(1) Title: Theory, model and route on spatial recombination of arable land use system based on land fragmentation perspective

Speaker: Dr. Zhang Bangbang

Time: 14:30-15:30 pm, Oct. 27, 2017

Venue: Meeting Room C304, The Building of Economics, Management and Landscape Architecture

Abstract: The household contract responsibility system determined in the early years of the reform and opening policy insured the equal quantity and quality of arable land for farmers, which also led to arable land fragmentation. In the past 30 years, production mode and technology of arable land have made great progress, while arable land fragmentation can’t catch up with the progress of production mode, resulting in the increase of inputs cost, the decrease of arable land use efficiency, and the restricts on further increase of land productivity. Currently, China is promoting the infrastructure construction of farmland, while ownership adjustment is rarely implemented to solve arable land fragmentation problem. Meanwhile, farmers are actively exploring plots adjustment for concentrated plots, however, farmers usually are lack of the policy supports of farmland construction funds. Hence, it is urgent to conduct the study on the theory, model and route of combination between ownership adjustment by farmers and the farmland infrastructure construction by the government, so as to solve arable land fragmentation problem. Around the scientific issues and practical requirements, based on the instruction of system theory and man-land relationship theory, adopting the TOP-DOWN combined with BOTTOM-UP method, starting from the problem of arable land fragmentation, the purposes of this study are to: construct theory framework of spatial recombination of arable land use system on arable land fragmentation; reveal the spatial characteristics of arable land fragmentation in China and Agro-Ecological zone; analyze the evolution trend and temporal-spatial characteristics of arable land fragmentation and elements of arable land use system; put forward optimization model of arable land use system to overcome arable land fragmentation; evaluate the effect of optimization model of spatial recombination; and come up with the routes to promote the optimization model of spatial recombination in other region of China. 

(2) Title: Influencing Factors of Farmers’ Environment-friendly Pesticide Application Behavior in China Based on Meta-analysis

Speaker:  Li Hao

Time: 15:30-16:30pm, October 27, 2017

Venue: Meeting Room C304, The Building of Economics, Management and Landscape Architecture 

Abstract: The main purposes of this study were to reveal key factors influencing farmers’ pesticide application behavior, and the reasons of the differences in research level. A total of 43 papers were selected from locally and globally published papers. This paper explored the following issues, whether the key factors of pesticide application in China are completely homogeneous, the key factors influences the application of pesticide in farmers under the condition of allowing the existence of heterogeneity, and the trend of the key factors changes over time, were analyzed based on Meta-analysis. The Meta-analysis method includes effect size selection, fixed or random effect model selection depending on the existence of heterogeneity, publication bias test and correction, sensitivity analysis, cumulative Meta-analysis and Meta regression analysis. The Q statistic was used to test whether there was heterogeneity. If the variables are homogeneous in farmers, the fixed effect model is used, if the variables are heterogeneity, then the random effect model is used. Results showed that key factors of farmers’ pesticide application behavior were not completely homogeneous. There was significant heterogeneity among age, household income, knowledge of pesticide use, scale of cultivation and ratio of agricultural income. The key factors influencing farmers’ behavior regarding pesticide application included gender, educational level, risk appetite, knowledge of pesticide use, farming experience, proportion of agricultural income, whether participated in pesticide application training and pesticide residue detected. The trend of educational level, risk appetite, pesticide related knowledge, participation in pesticide application technical training and government propaganda support were increasing over time. However, the variables including gender and agricultural income accounted for a significant impact while the trend was nearly stable. The remaining variables gradually decreased. Based on the results, two aspects of suggestions including policy and academic were proposed. 

Welcome the related professional teachers or graduate students to take part in the forum. 

College of Economics and Management
Oct. 25, 2017