Theory and practice of recycle agriculture in China

Recycle agriculture has been the effective way to realize cleaner agricultural production and sustainable utilization of agricultural resources. It is also an inevitable choice for modern agriculture to step out of developmental woes. This paper discussed the connotations, characteristics, theoretic basis and principles of recycle agriculture. The paper, especially, illustrated that the essential characteristics of recycle agriculture were resources saving and industrial chain extension. Recycle agriculture as a new production pattern following recycle economy, is a resource-saving and efficient utilization mode of agricultural economy, an industrial chain extension path of agriculture, and an innovative rural concept of environment-friendly countryside. After analysis of developmental power and material flow processes, the paper noted that industrial chains of agriculture composed of the clockwise extrinsic circle path of production processes of agriculture and the anticlockwise internal circle path of reusable resources. The development powers of recycle agriculture comprised of pull forces produced by inherent price mechanisms and competitive mechanisms within industrial chains. They also comprised of push powers produced by funds, technologies, policies, etc outside industrial chains. The paper summarized experiences of recycle agricultural development and the relative patterns in China. It was suggested that future research of recycle agriculture focus on the mechanisms, institutional innovation and compensation of recycle agriculture. There was also need to establish a closed circle chain system of circular economy.