Optimum modes of sustainable agricultural development in karst small watersheds of southwestern China

In karst areas of southwestern China, represented by Guizhou Province, there exist a series problems limiting agricultural development, such as large agricultural population, the low match degree of land and water resources, obvious contradiction between human and land. And the agricultural development environment in these regions is inherently short, resulting in slow agricultural development. Field investigations and theoretical analysis reveal that soil and water resources matching problem is not the key factor to limit agricultural development. The real reason lies in generally low income under the current modes of agricultural development. The agricultural production elements flow out, resulting in a lack of innovation. Under the existing agricultural development mode, the farmers, which only provide raw materials, are in the bottom of the industrial chain of agricultural products. They are affected by the capital competition for profits in the processing and sales, so their income and capacity to withstand changes in the market are low. Thus, according to local conditions, highlighting the characteristics, considering both household livelihood and environmental protection, combining the "outer drive" and the "endogenous" innovative agriculture, three agricultural development modes are proposed, commercial organic ecological agriculture mode, rural tourism and agricultural production mode, and regional standardized agricultural mode. The purpose of these modes is to protect the farmers’ income, promote agricultural production factors reflux fundamentally, which are vital to achieve sustainable development of agricultural production.