Using a household survey data collected from four leading maize producing provinces in China, this paper studies the decisions of maize farmers on seed choices and variety portfolios when asymmetrical information exists in the market. Our findings indicate, while farmers generally tend to adopt new varieties with the expectation of potential higher yield, the primary driver to do so for those who have less information on seed varieties is to reduce production risk. Improving seed market management and providing more seed information to farmers would be beneficial in choosing seed varieties and maize production.

China has experienced dramatic changes in food consumption patterns over the last three decades. However, there are different opinions regarding the future trends in consumption. By adopting the well-developed partial equilibrium model-China Agricultural Policy Simulation Model (CAPSiM), the demand for livestock products and the main feed crops over 2011–2030 is predicted and analyzed. It is found that China’s per capita consumption of livestock products will continue to rise during this period, even though its growth rate will slow down gradually. Meanwhile, the expansion of livestock production will pose great challenges for feed supply in China. More accurately, China will be confronted with feed security rather than grain security in the future.

Genetically modified (GM) technology can significantly reduce pesticide use and increase yield in crop production. However, the benefit from reducing pesticide use varies substantially among farmers. The overall goal of this paper is to understand the relationship between farmers’ knowledge of GM technology and pesticide use in genetically modified papaya (GMP) production. Based on a survey of 223 farms in three main papaya production provinces in 2010, the data show that almost all papaya planted in 2009 was genetically modified. However, only 28% of papaya farmers knew that they planted GMP, and 55% of them did not know GMP is resistant to papaya ringspot virus (PRSV). Further analyses using the general least squares (GLS) method show that farmers’ knowledge of GMP significantly affects their pesticide use, and potential gain from GM technology is far below its full potential. The paper concludes with policy implications.