Abstract

Food security is pivotal for national sustainable development. This study utilizes panel data from 31 Chinese provinces spanning from 1990 to 2021 to construct distinct indicator systems for urban–rural integration and food security. The entropy method is employed to assess levels of urban–rural integration and food security, with their inter-relationship examined through a fixed-effects model. Additionally, this study conducts rigorous robustness and endogeneity tests, alongside comprehensive heterogeneity analyses across various dimensions and regions. The findings underscore the significant role of urban–rural integration in enhancing food security, particularly within spatial, social, and economic dimensions, albeit encountering challenges in ecological integration. Moreover, the impact of urban–rural integration on food security manifests differently across diverse food-producing regions, exhibiting notable advantages in primary production and distribution hubs while being negligible in balanced regions. These results accentuate the critical necessity for refining urban–rural integration strategies to bolster food security. Consequently, in formulating agricultural regional policies, careful consideration of resource allocation and the developmental stages of each region is imperative to ensure food security and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

Introduction

Food security is fundamentally linked to human well-being, acting as a crucial safeguard for national economic development and playing a direct role in ensuring peace and stability [1]. As we look to the future, the imperative of maintaining food security becomes a global priority, essential for achieving various Millennium Development Goals [2,3]. According to the “2018 World Urbanization Prospects” report, by the mid-21st century, approximately two-thirds (68%) of the world’s population will reside in urban areas, with a projected increase of 2.5 billion in the global urban population by 2050, nearly 90% of which will occur in the developing regions of Asia and Africa [4]. This urban concentration, along with ongoing expansion, poses significant challenges, including a shrinking rural workforce, diminishing arable land, environmental degradation, and compromised food security. The rapid pace of urbanization challenges the development of sustainable production and existing consumption models, necessitating targeted initiatives to manage the increased food consumption of urban populations; enhance urban dietary patterns in response to shifts in food demand, primarily through the efficient reallocation of agricultural resources; and maintain essential interactions between urban and rural areas in developing countries.

The realm of food security, marked by inherent complexity and dynamism, is influenced by a confluence of factors, including global pandemics, geopolitical strife, and climatic volatility, which have introduced challenges on an unprecedented scale [5,6]. In China, significant advances have been achieved in food production, supply chains, and agricultural economic development. Notably, China currently supports 22% of the global populace whilst possessing only 7% of the planet’s arable land [7]. For fourteen consecutive years, China’s per capita food availability has exceeded the globally recognized safety threshold of 400 kg per year, marking a crucial milestone in achieving grain self-sufficiency and the absolute security of staple foods. Despite these advances, a substantial demographic base continues to drive significant food demand, further intensified through the processes of urbanization and rapid economic growth, thereby increasing food requirements across both urban and rural sectors. Enhancements in urban–rural dynamics have facilitated resource distribution; however, disparities in resource allocation continue to pose risks to food security. The promotion of urban–rural integration strategies aims to optimize resource allocation efficiency, thereby reinforcing food security paradigms. The advances in agricultural technology have significantly increased food production levels; however, challenges such as land scarcity, workforce attrition, and an aging demographic persist [8,9]. Ensuring a stable and sufficient food supply remains critical [10]. Addressing the basic nutritional needs of the population will underpin food security. The historical data from the years 1949 to 2021 demonstrate the effective maintenance of per capita food consumption for urban and rural residents, with the food supply–demand ratio rising from 1.05 in 1949 to 3.68. As shown in Figure 1, as the trajectory of per capita food production approaches its peak, showing only a marginal decline, and with the diversification of the food supply leading to a reduction in per capita food demand, China is compelled to recalibrate its food security strategy to address the emerging challenges and shifts in paradigms.

Results

4.1. Analysis of Urban–Rural Integration and Food Security Measurement Results
4.1.1. Analysis of Food Security Measurement Results
Figure 3 illustrates the levels of food security across China’s 31 provinces (excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) from 1990 to 2021, highlighting a consistent enhancement in food security across the provinces. Key grain-producing regions such as Heilongjiang, Henan, and Shandong remain pivotal in ensuring food security despite approaching saturation in their capacity. Leveraging their abundant resources, these primary production areas have efficiently supplied food to major consumption centers, fostering a synergy of regional strengths. Concurrently with economic progress, the focal point of food security is gradually shifting northward, with Xinjiang, Shanxi, and Qinghai emerging as critical hubs for food reserve capabilities, demonstrating significant potential. Although primary consumption areas display low self-sufficiency, their economic influence and robust infrastructure support reliance on primary production regions and trade to ensure food security. Advancements in transportation, technology, and digitalization are steadily enhancing food supply capabilities, underscoring the importance of maintaining regional food security equilibrium as a fundamental aspect of revising the national food security strategy.

1- Introduction

2- Synergies between renewable energy and rural development as socio-ecological fixes

3- Denmark

4- Scotland

5- Discussion: mismatches and potentials

6- Potentials: bringing the rural into the discussion

7- Conclusion

References

Abstract

Energy transition is increasingly regarded as a promising opportunity for the economic development of rural areas. This possibility is associated with the siting and (co-)ownership of decentralized (small-scale) renewable energy facilities. The underlying productive link, however, has been taken for granted, rather than conceptually and practically cultivated. Thus, while renewable energy-based rural development has been stated as a desired by-product of energy transitions, its potential has remained largely unfulfilled. This review aims to illuminate the ambiguous interplay between renewable energy and rural development in the context of the current trajectories of the energy transition. In doing so, we first examine different ways renewable energy may contribute to rural development and explore how the synergetic conflation of renewable energy and rural development has played out in Denmark and Scotland, as two countries that have forged ahead with renewable energy in rural areas. Second, we draw on the different experiences in the two countries to critically discuss policy-related mismatches that hamper a more efficient contribution of renewable energy to rural development, and sketch out some thoughts about the need to bring rural matters and rural communities into the discussion if the synergies between energy transition and rural development are to be taken seriously.

Introduction

In recent years, rural areas have become significant battlegrounds for the implementation of energy transitions. Not only are they meaningful as the location for the siting of renewable energy (RE) facilities, but they also hold a great potential for the creation of significant synergies for sustainable rural development (RD) (e.g. Benedek et al., 2018). Hence, at the overall policy level, the development of RE has received explicit acknowledgement as a promising means for advancing RD and supporting rural economies (OECD, 2012; ECA, 2018; IEA-RETH, 2016). In particular, the EU policy framework for RE has stated the desire to foster RD through the designation of specific funding programs (ECA, 2018) and focus areas (ENRD, 2014). Policy documents identify potentially positive impacts of RE on RD; the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and its recast RED II include references to the opportunities renewables may have for employment and regional development, “especially in rural and isolated areas” (ECA, 2018, 18). Similarly, several evaluations and supranational policy briefs indicate that RE projects can be developed in a way that benefits local interests and sustainable RD (IEA-RETH, 2016; OECD, 2012; Nordregio, 2017). In order to maximize the economic benefits of RE deployment for rural areas, the evaluations generally underline the need for an approach to RD that is well adapted to local conditions and focuses on the competitiveness of rural areas. However, while policy strategy papers claim and envision positive effects of RE-based rural development, it is less clear as to how these are reasoned and realized, and how they relate to the current politicaleconomic conditions of the energy transition. An overall finding from international evaluations suggests that most countries have not developed strategies for linking RD and RE (OECD, 2012; Pedroli and Langeveld, 2011; EESC, 2016; ECA, 2018). An EU audit straightforwardly concluded that synergies between RE policy and sustainable RD remain mostly unrealized (ECA, 2018). Similarly, other studies raised the observation that RE does not automatically translate into RD (Pedroli and Langeveld, 2011; OECD, 2012, 3; IEA-RETD, 2016; Taylor, 2019). For example, an OECD report concludes that the productive linkage of RE production and RD in terms of economic development, job creation, human capital, infrastructure, and rural empowerment cannot easily be taken for granted and instead requires a complex and flexible policy framework, a long-term strategy, and a realistic appreciation of the potential gains from RE deployment (OECD, 2012).

The focus of this paper is to enhance our understanding of the key roles social entrepreneurs (SEs) play in rural destination development and to develop a new theoretical framework as the foundation of further research in this area. As Jaafar and Rasoolimanesh (2015) note rural tourism represents a tool for rural revitalization. SEs can influence the development of rural tourism; however, literature documenting the roles they play is lacking, posing a gap in understanding the ways rural tourism is developed. Examining the roles of SEs in tourism destinations sheds light on the engagement of entrepreneurs who are motivated not only by profit, but also by social objectives. This type of academic engagement reflects pragmatic changes that are evident in rural tourism destinations. This paper addresses gaps in our understanding of the roles SEs play in rural destination development. This was achieved through our cross-case analysis from Ireland, South Africa and USA. The objectives of the paper are four-fold. Firstly to identify if there are commonalities in terms of the roles that SEs play in rural tourism destinations, secondly to identify the roles that are played by SEs in rural tourism destinations, thirdly to examine how these roles are connected and fourthly to begin to build a framework within which the role of SEs can be analyzed…. Combining findings from three geographically diverse contexts, our paper provides rich insight into the role of SEs as opportunists, catalysts and network architects in rural destinations and suggests that our rural tourism lens needs to adjust from focusing primarily on the role of communities, policy makers, and to a lesser extent entrepreneurs, to encompass this new stakeholder. Doing so will provide an opportunity to push existing boundaries and consider the role of SEs in rural tourism development. The next section reviews the concept of entrepreneurs and SEs in tourism, on which this paper is based.

مقاله سال 2016

Considered one of the strategies to solve China’s high level of urban–rural economic inequality, the Chinese government has initiated various national and provincial programs to connect rural communities to the information highway. The current rural informatization1 activities are usually composed of relatively independent, but fundamentally interrelated, “projects” sponsored by different government institutions (Xia, 2010). Several statistics have indicated that some significant achievements have been made so far. In terms of connectivity, telephone service was nearly ubiquitous in rural areas and broadband connections were available in 84.7% of all administrative villages by the end of 2012 (MIIT, 2013b). China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) estimated that 136 million rural residents had used the Internet in 2011, a nearly 9% increase from the previous year (CNNIC, 2012). In addition, there were over 31,000 agriculture-related websites, approximately 1 million village information service stations and 700 thousand supporting staff members across the country (MOA, 2011) 2 . The unique feature of the Chinese model is the attempt to integrate connectivity and content together both in its strategic planning and national programs, which is arguably the first of its type in the world (Xia, 2010).

As the largest emerging economy, China’s strategy in rural informatization is of significant interest to both ICT4D scholars and practitioners of other developing countries. There have been a few studies focusing on the institutional design of China’s informatization programs (Hanna, Qiang, Bhavnani, Kimura, & Sudan, 2009; Liu, 2012; Ting & Yi, 2012; Xia, 2010). However, due to the relatively short history and the general lack of familiarity with operational details of China’s rural informatization programs, research on this subject is still very limited and, particularly, the existing studies seem to have limited strength in assessing the sustainability of those programs. This paper serves the purpose of filling this important gap by providing a detailed account of the historical evolution of China’s informatization program, based on firsthand evidence from the field, and analysis of its sustainability challenges. By looking at Sichuan’s unique government-carrier cooperative model, this paper argues that, while Sichuan’s model provides a low-cost solution to deliver information to mass recipients in rural areas, it is at risk of financial, institutional and cultural/social sustainability failures.

This article has six sections. The second section briefly reviews the research on China’s rural informatization and various theoretical models to study sustainability of ICT4D projects. The research methodology is outlined in the third section. The fourth section presents the case study of Sichuan’s rural informatization program, with the emphasis on the historical development. Next, the fifth section summarizes the case and discusses its sustainability issues. The last section derives important implications for rural informatization development in developing countries.