Sustainability of Regional Agroecological Economic System Based on Emergy Theory: A Case Study of Anhui Province, China

Abstract

The agroecological economic system is the basic system on which human beings depend for survival. In order to better evaluate the operation status of a regional agroecological economic system and deepen the cognition of the input and output of the regional agroecological economic system from the angle of emergy, the evaluation method of sustainable development of the regional agroecological economic system with comprehensive consideration of resources, economy, and environment was proposed by constructing a unified dimensional measurement model. This paper analyzed and evaluated the data of the agroecological economic system in Anhui Province from 2010 to 2019. The results showed that the agroecological economic system in Anhui Province bore less environmental pressure and gradually decreased, and had a good system efficiency and economic benefits. The average emergy sustainability index (ESI) was 3.12, indicating that the agroecological economic system in Anhui Province had certain vitality of sustainable development. Based on this, the paper puts forward some suggestions on sustainable and high-quality agricultural development in Anhui Province, which provides theoretical and methodical support for sustainable development of a regional agricultural economy.