragile lands, where the tradeoff between the environment and development is likely to be most severe. Some implications for future research and policy are developed.     

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF IRRIGATION PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS: AN APPLICATION OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING1

ABSTRACT: Economic analysis of irrigation production functions is discussed using linear programming. The method provides advantages over the partial one-crop type of analyses because it captures intercrop tradeoffs in water and land use in response to economic policies or changes in water supply. A numerical example is used.     

中国农业技术应用的宏观取向与农户技术采用行为诱导

综合分析表明，中国农业技术应用的宏观取向是可持续农业技术，然而，现实情况显示出，我国农户总体上表现出的技术采用偏好与国家的宏观技术取向存在着较大差异，缩小差异是可持续农业发展的必然要求。本文着重分析了中国农业技术应用的宏观取向，农户技术采用偏好，以及二者差异的原因，并根据农户采用行为规律，提出了缩小这上差异的诱导措施。     

PROJECTED EFFECTS OF ENERGY POLICIES ON AGRICULTURAL WATER USE AND IRRIGATION1

ABSTRACT: A national and interregional programming model was used in projecting the impacts of alternative energy policies and prices on agricultural production, land use, and irrigation. The alternatives analyzed include (a) natural gas deregulation, (b) natural gas curtailment, (c) doubled energy prices, and (d) tripled energy prices. These alternatives are compared with a base alternative where prices and conditions are at normal levels. Restraints in the model control availability of water, land, nitrogen fertilizers, and energy. Water production functions were used to adjust water use to conform with projected energy prices and policies. Natural gas curtailment would have the largest effect on nitrogen use on irrigated land. Values or shadow prices for lands that remains in irrigation would increase under all of the alternatives because of reduced supply. Increased energy prices generally would increase use of surface water for irrigation and reduce use of ground water due to higher pumping costs. Reductions of 50 percent or more in ground water use would occur in the South Central and Western regions of the United States. Water supply prices increase under all of the alternatives; with the amount varying by regions and the policy or price situation.     

AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION'S POTENTIAL IN REDUCING DISCHARGE OF POLLUTANTS1

ABSTRACT: Agricultural lands (including most forest lands) make up almost four-fifths of the total land area of the United States and include, or are traversed by, perhaps an equal proportion of our ground and surface waters. Therefore, a very large part of our environment is directly “agriculture-related” in any consideration of the discharge of pollutants. Several important Federal and State laws relate to the control or abatement of agriculture-related pollution. Existing legislation generally mandates the control or abatement of pollution (from point or nonpoint sources) or authorizes the use use of public funds or other resources for such purposes. Some of these laws can be effective instruments in keeping pollutants from being discharged into surface or ground waters or into the air, but the degree to which some pollutants originating from agricultural lands and operations constitute a serious environmental hazard in waters remains controversial. Although most of the technology exists to reduce greatly the movement of these pollutants, investments are often required which benefit the nonfarm public without economic returns to the farmer. Whether a zero discharge is either an environmentally or economically feasible alternative to more limited or selective control, is explored. However, if the public is willing to bear its reasonable share of the cost for clean air and water, the needed basic legislation already largely exists. Under it, agricultural land holders may apply program standards and use their own and available program resources to bring about effective control or abatement of pollutants.