Protected agriculture, precision agriculture, and vertical farming: Brief reviews of issues in the literature focusing on the developing region in Asia

Abstract

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Agricultural development policy diffusion associated with leading cadre’s experience and expansion of protected agriculture in China

“…This study not only broadens the research field and theoretical understanding of local leading cadres' decision-making behavior and their influence on policy diffusion but also contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms driving farmland conversion in China. In the context of accelerated agricultural modernization, it needs to be noted that the current development of PA still faces obstacles such as low mechanization levels, fragmented land distribution, insufficient scientific and technological innovation, and a lack of professional talents (Takeshima and Joshi, 2019). To this end, reference can be made to our findings that strengthening the connection between leading cadres and regions with better development of PA, especially Shandong and Liaoning provinces, will help to deepen the knowledge of leading cadres in fields such as PA production technology and management models, which in turn would promote the expansion of PA and the transformation of agricultural modernization.…”

“…Protected agriculture (PA, SheShiNongYe in Chinese) refers to a series of agricultural technologies that can increase crop yield, specifically including mulching, high tunnel, greenhouse, controlled environment agriculture, and drip irrigation (Jensen and Malter, 1995;Takeshima and Joshi, 2019). In the process of agricultural transition to sustainable intensification, PA has gained increasing attention as an industrialized agricultural production method that uses technological engineering tools to control the production environment (Xie et al, 2017).…”

“…PA has made an important contribution to meeting people's food needs, improving resource utilization efficiency, and promoting farmers' income growth. From 1980 to 2010, the area of PA worldwide has multiplied several times (Takeshima and Joshi, 2019). In China, PA has expanded rapidly since the mid-1990 s. In 2009, the total scale of PA in China was already the largest in the world, and by 2019 it covered 4.1 million hectares, with an annual output value of 980 billion yuan, more than 1/3 of the total agricultural output (Li, 2021); while the current annual output of greenhouse vegetables is 265 million tons, accounting for 1/3 of the total output (Li, 2022).…”

“…Chinese government-led food localization programs, aimed at stabilizing the local food supply, had also led to the expansion of greenhouse agriculture (Zhong et al, 2020). In fact, PA is a high-input, technology-and labor-intensive industry that needs to be incentivized by supportive government policies or plans for land use and industrial restructuring (Takeshima and Joshi, 2019). Therefore, the expansion of PA in different regions is not only the independent choice of farmers, but the influence of the diffusion of relevant policies or policy innovations among different governments may be more important (Lybbert and Sumner, 2012).…”

Technological Trends and Engineering Issues on Vertical Farms: A Review

“…Japan aims for 45% food self-sufficiency, with vertical farming supported by big-datadriven production systems [178]. Firms like Pasona and Itoya incorporate vertical farms in urban spaces, offering an innovative solution for city food production [179,180].…”