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Sustainable Rural Development and Agricultural Economic Transformation
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Sustainable Rural Development and Agricultural Economic Transformation

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 December 2024) | Viewed by 10768

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Peter Bielik

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Guest Editor
Institute of Economics, Pan-European University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: agricultural economics; business economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Natália Turčeková

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Guest Editor
Department of Economics, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia
Interests: agricultural economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Henrietta Nagy

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Guest Editor
Department of Economics and Management Sciences, Milton Friedman University, Budapest, Hungary
Interests: rural development; education; agricultural economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of the Special Issue is to facilitate discussions on strategic approaches, challenges and opportunities in sustainable rural development and agricultural economy transformation.

Furthermore, the focus is on tackling issues related to efficient use of natural scarce resources and moving towards to a clean and circular economy. This Special Issue provides an opportunity for researchers to present novel research ideas centered on ensuring mitigation of the impact of climate change, affecting local as well as global decisions in order to achieve goals regarding the well-being of society and businesses and the role of Corporate Social Responsibility, along with the importance of sustainability in the functioning of enterprises.

In the growth of modern-day countryside, special attention is given to rural areas, which is based on social entrepreneurship. Development of the countryside, along with agricultural production, is influenced by the trend of urbanization and the expanding use of industrial plants that contribute to increased carbon footprint. Agriculture is considered a green industry and one of the major contributors in mitigating climate change as it provides renewable natural resources as well as ensuring global food security.

Economic security and sustainability are the biggest challenges in the crisis-hit world. All contributions related to social innovation and regional rural development, circular economy, present and future policy of agriculture and rural development, food safety and security, ecological and precision farming, bioenergy and environmental biosystems are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Peter Bielik
Dr. Natália Turčeková
Prof. Dr. Henrietta Nagy
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • agricultural economics
  • regional development
  • CSR
  • climate change mitigation
  • green economy
  • natural resources
  • environmental integrity
  • carbon neutrality

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 2199 KiB  
Article
The Formation of New Quality Productivity of Agriculture Under the Perspectives of Digitalization and Innovation: A Dynamic Qualitative Comparative Analysis Based on the “Technology-Organization-Environment” Framework
by Wei Luo, Shanxiang Zuo, Shengfa Tang and Changgui Li
Sustainability 2025, 17(2), 597; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020597 - 14 Jan 2025
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1799
Abstract
The formation and development of new quality productivity of agriculture can effectively promote agricultural sustainability and modernization. In order to explore the multiple paths of the formation of new quality productivity of agriculture, using the panel data of 30 provincial levels in China [...] Read more.
The formation and development of new quality productivity of agriculture can effectively promote agricultural sustainability and modernization. In order to explore the multiple paths of the formation of new quality productivity of agriculture, using the panel data of 30 provincial levels in China from 2012 to 2021, based on the “technology-organization-environment” framework and dynamic QCA method, this paper explores how seven factors such as agricultural technology innovation, digital infrastructure, innovation policy support, the formation of e-commerce industry, marketization level, green finance, and rural culture modernization interact to promote the formation of new quality productivity of agriculture. The findings reveal that none of the above seven factors can promote the formation of new quality productivity of agriculture, and agricultural technological innovation and digital infrastructure are becoming more and more important to the formation of new quality productivity of agriculture over time. The high new quality productivity of agriculture formation models can be categorized into four types: TOE empowers new business model development-driven, government–market–culture triple-driven, market-oriented efficient transformation of technological achievements-driven, and deep integration of agricultural technological innovation and emerging agricultural business models-driven. The configurational results exhibit significant regional effects, with diverse pathways for the formation of new quality productivity of agriculture across different provinces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Development and Agricultural Economic Transformation)
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19 pages, 3075 KiB  
Article
Diversification of Rural Development in Poland: Considerations in the Context of Sustainable Development
by Natalia Bartkowiak-Bakun
Sustainability 2025, 17(2), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17020519 - 10 Jan 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1057
Abstract
A change in the understanding of rural policy took place in the 1980s when there was a transition from a sectoral to a territorial perception of rural areas. Rural areas are no longer identified only with agriculture. There has been a recent decentralization [...] Read more.
A change in the understanding of rural policy took place in the 1980s when there was a transition from a sectoral to a territorial perception of rural areas. Rural areas are no longer identified only with agriculture. There has been a recent decentralization of rural policy to the regional and local levels, which requires the recognition of the diversity of rural areas and the changes taking place in them. Therefore, it is important to recognize the state of sustainable development and disparities at the local level so that the targeted support is appropriate. The aim of the research is to measure sustainable development, including spatial diversification. The measurement of sustainable development was carried out using synthetical measures, and measures for economic, social, and environmental domains were constructed. The Jenks method was applied to group entities into classes characterized by similar levels of development. The results of the research proved the significance of the differences in the scope of balanced development for each of the domains. The resulting spatial systems are characterized by the line of the center–periphery. The obtained research results are valuable for central and local authorities in the process of planning local and regional development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Development and Agricultural Economic Transformation)
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25 pages, 327 KiB  
Article
Village Organization and Sustainable Growth of Farmers’ Income: An Empirical Study Based on Dynamic Survey Data of the Labor Force in China
by Qinghao Wang, Chentao Zhang, Mingyue Gong and Beiqi Zhu
Sustainability 2024, 16(21), 9377; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16219377 - 29 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1391
Abstract
Common prosperity is the core goal of rural revitalization, and the sustainable growth of farmers’ income is an inevitable requirement. This study uses CLDS2014-2018 village- and family-level questionnaire data to reveal how the degree of village organization affects the sustainable growth of farmers’ [...] Read more.
Common prosperity is the core goal of rural revitalization, and the sustainable growth of farmers’ income is an inevitable requirement. This study uses CLDS2014-2018 village- and family-level questionnaire data to reveal how the degree of village organization affects the sustainable growth of farmers’ income, thus providing a reference for local government decision-making to promote the increase in farmers’ income and narrow the income gap at the village level. The results show that the degree of village organization can significantly affect farmers’ income, and the analysis results of the degree of formal organization are consistent with this. Specifically, for every 1% increase in the degree of village organization, the per capita household income will increase by 0.324%, among which, the wage income will increase by 0.226%, the operational income will increase by 5%, the property income will increase by 0.008%, and the transfer income will increase by 0.042%. The estimation results obtained by using instrumental variables are consistent, and the results are robust. At the same time, improving the degree of village organization can also significantly increase the proportion of farmers’ non-agricultural income and narrow the income gap among farmers. On the impact of heterogeneity, it was found that the geographical distance between villages and county and township governments, as well as the political identity and education level of farmers, will affect the role of the degree of organization. The results of the mechanism analysis show that improving the degree of village organization is mainly achieved by promoting the circulation of agricultural land, socializing the service of agricultural machinery, and providing industrial and commercial capital to the countryside to increase farmers’ income. The research revealed that the modernization of rural governance should be accelerated and the degree of village organization should be improved, especially the degree of formal organization, so as to build benign trust and a cooperative relationship between village committees and villagers and implement policies and measures that improve the income of farmers according to local conditions. At the same time, this will strengthen the publicity and education of party members to improve the proportion of rural party members and the education level of farmers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Development and Agricultural Economic Transformation)
21 pages, 3011 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Climate Change Impacts on Maize Production in the Slovak Republic and Their Relevance to Sustainability: A Case Study
by Viktória Benďáková, Henrietta Nagy, Natália Turčeková, Izabela Adamičková and Peter Bielik
Sustainability 2024, 16(13), 5573; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135573 - 29 Jun 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2342
Abstract
Climate change poses a significant challenge to the agricultural sector, with far-reaching implications on a global scale. As the agriculture sector plays a critical role in the economy of the Slovak Republic, it is crucial to understand the impacts of climate change and, [...] Read more.
Climate change poses a significant challenge to the agricultural sector, with far-reaching implications on a global scale. As the agriculture sector plays a critical role in the economy of the Slovak Republic, it is crucial to understand the impacts of climate change and, with it, the vulnerabilities that agricultural practices face. Agricultural production and food sustainability are intricately linked to various factors, including population growth and the effects of climate change. This paper focuses on analyzing the production of maize in Slovakia and identifying the factors driving its cultivation. We aim to assess how climate factors influence maize yields across different temperature and precipitation levels through comprehensive data analysis and statistical methods. By utilizing the stochastic production function proposed by Just and Pope (1979) for 1996 to 2022 and estimating model parameters using GRETL software, we aim to provide insights into the relationship between climate change and maize production. Furthermore, we explore the implications of our findings for the sustainability of agricultural practices in Slovakia. Our analysis reveals that the impact of temperature and precipitation on maize yield varies by month and exhibits a nonlinear nature, with climate changes generally exerting a negative influence. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing sustainable agricultural strategies that can mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on maize production and ensure long-term food security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Development and Agricultural Economic Transformation)
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19 pages, 613 KiB  
Article
Investigating Farmers’ Intentions to Reduce Water Waste through Water-Smart Farming Technologies
by Vasilii Erokhin, Kamel Mouloudj, Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar, Smail Mouloudj and Tianming Gao
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4638; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114638 - 30 May 2024
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2867
Abstract
The scarcity of water resources, climate change, and water-wasting behavior have contributed to a worsening water crisis in many countries. This has raised concerns among farmers and increased pressure on governments. Digital technologies provide effective solutions to reduce resource waste; therefore, exploring farmers’ [...] Read more.
The scarcity of water resources, climate change, and water-wasting behavior have contributed to a worsening water crisis in many countries. This has raised concerns among farmers and increased pressure on governments. Digital technologies provide effective solutions to reduce resource waste; therefore, exploring farmers’ willingness to implement water-smart farming technologies to reduce waste, especially in developing countries, requires further analysis. To address this gap, this paper aims to investigate the factors that influence farmers’ intention to minimize water waste in Algeria. The theory of planned behavior was extended with the constructs of perceived usefulness of water-smart farming and knowledge of water waste reduction. Primary data were collected from 202 farmers to test the model. The empirical evidence suggests that attitudes, knowledge about water waste reduction, perceived usefulness, and perceived behavioral control significantly predict farmers’ intention to reduce waste. These factors explained 54.6% of the variation in intention. However, social influence was not found to be a significant antecedent of intentions. This paper’s findings can provide useful insights for various stakeholders on how to encourage farmers to reduce water waste and offer guidance on strategies for achieving sustainability in agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Development and Agricultural Economic Transformation)
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