Integrated assessment of sustainable agri-food production system in Shaanxi Province, China

Abstract

With a growing population and a rising standard of living, how to maintain food production that meets the increasing demand for food without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is becoming a pressing issue for the global community, especially in developing countries. In China, sustainable agricultural developed is loudly advocated because of the critical environmental challenges facing its agricultural sector. This study adopts an integrated framework that considers the economic, social, and environmental perspectives simultaneously to understand how agricultural practices in land use and irrigation affect the sustainability of food production systems and how economic, social and ecological goals are perceived and prioritized by peasants.The empirical results show that economic benefits are weighed higher than social benefits and environmental impacts by peasants in the study area.