A Systematic Analysis of the Development of Agricultural Modernization and Its Effect on Crop Production in Northeastern China
Claudia Viegas
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsGlobal climate change in recent years, soil degradation, anthropogenic impact on agroecosystems, and an increase in the number of people on the planet lead to the problem of food security. This causes significant damage to the population and causes many risks, especially in agriculture. The authors propose a solution to the problem by intensifying the mechanization of agricultural production, which will increase productivity in agriculture. This is an important and relevant topic. There are questions and comments about the manuscript aimed at improving the work.
1. It is recommended to add quantitative data on the results of the study in the abstract.
2. In section 2.2.1, the formulas do not include the degree of mechanization of harvesting and the degree of mechanization of crop processing. Why?
3. In Fig. 1 shows the volume of publications and data sources. In the reviewer's opinion, it is necessary to base the analysis only on journal articles since they are peer-reviewed and their data is more accurate.
4. The authors write everywhere about agriculture, but they only consider crop production, in particular grain production, and do not evaluate livestock production. Therefore, the article must be specified everywhere.
5. The authors also consider only northern-east China. How similar will the results be for other provinces in this country? In this regard, it is useful to specify the article, perhaps in the title.
6. The list of references contains many sources from one country. It is recommended to judiciously rework the list of data sources, since this problem is important and is being solved on different continents.
Author Response
Dear reviewer, thank you for your time and effort in reviewing our work. We greatly appreciate it. These comments have been instrumental and transformative in revising and enhancing our manuscript. We have diligently addressed the reviewer’s concerns and hope our revisions render our paper suitable for publication. Please find below the point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ comments. The modified content is highlighted in yellow in the manuscript’s main body.
Global climate change in recent years, soil degradation, anthropogenic impact on agroecosystems, and an increase in the number of people on the planet lead to the problem of food security. This causes significant damage to the population and causes many risks, especially in agriculture. The authors propose a solution to the problem by intensifying the mechanization of agricultural production, which will increase productivity in agriculture. This is an important and relevant topic. There are questions and comments about the manuscript aimed at improving the work.
- It is recommended to add quantitative data on the results of the study in the abstract.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we have revised the abstract and added quantitative data on results in this section. Please refer to the revised abstract and lines 14-20.
- In section 2.2.1, the formulas do not include the degree of mechanization of harvesting and the degree of mechanization of crop processing. Why?
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, the data for calculating the degree of mechanization of harvesting and crop processing were not available. Therefore, we did not include these two indicators.
- In Fig. 1 shows the volume of publications and data sources. In the reviewer's opinion, it is necessary to base the analysis only on journal articles since they are peer-reviewed and their data is more accurate.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we have revised Figure 1 (which is now Figure 2) and only include the published and reviewed articles related to the study. Please refer to the revised Figure 2.
- The authors write everywhere about agriculture, but they only consider crop production, in particular grain production, and do not evaluate livestock production. Therefore, the article must be specified everywhere.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we have revised the text and added the sentence in the introduction section for clarity. Please refer to lines 110-111.
- The authors also consider only northern-east China. How similar will the results be for other provinces in this country? In this regard, it is useful to specify the article, perhaps in the title.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we have revised the title and added Northeastern China.
- The list of references contains many sources from one country. It is recommended to judiciously rework the list of data sources, since this problem is important and is being solved on different continents.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we have added more studies. Please refer to lines 26, 43, 45-47, and the reference list.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authors
Congratulations for your article/proposal. The objective, and methods are clearly stated and conducted.
I suggest some improvements as:
- Make clear, in the Introduction, the topic of sustainable agriculture - because it is highlighted in the review literature section. What is the relationship between mechanization and sustainable agriculture? Why it matters?
- Provide a description of the Figure 2 before display the Figure.
- Make clear the source(s) of the data presented in the Table 2.
- Provide a map (geographical representation) of Heilongjiang Province, in order to enable the foreign readers to get an idea of the place you are examining in your study.
- Make clear the period of analysis. Sometimes it is referred as 2000-2021, sometimes, 2000-2017...
The article contributes to the knowledge on agricultural mechanization evolvement in China, and can be useful for decision making (in public policies) and for other academic researchers.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageNo comments. Just minor review.
Author Response
Dear reviewer, thank you for your time and effort in reviewing our work. We greatly appreciate it. These comments have been instrumental and transformative in revising and enhancing our manuscript. We have diligently addressed the reviewer’s concerns and hope our revisions render our paper suitable for publication. Please find below the point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ comments. The modified content is highlighted in yellow in the manuscript’s main body.
Dear Authors
Congratulations for your article/proposal. The objective, and methods are clearly stated and conducted. I suggest some improvements as:
- Make clear, in the Introduction, the topic of sustainable agriculture - because it is highlighted in the review literature section. What is the relationship between mechanization and sustainable agriculture? Why it matters?
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, the word “sustainable agriculture” was used to understand agricultural modernization. We have revised the sentence. However, the relationship between mechanization and sustainable agriculture. Why it matters? In the introduction, we have clarified that mechanization has excellent potential to significantly improve agricultural operations in terms of efficiency and output. Modern farming equipment allows farmers to maximize crop yields while decreasing labor expenses and using resources like water and fertilizers better. Mechanization has made precision farming practices possible, reducing input waste and environmental effects by applying inputs precisely where needed. Nevertheless, mechanization and sustainability have a complicated relationship. While mechanization can bring about many positive outcomes, it also brings about some adverse outcomes, such as the requirement for large amounts of capital and the possibility of a rise in emissions of greenhouse gases. Consequently, the future of agriculture depends on our ability to harness mechanization sustainably.
- Provide a description of the Figure 2 before display the Figure.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we have provided the description of Figure 2 (which is now Figure 3). Please refer to the revised description of Figure 3.
- Make clear the source(s) of the data presented in the Table 2.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we made the data sources transparent. Please refer to lines 118 to 125.
- Provide a map (geographical representation) of Heilongjiang Province, in order to enable the foreign readers to get an idea of the place you are examining in your study.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we have added the location map of the study area. Please refer to Figure 1.
- Make clear the period of analysis. Sometimes it is referred as 2000-2021, sometimes, 2000-2017...
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, we have made clear the period of analysis. Please refer to lines 122 to 125.
The article contributes to the knowledge on agricultural mechanization evolvement in China, and can be useful for decision making (in public policies) and for other academic researchers.
Response to comment: Dear reviewer, thank you for your recommendation.
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe authors significantly revised the manuscript, corrected all the reviewer’s comments or gave a substantiated answer to why the study was conducted in such a design. I think that the article has improved significantly and can be accepted for publication.
