Agricultural Regionalization

The authors explain the methodology used in compiling a small-scale map of agricultural regions of the USSR under a joint inter-university project. The boundaries of these farming-type regions are found to coincide in some cases with natural boundaries, but such coincidence cannot always be explained in terms of simple causal relationships. These authors make recommendations for improving the locational pattern of agriculture by shifting the agricultural center of gravity from the less humid to the more humid zone and for increasing the role of animal production in the more humid zones. For previous articles on agricultural regionalization, see Soviet Geography, November and December 1960.     

THE GEOGRAPHICAL BASIS FOR DIFFERENTIATING THE SIZE OF FARMS

On the theory that optimization of farm size may enhance agricultural productivity, the author uses a game—theoretic model to find a solution for optimal farm size among the collective farms of Irkutsk Oblast. A game matrix, in which the players are the environment, using the strategies of a series of physical zones of agricultural production, and society, using the strategies of alternative farm sizes, yields a combination of farm sizes that would enhance total farm production in Irkutsk Oblast by 5 percent. The author notes that even greater improvements might be achieved in bringing types of farming more into line with physical and economic conditions of particular regions.     

Ancient Maya Agricultural Installations and the Development of Intensive Agriculture in NW Belize

Abstract

Archaeological study of the spatial arrangement of agricultural features such as terraces and berms yields insight into the scale, mode, and tempo of farm production and the social organization of farming communities. Data from five regions of the Maya lowlands where such features have been extensively documented demonstrate the range of strategies employed by the ancient Maya to organize agricultural production. In some previously studied regions of the lowlands, spatial patterns suggest centralized management of farmland by state institutions, while in others a smallholder strategy seems evident. In the Río Bravo region of NW Belize, the organization of agricultural labor centered neither on the state nor on the individual farm family, but on the farm community. Moreover, the incremental conversion of open lands to terraced agricultural fields was part of a long-term interactive sequence of environmental change and human response over centuries of occupation. This sequence demonstrates that the ancient Maya not only adapted to a degraded environment but used it to their advantage, developing new technologies that were successful for several centuries prior to their ultimate failure. The agricultural history of the lowland Maya demonstrates that indigenous systems of resource management in fragile environments such as the tropics were not always deleterious. The innovations and successful adaptations of ancient farmers should also be recognized.     

Probabilistic Regionalization via Evidence Accumulation with Random Spanning Trees as Weak Spatial Representations

Spatial clusters contain biases and artifacts, whether they are defined via statistical algorithms or via expert judgment. Graph-based partitioning of spatial data and associated heuristics gained popularity due to their scalability but can define suboptimal regions due to algorithmic biases such as chaining. Despite the broad literature on deterministic regionalization methods, approaches that quantify regionalization probability are sparse. In this article, we propose a local method to quantify regionalization probabilities for regions defined via graph-based cuts and expert-defined regions. We conceptualize spatial regions as consisting of two types of spatial elements: core and swing. We define three distinct types of regionalization biases that occur in graph-based methods and showcase the use of the proposed method to capture these types of biases. Additionally, we propose an efficient solution to the probabilistic graph-based regionalization problem via performing optimal tree cuts along random spanning trees within an evidence accumulation framework. We perform statistical tests on synthetic data to assess resulting probability maps for varying distinctness of underlying regions and regionalization parameters. Lastly, we showcase the application of our method to define probabilistic ecoregions using climatic and remotely sensed vegetation indicators and apply our method to assign probabilities to the expert-defined Bailey's ecoregions.     

Application of Quantitative Methods of Settlement Analysis to a Lower-Level (Intra—Oblast) Economic Regionalization

Two quantitative techniques—the mean center of population of the old centrography school, and the potential of population—are applied to settlement analysis in Eastern Siberia for purposes of lower economic regionalization. The migrations of the mean center of population of Yakut ASSR and Irkutsk Oblast are interpreted in terms of regional development trends from the 1920s to the 1960s. Analyses of the potential of population for different dates suggest the formation of areal production nodes that can be used in delimiting lower economic regions. The boundaries between such lower-order regions tend to pass through undeveloped and sparsely settled areas that show up as low values on maps of the potential of population.     

Maps of Interrelations and their Application in Geographic Research

The basic problem of statistical indicators of the degree of correspondence between geographic phenomena is that they are not sufficiently differentiated from place to place. There is a need for special maps of interrelations showing the correspondence of spatial distribution of two or more related phenomena. Five techniques are proposed: (1) The delimitation of regions distinguished by varying degrees of correspondence; (2) the compilation of cartograms of interrelations; (3) the compilation of maps of isocorrelates; (4) the compilation of maps of deviation from a regression; (5) the compilation of contour-entropy maps. The author thus expands on the 1957 paper of Robinson and Bryson on a method for describing quantitatively the correspondence of geographical distributions.     

Some Methods for an Agricultural Typology of the South of Krasnoyarsk Kray

Cartographic techniques are used to define 12 types of farms in the Minusinsk Basin. The source maps used in the typology cover physical characteristics of agriculture (climate, soils, landforms, natural vegetation, drainage patterns), economic conditions (population, industry, transportation) and indicators of farm performance (specialization, intensity of farming, value of gross output). The predominant farm types in the wooded steppe and subtayga environment of the right bank of the Yenisey River include grain and cattle (beef and dairy) production. The principal types in the drier environment of the steppe and semi-steppe of the Khakas Autonomous Oblast, on the left bank, include sheep raising in addition to cattle and grains. The typology of farm types is a useful basis for future planning of agriculture in the study region, where major industrial projects are under way.     

The Physical-Geographic Regionalization of the Ukrainian SSR for Agricultural Purposes

A program of research is proposed to determine the optimal regionalization of production and consumption of industrial output. The author proposes a regionalization of the most common industries by major zones (covering two or three regions), and a basic division of the USSR into two major economic zones (West and East) designed to reduce irrational long hauls between them.     

Industrial-Agrarian Energy-and-Production Cycles and Agrarian-Industrial Complexes

The increasing use of industrial techniques in Soviet farming has given rise to new forms of agricultural organization such as agrarian-industrial complexes, which combine farming and some industrial processing of farm products. An attempt is made to fit these new rural production complexes into the conceptual framework of energy-and-production cycles proposed by N. N. Kolosovskiy (see Journal of Regional Science, 3 [1961]). Six types of agrarian-industrial associations or complexes are distinguished, and their relationship to the industrial-agrarian cycle and to the regional production complex is analyzed.     

Action research and reducing the vulnerability of peri‐urban agriculture: a case study from the Montreal Region

Important pressures still increase the vulnerability of peri‐urban farming despite initiatives to protect agricultural land and activities since the mid‐1960s in several jurisdictions in the USA and Canada. Often, farmland is still removed from agricultural reserves for the ‘good of society’ (for example, creating industrial parks). In 2008, an action research project was initiated to attempt to reduce agricultural vulnerability in several peri‐urban and rural areas near Montreal by emphasising the importance of the appropriation of the value of these farmlands by non‐farm citizens and actors. The action research roles involved accompanying the farmers, facilitating meetings, mobilising non‐farm actors, and informing farmers of possibilities when asked to do so. In this article, one specific project is analysed in Senneville (in the west of Montreal Island). While the project was initiated by the farmers to guarantee their long‐term future, they also sought to involve other, mostly non‐agricultural, actors. In a colloquium, a collective vision for the project was constructed, integrating other functions of farmland such as conservation and leisure activities. Many meetings were organised over a three‐year period and formal presentations were made to the municipality. The project is ongoing, including new farm operations and the reinforcement of local markets for marketing mainly organic produce. The area is now an integral part of an emerging ‘green belt’ of the Montreal agglomeration and is already part of a ‘green coalition’ of both urban and peri‐urban actors (farmers and non‐farmers), and an emerging food system movement which represents a more holistic approach to food production.     

Man-Induced Differentiation of Natural Conditions as a Factor in Physical-Geographic Regionalization

The author analyzes the significance of man-induced changes in the natural environment at various levels of the hierarchy of physical-geographic regionalization, and proposes a classification of man-altered landscapes that can be applied to existing systems of physical-geographic regions.     

左江流域种植业区划

左江流域六县(市)地处桂西南喀斯特地区,区内农业资源和生产水平各有差异。为了配合该地区经济的全面开发,我们收集了该地区七十一个行政乡农业生产有关的特征数据,运用数学的方法--聚类分析法和电子计算机技术,对该地区农业的空间布局进行合理调整--种植业类型区划分,并分别论述各类型区的特点及今后发展方向。为该地区今后在农业生产上做到宜地适种、扬长避短,并在此基础上向区域化、集约化的农业迈进提供科学依据。     

城镇化对农业农村的多维度影响——基于省际面板数据实证研究

基于面板数据，从综合系统-子系统-要素等三方面定量测度省域人口、土地与产业城镇化对农业农村发展的影响程度，深入剖析城镇化不同要素对农业与农村系统发展的作用机理。研究结果表明：①人口城镇化与产业城镇化对农业农村的影响更加明显，对农村生活系统影响的弹性系数大于1的地区比重分别为58.06%和64.52%；土地与产业城镇化对农业生产系统产生负向影响较为明显，弹性系数小于0的地区比重分别为29.03%和38.71%；②城镇化率、产业结构和建成区比重对人均耕地面积、乡村劳动力比重和人均粮食产量呈显著负相关，与农民人均纯收入、人均农业产值和单位面积机械动力呈显著正相关；③通过深入分析近30年省域城镇化对各地区农业农村发展的作用机理，对于新时期新型城镇化、农业农村转型发展等战略的贯彻落实具有重大的现实意义。     

Reforming Cuban Agriculture

This article focuses on the two major reforms undertaken in the Cuban agricultural sector during 1993 and 1994: the re-organization of the state farm sector into worker-managed production co-operatives and the opening of free agricultural markets for above-plan production. It is argued that the Cuban agricultural sector is now characterized by multiple forms of organization of production and land tenure or a ‘mixed economy’, and that the two reforms have produced a turn-around in agricultural performance. Still, the macro-economic impact is likely to depend on a deepening of the reforms in two directions: the development of a free market in agricultural inputs and a reform of the food rationing system.     

The Wrong Terms of Reference

Abstract

Agriculture in Alaska is beginning to expand. The approach used to facilitate this expansion may serve as an example for other regions where the pressure for development stems from public interest groups. Alaskan agricultural development is tied to the disposal of government-owned land. If agriculture is to develop according to the United States farm production model, then large quantities of agricultural land must be sold to private citizens. Past federal policy in Alaska has not led to this outcome and thus the present-day development efforts spring from state government leadership. This has led to the recent undertaking of three state agricultural projects which have in common low cost land, low cost financing, and planning by people trained in agricultural disciplines. The pivotal aspect of agricultural development efforts in the state of Alaska is the successful transfer of research and technology to private sector farmers. If this can be accomplished, then Alaskan agriculture is likely to flourish.     

A Natural-Resource Regionalization of the USSR

A regionalization of natural resources is treated as a particular case of economic regionalization, in the sense that it makes an economic interpretation of the physical base of an area from the point of view of its capacity to generate an economic region of appropriate rank. The resource regionalization is based on two particular regionalizations of bioclimatic and mineral resources, yielding a set of 86 regions that combine both types of resources. A typology of resource regions distinguishes seven basic types of regions in which bioclimatic resources are dominant and four basic types in which mineral resources are dominant. Combinations of bioclimatic and mineral resources yield 24 groups of integral resource regions.     

全国第一个家庭林场与农村经济体制改革

党的十一届三中全会以后,福建省仙游县的农民李金耀创办了全国第一个上规模的家庭林场,尝试开发性农业经营。此举引起社会各界的关注,引发了一场全国性的大争论。通过争论,使人们解放了思想,对社会主义理论的基本内涵有了新的认识,突破了长期以来在社会主义经济建设中的教条主义,促进了人们思想观念的转变。中共中央、国务院根据李金耀和广大农民的伟大创举,调整了农村经济政策,变革了农业经营方式,加速了农村改革进程,使农村改革从种植业开始逐步向林业、水产业、畜牧业等多方面发展,促进了家庭承包经营向农业产业化发展,加速了中国农业的市场化进程。     

Mapping the Geography of R&D: What Can We Learn for Regional Innovation Policy in the Czech Republic and Beyond?

Administrative regions do not necessarily correspond to areas that are homogenous in terms of innovation intensity. Although this has been recognized in the literature, quantitative evidence that explicitly considers this problem is rare. Using spatial exploratory analysis on detailed regional data derived from a census of R&D performers in the Czech Republic, we identify local spatial clusters of R&D activities and assess the extent of their (mis)match with administrative borders. Overall, the results support the arguments for regionalization of innovation policy. However, the existing policy units do not appear well suited for this purpose. On one hand, there is a need for policy coordination between multiple administrative regions. On the other hand, however, there are diverse patterns within them. Similar problems are likely to haunt the regionalization process in many other countries, which is alarming, as the regional accent of innovation policies becomes ever more vehement over time.     

黄宗智中国小农“三幅面孔”统一体说的误区

中国农民包括小农、大农、雇农三大类.黄宗智的中国小农"三幅面孔"统一体说,事实上是个随意拼凑的"创见".经营式农场主、雇农都不在小农范畴,"三幅面孔"只能和富农、自耕农、佃农相关.经营式农场主和雇农二者所构成的一种生产方式,根本就不能用来反映中国小农经济的内部结构以及受其影响小农经济所表现出来的某种状态.中国小农"三幅面孔"统一体说提出的目的,在很大程度上是为了把经营式农场主、富农、自耕农、佃农、雇农都被包含在小农范畴.由于和农业商品化联系最密切的是经营式农场主-雇农生产方式,所以考察农业商品化、世界经济、帝国主义等对中国小农经济的影响,就需要把经营式农场作为主要研究对象.     

Spatial and temporal variation in vulnerability of crop production to drought in southern Alberta

Growing evidence of global climate change has led to global concerns over the vulnerability of agriculture to drought. Located in a semiarid environment, southern Alberta has suffered significant losses of agricultural productivity due to drought hazards in recent decades. Understanding the relationship between crop production and drought conditions is essential for coping with increasingly uncertain climate conditions. This study attempts to quantify the magnitude of crop production vulnerability to drought in southern Alberta. The standard precipitation index is used to measure drought stress in the region. The empirical results provide a detailed picture of the spatial variation in crop production vulnerability to varying drought conditions. Vulnerability maps from this study reveal that pockets in the study area may experience significant productivity loss given the existing level of adaptive capacity. While the irrigation districts have been associated with a lower level of vulnerability than dryland outside the irrigated region, uncertain water supply under varying climatic conditions coupled with increasing water allocation for non‐agricultural uses may increase the vulnerability in these districts.