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Agriculture
Special Issues
Productivity and Efficiency of Agricultural and Livestock Systems
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Productivity and Efficiency of Agricultural and Livestock Systems

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 2983

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Katerina Melfou

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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Florina, Greece
Interests: agricultural productivity; farm efficiency; sustainable development; circular economy; rural management; technological progress in agriculture
Dr. Alexandros Theodoridis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Animal Production Economics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54 124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: socioeconomic sustainability of livestock production systems; agricultural economics; farm management; agricultural policy; biostatistics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The agricultural and livestock sectors face significant structural, operational, market, and environmental challenges, which pose threats to their future sustainability. Farmers and processors, on the one hand, need to address the mandate of the Grean Deal and the consumer expectations for “green” and environmentally friendly products and high animal welfare, on the other hand, they must face the increasing pressure to intensify production, which is driven by global markets and volatile producer prices. To cater to these needs, the sectors must incorporate significant changes in farm management practices that will allow the efficient valorization of production technology. The resilience and the economic sustainability of farms will benefit from the identification and adoption of improved production techniques, innovations, and effective management practices that will support farm activities and ensure a satisfactory income.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together contributions from a wide range of disciplines relating to the measurement, analysis, and improvements in productivity components, particularly innovation and the efficiency of crop and livestock production (agricultural economics, performance analysis, livestock production and animal husbandry, management sciences, operations research, environmental analysis, etc.) to highlight transdisciplinary advancements. Contributions that share results of research projects and real-life industry applications are particularly welcome.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Efficiency analysis of crop and livestock systems;
  • Performance and productivity analysis of crop and livestock systems;
  • Best observed managerial practices for sustainable crop and livestock systems;
  • Optimization of agricultural activities;
  • Agricultural eco-efficiency/life-cycle impact assessment of farming systems;
  • Agricultural policies, economics transitions, and productivity;
  • Efficient management of natural resources/ecosystem services;
  • Novel agri-food systems/sustainable food value chains

Prof. Dr. Katerina Melfou
Dr. Alexandros Theodoridis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • efficiency
  • productivity
  • sustainability
  • innovations
  • best practices
  • competitiveness
  • optimization
  • sustainable use of resources
  • sustainable food value chains

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 1017 KiB  
Article
Citrus Industry Agglomeration and Citrus Green Total Factor Productivity in China: An Empirical Analysis Utilizing a Dynamic Spatial Durbin Model
by Yani Dong, Chunjie Qi, Yumeng Gu, Cheng Gui and Guozhu Fang
Agriculture 2024, 14(11), 2059; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14112059 - 15 Nov 2024
Viewed by 346
Abstract
In the context of increasingly severe resource and environmental constraints, examining the impact of citrus industry agglomeration on the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of citrus is of great importance for the sustainable development of the citrus industry and is crucial for promoting [...] Read more.
In the context of increasingly severe resource and environmental constraints, examining the impact of citrus industry agglomeration on the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of citrus is of great importance for the sustainable development of the citrus industry and is crucial for promoting the green, high-quality growth of China’s agricultural sector. In this study, the global Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index (GMLPI) model was used to measure the GTFP of mandarins and tangerines based on inter-provincial panel data from China’s major citrus-producing regions between 2007 and 2022. The dynamic spatial Durbin model was employed to empirically analyze the effects of citrus industry agglomeration on the GTFP of mandarins and tangerines, including the disaggregation of its spatial spillover effects. The results indicate that, in terms of temporal dynamics, the GTFP, technical progress index (GTC), and technical efficiency index (GEC) of mandarins and tangerines significantly fluctuated, especially during the period from 2007 to 2015. Regional disparities in GTFP and the GTC are more pronounced for mandarins than for tangerines, while the GEC shows greater regional disparities for tangerines than for mandarins. The intensification of citrus industry agglomeration has had a significant positive impact on the GTFP of mandarins and tangerines, both locally and in neighboring regions. The spatial correlation of the green total factor productivity of mandarins and tangerines fluctuated; mandarins showed significant spatial aggregation in some years, while tangerines showed significant spatial dispersion in several years. The local Moran scatterplot further reveals the significant negative spatial autocorrelation of mandarin and tangerine green total factor productivity from 2007 to 2022. The direct, indirect, and total effects of citrus industry agglomeration on the GTFP of mandarins and tangerines are significant and positive in both the short- and long-term, with short-term benefits exceeding long-term effects. Consequently, enhancing regional cooperation and exchange while advancing citrus industry agglomeration is essential for sustained productivity growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Productivity and Efficiency of Agricultural and Livestock Systems)
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32 pages, 9307 KiB  
Article
Study on Regional Differences, Dynamic Evolution and Convergence of Nutrition-Sensitive Agricultural Development in China
by Yumeng Gu, Chunjie Qi, Fuxing Liu, Yani Dong and Haixia Zhang
Agriculture 2024, 14(11), 2034; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14112034 - 12 Nov 2024
Viewed by 405
Abstract
This article constructs an evaluation index system for the development of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in China and measures the development level of nutrition-sensitive agriculture using the entropy method, based on the panel data of 31 provinces from 2000 to 2022. The Dagum Gini coefficient [...] Read more.
This article constructs an evaluation index system for the development of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in China and measures the development level of nutrition-sensitive agriculture using the entropy method, based on the panel data of 31 provinces from 2000 to 2022. The Dagum Gini coefficient is employed to analyze the magnitude and sources of regional differences in the development level between the whole country and the four major regions. The Kernel density estimation method is applied to describe the dynamic evolutionary characteristics of the development level in different regions. Furthermore, this study delves into the σ convergence and β convergence characteristics of the development level. The results show the following: (a) The level of nutrition-sensitive agricultural development at the national level and in the four major regions has been rising year by year, with a clear spatial pattern of “high in the east and low in the west”. (b) There are significant regional differences at the national level and in the four major regions, which tend to widen. (c) The dynamic evolution characteristics of the development level of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in various regions differ greatly, with polarization in the national, eastern, western and northeastern regions. (d) There is no σ convergence in the development level of nutrition-sensitive agriculture in the country or in the four major regions, but there is absolute β convergence and conditional β convergence in all of them, with the northeastern and central regions having faster convergence speeds; the “catching-up effect” is obvious. The report concludes by outlining the policy ramifications for implementing a methodical and comprehensive strategy approach to support regionally coordinated development plans for leapfrogging and upgrading. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Productivity and Efficiency of Agricultural and Livestock Systems)
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19 pages, 2230 KiB  
Article
Use Efficiency, Reduction Potential, and Effects of Fertilizers on Carbon Emissions in China’s Major Citrus Regions
by Yueyuan Yang, Chunjie Qi, Yumeng Gu and Guozhu Fang
Agriculture 2024, 14(11), 1971; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14111971 - 3 Nov 2024
Viewed by 573
Abstract
Enhancing the efficiency of fertilizer utilization and advancing fertilizer reduction efforts constitutes a pivotal initiative for augmenting the quality and productivity of the citrus industry; this constitutes an indispensable prerequisite for attaining green and sustainable development. Utilizing panel data from seven prominent mandarin-producing [...] Read more.
Enhancing the efficiency of fertilizer utilization and advancing fertilizer reduction efforts constitutes a pivotal initiative for augmenting the quality and productivity of the citrus industry; this constitutes an indispensable prerequisite for attaining green and sustainable development. Utilizing panel data from seven prominent mandarin-producing regions and seven prominent tangerine-producing regions in China spanning from 2002 to 2022, this study employed the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) method to develop a translog production function model for precisely measuring the fertilizer use efficiency for mandarins and tangerines. Employing the calculated optimal fertilizer use rates, we further ascertained the fertilizer reduction potential for mandarin and tangerine; then, we estimated the associated carbon emission reduction potential within these key citrus regions. The research revealed the following findings: the overall level of citrus fertilizer use efficiency in China is comparatively low, with the mean values for mandarin and tangerine fertilizer use efficiency being merely 0.4403 and 0.3887, respectively, indicating substantial room for improvement by approximately 60%; substantial potential exists for decreasing fertilizer use in China’s citrus industry, with average reduction potentials of 66.27% for mandarins and 64.83% for tangerines, signifying a notable redundancy in fertilizer application within major citrus-producing areas. The magnitude of carbon emission reduction potential through the diminution of citrus fertilizer use is tremendous. When optimal fertilizer rates are applied, the average carbon emission reductions resulting from fertilizer reduction in mandarins and tangerines amount to 815.8681 kg/hm2 and 602.3551 kg/hm2, respectively. The average carbon reduction potential for mandarins and tangerines reach levels of 55.9673% and 61.1299%, respectively, both surpassing the threshold of 55%. Significant differences exist in the technical efficiency of fertilizer input, reduction potential, and carbon emission mitigation potential among major citrus-producing regions. Citrus orchards in Guangdong exhibit higher potential for fertilizer reduction but demonstrate a relatively low level of technical efficiency. In contrast, Hunan Province shows an opposite trend, necessitating the development of region-specific strategies. Therefore, to minimize citrus fertilizer use and augment the technical efficiency of citrus fertilizer, it is imperative to comprehensively integrate and promote the “three new” technologies aimed at reducing fertilizer use and enhancing its efficiency within the citrus industry; implement a regional coordinated development strategy for citrus fertilizer reduction; and intensify policy guidance, publicity, and training efforts related to citrus fertilizer reduction, efficiency enhancement, and carbon emissions reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Productivity and Efficiency of Agricultural and Livestock Systems)
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20 pages, 1259 KiB  
Article
Land Access Modes and Agricultural Productivity in Benin
by Christelle Yèba Akpo, Cristina Bianca Pocol, Maria-Georgeta Moldovan and Denis Acclassato Houensou
Agriculture 2024, 14(10), 1744; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14101744 - 3 Oct 2024
Viewed by 518
Abstract
Improving productivity is an important channel for satisfying household food needs through food availability. Increasing the productivity of small-scale farmers is linked to a number of factors, including land access, labor, chemicals, fertilizers and so on. Most farmers resort to expanding their cultivated [...] Read more.
Improving productivity is an important channel for satisfying household food needs through food availability. Increasing the productivity of small-scale farmers is linked to a number of factors, including land access, labor, chemicals, fertilizers and so on. Most farmers resort to expanding their cultivated areas to increase production because of insufficient financial resources available for purchasing inputs during agricultural seasons. This situation, combined with increasing pressure on land, does not favor agricultural production and, by extension, food security. This study therefore assesses the impact of different modes of access to land on agricultural productivity. Regime-switching multinomial regression techniques were used to account for endogeneity bias due to observed and unobserved factors. The results of the study show that access through free loans, tenancy and sharecropping negatively affect agricultural yields. The counterfactual analysis reveals a positive gain estimated at 509.9 kg/ha from land access by landowners. If the lenders were landowners, their gain would be 396.6 kg/ha, whereas the farmers would gain 485.1 kg/ha if they were landowners, and similarly the sharecroppers would gain 389.8 kg/ha if they were landowners. It is clear from these results that improving agricultural yields depends on securing land and requires the establishment of an effective land ownership system. This research impacts land ownership policies, which need to be revised to address customary rights and reduce inequalities in access to secure land. It highlights the way land tenure security drives agricultural advancements and offers actionable recommendations for policy improvements on food security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Productivity and Efficiency of Agricultural and Livestock Systems)
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