Qing Wang

This study explores the impact of off-farm employment on the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology among farmers in rural China, with a focus on sustainable farm development. Utilizing micro-survey data and applying an endogenous switching Probit model within a counterfactual analysis framework, the research examines how off-farm employment influences the likelihood of adopting IPM technology. The findings reveal that 67.84% of farmers have adopted IPM technology, while 32.16% have not. The counterfactual analysis indicates that if farmers with off-farm employment did not engage in off-farm activities, their probability of adopting IPM technology would decrease by 71.57%. Conversely, if farmers without off-farm employment were to engage in off-farm activities, their probability of adopting IPM technology would increase by 76.95%. Key factors influencing off-farm employment include age, education level, number of elderly in the household, membership in a cooperative, number of land plots, village topography, and the number of family members and relatives working in government or public institutions. In addition, age, personal health status, number of household laborers, membership in a cooperative, number of land plots, village topography, and ecological cognition significantly affect the adoption of IPM technology. The study suggests that optimizing industrial structure, improving the rural employment market, enhancing the role of farmers’ professional cooperatives, strengthening education and training efforts, and increasing publicity efforts can collectively improve the adoption of IPM technology. These strategies contribute to sustainable farm development and better environmental outcomes.

The terms “global warming” and “climate change” refer to the large-scale impacts of human actions such as the burning of fossil fuels and extensive deforestation that contribute to a rise in the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

This paper constructs the evaluation index system of red tourism resources in the Dabie Mountain area from three dimensions: the value of the red tourism resources, the conditions of the scenic spots and tourism development conditions. The weight of each evaluation index is calculated by the analytic hierarchy process. Based on the theory of fuzzy mathematics, we evaluate the resources of three red tourism scenic spots by using fuzzy comprehensive assessment method, and the three red tourism scenic spots are Hong'an martyrs cemetery, Macheng martyrs cemetery and Macheng horse Hall in Huanggang City. It verifies the feasibility of the evaluation index system, and provides theoretical and practical guidance for the rational exploitation and sustainable development of the red tourism resources in the Dabie Mountains.

Small-scale farmland water conservation facilities are “the last mile” of irrigation works, and determine whether the large- and medium-scale water conservation projects financed by the government will provide the most value and maximum efficiency. Farmers play a primary role in the construction of small-scale farmland water conservation, while the government’s role is only to encourage and subsidize such projects. Farmers’ willingness to participate determines their behavior. This paper, firstly, uses a utility function for goods and water conservation facilities to solve the farmers’ optimization problem. It puts forward six theoretical propositions about farmers’ willingness to invest in small-scale farmland water conservation. Secondly, based on survey data in Hubei Province, China, the Heckman Two-step Model is used to analyze the factors affecting farmers’ willingness to participate in construction of small-scale irrigation systems and the factors affecting the amount of investment that participants are willing to undertake.