Analysis of the Club Convergence and Driving Factors of China’s Green Agricultural Development Levels
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Dear Authors,
Your manuscript provides valuable insights into the green agricultural development in China and showcases strengths in its methodological approach and comprehensive data analysis. However, to enhance the clarity and impact of your work, several areas require attention:
1.Conceptual Comments:
· The introduction provides adequate background but could be further strengthened by more explicitly highlighting the knowledge gaps this study aims to fill.
· The significance and rationale behind selecting the 7 indicators for AGDL could be explained more clearly.
· The scope focuses on regional differences and convergence trends. Expanding it to also explore green development policy implications would enhance the paper.
References are sufficiently recent and relevant.
2.Methodological Comments:
· More detailed justification for the selection of specific models and the construction of the evaluation index system would enhance the manuscript's methodological transparency
· Please provide more details on the data sources, collection methods, and sample characteristics.
· How were the index weights determined through the entropy method? This procedure should be detailed.
3.Results Comments:
· The AGDL values and rankings presented in Table 2 could be visualized on a map to better convey the regional differences.
· It would be useful to report descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients for the variables used in the regression models.
· The club convergence process and results require more explanation for readers unfamiliar with the log(t) approach.
· The rationale and basis for selecting the specific variables to explain club convergence needs to be detailed.
· The discussion on regional disparities could be expanded by comparing with similar metrics from other countries or regions, offering a broader perspective on China's performance in green agricultural development.
4.Writing Comments:
· The academic tone and formal style are appropriate, but sentence structure could be improved in some places.
5. Conclusions
· The conclusions summarize the main findings but should also highlight the study's theoretical and practical contributions. A deeper exploration of how your findings can inform policy-making and practical agricultural strategies in China and similar contexts would be valuable.
· Limitations and Future Research: Expanding on the study's limitations and suggesting avenues for future research could provide a clearer context for your findings.
In summary, the manuscript makes a valuable contribution to understanding regional disparities in China's AGDL. Addressing the above issues would significantly enhance the paper's rigor and clarity. I hope these recommendations are constructive for the authors.
Author Response
Thank you for your valuable feedback of our manuscript entitled “Analysis of the Club Convergence and Driving Factors of China's Agricultural Green Development Level”. Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
1. The title is quite appropriate based on the content of the manuscript. There is no title modification required.
2. Right side No.96: Indicators from 7 dimensions including 2013 to 2020 indicated in Table 1. Evaluation Index of the Agricultural Green Development Index Level in China has a Pre-Production Stage, Mid-Production Stage, and Output Stage. These 3 stages have only 6 dimensions only. Take care.
3. All the citations were numbered except Right side Nos.77 and 78 Huang (2017) and Qi (2020) were cited without numbering. There is no consistency in the usage of either Number or Name in the Citations. Take care of them.
4. Right side No.83. What are the driving factors affecting the Agriculture Green Development?
5. Right side No.98. China Rural Statistical Yearbook, .........On which Year Book was referred? Not mentioned. Take care.
6.The authors have used both the Ordered Logit Model and the Ordered Probit Model in this research. When you use the Ordered Logit Model, there three categories Low, Medium, and High levels. Tables 2,3, and 4 have indicated the Ordered Logit Model but these three categories were not clearly addressed in the manuscript. Take care.
7. Right side No. 274. The Ordered Probit Model has 4 Categories that have been indicated in Table 5. China Agricultural Green Development Level Club Convergence Results. According to the Ordered Probit Model, these 4 Convergence Clubs stand for ordered variables. Take care.
8. Both these model categories are not clear in these Tables.
9. If possible, the authors can include the List of Abbreviations in the manuscript next to Abstract.
List of Abbreviations
AGDL
GDP
GPA
FSA
RAC
ER
Comments on the Quality of English Language
I found that the manuscript has to be undergone a plagiarism check.
Author Response
Thank you for your valuable feedback of our manuscript entitled “Analysis of the Club Convergence and Driving Factors of China's Agricultural Green Development Level”. Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The manuscript "Analysis of the Club Convergence and Driving Factors of China's Agricultural Green Development Level" deals with a topic of considerable interest today. This is especially true in a context where social trends towards a growing concern for the implementation of ecological forms of agriculture are gaining strength and spreading, while at the same time there is growing concern in the world at large about the possible negative effects that could result from the continued practice of forms of agriculture that abuse the use of pesticides, fungicides and other products that are harmful to human health and the environment. The text is well written and its arguments are clearly argued, while its exposition is well ordered so that one argument leads to the next. This makes it easy for the reader to progress. This is not one of those texts where, no matter how many times you read and reread its paragraphs, you cannot grasp what they really mean. Similarly, the research methodology is correct and appropriate to the case under study. For all these reasons, this article, the subject of which fits perfectly into the profile of a journal such as Agriculture, deserves to be considered for publication. Nevertheless, I believe that the manuscript can and should be improved. In this sense, and in order to guide the authors in this task of improvement, I make the following recommendations to the authors:
1) The introductory section should be written in a less technical language, or at least some additional paragraphs should be added to explain the current situation of green agriculture in China, i.e. to take stock of the state of the art in this regard.
2) Explain what is meant by the concept of "club convergence" from the first time it appears in the text and add paragraphs briefly alluding to the use of this concept in other contexts outside China. New Chinese national and international bibliographic references should also be added in this regard.
3) In addition to Table 2, it would be very useful for non-Chinese readers to include a map showing the Agricultural Green Development Level (AGDL) situation in the different provinces of China. Such a map would be very useful for them to geo-reference the information and data analyzed in the manuscript.
4) Similarly, and for the same reason, in relation to Table 5, I would add another map to show the spatial-geographical location of the convergence clubs mentioned in the table on the territory of China.
5) There is a lack of a section in which the authors explain what they consider to be the limitations of their work, while at the same time suggesting possible lines of future research.
6) A short section should also be added in which the authors, taking into account the diagnosis of the situation that this research work has allowed them to make, propose some recommendations to the politicians and institutions responsible for managing and implementing the policies aimed at improving the level of agricultural green development in the different provinces and regions of China.
7) As for section 5, I would not call it "conclusion" in the singular, but rather "conclusions" in the plural.
I hope that the above recommendations, which should be understood as constructive suggestions, will help the authors to improve a work that is already worthy of consideration in its present state.
Author Response
Thank you for your valuable feedback of our manuscript entitled “Analysis of the Club Convergence and Driving Factors of China's Agricultural Green Development Level”. Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Dear Authors,
After a thorough review of both your response letter and the revised manuscript, I am pleased to note that you have addressed the concerns and suggestions raised in my original review comprehensively and meticulously. Your efforts to enhance the clarity and impact of your work on the green agricultural development in China are commendable.
The revisions made to your manuscript address the review comments effectively, enhancing the rigor, clarity, and relevance of your research. Your work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of regional disparities in China's AGDL and its implications for sustainable agricultural practices. I commend you for your dedication to improving your manuscript and contributing to the field of green agricultural development.
Sincerely,
