CAER中国农村改革40周年专题之《中国公共农业和农村投资的回报》

本期导读：

本文在农业、粮食安全和营养等全球以及国内新趋势的背景下，回顾中国过去40年来公共农业和农村投资的历史回报，得出农业研发（R＆D）的总体农业GDP回报率最高，教育投资对减贫、非农业GDP和农村整体GDP的回报最大，农村基础设施支出也显著减少了贫困。最后，强调了未来在中国农业食品体系和农村地区进行战略投资的重要性。

Returns to public agricultural and rural investments in China

Shenggen Fan, Emily EunYoung Cho, Christopher Rue (pp. 215-223)

Keywords:China, Review, Rural education, Agricultural research and development, Publicinvestments, Rural infrastructure

Type:General review

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review China's past returns in a period over the last 40 years to public agricultural and rural investments to highlight the importance for future strategic investments in China's agri-food system and in rural areas.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper synthesizes research findings from previous studies and reviews more recent trends. Based on the main findings, the authors provide forward-looking guidance for China's investments agriculture and rural areas in the context of emerging global and domestic trends in agriculture, food security, and nutrition.

Findings

Public investments in the agricultural research and development (R&D), rural education, and rural infrastructure have been shown to have significant positive returns to agricultural growth as well as to reductions in poverty and regional inequality. Returns to overall agricultural GDP were highest for agricultural R&D, followed by education, roads, and telephones. Investment in education had the greatest returns to poverty reduction, as well as to nonfarm GDP and overall rural GDP. Investment in agricultural R&D had the second greatest returns in term of poverty reduction, and was also a close second in returns to nonfarm GDP and overall rural GDP following education. The rural infrastructure spending also saw significant returns to poverty reduction, largely through growth in agricultural and nonagricultural sectors. Investments in agriculture and rural areas will continue to be important, as China and the world face emerging challenges amidst a changing global landscape, particularly regarding climate change, rapid urbanization, nutritional imbalances, and food safety concerns.In addressing these emerging challenges, continued support for agricultural R&D and innovations can play a key role.

Originality/value

The paper highlights research findings on key investment areas that will be increasingly important for China's agri-food system, and provides guidance in the context of emerging trends impacting food security and nutrition.

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