An index system for evaluation of agriculture green development at county level in China

Highlights

● Objective based county-level AGD evaluation index system was established.

● A typical agricultural county of Quzhou County in the North China Plain was use as a representative study.

● Unbalanced development was revealed as well as large gaps relative to targets.

● Spearman rank correlation analysis revealed more synergistic effect than trade-off effect.

● Trade-off existed between eco-environment and both food production and socioeconomic dimensions.

Abstract

Agriculture green development (AGD) has become an unavoidable choice to address the unique national circumstances of China. This study established a county-level AGD evaluation index system, comprised three dimensions, food production, ecological environment and socioeconomic development, using 20 indicators. The assessment delved into historical trend and current situation, utilizing Spearman rank correlation analysis to analyze trade-off and synergy relationships, using Quzhou County, Hebei Province as a case study. The main findings were in four areas. Firstly, the index for AGD in Quzhou County increased by 58.9% from 1978 to 2019. The major contribution were the social economy (65.8%) and food production (53.5%), whereas the ecological environment was found to have had a negative impact. Secondly, in 2019, the AGD index was only 56.4, indicating substantial potential for improvement relative to the target value. A notable difference in scores existed between the three dimensions, with the order being ecological environment (66.3) > food production (61.7) > socioeconomic (41.3). Also, 90% of the indicators did not reach the target value. Thirdly, relationship analysis of the indicators revealed that the synergistic effect exceeded the trade-off effect. Specifically, 46.3% of the indicators had no significant relationship, 35.3% had a synergistic relationship, and 18.4% had a trade-off relationship. Finally, interdimensional indicator relationships exhibited a trade-off effect between the ecological environment and both food production and socioeconomic dimensions. However, a positive trend of synergy between production and ecology has emerged since 2015. In conclusion, the quantitative evaluation index system exposed the unbalanced development and significant potential relative to the target value of AGD in Quzhou County, despite notable progress.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Agriculture green development / index system / quantitative evaluation / Spearman correlation analysis

References

[1] Shen J, Zhu Q, Jiao X, Ying H, Wang H, Wen X, Xu W, Li T, Cong W, Liu X, Hou Y, Cui Z, Oenema O, Davies W J, Zhang F. Agriculture green development: a model for China and the world. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 2020, 7(1): 5–13

[2] Zhang X, Yao G L, Vishwakarma S, Dalin C, Komarek A M, Kanter D R, Davis K F, Pfeifer K, Zhao J, Zou T, D’Odorico P, Folberth C, Rodriguez F G, Fanzo J, Rosa L, Dennison W, Musumba M, Heyman A, Davidson E A. Quantitative assessment of agricultural sustainability reveals divergent priorities among nations. One Earth, 2021, 4(9): 1262–1277

[3] Kanter D R, Musumba M, Wood S L R, Palm C, Antle J, Balvanera P, Dale V H, Havlik P, Kline K L, Scholes R J, Thornton P, Tittonell P, Andelman S. Evaluating agricultural trade-offs in the age of sustainable development. Agricultural Systems, 2018, 163: 73–88

[4] Swaminathan M S. Changing Nature of the Food Security Challenge: Implications for Agricultural Research and Policy. Washington, DC: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, CGIAR Secretariat, 1990, 1–27

[5] Abraham M, Pingali P. Transforming smallholder agriculture to achieve the SDGs. In: Paloma S G, Riesgo L, Louhichi K, eds, The Role of Smallholder Farms in Food and Nutrition Security. Switzerland: Springer, 2020, 173–210

[6] Reytar K, Hanson C, Henninger N. Indicators of Sustainable Agriculture: A Scoping Analysis. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute, 2014

[7] Sachs J, Kroll C, Lafortune G, Fuller G, Woelm F. The Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals: Sustainable Development Report 2021. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021

[8] Chaudhary A, Gustafson D, Mathys A. Multi-indicator sustainability assessment of global food systems. Nature Communications, 2018, 9(1): 848

[9] Springmann M, Clark M, Mason-D’Croz D, Wiebe K, Bodirsky B L, Lassaletta L, de Vries W, Vermeulen S J, Herrero M, Carlson K M, Jonell M, Troell M, DeClerck F, Gordon L J, Zurayk R, Scarborough P, Rayner M, Loken B, Fanzo J, Godfray H C J, Tilman D, Rockström J, Willett W. Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits. Nature, 2018, 562(7728): 519–525

[10] Béné C, Prager S D, Achicanoy H A E, Toro P A, Lamotte L, Bonilla C, Mapes B R. Global map and indicators of food system sustainability. Scientific Data, 2019, 6(1): 279

[11] Zhang J J, Cui S L, Ma L, Meng F L, Song C Y, Li Y M, Ma W Q. Construction of a green development index system for agriculture in China and examples. Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture, 2020, 28(8): 1113−1126 (in Chinese)

[12] Zhang H X, Feng Y, Jia Y X, Liu P Q, Hou Y, Shen J B, Zhu Q C, Zhang F S. China’s agriculture green development: from concept to actions. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 2023 [Published Online] doi: 10.15302/J-FASE-2023512

[13] Jin S M. Evaluation of agricultural green development level and regional difference between provinces in China. Seeker, 2019, (2): 89−95 (in Chinese)

[14] Wei Q, Zhang B, Jin S Q. A study on construction and regional comparison of agricultural green development index in China. Issues in Agricultural Economy, 2018, (11): 11−20 (in Chinese)

[15] Zhao H J, Yu F W. Evaluation of agricultural green development level in main grain producing areas based on entropy method. Reform, 2019, (11): 136−146 (in Chinese)

[16] Zha J P, Zhou X, Zhou Y X. Evaluation of agricultural green development level in the yellow river. Chinese Journal of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, 2022, 43(1): 18−28 (in Chinese)

[17] Zhang N M, Zhang L, Zhao H, Han Y C, Duan Y H. Construction and application of evaluation index system for agricultural green development. Ecological Economics, 2018, 34(11): 21−24 (in Chinese)

[18] Gong Q W, Li X M. Construction and measurement of agricultural green development index: 2005–2018. Reform, 2020, (1): 133−145 (in Chinese)

[19] Gong X, Luo R J. The evaluation of agricultural green development ability in western regions from the perspective of precise poverty alleviation. Ecological Economics, 2018, 34(8): 128−132 (in Chinese)

[20] Sun W L, Wang R B, Jiang Q, Huang S N. Study on connotation and evaluation of the agricultural green development. Chinese Journal of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, 2019, 40(4): 14−21 (in Chinese)

[21] Xu X, Song W. Research on the evaluation of agricultural green development from the perspective of rural revitalization. Study & Exploration, 2021, (3): 130−136 (in Chinese)

[22] Yu Y Q, Wang C S, Peng L L, Yu Y F. Evaluation of agricultural green development level and analysis of its obstacle factors based on entropy weight TOPSIS model: a case study of Jiangxi Province. Chinese Journal of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, 2022, 43(2): 187−196 (in Chinese)

[23] Ma W Q, Ma L, Zhang J J, Zhang F S. Theoretical framework and realization pathway of agricultural green development. Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture, 2020, 28(8): 1103−1112 (in Chinese)

[24] Xu Z S, Da Q L. Study on method of combination weighting. Chinese Journal of Management Science, 2002, (02): 84−87 (in Chinese)

[25] Hauke J, Kossowski T. Comparison of values of Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficients on the same sets of data. Quaestiones Geographicae, 2011, 30(2): 87–93

[26] Spearman C. The proof and measurement of association between two things. American Journal of Psychology, 1987, 100(3/4): 441–471

[27] Pradhan P, Costa L, Rybski D, Lucht W, Kropp J P. A systematic study of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) interactions. Earth’s Future, 2017, 5(11): 1169–1179

[28] National Bureau of Statistics of China. China Statistical Yearbook of 2020. Beijing: China Statistics Press (in Chinese)

[29] Wei H K. Major issues of China’s rural development during the 14th five-year plan period. Chinese Rural Economy, 2020, (01): 2−16 (in Chinese)

[30] Chen W X, Cai W N, Zhang C, Zhou W H, Che X Y, Zhang X T, Liu Z L, Zeng J, Wang G Z. Analysis of spatiotemporal pattern of global grain security risks. Chinese Journal of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, 2023, 44(6): 38−51 (in Chinese)

[31] Jin Z N, Li D M, Jin Y, Xiong N. Performance evaluation index and weight calculation of local scientific research institutions: a comparative study based on expert analysis and analytic Hierarchy Process. Science and Technology Management Research, 2009, 29(12): 103−106 (in Chinese)

[32] Yang Y. Evaluation on the weigh determining in multi-objective assessment. Statistics & Decisions, 2006, (13): 17−19 (in Chinese)

[33] Wang F X, Mao A H, Li H L, Jia M L. Quality measurement and regional difference of urbanization in Shandong Province based on the entropy method. Scientia Geogranphica Sinica, 2013, 33(11): 1323−1329 (in Chinese)

[34] Xu Q, Zhang Y. Land reallocation, tenure security and long-term investment incentive in China’s agricultural production. Economic Research Journal, 2005, (10): 59−69 (in Chinese)

[35] Hu A G. Analysis on the characteristics and significance of the Chinese path to modernization. Journal of Shandong University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 2022, (1): 21–38

[36] Zhang F S, Wang J Q, Zhang W F, Cui Z L, Ma W Q, Chen X P, Jiang R F. Nutrient use efficiencies of major cereal crops in China and measures for improvement. Acta Pedologica Sinica, 2008, (5): 915−924 (in Chinese)

[37] Kang J, Wang J, Heal M R, Goulding K, de Vries W, Zhao Y, Feng S, Zhang X, Gu B, Niu X, Zhang H, Liu X, Cui Z, Zhang F, Xu W. Ammonia mitigation campaign with smallholder farmers improves air quality while ensuring high cereal production. Nature Food, 2023, 4(9): 751–761

Supplementary materials

The online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2024536 contains supplementary material (Table S1).

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFD1700400), the Yunnan Fundamental Research Projects (202201AU070001), and the Startup Fund for Young Faculty at SJTU (22X010500256).

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Xiao Xu, Yanxiang Jia, Yuan Feng, Haixing Zhang, Wen Xu, and Qichao Zhu declare that they have no conflicts of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s) 2024. Published by Higher Education Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)