Term Paper on "Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Emerging Nations"
Term Paper 12 pages (3089 words) Sources: 1+
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Emerging Nations in General and China in ParticularLet trees sprout on the mountains; stop growing grain on hilly terrain; and keep livestock in their pens. - Chinese Edict for 21st Century Agricultural Practices, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, Spring 2000
In recent years, the rapid development of industrial and urban areas, and changes in agricultural practices, have resulted in environmental damage in many emerging countries, and China has been no exception (Cook & Murray 2002:154). In their haste to introduce market reforms and efficiencies into their antiquated agricultural systems, many of these emerging nations have sacrificed their environment and citizens' health in exchange for some well-intentioned but misguided short-term gains in productivity. Because China remains the most populous nation in the world, identifying more sustainable agricultural practices for the future remains a critical priority for this and other similarly situated countries today. To this end, this paper provides an overview of the problem as it exists in emerging nations in general and China in particular, a discussion of existing agricultural practices in these countries, and an examination of newly identified practices that may serve to resolve the problems faced by these nations in the future. A description of current and future trends in agricultural consumption patterns and sustainability is followed by an analysis of what can be done to address these issues, and a summary of the research is provided in the conclusion.
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview. Today, China is the largest of all Asia
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Existing Agricultural Practices in China Today. The agricultural practices of early settlers throughout many regions of the world proved inappropriate or inadequate for the conditions; consequently, farmers were continually required to move from one location to another in search of new lands because their "ploughing had loosened the grassland soils, exposing the lower sandy layers which drifted under windy conditions" (Edmonds 1994:36). While soil erosion is certainly not a new problem, it reached unprecedented proportions during the 20th century.
According to J. Donald Hughes, the basic causes of soil erosion are the removal of vegetative cover, overgrazing, and plowing in arid regions or steep terrain, particularly when furrows run down the slope. This author describes the "Dust Bowl" phenomenon that occurred in the high plains of the western United States when a period of drought in the 1930s followed a time of aggressive agricultural expansion that had broken enormous stretches of short-grass prairie. "The crops failed," he notes, "and the strong winds typical of the region carried the topsoil high into the atmosphere" (145). Although the Dust Bowl was the most visible and newsworthy example of soil erosion, it was not the only one; Hughes points out that comparable events have occurred in central Asia, the loess zone of China, and in the Sahel, which is the southern margin of the Sahara in Africa. The author adds, "Drought and water erosion has always been a problem in regions of cultivation" (145). Soil erosion has been the case especially in many of the arid regions of China, where 2001 estimates indicate only 15.4% of the land is arable to begin with, and where just 1.25% of this is being cultivated as shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Land Use and Irrigated Land in China (estimates as shown) (Source: China 2005:2).
Land use:
arable land: 15.4% permanent crops: 1.25% other: 83.36% (2001)
Irrigated land:
525,800 sq km (1998 est.)
Current Environmental issues:
air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
Although China has made some impressive gains in terms of investments in infrastructure that have steered the nation away from its agricultural-based past, an enormous number of Chinese people continue to be employed in the agricultural industries today as shown in Table 2 and Figure 1 below.
Table 2. China Labor Force, Occupational Breakdown, and Agricultural Products (estimates as indicated) (Source: China 2005:5-6)
Labor force:
778.1 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products:
rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish
As shown in Figure 1 below, approximately 389 million Chinese citizens are actively engaged in agricultural pursuits today:
Figure 1. Occupational Breakdown - China (2001 est.) (Source: Based on data in China 2005).
While enormous numbers of people remain actively engaged in agricultural pursuits, the fact that the industry and services sectors are growing while the agricultural sector continues to decline, identifying innovative and sustainable agricultural practices has assumed increasing importance today since fewer Chinese farmers are going to need to feed an increasingly larger percentage of the population in the future; these issues are discussed further below.
Innovative and Sustainable Agricultural Practices. In his essay, "Sustainable Agriculture and Conservation Tillage: Managing the Contradictions," Alan Hall (1998) reports that for the past two decades, there has been increasing emphasis placed on the need for environmentally oriented approaches to farming; concomitantly, this author notes that agricultural production and market systems have also experienced significant restructuring in the context of both increasing globalization and persistent over-production and farm profitability crises (221). Taken together, these forces have resulted in conventional agriculture coming under considerable criticism from within… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Emerging Nations" Assignment:
The paper should concern a topic of some significance for the growth and development of rural areas. You could explore one of the main themes of the course (e.g., how efficient is peasant agriculture, does productivity growth in agriculture contribute to growth in general, what are the special problems of development for the ex-centrally planned economies) with an historical or contemporary case study. Or you could focus on a particular policy issue like rural education and health services, infrastructure, government policies toward agriculture, land reform, international commodity agreements, the subsidization of fertilizer and the environment, and agricultural research and extension services. Or, you could focus on the development of a particular country and examine the basis for its success or failure. I would suggest you try to meet three conditions when choosing your topic. Choose a topic that you find interesting, that you can analyze successfully, and where there is some empirical evidence on the subject.
Part of the task in doing a paper is to find adequate reference material. In addition to the many books that you may find in the library, there are some journals and periodicals that are focused on development. The following is a sample of journals that you can start with: Economic Development and Cultural Change, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Development Studies, World Development, Journal of Developing Countries, Journal of Developing Areas, World Bank Economic Review, and World Bank Research Observer. Increasingly there are many Websites that hold a wealth of useful and up-to-date information, some of which are listed above.
It is very important to remember to note the reference that is relevant when you use data, findings or results in your paper that originate from a published item. And you should list all references at the end of the paper in a Bibliography or List of References. Please list your references with the usual cataloguing information, such as is found in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, or other mainstream journals. Please do not engage in plagiarism. It is illegal to quote from other peoples’ work without giving them proper referencing. As written above, I look favourably on you noting when you are referencing other people’s ideas. If you use a sentence or paragraph from someone else’s work, I expect you to note the author, both to give credit where credit is due and to show me that you have been using your references. Finally, I would suggest that you talk with me before proceeding too far on your paper.
Here is our class contain materials:
Lecture 1: Characteristics of Underdevelopment; Statistical Dimensions to Economic and Agricultural Growth; Growth vs Development
Lecture 2: Role of Agricultural Economy within National Economy: Agriculture vs Industry; Structure of Development; Misconceptions and Cliches regarding development
Lecture 3: Fundamental Elements of Economic Growth. Investments earning a higher than average rate of return (TWS), Lessons from the production possibilities frontier
Lecture 4, 5: Key Elements of an Efficient Country-wide Growth Strategy: Policies embracing Trade, Competition, Industry, Environment, Research, Health, Education, Infrastructure, Research/Science & Technology, Financial Markets, Foreign Investment, and Macro; Political Obstacles
Lecture 6, 7: Major Issues in Development Policy Planning: Poverty and Income Distribution. One lecture on Income Inequality, one lecture on poverty.
Lecture 8: Key Elements of Country-wide Growth Strategy: Part II: Population Issues and Policy
Lecture 9: Centrally planned vs market economies
Lecture 10: Corruption in Development
Lecture 10a: The Multilateral Agencies: World Bank, IMF, WTO
Lecture 11: Traditional Agriculture: Introducing growth to poor rural villages; Issues in analyzing the agricultural sector, Managing agricultural output markets
Lecture 12: Farm Output Markets; Getting prices right. Post-farm gate Sector: Food Marketing Policy for Agricultural Growth
Lecture 13: How to measure competitiveness in food marketing chain; Part II
Lecture 14: Agricultural Production: Technology, Hayami and Ruttan, HYVs, production functions (2 lectures?)
Lecture 15: Agricultural Factor Markets: Labour and Human Capital
Lecture 16: Agricultural Factor Markets: Capital and Rural Banking Sector
Lecture 17: Agricultural Factor Markets: Fertilizer, Land, and Research
Lecture 18: The Environment and Economic Growth (Gillis et al?, Panayotou)
Lecture 19: Sustainability and Market Failure: Part I (Green Markets)
Lecture 20: Sustainability and Market Failure: Part II (Green Markets)
Lecture 21: Policy Failures Part I (Green Markets)
Lecture 22: Policy Failures Part II (Green Markets)
Lecture 23: Macroeconomics and Agricultural/Resource Development: exchange rates
P.S. Try to provide every example base on CHINA and can you send me back a email after you decided what specific topic you chose
I guess topic can be something like "Corruption and Labour force in developing country" would be great...
but let me know what do you guys think
thx
How to Reference "Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Emerging Nations" Term Paper in a Bibliography
“Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Emerging Nations.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2005, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/sustainable-agricultural-practices/43276. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.
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