The academic field has limited studies on implementing nature-based solutions (NbSs) in Chinese agriculture, especially regarding households’ and farmers’ attitudes toward the acceptance of agricultural NbS technologies. Based on this, this study aims to fill this knowledge gap by examining the factors behind farmers’ agricultural practices of NbS adoption in Northeast China. Accordingly, this paper constructs an extended theoretical framework of planned behavior (TPB) and empirically tests it using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) on data from 298 farmers in Inner Mongolia. It was found that incorporating institutional trust (IT) into TPB improves the prediction of Chinese farmers’ intention to de-farm behavior. Unlike previous studies, this study identified two indirect pathways influencing farmers’ intention to adopt agricultural NbS technologies: from institutional trust through attitude to intention, and from institutional trust through perceived behavioral control to intention. The findings broaden the research perspective in this area, provide empirical evidence for the application of NbSs in agricultural practices in China and other developing countries, and demonstrate in practice that NbS has been promoted as an essential tool to maximize nature’s ability to provide ecosystem services and create direct economic benefits for farmers through increased yields and reduced costs.

This study analyzed the role of women’s empowerment in diversifying the diet of households through their own production. Developed from empowerment and food security theories, this study constructed measures from the household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI). The study focused on poverty-stricken regions in China and conducted a thematic questionnaire-based household survey on gender and food consumption in 2021. Based on micro-level evidence from 1199 rural households, this research found a low score of women’s empowerment and an average WEI of 0.689; the status of diet diversity, measured by the HDDS, varied by income and social class; and the average rate was low. Agricultural production diversity and women’s empowerment are positively associated with diet diversity. There is strong evidence that women’s employment mitigates the side effects of decreasing production diversity on households’ diet security. As a result, women’s empowerment can potentially mitigate the adverse consequences of low agricultural diversification in household diet quality in less developed areas. This study provides evidence for repurposing food and agricultural policies toward healthy diets and gender-responsive agrifood systems.

Given the ‘subsistence’ character of smallholder production, agricultural production diversification is often seen as an effective strategy for smallholders to improve their diets’ diversity and nutritional status, yet the existing evidence remains inadequate. The study applies bibliometric data from the “Web of Science” database to synthesize 46 papers from developing countries to explore the relationship between production diversity, dietary diversity, and nutrition in smallholder households. The study identifies the most influential journals, authors, organizations, and countries and reveals research themes related to agricultural production and food security. This data analysis can help researchers target potential collaborators and access influential literature in agricultural production diversity and dietary diversity research. In addition, the results showed that agricultural production diversity potentially influences households’ dietary diversity, with mixed results: Agricultural production diversification is the primary way to improve food and nutritional security among smallholder families with low socio-economic status, inaccessible transportation, and poverty; market access and trade have more potential to improve dietary diversity among smallholder households with well-developed markets and higher income levels; the significant measures of agricultural production diversity include Crop Counts, FGPD, SI, and SWDI; the significant measures of dietary diversity include HDDS and IDDS. This paper provides a roadmap for agricultural production and food security researchers by conducting a systematic review of the literature, summarizing some research methods and perspectives applicable to local socio-economic development.

Objective: This article analyzes the relationship between intrahousehold empowerment gaps and food and nutrition security using quantitative data collected through a household survey organized by the Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-AII), in 2023.Methods: Based on empowerment theory, this study measured the relative empowerment of spouses from the Abbreviated Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI).Results: From the micro-level evidence of 468 rural households, this study found that intrahousehold empowerment gaps harm the diversity of household diets. In particular, reducing gender gaps in access to resources, leadership, and income can help diversify household diets. However, data on the impact of shortening the difference in working hours between wives and husbands for the benefit of food safety are yet to be conclusive. Additionally, gender gaps in the group of non-coresident mothers-in-law and non-migrants hurt household food security.Conclusion: The paper also provides further justification for policies and interventions that aim to improve women's bargaining position in the household.

The invasion of fall armyworm poses a serious threat to global food security, necessitating the urgent promotion of environmentally friendly pest control technologies. As a key strategy in green pest control, the effectiveness of genetically modified (GM) insect-resistant crops largely depends on the extent of farmer acceptance. Based on survey data from 426 GM maize pilot farmers in Yunnan Province, this study employs an ordered Logit model to analyze the key factors influencing farmers' adoption intentions from a behavioral decision-making perspective. The results indicate that (1) cognition, value orientation, and social trust are the primary drivers of farmers' willingness to adopt GM maize; (2) the impact of risk perception is context-dependent, exerting a significant positive moderating effect on planting decisions among farmers with higher levels of social trust; (3) planting experience reinforces the effects of cognition and social trust and amplifies the role of value orientation. This study provides policy-relevant insights for the industrial promotion of GM crops and the green control of fall armyworms, with important implications for safeguarding national food security.