How Could Agricultural Land Systems Contribute to Raise Food Production Under Global Change?

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WU Wen-bin; YU Qiang-yi; Verburg H Peter; YOU Liang-zhi; YANG Peng; TANG Hua-jun

2014-01-01

To feed the increasing world population, more food needs to be produced from agricultural land systems. Solutions to produce more food with fewer resources while minimizing adverse environmental and ecological consequences require sustainable agricultural land use practices as supplementary to advanced biotechnology and agronomy. This review paper, from a land system perspective, systematically proposed and analyzed three interactive strategies that could possibly raise future food production under global change. By reviewing the current literatures, we suggest that cropland expansion is less possible amid iferce land competition, and it is likely to do less in increasing food production. Moreover, properly allocating crops in space and time is a practical way to ensure food production. Climate change, dietary shifts, and other socio-economic drivers, which would shape the demand and supply side of food systems, should be taken into consideration during the decision-making on rational land management in respect of sustainable crop choice and allocation. And ifnally, crop-speciifc agricultural intensiifcation would play a bigger role in raising future food production either by increasing the yield per unit area of individual crops or by increasing the number of crops sown on a particular area of land. Yet, only when it is done sustainably is this a much more effective strategy to maximize food production by closing yield and harvest gaps.

Research on Supply Chain Coordination of Fresh Agricultural Products under Agricultural Insurance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Pei

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Based on the fact that the current fresh agricultural products are susceptible to natural risks and the coordination of supply chain is poor, This paper constructs the supply chain profit model under the two models of natural risk and agricultural insurance, Firstly, studying the coordination function of the supply chain system under Two-part Tariff; Then discussing the setting and claiming mechanism of agricultural insurance, compares the influence of agricultural insurance on supply chain profit and supply chain coordination; Finally, giving an example to validate the model results and give decision - making opinions. Research shows that the supply chain of fresh agricultural products can coordinated under Two-part Tariff, but the supply chain cooperation is poor in the natural risk , need to further stabilize and optimize the supply chain; When the risk factor is less than the non-participation insurance coefficient, not to participate in agricultural insurance is conducive to maintaining the coordination of the supply chain system; When the risk coefficient exceeds the non-participation insurance coefficient, the introduction of agricultural insurance can not only effectively manage the natural risks, but also help to improve the coordination of the supply chain system.

A Spatial Data Model Desing For The Management Of Agricultural Data (Farmer, Agricultural Land And Agricultural Production)

Science.gov (United States)

Taşkanat, Talha; İbrahim İnan, Halil

2016-04-01

Since the beginning of the 2000s, it has been conducted many projects such as Agricultural Sector Integrated Management Information System, Agriculture Information System, Agricultural Production Registry System and Farmer Registry System by the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock and the Turkish Statistical Institute in order to establish and manage better agricultural policy and produce better agricultural statistics in Turkey. Yet, it has not been carried out any study for the structuring of a system which can meet the requirements of different institutions and organizations that need similar agricultural data. It has been tried to meet required data only within the frame of the legal regulations from present systems. Whereas the developments in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and standardization, and Turkey National GIS enterprise in this context necessitate to meet the demands of organizations that use the similar data commonly and to act in terms of a data model logic. In this study, 38 institutions or organization which produce and use agricultural data were detected, that and thanks to survey and interviews undertaken, their needs were tried to be determined. In this study which is financially supported by TUBITAK, it was worked out relationship between farmer, agricultural land and agricultural production data and all of the institutions and organizations in Turkey and in this context, it was worked upon the best detailed and effective possible data model. In the model design, UML which provides object-oriented design was used. In the data model, for the management of spatial data, sub-parcel data model was used. Thanks to this data model, declared and undeclared areas can be detected spatially, and thus declarations can be associated to sub-parcels. Within this framework, it will be able to developed agricultural policies as a result of acquiring more extensive, accurate, spatially manageable and easily updatable farmer and

Adapting Agricultural Production Systems to Climate Change—What’s the Use of Models?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annelie Holzkämper

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Climate change poses a challenge to agricultural production and its impacts vary depending on regional focus and on the type of production system. To avoid production losses and make use of emerging potentials, adaptations in agricultural management will inevitably be required. Adaptation responses can broadly be distinguished into (1 short-term incremental responses that farmers often choose autonomously in response to observed changes and based on local knowledge and experiences, and (2 long-term transformative responses that require strategic planning, and which are usually implemented at a larger spatial scale. Models can be used to support decision making at both response levels; thereby, different features of models prove more or less valuable depending on the type of adaptation response. This paper presents a systematic literature review on the state-of-the-art in modelling for adaptation planning in agricultural production systems, investigating the question of which model types can be distinguished and how these types differ in the way they support decision making in agricultural adaptation planning. Five types of models are distinguished: (1 empirical crop models; (2 regional suitability models; (3 biophysical models; (4 meta-models; and (5 decision models. The potential and limitations of these model types for providing decision-support to short- and long-term adaptation planning are discussed. The risk of maladaptation—adaptation that implies negative consequences either in the long term or in a wider context—is identified as a key challenge of adaptation planning that needs more attention. Maladaptation is not only a risk of decision making in the face of incomplete knowledge of future climate impacts on the agricultural production system; but it can also be a threat if the connectedness of the agroecosystem is not sufficiently acknowledged when management adaptations are implemented. Future research supporting climate change

Monitoring pathogens from irradiated agriculture products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butterweck, J.S.

1990-01-01

The final food and environmental safety assessment of agriculture product irradiation can only be determined by product history. Product history will be used for future research and development, regulations, commercial practices and implementation of agriculture and food irradiation on a regional basis. The commercial irradiator treats large varieties and amounts of products that are used in various environments. it, in time, will generate a large data base of product history. Field product monitoring begins when food irradiation progresses from the pilot/demonstration phase to the commercial phase. At that time, it is important that there be in place a monitoring system to collect and analyze field data. The systems managers, public health authorities and exotic disease specialists will use this information to assess the reduction of food pathogens on the populace and the environment. (author)

SUSTAINABLE FARMS: INTEGRATION OF AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS

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Manolo Muñoz-Espinosa

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The inappropriate use of agrochemicals and technologies in farming systems can cause an accelerated deterioration of agricultural and soil pollution. Thus, agriculture and livestock are becoming an environmental problem in the world, which implies the need to assess the efficiency of agricultural production systems related to sustainability. The traditional peasant system is apparently unsustainable, while farm with an integral production approach have better opportunities for development over time as they tend to sustainability. This type of farms incorporate productive alternatives that improve as a whole, the system and the livelihood of the peasants. The trends towards sustainability of farms are mainly due to a better land use. As well as, implementing systems adapted to each soil and production type to ensure profitability and persistence, achieving the highest possible agricultural productivity. The urgency to produce food for a growing population is almost a paradigm that reinforces the imperative for maximum yield per unit area, and creates a vision of the rural world aimed at increasing profit at the expense of the attributes and core values of livelihood in rural areas. It can be concluded that the integrated farming articulate various subsystems, which working together could allow higher sustainability of agricultural production practices, environmentally friendly, safeguarding the food sovereignty of the population and improving the quality of life of farmers

Agricultural production and stability of settlement systems in Upper Mesopotamia during the Early Bronze Age (third millennium BCE)

Science.gov (United States)

Kalayci, Tuna

This study investigates the relationship between rainfall variation and rain-fed agricultural production in Upper Mesopotamia with a specific focus on Early Bronze Age urban settlements. In return, the variation in production is used to explore stability of urban settlement systems. The organization of the flow of agricultural goods is the key to sustaining the total settlement system. The vulnerability of a settlement system increases due to the increased demand for more output from agricultural lands. This demand is the key for the success of urbanization project. However, without estimating how many foodstuffs were available at the end of a production cycle, further discussions on the forces that shaped and sustained urban settlement systems will be lacking. While large scale fluctuations in the flow of agricultural products between settlements are not the only determinants of hierarchical structures, the total available agricultural yield for each urban settlement in a hierarchy must have influenced settlement relations. As for the methodology, first, Early Bronze Age precipitation levels are estimated by using modern day associations between the eastern Mediterranean coastal areas and the inner regions of Upper Mesopotamia. Next, these levels are integrated into a remote-sensing based biological growth model. Also, a CORONA satellite imagery based archaeological survey is conducted in order to map the Early Bronze Age settlement system in its entirety as well as the ancient markers of agricultural intensification. Finally, ancient agricultural production landscapes are modeled in a GIS. The study takes a critical position towards the traditionally held assumption that large urban settlements (cities) in Upper Mesopotamia were in a state of constant demand for food. The results from this study also suggest that when variations in ancient precipitation levels are translated into the variations in production levels, the impact of climatic aridification on ancient

Towards Conservation Agriculture systems in Moldova

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Boris Boincean

2016-10-01

Full Text Available As the world population and food production demands rise, keeping agricultural soils and landscapes healthy and productive are of paramount importance to sustaining local and global food security and the flow of ecosystem services to society. The global population, expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, will put additional pressure on the available land area and resources for agricultural production. Sustainable production intensification for food security is a major challenge to both industrialized and developing countries. The paper focuses on the results from long-term multi-factorial experiments involving tillage practices, crop rotations and fertilization to study the interactions amongst the treatments in the context of sustainable production intensification. The paper discusses the results in relation to reported performance of crops and soil quality in Conservation Agriculture systems that are based on no or minimum soil disturbance (no-till seeding and weeding, maintenance of soil mulch cover with crop biomass and cover crops, and diversified cropping s involving annuals and perennials. Conservation Agriculture also emphasizes the necessity of an agro-ecosystems approach to the management of agricultural land for sustainable production intensification, as well as to the site-specificity of agricultural production. Arguments in favor of avoiding the use of soil tillage are discussed together with agro-ecological principles for sustainable intensification of agriculture. More interdisciplinary systems research is required to support the transformation of agriculture from the conventional tillage agriculture to a more sustainable agriculture based on the principles and practices of Conservation Agriculture, along with other complementary practices of integrated crop, nutrient, water, pest, energy and farm power management.

Toward a New Generation of Agricultural System Data, Models, and Knowledge Products: State of Agricultural Systems Science

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, James W.; Antle, John M.; Basso, Bruno; Boote, Kenneth J.; Conant, Richard T.; Foster, Ian; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Herrero, Mario; Howitt, Richard E.; Janssen, Sander;

Conservation Agriculture Practices in Rainfed Uplands of India Improve Maize-Based System Productivity and Profitability

Science.gov (United States)

Pradhan, Aliza; Idol, Travis; Roul, Pravat K.

2016-01-01

Traditional agriculture in rainfed uplands of India has been experiencing low agricultural productivity as the lands suffer from poor soil fertility, susceptibility to water erosion and other external pressures of development and climate change. A shift toward more sustainable cropping systems such as conservation agriculture production systems (CAPSs) may help in maintaining soil quality as well as improving crop production and farmer’s net economic benefit. This research assessed the effects over 3 years (2011–2014) of reduced tillage, intercropping, and cover cropping practices customized for maize-based production systems in upland areas of Odisha, India. The study focused on crop yield, system productivity and profitability through maize equivalent yield and dominance analysis. Results showed that maize grain yield did not differ significantly over time or among CAPS treatments while cowpea yield was considered as an additional yield in intercropping systems. Mustard and horsegram grown in plots after maize cowpea intercropping recorded higher grain yields of 25 and 37%, respectively, as compared to those without intercropping. Overall, the full CAPS implementation, i.e., minimum tillage, maize–cowpea intercropping and mustard residue retention had significantly higher system productivity and net benefits than traditional farmer practices, i.e., conventional tillage, sole maize cropping, and no mustard residue retention. The dominance analysis demonstrated increasing benefits of combining conservation practices that exceeded thresholds for farmer adoption. Given the use of familiar crops and technologies and the magnitude of yield and income improvements, these types of CAPS should be acceptable and attractive for smallholder farmers in the area. This in turn should support a move toward sustainable intensification of crop production to meet future household income and nutritional needs. PMID:27471508

Conservation agriculture practices in rainfed uplands of India improve maize-based system productivity and profitability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aliza Pradhan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Traditional agriculture in rainfed uplands of India has been experiencing low agricultural productivity as the lands suffer from poor soil fertility, susceptibility to water erosion and other external pressures of development and climate change. A shift towards more sustainable cropping systems such as conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS may help in maintaining soil quality as well as improving crop production and farmer’s net economic benefit. This research assessed the effects over three years (2011-2014 of reduced tillage, intercropping, and cover cropping practices customized for maize-based production systems in upland areas of Odisha, India. The study focused on crop yield, system productivity and profitability through maize equivalent yield and dominance analysis. Results showed that maize grain yield did not differ significantly over time or among CAPS treatments while cowpea yield was considered as an additional yield in intercropping systems. Mustard and horsegram grown in plots after maize cowpea intercropping recorded higher grain yields of 25 and 37%, respectively, as compared to those without intercropping. Overall, the full CAPS implementation i.e. minimum tillage, maize-cowpea intercropping and mustard residue retention had significantly higher system productivity and net benefits than traditional farmer practices, i.e. conventional tillage, sole maize cropping, and no mustard residue retention. The dominance analysis demonstrated increasing benefits of combining conservation practices that exceeded thresholds for farmer adoption. Given the use of familiar crops and technologies and the magnitude of yield and income improvements, these types of CAPS should be acceptable and attractive for smallholder farmers in the area. This in turn should support a move toward sustainable intensification of crop production to meet future household income and nutritional needs.

Conservation Agriculture Practices in Rainfed Uplands of India Improve Maize-Based System Productivity and Profitability.

Science.gov (United States)

Pradhan, Aliza; Idol, Travis; Roul, Pravat K

2016-01-01

Traditional agriculture in rainfed uplands of India has been experiencing low agricultural productivity as the lands suffer from poor soil fertility, susceptibility to water erosion and other external pressures of development and climate change. A shift toward more sustainable cropping systems such as conservation agriculture production systems (CAPSs) may help in maintaining soil quality as well as improving crop production and farmer's net economic benefit. This research assessed the effects over 3 years (2011-2014) of reduced tillage, intercropping, and cover cropping practices customized for maize-based production systems in upland areas of Odisha, India. The study focused on crop yield, system productivity and profitability through maize equivalent yield and dominance analysis. Results showed that maize grain yield did not differ significantly over time or among CAPS treatments while cowpea yield was considered as an additional yield in intercropping systems. Mustard and horsegram grown in plots after maize cowpea intercropping recorded higher grain yields of 25 and 37%, respectively, as compared to those without intercropping. Overall, the full CAPS implementation, i.e., minimum tillage, maize-cowpea intercropping and mustard residue retention had significantly higher system productivity and net benefits than traditional farmer practices, i.e., conventional tillage, sole maize cropping, and no mustard residue retention. The dominance analysis demonstrated increasing benefits of combining conservation practices that exceeded thresholds for farmer adoption. Given the use of familiar crops and technologies and the magnitude of yield and income improvements, these types of CAPS should be acceptable and attractive for smallholder farmers in the area. This in turn should support a move toward sustainable intensification of crop production to meet future household income and nutritional needs.

Development and Implementation of Production Area of Agricultural Product Data Collection System Based on Embedded System

Science.gov (United States)

Xi, Lei; Guo, Wei; Che, Yinchao; Zhang, Hao; Wang, Qiang; Ma, Xinming

To solve problems in detecting the origin of agricultural products, this paper brings about an embedded data-based terminal, applies middleware thinking, and provides reusable long-range two-way data exchange module between business equipment and data acquisition systems. The system is constructed by data collection node and data center nodes. Data collection nodes taking embedded data terminal NetBoxII as the core, consisting of data acquisition interface layer, controlling information layer and data exchange layer, completing the data reading of different front-end acquisition equipments, and packing the data TCP to realize the data exchange between data center nodes according to the physical link (GPRS / CDMA / Ethernet). Data center node consists of the data exchange layer, the data persistence layer, and the business interface layer, which make the data collecting durable, and provide standardized data for business systems based on mapping relationship of collected data and business data. Relying on public communications networks, application of the system could establish the road of flow of information between the scene of origin certification and management center, and could realize the real-time collection, storage and processing between data of origin certification scene and databases of certification organization, and could achieve needs of long-range detection of agricultural origin.

Environmental marketing within organic agriculture system management

OpenAIRE

O. Shkuratov; V. Kyporenko

2015-01-01

This paper deals with economic content of environmental marketing in the management system organic agriculture that allows operators of organic market to effectively plan the production of organic agricultural products and ensure the optimal balance between social and economic indicators throughout the life cycle of the product. Structural-logical scheme on the formation of environmentally oriented motivation of organic agricultural products consumer behavior has been grounded.

The Change Path of Agricultural Production Outsourcing

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Juan Zhang

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The system of agricultural production outsourcing is a breakpoint for the development of agriculture and immigration worker’s urbanization. The analysis based on framework of the Institutional Change reveals that as a whole,the outsourcing system of agricultural production improves the welfare of society effectively. To some extents,it also can solve the problem of food security. The rural transferring labor-forces who realize the institutional change in the initial stage are is the first Action Group to gain the potential benefits. Local governments are a breakpoint of induced institutional change, which find potential benefits and then change the role of system changes. The central government is in dominant statue during the whole change. The outsourcing is a kind of improvement to the Family Contracted System, also an adaption to an imperfect Chinese rural social security. So the outsourcing has a positive meaning in the rural area.

Brief history of agricultural systems modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, James W; Antle, John M; Basso, Bruno; Boote, Kenneth J; Conant, Richard T; Foster, Ian; Godfray, H Charles J; Herrero, Mario; Howitt, Richard E; Janssen, Sander; Keating, Brian A; Munoz-Carpena, Rafael; Porter, Cheryl H; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Wheeler, Tim R

2017-07-01

Agricultural systems science generates knowledge that allows researchers to consider complex problems or take informed agricultural decisions. The rich history of this science exemplifies the diversity of systems and scales over which they operate and have been studied. Modeling, an essential tool in agricultural systems science, has been accomplished by scientists from a wide range of disciplines, who have contributed concepts and tools over more than six decades. As agricultural scientists now consider the "next generation" models, data, and knowledge products needed to meet the increasingly complex systems problems faced by society, it is important to take stock of this history and its lessons to ensure that we avoid re-invention and strive to consider all dimensions of associated challenges. To this end, we summarize here the history of agricultural systems modeling and identify lessons learned that can help guide the design and development of next generation of agricultural system tools and methods. A number of past events combined with overall technological progress in other fields have strongly contributed to the evolution of agricultural system modeling, including development of process-based bio-physical models of crops and livestock, statistical models based on historical observations, and economic optimization and simulation models at household and regional to global scales. Characteristics of agricultural systems models have varied widely depending on the systems involved, their scales, and the wide range of purposes that motivated their development and use by researchers in different disciplines. Recent trends in broader collaboration across institutions, across disciplines, and between the public and private sectors suggest that the stage is set for the major advances in agricultural systems science that are needed for the next generation of models, databases, knowledge products and decision support systems. The lessons from history should be

College Students' View of Biotechnology Products and Practices in Sustainable Agriculture Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, William A.

2008-01-01

Sustainable agriculture implies the use of products and practices that sustain production, protect the environment, ensure economic viability, and maintain rural community viability. Disagreement exists as to whether or not the products and practices of modern biotechnological support agricultural sustainability. The purpose of this study was to…

Construction of the All-region Linkage System for Emergency Management of Agricultural Product Quality and Safety in West China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Hua; YU; Yanbin; QI; Yubao; YAN

2013-01-01

Quality and safety of agricultural products are significant for national socioeconomic development,sustainable development,and vital interests of people.To safeguard quality and safety of agricultural products in west China is to safeguard economic safety and ecological safety of the country,public health and social stability,of which an important task is to properly handle emergencies concerning quality and safety of agricultural products.Considering actual conditions of west China,suggestions are given to construct the all-region linkage system for emergency management of agricultural product quality and safety in the local area,enhance the all-region linkage,and improve the linkage efficiency.

The social organization of agricultural biogas production and use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bluemling, Bettina; Mol, Arthur P.J.; Tu, Qin

2013-01-01

While for wind, solar energy or hydropower, energy supply happens directly from the source to the wind wheels, hydropower turbines or solar panels, in the case of biogas, energy production cannot directly take from the energy source, organic matter, but depends on the institutional structures and farmers′ practices involved for making energy available. With the production of bioenergy in rural areas, practices within agriculture are transformed, requiring new ways of organizing production processes. Research has left the question largely unanswered of how agricultural biogas production and use are – and can best be – organized within rural society. Which kinds of social organization exist, how are these embedded in existing agricultural institutions and practices, and how do these systems function? Under which conditions may the different kinds of social organization of biogas production and use work sustainably? This introduction article to the Special Issue “The social organization of agricultural biogas production and use” presents a framework for analysing the different kinds of social organization of biogas production and use presented hereafter. Analysis parameters are the supply network, distribution network, distribution of benefits, social boundaries of the system (accessibility) and scale. Using these parameters, the Special Issue articles are outlined. - Highlights: • Through agricultural institutions and farmers′ practices, biogas is made available. • Scale, supply and delivery network distinguish biogas infrastructural systems. • Access and benefit distribution are key for a biogas system′s sustainability

Determinants and impacts of public agricultural research in Japan: Product level evidence on agricultural Kosetsushi

Science.gov (United States)

Fukugawa, Nobuya

2017-12-01

The public sector is an important source of agricultural research as the agricultural sector in many countries consists of a number of individual farmers who have difficulty in bearing the cost of research and development. Public institutes for testing and research called Kosetsushi help agriculture and manufacturing improve labor productivity through technology transfer activities, whereby constituting an important component of regional innovation systems in Japan. This study establishes panel data of agricultural Kosetsushi and examines whether their research activities are responsive to local needs and which type of research effort is conducive to the promotion of agricultural product innovations. Estimation results reveal variations across plants in the impacts of agricultural clusters on research on the plant conducted by Kosetsushi located in the cluster. A positive impact is observed only for vegetable while negative or statistically insignificant relationships are found for rice, fruit, and flower. The impact of research on plant breeding on agricultural product innovations also varies across plants. Policy implications of the major findings are discussed.

EXPERT SYSTEMS - DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE TOOL

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NAN Anca-Petruţa

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Because of the fact that specialty agricultural assistance is not always available when the farmers need it, we identified expert systems as a strong instrument with an extended potential in agriculture. This started to grow in scale recently, including all socially-economic activity fields, having the role of collecting data regarding different aspects from human experts with the purpose of assisting the user in the necessary steps for solving problems, at the performance level of the expert, making his acquired knowledge and experience available. We opted for a general presentation of the expert systems as well as their necessity, because, the solution to develop the agricultural system can come from artificial intelligence by implementing the expert systems in the field of agricultural insurance, promoting existing insurance products, farmers finding options in depending on their necessities and possibilities. The objective of this article consists of collecting data about different aspects about specific areas of interest of agricultural insurance, preparing the database, a conceptual presentation of a pilot version which will become constantly richer depending on the answers received from agricultural producers, with the clearest exposure of knowledgebase possible. We can justify picking this theme with the fact that even while agricultural insurance plays a very important role in agricultural development, the registered result got from them are modest, reason why solutions need to be found in the scope of developing the agricultural sector. The importance of this consists in the proposal of an immediate viable solution to correspond with the current necessities of agricultural producers and in the proposal of an innovative solution, namely the implementation of expert system in agricultural insurance as a way of promoting insurance products. Our research, even though it treats the subject at an conceptual level, it wants to undertake an

46 CFR 111.105-45 - Vessels carrying agricultural products.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Vessels carrying agricultural products. 111.105-45... ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Hazardous Locations § 111.105-45 Vessels carrying agricultural products. (a) The following areas are Class II, Division 1, (Zone 10 or Z) locations on vessels...

The role of energy policy in agricultural biogas energy production in Visegrad countries

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Chodkowska-Miszczuk Justyna

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Energy production by agricultural biogas plants has recently recorded considerable growth in Visegrad countries. The development was enhanced by European Union’s efforts to increase the proportion of energy produced from renewable sources. The paper aims to assess the role of energy policy in the development of agricultural biogas energy production in Visegrad region. Conducted studies have shown that among various forms of support for energy production from renewable energy sources, the price system prevails, including the support by feed in tariffs and bonuses. Feed in tariffs were adopted in Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Another kind of support system – a quota system – was adopted in Poland, what includes tendering and certificate systems. The results confirm the adoption of legal framework was necessary step to enable agricultural biogas energy production in Visegrad countries, but itself it was not enough to stimulate development of agricultural biogas energy production significantly. Rapid development in each country was recorded only after the certain financial support systems took effect, what made production of agricultural biogas energy economically efficient for investors. The production of energy from agricultural biogas grew the most in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where the financial support was the highest. Nevertheless, the protracted process of changes in legal framework and transformation of energy policy, certain measures including state-controlled price-making systems, risk regarding with auction system might hamper agricultural biogas energy production further development.

Practical Significance of Basin Water Market Construction on Agricultural Production

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

On the basis of introducing the concept of water market and the water market research in cluding both domestic market and foreign market,the system design features of water market are analyzed.The features include the prior distribution of agricultural water right,the close construction of market structure,reasonable price of water obtaining right and water pollution-discharge right and scientific stipulation of total volume of water use and total volume of pollution drainage.The practical significances of basin water market construction on Chinese agricultural production are revealed,which clover safeguarding the safety of agricultural water;effectively alleviating agricultural drought;saving the agricultural production water and improving the quality of agricultural products.

ENHANCEMENT OF THE CREDIT GRANTING SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS

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Yuliya Evgenievna Klishina

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The credit granting system of agricultural enterprises which developed now doesn’t promote development of agricultural production in spite of the facts that are accepted and are financed by the state of the development program of agrarian and industrial complex in various directions. Financial credit relations in the sphere of agrarian and industrial complex are in a stage of formation and have no system nature, in them features of agricultural production are insufficiently considered.In article the directions of development of credit support of agricultural industry, participation of the state in system of agricultural crediting are considered, offers on forming of a three-level credit granting system of agricultural industry which is urged to provide availability of credit resources to all categories of agricultural producers are made.

Professional risk of developing diseases of the peripheral nervous system in tractor drivers – machine operators of agricultural production

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G.A. Bezrukova

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Based on the results of the hygienic assessment of working conditions in the domestic agricultural machinery of old and new models when performing the main types of seasonal agricultural work during the annual production cycle and analysis of accumulated occupational diseases’ nosology structure in agricultural workers of the Saratov region over the period from 2004 to 2014, the estimation of professional risk diseases of the peripheral nervous system in tractor drivers – machine operators of agricultural production is given. Professional risk assessment carried out under the procedure set forth in P2.2.1766-03 has shown that the category of a priori risk to their health during an annual production cycle ranged from high to very high (unbearable. It was revealed that the most important factors shaping the harmful working conditions when working on agricultural machinery that can act as a trigger in the formation of vertebral diseases of the peripheral nervous system, are general and local vibration, adverse micro-climatic conditions, long uncomfortable static working posture and physical stress. The risk of diseases in the peripheral uneven system in machine operators of agriculture was attributed to the high risk category with an index of professional diseases (IPD equal to 0,5 %.

Development of Agricultural Product Logistics from the Perspective of the 4PL

OpenAIRE

ZHONG, Wuya; YAN, Wei

2013-01-01

From the perspective of the Fourth Party Logistics (4PL), this paper elaborates the concept, background and development plight of agricultural products logistics, advises developing 4PL under the background of rapid development of agricultural products and logistics, etc. and explores issues of information, efficiency and supervision of agricultural products logistics, draws the conclusion that only construct an 4PL agricultural products logistics system can alleviate the aporia of cost, and ...

Lemon Effect of Green Agricultural Products and Its Marketing Strategy

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2010-01-01

The paper introduces the lemon effect of green agricultural products,analyzes the formation reasons of the lemon effect of green agricul-tural products and summarizes problems brought by the effect,such as malicious deception and high price.The paper proposes countermeasures toavoid the lemon effect of green agricultural products from a perspective of marketing.The first is to strengthen the quality supervision of green agri-cultural products,upgrade the quality of products,and build up branded products.The government should foster the main body of the products andguide the main body to realize the importance of brand construction and management.The second is to construct a sales channel system of greenagricultural products,making use of the trading center of modern green agricultural products to sell products,developing a long term partnershipwith processing industries,big supermarket and restaurants,making use of internet and selling products online and offline.The third is to propagatethe products.Make a good use of advertisement,personal sales,propagation and public relations to accelerate the healthy development of greenagricultural market.

Machine vision system: a tool for quality inspection of food and agricultural products.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Krishna Kumar; Kar, A; Jha, S N; Khan, M A

2012-04-01

Quality inspection of food and agricultural produce are difficult and labor intensive. Simultaneously, with increased expectations for food products of high quality and safety standards, the need for accurate, fast and objective quality determination of these characteristics in food products continues to grow. However, these operations generally in India are manual which is costly as well as unreliable because human decision in identifying quality factors such as appearance, flavor, nutrient, texture, etc., is inconsistent, subjective and slow. Machine vision provides one alternative for an automated, non-destructive and cost-effective technique to accomplish these requirements. This inspection approach based on image analysis and processing has found a variety of different applications in the food industry. Considerable research has highlighted its potential for the inspection and grading of fruits and vegetables, grain quality and characteristic examination and quality evaluation of other food products like bakery products, pizza, cheese, and noodles etc. The objective of this paper is to provide in depth introduction of machine vision system, its components and recent work reported on food and agricultural produce.

Interdependence of Agricultural Production and Environment and the Road to Sustainable Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Curić Jasmina

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Sustainability of agricultural production in the world is in serious crisis. Interdependence of agricultural production and the environment is multiple and causality works both ways. On one hand, there are environmental changes which hamper food production, and on the other, the agricultural production, as it is, is severely damaging the environment. The very systems of agricultural production jeopardize future production. The goal of this paper is to explore causes of limitations of sustainable agricultural development in the world, where the authors emphasize the following: gas emissions with greenhouse effect, a disturbed cycle of nitrogen circulation and destruction of biodiversity.

Sustainable intensification in agricultural systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Pretty, Jules; Bharucha, Zareen Pervez

2014-12-01

Agricultural systems are amended ecosystems with a variety of properties. Modern agroecosystems have tended towards high through-flow systems, with energy supplied by fossil fuels directed out of the system (either deliberately for harvests or accidentally through side effects). In the coming decades, resource constraints over water, soil, biodiversity and land will affect agricultural systems. Sustainable agroecosystems are those tending to have a positive impact on natural, social and human capital, while unsustainable systems feed back to deplete these assets, leaving fewer for the future. Sustainable intensification (SI) is defined as a process or system where agricultural yields are increased without adverse environmental impact and without the conversion of additional non-agricultural land. The concept does not articulate or privilege any particular vision or method of agricultural production. Rather, it emphasizes ends rather than means, and does not pre-determine technologies, species mix or particular design components. The combination of the terms 'sustainable' and 'intensification' is an attempt to indicate that desirable outcomes around both more food and improved environmental goods and services could be achieved by a variety of means. Nonetheless, it remains controversial to some. This review analyses recent evidence of the impacts of SI in both developing and industrialized countries, and demonstrates that both yield and natural capital dividends can occur. The review begins with analysis of the emergence of combined agricultural-environmental systems, the environmental and social outcomes of recent agricultural revolutions, and analyses the challenges for food production this century as populations grow and consumption patterns change. Emergent criticisms are highlighted, and the positive impacts of SI on food outputs and renewable capital assets detailed. It concludes with observations on policies and incentives necessary for the wider adoption of

Evolution of agricultural production of Zaire before and after 1960

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabiti, K.

1991-01-01

Full Text Available This study presents the evolution of agricultural production of Zaire before and after 1960 with the help of variable quantifies of products, the cultured area and the exported quantifies of products. A comparative analysis of quantifies of studied products shows that after 1960, the agricultural production of basis foodstuffs of the Zairian population has fallen of the order of 91 % in comparison with the first period. This study shows that the system of peasantry introduced in 1936 by the INEAC, the rationalization of cultural methods connected to the governmental explain the agricultural expansion of Zaire before 1960.

Evaluation on Core Competitiveness of Wholesale Market of Agricultural Products Based on CWAA Operator

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

According to relevant data,we select five indices,namely management ability,organization and management capability,enterprise culture,development ability and technical equipment ability,to establish the index system of core competitiveness of wholesale market of agricultural products.Based on combination weight arithmetic average(CWAA) operator,we advance an evaluation model of core competitiveness of wholesale market of agricultural products which involves participation of many people.By inviting five exerts,we conduct evaluation in terms of management ability of wholesale market of agricultural products,organization and management capability of leadership,enterprise culture of wholesale market of agricultural products,future development ability of wholesale market of agricultural products,and exiting technical equipment ability of wholesale market of agricultural products.We adopt hundred-mark system to grade and evaluate core competitiveness of wholesale market of agricultural products.The results show that the experts’ evaluation score of core competitiveness of wholesale market of agricultural products is high.The evaluation result is reasonable and authentic and this model is feasible.

Department of Energy programs and objectives: energy conservation in agricultural production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1977-12-01

This document describes the current Department of Energy agriculture research program as it relates to the research recommendations submitted by a 1976 workshop on energy conservation in agricultural production. In-depth discussions on fertilizers, irrigation, crop drying, fuel substitution, crop and animal production systems, greenhouses, materials handling, and transport systems are included. (MCW)

Potential effects of nuclear war on agricultural productivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harwell, M.A.; Cropper, W.P. Jr.

1985-01-01

The authors examine the vulnerabilities of agricultural systems to nuclear war-induced climatic perturbations and to other, indirect effects of nuclear war. Discussion is included of the dependency of agricultural production on technological inputs and the effects of loss or reduction of these inputs in a post-nuclear war world

Requirement analysis for the one-stop logistics management of fresh agricultural products

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jun; Gao, Hongmei; Liu, Yuchuan

2017-08-01

Issues and concerns for food safety, agro-processing, and the environmental and ecological impact of food production have been attracted many research interests. Traceability and logistics management of fresh agricultural products is faced with the technological challenges including food product label and identification, activity/process characterization, information systems for the supply chain, i.e., from farm to table. Application of one-stop logistics service focuses on the whole supply chain process integration for fresh agricultural products is studied. A collaborative research project for the supply and logistics of fresh agricultural products in Tianjin was performed. Requirement analysis for the one-stop logistics management information system is studied. The model-driven business transformation, an approach uses formal models to explicitly define the structure and behavior of a business, is applied for the review and analysis process. Specific requirements for the logistic management solutions are proposed. Development of this research is crucial for the solution of one-stop logistics management information system integration platform for fresh agricultural products.

Study of Agricultural Product Options Pricing

Science.gov (United States)

HONG, Qiu

2017-09-01

China is a large agricultural country, and the healthy development of agriculture is related to the stability of the whole society. The agricultural production and management of agricultural products are confronted with many risks, especially the market risks. Option contract is the object of option market transaction, so it is very important to study the option contract of agricultural products. Option trading separates the risk and profit, so that the trader can avoid the risk while retaining the opportunity to obtain income. The option has the characteristics of low transaction cost, simple and efficient, so it is suitable for small and medium investors.

Sustainable intensification in agricultural systems

Science.gov (United States)

Pretty, Jules; Bharucha, Zareen Pervez

2014-01-01

Background Agricultural systems are amended ecosystems with a variety of properties. Modern agroecosystems have tended towards high through-flow systems, with energy supplied by fossil fuels directed out of the system (either deliberately for harvests or accidentally through side effects). In the coming decades, resource constraints over water, soil, biodiversity and land will affect agricultural systems. Sustainable agroecosystems are those tending to have a positive impact on natural, social and human capital, while unsustainable systems feed back to deplete these assets, leaving fewer for the future. Sustainable intensification (SI) is defined as a process or system where agricultural yields are increased without adverse environmental impact and without the conversion of additional non-agricultural land. The concept does not articulate or privilege any particular vision or method of agricultural production. Rather, it emphasizes ends rather than means, and does not pre-determine technologies, species mix or particular design components. The combination of the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘intensification’ is an attempt to indicate that desirable outcomes around both more food and improved environmental goods and services could be achieved by a variety of means. Nonetheless, it remains controversial to some. Scope and Conclusions This review analyses recent evidence of the impacts of SI in both developing and industrialized countries, and demonstrates that both yield and natural capital dividends can occur. The review begins with analysis of the emergence of combined agricultural–environmental systems, the environmental and social outcomes of recent agricultural revolutions, and analyses the challenges for food production this century as populations grow and consumption patterns change. Emergent criticisms are highlighted, and the positive impacts of SI on food outputs and renewable capital assets detailed. It concludes with observations on policies and

International Journal of Tropical Agriculture and Food Systems

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... and Food Systems (IJOTAFS) publishes high-quality peer reviewed articles, in English, in all areas of agriculture and food production and processing including tree production, pesticide science, post harvest biology and technology, seed science, irrigation, agricultural engineering, water resources management, marine ...

Systemic perspectives on scaling agricultural innovations. A review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wigboldus, Seerp; Klerkx, Laurens; Leeuwis, Cees; Schut, Marc; Muilerman, Sander; Jochemsen, Henk

2016-01-01

Agricultural production involves the scaling of agricultural innovations such as disease-resistant and drought-tolerant maize varieties, zero-tillage techniques, permaculture cultivation practices based on perennial crops and automated milking systems. Scaling agricultural innovations should take

Adaptation to Interannual and Interdecadal Climate Variability in Agricultural Production Systems of the Argentine Pampas

Science.gov (United States)

Podestá, G. P.; Bert, F.; Weber, E.; Laciana, C.; Rajagopalan, B.; Letson, D.

2007-05-01

Agricultural ecosystems play a central role in world food production and food security, and involve one of the most climate-sensitive sectors of society-agriculture. We focus on crop production in the Argentine Pampas, one of the world's major agricultural regions. Climate of the Pampas shows marked variability at both interannual and decadal time scales. We explored the scope for adaptive management in response to climate information on interannual scales. We show that different assumptions about what decision makers are trying to achieve (i.e., their objective functions) may change what actions are considered as "optimal" for a given climate context. Optimal actions also were used to estimate the economic value of forecasts of an ENSO phase. Decision constraints (e.g., crop rotations) have critical influence on value of the forecasting system. Gaps in knowledge or misconceptions about climate variability were identified in open-ended "mental model" interviews. Results were used to design educational interventions. A marked increase in precipitation since the 1970s, together with new production technologies, led to major changes in land use patterns in the Pampas. Continuous cropping has widely replaced agriculture-pasture rotations. Nevertheless, production systems that evolved partly in response to increased rainfall may not be viable if climate reverts to a drier epoch. We use historical data to define a range of plausible climate trajectories 20-30 years hence. Regional scenarios are downscaled using semi-parametric weather generators to produce multiple realizations of daily weather consistent with decadal scenarios. Finally, we use the synthetic climate, crop growth models, and realistic models of decision-making under risk to compute risk metrics (e.g., probability of yields or profits being below a threshold). Climatically optimal and marginal locations show differential responses: probabilities of negative economic results are much higher in currently

Emergy Evaluations of Denmark and Danish Agriculture. Assessing the Limits of Agricultural Systems to Power Society

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haden, Andrew C [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Rural Development Studies

2003-03-01

As the process of industrialization has run its course over the twentieth century, the relative importance of agriculture as an economic activity and a means of cultural sustenance for nations has declined dramatically. In this thesis, a historical ecological-economic perspective offers insights into both the causes and effects of Danish agriculture's decline in economic importance relative to the economy of Denmark as a whole. Emergy evaluations were made of the national economy and agricultural subsystem of Denmark for the years 1936, 1970 and 1999. Emergy is defined as all the available energy that was used in the work of making a product and expressed in units of one type of energy. In total, six separate emergy analyses were performed. By quantifying the emergy requirements of both a national agricultural system and the economy within which this system is nested, the analysis highlights the changing relationship of these two systems over a temporal scale of 63 years. The ecological sustainability of the studied systems is assessed through the calculation of emergy-based indices and ratios. In accordance with emergy theory, ecological sustainability is considered to be a function of the dependence of a system on renewable emergy, the degree to which the system depends on imported emergy, and the overall load that the system places on the environment. The analysis indicates that as the national economy of Denmark evolved to rely more on the use of nonrenewable emergy and on emergy appropriated through trade to stimulate economic activity and to generate wealth, its sustainability declined, and the importance of the Danish agricultural system to the national economy subsided. While the total amount of emergy supporting the economy of Denmark over the period studied increased substantially, the total emergy supporting agriculture remained relatively constant. Furthermore, though the emergy signature and thermodynamic efficiencies of Danish agricultural production

Agricultural production and water use scenarios in Cyprus under global change

Science.gov (United States)

Bruggeman, Adriana; Zoumides, Christos; Camera, Corrado; Pashiardis, Stelios; Zomeni, Zomenia

2014-05-01

In many countries of the world, food demand exceeds the total agricultural production. In semi-arid countries, agricultural water demand often also exceeds the sustainable supply of water resources. These water-stressed countries are expected to become even drier, as a result of global climate change. This will have a significant impact on the future of the agricultural sector and on food security. The aim of the AGWATER project consortium is to provide recommendations for climate change adaptation for the agricultural sector in Cyprus and the wider Mediterranean region. Gridded climate data sets, with 1-km horizontal resolution were prepared for Cyprus for 1980-2010. Regional Climate Model results were statistically downscaled, with the help of spatial weather generators. A new soil map was prepared using a predictive modelling and mapping technique and a large spatial database with soil and environmental parameters. Stakeholder meetings with agriculture and water stakeholders were held to develop future water prices, based on energy scenarios and to identify climate resilient production systems. Green houses, including also hydroponic systems, grapes, potatoes, cactus pears and carob trees were the more frequently identified production systems. The green-blue-water model, based on the FAO-56 dual crop coefficient approach, has been set up to compute agricultural water demand and yields for all crop fields in Cyprus under selected future scenarios. A set of agricultural production and water use performance indicators are computed by the model, including green and blue water use, crop yield, crop water productivity, net value of crop production and economic water productivity. This work is part of the AGWATER project - AEIFORIA/GEOGRO/0311(BIE)/06 - co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research Promotion Foundation.

Research on the performance evaluation of agricultural products supply chain integrated operation

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Jiake; Wang, Xifu; Liu, Yang

2017-04-01

The agricultural product supply chain integrated operation can ensure the quality and efficiency of agricultural products, and achieve the optimal goal of low cost and high service. This paper establishes a performance evaluation index system of agricultural products supply chain integration operation based on the development status of agricultural products and SCOR, BSC and KPI model. And then, we constructing rough set theory and BP neural network comprehensive evaluation model with the aid of Rosetta and MATLAB tools and the case study is about the development of agricultural products integrated supply chain in Jing-Jin-Ji region. And finally, we obtain the corresponding performance results, and give some improvement measures and management recommendations to the managers.

Radio-Agriculture - Ground and Space-Based Determination of Agricultural Productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Cockell, C. S.

The decision to sow seeds in a field, either on a local level (such as on an individual plot) or on vast agricultural complexes, is irreversible. Once the seed is sown, provided there is liquid water, tem- perature conditions are adequate and in some cases light is available, it will germinate. The timing of seed sowing has important effects on subsequent agricultural productivity [1-4]. The correlation between time of sowing and productivity causes several problems. Firstly, sowing seed depends absolutely upon a correct judgement on weather conditions, sometimes to the day. Secondly, not all crops need to be sown at the same time and so resources in manpower and equipment must be available for sowing different crops at different times. Great im- provements in resource allocation could be made if all seeds could be sown at the same time. Thirdly, there is no flexibility once resources to sowing have been committed. For example, in large agricultural areas manpower and machinery might be committed at particular times of the year to sowing, but if the weather conditions are not correct either they must be re-scheduled or productivity is lost. Local factors such as irrigation system availability might also impose upon a farmer a wish to be able to regulate the germination of particular fields, particularly in developing countries.

Development of methods for remediation of artificial polluted soils and improvement of soils for ecologically clean agricultural production systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogachev, V.; Adrianova, G.; Zaitzev, V.; Kalinin, V.; Kovalenko, E.; Makeev, A.; Malikova, L.; Popov, Yu.; Savenkov, A.; Shnyakina, V.

1996-01-01

The purpose of the research: Development of methods for the remediation of artificial polluted soils and the improvement of polluted lands to ecologically clean agricultural production.The following tasks will be implemented in this project to achieve viable practical solutions: - To determine the priority pollutants, their ecological pathways, and sources of origin. - To form a supervised environmental monitoring data bank throughout the various geo system conditions. - To evaluate the degree of the bio geo system pollution and the influence on the health of the local human populations. - To establish agricultural plant tolerance levels to the priority pollutants. - To calculate the standard concentrations of the priority pollutants for main agricultural plant groups. - To develop a soil remediation methodology incorporating the structural, functional geo system features. - To establish a territory zone division methodology in consideration of the degree of component pollution, plant tolerance to pollutants, plant production conditions, and human health. - Scientific grounding of the soil remediation proposals and agricultural plant material introductions with soil pollution levels and relative plant tolerances to pollutants. Technological Means, Methods, and Approaches Final proposed solutions will be based upon geo system and ecosystem approaches and methodologies. The complex ecological valuation methods of the polluted territories will be used in this investigation. Also, laboratory culture in vitro, application work, and multi-factor field experiments will be conducted. The results will be statistically analyzed using appropriate methods. Expected Results Complex biogeochemical artificial province assessment according to primary pollutant concentrations. Development of agricultural plant tolerance levels relative to the priority pollutants. Assessment of newly introduced plant materials that may possess variable levels of pollution tolerance. Remediation

Minilivestock in Argentina. Integration with Agricultural Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Biasatti, NR.

1999-01-01

Full Text Available The development of alternative agricultural production can take different forms. In Argentina there is an important diversity of species available to be incorporated into production systems, giving support for the use of natural resources based on taking advantage of the regional fauna. Moreover the use of different animal species can be incorporated under the concept of the optimization of flows of energy and materials, tending to minimize the environmental impact of livestock production, and also to make more efficient use of the ingredients required for developing the activity. The integration of non-traditional species (minilivestock within the context of sustainable agricultural development was the motivation for the present study A module for raising Myocastor coypus (coypu or false nutha was developed, to which was linked a module for raising Eisenia foetida (the socalled red worm, in both cases with a dual purpose. Preliminary estimates were made of the productive aspects of both species, as well as an analysis of their integration, to understand the extent to which diversification linked with complementation tends to optimize the system.

Forages and Pastures Symposium: assessing drought vulnerability of agricultural production systems in context of the 2012 drought.

Science.gov (United States)

Kellner, O; Niyogi, D

2014-07-01

Weather and climate events and agronomic enterprise are coupled via crop phenology and yield, which is temperature and precipitation dependent. Additional coupling between weather and climate and agronomic enterprise occurs through agricultural practices such as tillage, irrigation, erosion, livestock management, and forage. Thus, the relationship between precipitation, temperature, and yield is coupled to the relationship between temperature, precipitation, and drought. Unraveling the different meteorological and climatological patterns by comparing different growing seasons provides insight into how drought conditions develop and what agricultural producers can do to mitigate and adapt to drought conditions. The 2012 drought in the United States greatly impacted the agricultural sector of the economy. With comparable severity and spatial extent of the droughts of the 1930s, 1950s, and 1980s, the 2012 drought impacted much of the U.S. crop and livestock producers via decreased forage and feed. This brief summary of drought impacts to agricultural production systems includes 1) the basics of drought; 2) the meteorology and climatology involved in forecasting, predicting, and monitoring drought with attribution of the 2012 drought explored in detail; and 3) comparative analysis completed between the 2011 and 2012 growing season. This synthesis highlights the complex nature of drought in agriculture production systems as producers prepare for future climate variability.

Managing adaptively for multifunctionality in agricultural systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hodbod, Jennifer; Barreteau, Olivier; Allen, Craig; Magda, Danièle

2016-12-01

The critical importance of agricultural systems for food security and as a dominant global landcover requires management that considers the full dimensions of system functions at appropriate scales, i.e. multifunctionality. We propose that adaptive management is the most suitable management approach for such goals, given its ability to reduce uncertainty over time and support multiple objectives within a system, for multiple actors. As such, adaptive management may be the most appropriate method for sustainably intensifying production whilst increasing the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. However, the current assessment of performance of agricultural systems doesn't reward ecosystem service provision. Therefore, we present an overview of the ecosystem functions agricultural systems should and could provide, coupled with a revised definition for assessing the performance of agricultural systems from a multifunctional perspective that, when all satisfied, would create adaptive agricultural systems that can increase production whilst ensuring food security and the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. The outcome of this high level of performance is the capacity to respond to multiple shocks without collapse, equity and triple bottom line sustainability. Through the assessment of case studies, we find that alternatives to industrialized agricultural systems incorporate more functional goals, but that there are mixed findings as to whether these goals translate into positive measurable outcomes. We suggest that an adaptive management perspective would support the implementation of a systematic analysis of the social, ecological and economic trade-offs occurring within such systems, particularly between ecosystem services and functions, in order to provide suitable and comparable assessments. We also identify indicators to monitor performance at multiple scales in agricultural systems which can be used within an adaptive management framework to increase

Managing adaptively for multifunctionality in agricultural systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hodbod, Jennifer; Barreteau, Olivier; Allen, Craig R.; Magda, Danièle

2016-01-01

The critical importance of agricultural systems for food security and as a dominant global landcover requires management that considers the full dimensions of system functions at appropriate scales, i.e. multifunctionality. We propose that adaptive management is the most suitable management approach for such goals, given its ability to reduce uncertainty over time and support multiple objectives within a system, for multiple actors. As such, adaptive management may be the most appropriate method for sustainably intensifying production whilst increasing the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. However, the current assessment of performance of agricultural systems doesn’t reward ecosystem service provision. Therefore, we present an overview of the ecosystem functions agricultural systems should and could provide, coupled with a revised definition for assessing the performance of agricultural systems from a multifunctional perspective that, when all satisfied, would create adaptive agricultural systems that can increase production whilst ensuring food security and the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. The outcome of this high level of performance is the capacity to respond to multiple shocks without collapse, equity and triple bottom line sustainability. Through the assessment of case studies, we find that alternatives to industrialized agricultural systems incorporate more functional goals, but that there are mixed findings as to whether these goals translate into positive measurable outcomes. We suggest that an adaptive management perspective would support the implementation of a systematic analysis of the social, ecological and economic trade-offs occurring within such systems, particularly between ecosystem services and functions, in order to provide suitable and comparable assessments. We also identify indicators to monitor performance at multiple scales in agricultural systems which can be used within an adaptive management framework to

Agricultural production as a source of irradiation of populations in radiation accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexakhin, R.M.

2000-01-01

Radioactive contamination of the agricultural production sphere in case of a radiation accident with radionuclide release is one of the most important sources of additional irradiation for population. As a result, realisation of the measures for mitigating the consequences of the accident in agro-industrial complex assumes the leading role in total system of measures providing radiation safety. The possibility to obtain agricultural production meeting the radiological standards is one of the main indications of effectiveness of liquidation of the accident consequences. First, obtaining of agricultural production meeting the radiological standards provides decreasing of the total radiation dose. The evidence is obtained in the 8-year experience of liquidation of the Chernobyl NPP accident that the 70% decrease of the internal dose for population became possible through a complex of protection measures in agriculture (during the first year after the accident, the contribution of internal dose into the total one amounted to 45%, and that of external irradiation - 52%; for the 70-year period these values are 39% and 60%, respectively). Second, the possibility to obtain 'pure' agricultural production is one of the most important factors of psychological stability for population. Third, obtaining of consumable (as to radionuclide content) agricultural production in private small holdings is one of the guarantees of stability of demographic sector in the accident-affected zone. From the point of view of organization of agricultural production in liquidation of the consequences of accidents with radioactive releases into environment, some periods can be distinguished: (i) the first (early) period takes 10-12 days after the accident. The main measures in the field of agricultural production are in operative assessment of the radiological situation, organization of radiation survey, express classification of agricultural products ready to consumption. If radionuclide content

METHODOLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR FORMING THE MARKETING STRATEGY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ECOLOGIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariya Bagorka

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is the investigation of the nature, objectives, and strategic categories of ecologization marketing strategy, development of algorithm of this strategy and determination of environmental, economic, and ecological instruments of implementation of this strategy in the agricultural sector. Methodology. The basis of the formation of a marketing strategy for the ecologization of agrarian production is the systematic approach, which is based on the existence of implementation mechanisms that ensure system consistency, its purposefulness; interdependence; and complexity of its elements, which determines the integrity of the system; all tasks that execute individual elements of the system are interconnected; system elements and their associated actions have a certain subordination that builds a hierarchy; the system changes under the influence of specific factors, which determines its dynamism; the ability of the system to adapt to the variability of the external environment, while not losing its own individuality. Methods for strategic analysis of macro- and micro-environment factors were used to form the marketing strategy of ecologization. This process involves an analytical evaluation of the parameters of the external and internal environment with the help of general scientific and applied methods of strategic analysis. Results. The article explored the ecologization strategy, presented its objectives in the field of agriculture, the basic categories of strategic directions and implementation of ecologization marketing strategies. An algorithm of environmental marketing strategies in agricultural production is developed, environmental, economic and environmental and economic tools to implement them are determined. Practical implications. It is determined that marketing strategy of ecologization of agrarian production is a strategy of innovative development that can solve problems of economic growth, an increase of

Biomass production and nitrogen dynamics in an integrated aquaculture/agriculture system

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, L. P.; Hall, C. R.

1990-01-01

A combined aquaculture/agriculture system that brings together the three major components of a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) - biomass production, biomass processing, and waste recycling - was developed to evaluate ecological processes and hardware requirements necessary to assess the feasibility of and define design criteria for integration into the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Breadboard Project. The system consists of a 1 square meter plant growth area, a 500 liter fish culture tank, and computerized monitoring and control hardware. Nutrients in the hydrophonic solution were derived from fish metabolites and fish food leachate. In five months of continuous operation, 27.0 kg of lettuce tops, 39.9 kg of roots and biofilm, and 6.6 kg of fish (wet weights) were produced with 12.7 kg of fish food input. Based on dry weights, a biomass conversion index of 0.52 was achieved. A nitrogen budget was derived to determine partitioning of nitrogen within various compartments of the system. Accumulating nitrogen in the hypoponic solution indicated a need to enlarge the plant growth area, potentially increasing the biomass production and improving the biomass conversion index.

Microcredit Effect on Agricultural Productivity

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Faculty of Agricultural Sciences Lautech Ogbomoso

Department of Agricultural Economics & Farm Management University of Agriculture, ... This study examines the effect of access to credit on the productivity of rural farming households in Ogun State,. Nigeria. ... agricultural support to export crops, in ... growth and the alleviation of rural poverty ..... Dissertation, Department of.

Emergy Evaluations of Denmark and Danish Agriculture. Assessing the Limits of Agricultural Systems to Power Society

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haden, Andrew C. [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Rural Development Studies

2003-03-01

As the process of industrialization has run its course over the twentieth century, the relative importance of agriculture as an economic activity and a means of cultural sustenance for nations has declined dramatically. In this thesis, a historical ecological-economic perspective offers insights into both the causes and effects of Danish agriculture's decline in economic importance relative to the economy of Denmark as a whole. Emergy evaluations were made of the national economy and agricultural subsystem of Denmark for the years 1936, 1970 and 1999. Emergy is defined as all the available energy that was used in the work of making a product and expressed in units of one type of energy. In total, six separate emergy analyses were performed. By quantifying the emergy requirements of both a national agricultural system and the economy within which this system is nested, the analysis highlights the changing relationship of these two systems over a temporal scale of 63 years. The ecological sustainability of the studied systems is assessed through the calculation of emergy-based indices and ratios. In accordance with emergy theory, ecological sustainability is considered to be a function of the dependence of a system on renewable emergy, the degree to which the system depends on imported emergy, and the overall load that the system places on the environment. The analysis indicates that as the national economy of Denmark evolved to rely more on the use of nonrenewable emergy and on emergy appropriated through trade to stimulate economic activity and to generate wealth, its sustainability declined, and the importance of the Danish agricultural system to the national economy subsided. While the total amount of emergy supporting the economy of Denmark over the period studied increased substantially, the total emergy supporting agriculture remained relatively constant. Furthermore, though the emergy signature and thermodynamic efficiencies of Danish agricultural

Agricultural innovations for sustainable crop production intensification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele Pisante

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Sustainable crop production intensification should be the first strategic objective of innovative agronomic research for the next 40 years. A range of options exist (often very location specific for farming practices, approaches and technologies that ensure sustainability, while at the same time improving crop production. The main challenge is to encourage farmers in the use of appropriate technologies,  and  to  ensure  that  knowledge  about  sound  production  practices  is  increasingly accepted and applied by farmers. There is a huge, but underutilized potential to link farmers’ local knowledge with science-based innovations, through favourable institutional arrangements.  The same  holds  for  the  design,  implementation  and  monitoring  of  improved  natural  resource management  that  links  community  initiatives  to  external  expertise.  It is also suggested that a comprehensive effort be undertaken to measure different stages of the innovation system, including technological adoption and diffusion at the farm level, and to investigate the impact of agricultural policies on technological change and technical efficiency. This paper provides a brief review of agronomic management practices that support sustainable crop production system and evidence on developments  in the selection of crops and cultivars; describes farming systems for crop which take a predominantly ecosystem approach; discusses the scientific application of ecosystem principles for the management of pest and weed populations; reviews the  improvements in fertilizer and nutrient management that explain productivity growth; describes the benefits and constraints of irrigation technologies; and suggests a way forward. Seven changes in the context for agricultural development are proposed that heighten the need to examine how innovation occurs in the agricultural sector.

FUNCTIONING OF THE SYSTEM OF LOCAL AGRICULTURAL MARKETS: INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yurij Prudnikov

2016-11-01

consumers of agricultural production and increase of quality product homogeneity within the commercial batch; increase of efficiency of agricultural production sales by direct manufacturers, formation of logistic system; reduction in prices’ volatility; complex solution of a problem of development of infrastructural component of the system of markets, trading platform network expansion, prevention of misuse of market power, countermeasures for collusion of intermediate sellers and overcoming barriers that obstruct direct manufacturers to enter the markets of agricultural production, increase efficiency of a whole complex of the state regulations. Practical importance of the research results consists in the fact that the formed theoretical and methodological foundations of system analysis of the functioning and development of the system of local agricultural markets from the point of view of its institutional support will make possible its efficient functioning and development.

Sustainable dairy manure-based biogas? : A perspective from the combined biogas and agricultural production system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoang, Dieu Linh; Davis, Christopher Bryan; Nonhebel, Sanderine

2017-01-01

Dairy manure-based biogas, an emerging source of renewable energy, is a result of a recycling process which often leads to the thought that manure production is the beginning of this biogas supply chain by energy producers. However, dairy manure is only a byproduct of an agricultural system whose

INSPIA project: European Index for Sustainable and Productive Agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Triviño-Tarradas, Paula; Jesús González-Sánchez, Emilio; Gómez-Ariza, Manuel; Rass, Gerard; Gardette, Sophie; Whitmore, Gavin; Dyson, Jeremy

2017-04-01

The concept of sustainable development has evolved from a mere perception for the protection of the environment, to a holistic approach, seeking to preserve not only the environment, but also to achieve sustainability in economics and social wellbeing. Globally, there is a major challenge to face in the agricultural sector: to produce more food, feed and other raw materials to satisfy the increasing demand of a growing population, whilst also contributing to economic prosperity, climate change mitigation / adaptation, social wellbeing and preserving natural capital such as soil, water, biodiversity and other ecosystem services. Nowadays, conventional approaches to agriculture are under threat. A more productive and resource efficient agriculture that integrates natural resource protection into its approach will help to meet all these challenges, enabling us to have more of everything - more food, more feed, more non-food crops, more biodiversity and natural habitats - while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, INSPIA is an innovative approach that has worked since 2013 towards demonstration that sustainable productive agriculture is possible thanks to the implementation of a host of best management practices (BMPs) capable of delivering the above achievements. The purpose on INSPIA is to make visible with European decision makers that a sustainable and productive agricultural model exists in a small scale in Europe and that wider dissemination is possible with enabling legislation. INSPIA is demonstrating sustainable agriculture through the implementation of BMPs and the measurement and monitoring of a set of defined indicators (economic, social and environmental ones). INSPIA promotes sustainable practices that protect biodiversity, soils and water and contribute towards maintaining ecosystems services. This holistic sustainable system of productive agriculture is based on the combination of Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Integrated Pest

Estimating pesticide emissions for LCA of agricultural products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

2000-01-01

Emission data for pesticides from agricultural product systems may be based on national and international pesticide usage statistics, but these only provide information on the applied dose. When the field is considered as part of the technosphere, the emissions from the system are those quantitie...

FACTORS OF LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN AGRICULTURE OF THE AGRARIAN REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anatoly Babenko

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to study the conceptual provisions of the essence of labour productivity in agriculture in order to determine the factors and conditions for its growth at the present stage of economic development. Methods. The theoretical and methodological bases of research are the works of classical and modern economic science concerning labour productivity and human capital. With the aim of concretizing the conceptual and categorical apparatus, the dialectical and abstract-logical methods were used; a monographic method was used during covering the views of scientists on the investigated problem; for the analysis of labour productivity trends, the method of comparative analysis and the graphical method were used. Results. The conditions of agricultural production management in an agrarian region are characterized. Factors of labour productivity growth in agriculture are determined. It is established that the main reserves of increasing labour productivity consist of reducing labour costs for the production of agricultural products. In turn, the reduction of labour costs is caused by the use of new equipment and new technologies, progressive forms of labour organization, improvement of the system of material incentives for labour. Practical significance. The realization of proposals and recommendations concerning the formation and development of human capital for agricultural production, optimization of production resources, strengthening of labour motivation will provide an opportunity to increase the labour activity of personnel, the volume of agricultural production. Relevance/originality. Further development of research results allows us to collect an empirical, multifactorial model of labour productivity growth in agricultural production.

Using a decision support system to optimize production of agricultural crop residue Biofeedstock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoskinson, Reed L.; Rope, Ronald C.; Fink, Raymond K.

2007-01-01

For several years the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been developing a Decision Support System for Agriculture (DSS4Ag) which determines the economically optimum recipe of various fertilizers to apply at each site in a field to produce a crop, based on the existing soil fertility at each site, as well as historic production information and current prices of fertilizers and the forecast market price of the crop at harvest. In support of the growing interest in agricultural crop residues as a bioenergy feedstock, we have extended the capability of the DSS4Ag to develop a variable-rate fertilizer recipe for the simultaneous economically optimum production of both grain and straw. In this paper we report the results of 2 yr of field research testing and enhancing the DSS4Ag's ability to economically optimize the fertilization for the simultaneous production of both grain and its straw, where the straw is an agricultural crop residue that can be used as a biofeedstock. For both years, the DSS4Ag reduced the cost and amount of fertilizers used and increased grower profit, while reducing the biomass produced. The DSS4Ag results show that when a biorefinery infrastructure is in place and growers have a strong market for their straw it is not economically advantageous to increase fertilization in order to try to produce more straw. This suggests that other solutions, such as single-pass selective harvest, must be implemented to meet national goals for the amount of biomass that will be available for collection and use for bioenergy. (author)

Agroecological evaluation of agricultural production systems in the Centella watershed (Dagua, Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilmar Loiza Cerón

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The Sustainability Index of Agricultural Production Systems (SIAPS was used to assess the ecological integrity of study area in the Centella watershed (Dagua, Valle del Cauca. Four components were evaluated: soil management and hedging, water management, solid waste, and social, economic, political and institutional aspects for a total of 23 indicators. SIAPS was used to compare production systems and to estimate conditions of integrity amongst farms. The results permitted definition of minimum thresholds of ecosystem capacity for supporting anthropogenic use. 38% of the farms were constituted as best performers, 56% are "above the threshold" and only 6% were "below the threshold". The key issue is not that farmers use the exact same techniques used by those of the "headlight", but that they are presented as an example of the management and conservation of resources, planning and promotion of sustainable human development on farms.

INDIRECT COSTS ALLOCATION AND DECISION MAKING IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Karić

2001-06-01

Full Text Available The paper introduces a research on the changes occurred inside the accounting system of agricultural organisations in the transitional period. Changes of structure and accounting information system being results of privatisation processes were analysed. The introduction of modern methods in the preparation of relevant management information represents one of the preconditions for development of the privatised agricultural organisation during the transition period. Information prepared by the accounting, especially adapted to management requirements, is essential for rational decision making. Modern management system of reporting is fundamental task of management and a precondition for securing competitive production in agricultural industry. For this reason, it is necessary to define areas of responsibility and to enable application of a modern techniques for calculating expenses. The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the specialised use of accounting information by managers and to develop methods of management reporting in agricultural organisations. We propose an emphasis upon the application of modern management accounting techniques rather than financial accounting reporting approach. We support the contention that the need for high-quality management accounting is not debatable and tend to explain how and why accounting information is developed for the individual parts of a business entity, that is for each department or enterprise of an agricultural organisation. The responsibility accounting system should be introduced in agricultural business entities within our conditions, especially in larger organisations, as a measure of securing competitive production. We emphasise the importance of distinguishing between direct and indirect expenses and of using appropriate methods to allocate expenses among departments or enterprises. The research is based on information directly received from the largest agricultural companies in the area of

Marketing of agricultural products: case findings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hingley, M.; Lindgreen, A.

2002-01-01

This article focuses on the relationship marketing approach to marketing of agricultural products. The article provides specific insights into, and comparisons between, suppliers of two particular agricultural products sectors: in Britain, the fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) sector and, in New

Determinants of Aggregate Agricultural Productivity among High ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development ... Determinants of Aggregate Agricultural Productivity among High External Input Technology Farms in a ... of aggregate agricultural productivity in an environment where policy on ... to increase the farm sizes through re-examination of the existing land laws.

Use of composts to improve soil properties and crop productivity under low input agricultural system in West Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ouédraogo, E.; Mando, A.; Zombré, N.P.

2000-01-01

Lack of adequate nutrient supply and poor soil structure are the principal constraints to crop production under low input agriculture systems of West Africa. Experiments at two sites (Mediga and Yimtenga) were conducted in Burkina Faso to assess the impact of compost on improving crop production and

Control Path of Pesticide Residual Under the System of Agricultural Products Supervision:A Case Study of A Village in Zhejiang Province, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HUANG Wen-fang

2014-02-01

Full Text Available There is relation between the pesticide application and quality of agricultural products. The paper explored the causes and ways to deal with it from the view of agricultural development on the case study of pesticide management and use in a village, Zhejiang Province on the basis of investigation of local government, agriculture technology service station and farmers. The paper pointed out that lack of supervi-sion in the pesticide use and result was only external; the true reasons were high supervise cost and limited service of agriculture technology service station. So the paper drew the conclusions that multifunction agriculture development, superior agriculture produce service system and the change of village committee's role and responsibility were the best answers to the agricultural products safety problem.

Integrating NASA Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) Data Into Global Agricultural Decision Support Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, W.; Kempler, S.; Chiu, L.; Doraiswamy, P.; Liu, Z.; Milich, L.; Tetrault, R.

2003-12-01

Monitoring global agricultural crop conditions during the growing season and estimating potential seasonal production are critically important for market development of U.S. agricultural products and for global food security. Two major operational users of satellite remote sensing for global crop monitoring are the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP). The primary goal of FAS is to improve foreign market access for U.S. agricultural products. The WFP uses food to meet emergency needs and to support economic and social development. Both use global agricultural decision support systems that can integrate and synthesize a variety of data sources to provide accurate and timely information on global crop conditions. The Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Sciences Distributed Active Archive Center (GES DAAC) has begun a project to provide operational solutions to FAS and WFP, by fully leveraging results from previous work, as well as from existing capabilities of the users. The GES DAAC has effectively used its recently developed prototype TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS) to provide ESE data and information to the WFP for its agricultural drought monitoring efforts. This prototype system will be evolved into an Agricultural Information System (AIS), which will operationally provide ESE and other data products (e.g., rainfall, land productivity) and services, to be integrated into and thus enhance the existing GIS-based, decision support systems of FAS and WFP. Agriculture-oriented, ESE data products (e.g., MODIS-based, crop condition assessment product; TRMM derived, drought index product) will be input to a crop growth model in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, to generate crop condition and yield prediction maps. The AIS will have the capability for remotely accessing distributed data, by being compliant with community-based interoperability standards, enabling easy access to

Pesticide residue assessment in three selected agricultural production systems in the Choluteca River Basin of Honduras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kammerbauer, J.; Moncada, J.

1999-01-01

There is a basic lack of information about the presence of pesticide residues in the environment in Central America. Over the period of February 1995 to June 1997, river, well, lagoon and spring water samples, as well as soil, fish tissue, lagoon bed sediments and some foodstuffs were taken from the greater Cholutecan River Basin of Honduras and analyzed for pesticide residues. These were collected at three separate sites (La Lima, Zamorano and Choluteca), each characterized by differing agricultural production systems. The main pesticide residues found in soil samples were dieldrin and p,p'-DDT, while river water samples were found to have detectable levels of heptachlor, endosulfan and chlorpyrifos, with lagoon and well water also being shown to contain heptachlor. These pesticides detected were in more than 20% of the samples assessed. In river water samples more pesticide residues at higher concentrations were found to be associated with areas of more intensive agricultural production. The fewest pesticides with lowest concentrations were found in the small subwatershed associated with traditional agricultural production. Although the pesticides found in the soils at the three sites were generally similar they tended to be higher in the southern part of the Cholutecan watershed, followed by the central zone, with the lowest concentrations being found in the more traditional production zone. In lagoon and well water samples more pesticides, but mostly in lower concentrations were detected at the traditional production site than at the others. Ten pesticide compounds were detected in fish tissue, mainly organochlorines, some of which were also found in lagoon sediments. In terms of food products, almost no pesticides were detected in vegetables, but the kidney adipose tissue taken from slaughtered cows was shown to have a tendency to contain some organochlorines. Spring water in the traditional agricultural production zone contained three organochlorine compounds

Partitioning of evapotranspiration using a stable isotope technique in an arid and high temperature agricultural production system

KAUST Repository

Lu, Xuefei; Liang, Liyin L.; Wang, Lixin; Jenerette, G. Darrel; McCabe, Matthew; Grantz, David A.

2016-01-01

Agricultural production in the hot and arid low desert systems of southern California relies heavily on irrigation. A better understanding of how much and to what extent irrigated water is transpired by crops relative to being lost through

The farming system component of European agricultural landscapes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Erling

2017-01-01

Agricultural landscapes are the outcome of combined natural and human factors over time. This paper explores the scope of perceiving the agricultural landscapes of the European Union (EU) as distinct patterns of farming systems and landscape elements in homogeneous biophysical and administrative...... landscapes evolve from the praxis of the farmers and takes into account the scale, intensity and specialisation of the agricultural production. From farming system design point of view, the approach can be used to integrate the landscape in the design process. From a policy point of view, the approach offers...... endowments. The focus is on the farming systems component of the agricultural landscapes by applying a typology to the sample farms of the Farm Accountancy Data Network and scaling up the results to the landscape level for the territory of the EU. The farming system approach emphasises that agricultural...

Grassland production under global change scenarios for New Zealand pastoral agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, E. D.; Baisden, W. T.; Timar, L.; Mullan, B.; Clark, A.

2014-10-01

We adapt and integrate the Biome-BGC and Land Use in Rural New Zealand models to simulate pastoral agriculture and to make land-use change, intensification of agricultural activity and climate change scenario projections of New Zealand's pasture production at time slices centred on 2020, 2050 and 2100, with comparison to a present-day baseline. Biome-BGC model parameters are optimised for pasture production in both dairy and sheep/beef farm systems, representing a new application of the Biome-BGC model. Results show up to a 10% increase in New Zealand's national pasture production in 2020 under intensification and a 1-2% increase by 2050 from economic factors driving land-use change. Climate change scenarios using statistically downscaled global climate models (GCMs) from the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report also show national increases of 1-2% in 2050, with significant regional variations. Projected out to 2100, however, these scenarios are more sensitive to the type of pasture system and the severity of warming: dairy systems show an increase in production of 4% under mild change but a decline of 1% under a more extreme case, whereas sheep/beef production declines in both cases by 3 and 13%, respectively. Our results suggest that high-fertility systems such as dairying could be more resilient under future change, with dairy production increasing or only slightly declining in all of our scenarios. These are the first national-scale estimates using a model to evaluate the joint effects of climate change, CO2 fertilisation and N-cycle feedbacks on New Zealand's unique pastoral production systems that dominate the nation's agriculture and economy. Model results emphasise that CO2 fertilisation and N-cycle feedback effects are responsible for meaningful differences in agricultural systems. More broadly, we demonstrate that our model output enables analysis of decoupled land-use change scenarios: the Biome-BGC data products at a national or regional level can be re

Bioenergy from Low-Intensity Agricultural Systems: An Energy Efficiency Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oludunsin Arodudu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In light of possible future restrictions on the use of fossil fuel, due to climate change obligations and continuous depletion of global fossil fuel reserves, the search for alternative renewable energy sources is expected to be an issue of great concern for policy stakeholders. This study assessed the feasibility of bioenergy production under relatively low-intensity conservative, eco-agricultural settings (as opposed to those produced under high-intensity, fossil fuel based industrialized agriculture. Estimates of the net energy gain (NEG and the energy return on energy invested (EROEI obtained from a life cycle inventory of the energy inputs and outputs involved reveal that the energy efficiency of bioenergy produced in low-intensity eco-agricultural systems could be as much as much as 448.5–488.3 GJ·ha−1 of NEG and an EROEI of 5.4–5.9 for maize ethanol production systems, and as much as 155.0–283.9 GJ·ha−1 of NEG and an EROEI of 14.7–22.4 for maize biogas production systems. This is substantially higher than for industrialized agriculture with a NEG of 2.8–52.5 GJ·ha−1 and an EROEI of 1.2–1.7 for maize ethanol production systems, as well as a NEG of 59.3–188.7 GJ·ha−1 and an EROEI of 2.2–10.2 for maize biogas production systems. Bioenergy produced in low-intensity eco-agricultural systems could therefore be an important source of energy with immense net benefits for local and regional end-users, provided a more efficient use of the co-products is ensured.

The Cold Chain Logistics for Perishable Agricultural Products in China

OpenAIRE

Hou Yanfang; Xie Dong; Wang Jianbo

2015-01-01

This study introduces concepts of the agricultural product cold chain logistics and domestic and international researches. Also, the study discusses issues of Chinese agricultural cold chain logistics in the development process as the following aspects: the dividing of cold chain logistics market, refrigeration hardware facilities, third-party cold chain logistics development, the level of cold chain technologies, cold chain logistics professionals and the legal system and the standard system...

Market problems of agricultural products in Albania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Merita Marku

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The production of fruits and vegetables in our country still faces challenges, including informality in sector of planting material, high costs of inputs purchased and fuel (especially affecting the green houses with heating, low productivity and high losses of post-harvest, especially in the case of fruit. Fresh fruit and vegetable marketing is different in many respects from the marketing of other agricultural and nonagricultural products. Hundreds of individual commodities comprise the total group. Each product has its own special requirements for growing and handling, with its own quality attributes, merchandising methods, and standards of consumer acceptance (How, R. B. 2012, 1. Food safety standards of fruits and vegetables their compliance with key standards and certification as a prerequisite and a challenge to be addressed in order to increase Albanian exports of agricultural products to European markets. Concerning vegetables and fruits, Albanian farmers face important marketing problems. Such problems are encountered at all stages of the production system-provision of inputs, both in terms of processing, promotion and other market incentives, which directly assist in the efficient realization of the sale of fruits and vegetables.

Problems and prospects of Ukraine’s export of agricultural products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oksana Lysak

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this publication is to review current trends Ukrainian exports of agricultural products and develop recommendations on the prospects of export of agricultural products in Ukraine. The problem of marketing of agricultural products by agricultural enterprises is considered in the article. The distribution channels of agricultural products in Ukraine are analyzed. The factors constraining agricultural exports are established. Advantages and disadvantages of agricultural products within the Association Agreement with the European Union are analyzed. Analyzed the first results of cooperation with the EU in agriculture. The problems of the use of quotas dispose of agricultural products within the Association Agreement with the European Union are identified. An simplified legalization exports from Ukraine to the EU of animal origin products is offered. The export of agricultural products to other countries is analyzes. The modern trend in the export of Ukrainian agricultural products based on the reorientation of Asian and European markets is considered. The strategic directions of development of Ukrainian agricultural exports are identified.

Requirement Analysis for the Collaborative Supply and Logistics Management of Fresh Agricultural Products

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Li Jun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Issues and concerns for food safety, agro-processing, and the environmental and ecological impact of food production have been attracted many research interests. Traceability and logistics management of fresh agricultural products is faced with the technological challenges including food product label and identification, activity/process characterization, information systems for the supply chain, i.e., from farm to table. Application of information technologies for food processing and logistics industry in the fields of smart packaging and materials, automation and control technology, standards and their application scenarios, and production management principles were wildly studied. A collaborative research project for the supply and logistics of fresh agricultural products in Tianjin was performed. System analysis for the logistics management information system is studied. The model-driven business transformation, an approach uses formal models to explicitly define the structure and behavior of a business, is applied for the review and analysis process. Requirements for the logistic management solutions are proposed. Development of this research is crucial for the solution integration of supply and logistic management information system for fresh agricultural products.

Root system-based limits to agricultural productivity and efficiency: the farming systems context

Science.gov (United States)

Thorup-Kristensen, Kristian; Kirkegaard, John

2016-01-01

Background There has been renewed global interest in both genetic and management strategies to improve root system function in order to improve agricultural productivity and minimize environmental damage. Improving root system capture of water and nutrients is an obvious strategy, yet few studies consider the important interactions between the genetic improvements proposed, and crop management at a system scale that will influence likely success. Scope To exemplify these interactions, the contrasting cereal-based farming systems of Denmark and Australia were used, where the improved uptake of water and nitrogen from deeper soil layers has been proposed to improve productivity and environmental outcomes in both systems. The analysis showed that water and nitrogen availability, especially in deeper layers (>1 m), was significantly affected by the preceding crops and management, and likely to interact strongly with deeper rooting as a specific trait of interest. Conclusions In the semi-arid Australian environment, grain yield impacts from storage and uptake of water from depth (>1 m) could be influenced to a stronger degree by preceding crop choice (0·42 t ha–1), pre-crop fallow management (0·65 t ha–1) and sowing date (0·63 t ha–1) than by current genetic differences in rooting depth (0·36 t ha–1). Matching of deep-rooted genotypes to management provided the greatest improvements related to deep water capture. In the wetter environment of Denmark, reduced leaching of N was the focus. Here the amount of N moving below the root zone was also influenced by previous crop choice or cover crop management (effects up to 85 kg N ha–1) and wheat crop sowing date (up to 45 kg ha–1), effects which over-ride the effects of differences in rooting depth among genotypes. These examples highlight the need to understand the farming system context and important G × E × M interactions in studies on proposed genetic improvements to root systems for improved

The System Dynamics Model for Development of Organic Agriculture

Science.gov (United States)

Rozman, Črtomir; Škraba, Andrej; Kljajić, Miroljub; Pažek, Karmen; Bavec, Martina; Bavec, Franci

2008-10-01

Organic agriculture is the highest environmentally valuable agricultural system, and has strategic importance at national level that goes beyond the interests of agricultural sector. In this paper we address development of organic farming simulation model based on a system dynamics methodology (SD). The system incorporates relevant variables, which affect the development of the organic farming. The group decision support system (GDSS) was used in order to identify most relevant variables for construction of causal loop diagram and further model development. The model seeks answers to strategic questions related to the level of organically utilized area, levels of production and crop selection in a long term dynamic context and will be used for simulation of different policy scenarios for organic farming and their impact on economic and environmental parameters of organic production at an aggregate level.

Business and production performance of different types of agricultural holdings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarina Rosić

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN was established in the EU in 1965 and now it is obligated for all member states of the EU. The system is based on an annual collection of production, economic and financial data from a representative sample of comercial farms, classified into groups according to the criteria of economic farm size, type of agricultural production and regional affiliation. Research made by FADN system represent the European Commission instrument for evaluating the income of agricultural producers and determining the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU on their business. In this paper the comparison is made between production and economic indicators of different types of agricultural holdings (field crops; horticulture crops; permanent crops, orchards and olive yards; dairy farms; grazing livestock; pig and poultry farms and mixed farms. On the basis of Standard Results for the year 2014 it is possible to conclude that in Croatia field crops and grazing livestock farms lead by their utilized agricultural area. Pig and poultry farming have the most livestock units, while the most working hours is spent in the cultivation of vegetables and flowers. The highest values of labor productivity have holdings that are engaged in the production of vegetables and flowers, while the lowest labor productivity have grazing livestock farms. Cost-effectiveness of all types of farms exceeding a value of 1. The highest value of the gross income is achieved at pig and poultry farms, while the smallest has a mixed type of farms. The average farm direct payments account for a high 44% in the net income, and the largest share of direct payments in the net income has field crop type of farms.

Irradiation of Northwest agricultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eakin, D.E.; Tingey, G.L.; Anderson, D.B.; Hungate, F.P.

1985-01-01

Irradiation of food for disinfestation and preservation is increasing in importance because of increasing resrictions on various chemical treatments. Irradiation treatment is of particular interest in the Northwest because of a growing supply of agricultural products and the need to develop new export markets. Several products have, or could potentially have, significant export markets if stringent insect control procedures are developed and followed. Due to the recognized potential benefits of irradiation, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is conducting this program to evaluate the benefits of using irradiation on Northwest agricultural products under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Defense Byproducts Production and Utilization Program. Commodities currently included in the program are cherries, apples, asparagus, spices, hay, and hides

Irradiation of Northwest agricultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eakin, D.E.; Tingey, G.L.

1985-02-01

Irradiation of food for disinfestation and preservation is increasing in importance because of increasing restrictions on various chemical treatments. Irradiation treatment is of particular interest in the Northwest because of a growing supply of agricultural products and the need to develop new export markets. Several products have, or could potentially have, significant export markets if stringent insect control procedures are developed and followed. Due to the recognized potential benefits of irradiation, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is conducting this program to evaluate the benefits of using irradiation on Northwest agricultural products under the US Department of Energy (DOE) Defense Byproducts Production and Utilization Program. Commodities currently included in the program are cherries, apples, asparagus, spices, hay, and hides

Decoupling of greenhouse gas emissions from global agricultural production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennetzen, Eskild Hohlmann; Smith, Pete; Porter, John Roy

2016-01-01

Since 1970 global agricultural production has more than doubled; contributing ~1/4 of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) burden in 2010. Food production must increase to feed our growing demands, but to address climate change, GHG emissions must decrease. Using an identity approach, we...... estimate and analyse past trends in GHG emission intensities from global agricultural production and land-use change and project potential future emissions. The novel Kaya-Porter identity framework deconstructs the entity of emissions from a mix of multiple sources of GHGs into attributable elements...... to increase food security whilst reducing emissions. The identity approach presented here could be used as a methodological framework for more holistic food systems analysis....

Long Run Relationship Between Agricultural Production And ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study sought to estimate the impact of agricultural production on the long run economic growth in Nigeria using the Vector Error Correction Methodology. The result shows that long run relationship exists between agricultural production and economic growth in Nigeria. Among the variables in the model, crop production ...

Quality assurance of weather data for agricultural system model input

Science.gov (United States)

It is well known that crop production and hydrologic variation on watersheds is weather related. Rarely, however, is meteorological data quality checks reported for agricultural systems model research. We present quality assurance procedures for agricultural system model weather data input. Problems...

The Analysis of Effectiveness of Various Channels for Selling Agricultural Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yakubiv Valentyna М.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to conduct an analysis of the agricultural products market in Ivano-Frankivsk region by assessing the main channels for selling products and the price level. By summarizing and analyzing the research of domestic scientists, the importance of conducting a qualitative and detailed market research in the system of intermediary activity is substantiated. Due to the results of the analysis of channels for selling agricultural products, it is revealed that intermediary structures have the largest market share. It is found that there is a tendency to increase the share of sold agricultural products to intermediaries both in Ukraine in general and in Ivano-Frankivsk region in particular. At the same time, direct sales on the market, and, therefore, direct contact with the end user, are decreasing year by year. Prospects for further research in this direction are searching for ways to reduce control over the agricultural market by intermediary structures.

Agriculture production as a major driver of the Earth system exceeding planetary boundaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce M. Campbell

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We explore the role of agriculture in destabilizing the Earth system at the planetary scale, through examining nine planetary boundaries, or "safe limits": land-system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, biosphere integrity, climate change, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, and introduction of novel entities. Two planetary boundaries have been fully transgressed, i.e., are at high risk, biosphere integrity and biogeochemical flows, and agriculture has been the major driver of the transgression. Three are in a zone of uncertainty i.e., at increasing risk, with agriculture the major driver of two of those, land-system change and freshwater use, and a significant contributor to the third, climate change. Agriculture is also a significant or major contributor to change for many of those planetary boundaries still in the safe zone. To reduce the role of agriculture in transgressing planetary boundaries, many interventions will be needed, including those in broader food systems.

Sustainable Uses of FGD Gypsum in Agricultural Systems: Introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Dexter B; Dick, Warren A

2014-01-01

Interest in using gypsum as a management tool to improve crop yields and soil and water quality has recently increased. Abundant supply and availability of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum, a by-product of scrubbing sulfur from combustion gases at coal-fired power plants, in major agricultural producing regions within the last two decades has attributed to this interest. Currently, published data on the long-term sustainability of FGD gypsum use in agricultural systems is limited. This has led to organization of the American Society of Agronomy's Community "By-product Gypsum Uses in Agriculture" and a special collection of nine technical research articles on various issues related to FGD gypsum uses in agricultural systems. A brief review of FGD gypsum, rationale for the special collection, overviews of articles, knowledge gaps, and future research directions are presented in this introductory paper. The nine articles are focused in three general areas: (i) mercury and other trace element impacts, (ii) water quality impacts, and (iii) agronomic responses and soil physical changes. While this is not an exhaustive review of the topic, results indicate that FGD gypsum use in sustainable agricultural production systems is promising. The environmental impacts of FGD gypsum are mostly positive, with only a few negative results observed, even when applied at rates representing cumulative 80-year applications. Thus, FGD gypsum, if properly managed, seems to represent an important potential input into agricultural systems. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Women and agricultural productivity: Reframing the Issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Doss, Cheryl R

2018-01-01

Should agricultural development programmes target women in order to increase productivity? This article analyzes the challenges in distinguishing women's agricultural productivity from that of men. Most of the literature compares productivity on plots managed by women with those managed by men, ignoring the majority of agricultural households in which men and women are both involved in management and production. The empirical studies which have been carried out provide scant evidence for where the returns to projects may be highest, in terms of who to target. Yet, programmes that do not consider gendered responsibilities, resources and constraints, are unlikely to succeed, either in terms of increasing productivity or benefitting men and women smallholder farmers.

Integrating the pastoral component in agricultural systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo César de Faccio Carvalho

2018-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This paper aims to discuss the impact of the introduction of pastures and grazing animals in agricultural systems. For the purposes of this manuscript, we focus on within-farm integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS, typical of Southern Brazil. These ICLS are designed to create and enhance the synergisms and emergent properties have arisen from agricultural areas where livestock activities are integrated with crops. We show that the introduction of the crop component will affect less the preceding condition than the introduction of the livestock component. While the introduction of crops in pastoral systems represents increasing diversity of the plant component, the introduction of animals would represent the entry of new flows and interactions within the system. Thus, given the new complexity levels achieved from the introduction of grazing, the probability of arising emergent properties is theoretically much higher. However, grazing management is vital in determining the success or failure of such initiative. The grazing intensity practiced during the pasture phase would affect the canopy structure and the forage availability to animals. In adequate and moderate grazing intensities, it is possible to affirm that livestock combined with crops (ICLS has a potential positive impact. As important as the improvements that grazing animals can generate to the soil-plant components, the economic resilience remarkably increases when pasture rotations are introduced compared with purely agriculture systems, particularly in climate-risk situations. Thus, the integration of the pastoral component can enhance the sustainable intensification of food production, but it modifies simple, pure agricultural systems into more complex and knowledge-demanding production systems.

Agricultural Education Curriculum Guide. Agricultural Production and Management I. Course No. 6811. Agricultural Production and Management II. Course No. 6812.

Science.gov (United States)

North Carolina State Dept. of Public Instruction, Raleigh.

This document is designed for use by teachers of Agricultural Production and Management courses in North Carolina. It updates the competencies and content outlines from the previous guide. It lists core and optional competencies for two courses in seven areas as follows: leadership; supervised agricultural experience programs; animal science;…

CERTIFICATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE FOR RICE PRODUCTION IN INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dedik Budianta

2016-11-01

Full Text Available To make better the life, it is required safety foods for health. The health foods can be satisfied by organic farming. Organic farming is farming system based on biomass recycling or eliminating the use of materials as a synthetic agrochemical inputs. To determine whether the result of rice called as an organic product needs to be certified by the Organic Certification Board (OCB. According to the Indonesian National Standard (INS 6729: 2013, organic farming systems (OFS are not only limited to not use material agrochemical synthetic, but must meet the requirements of OFS in rice production ranging from cultivating, handling, storage, processing, transportation, labeling, marketing, production facilities and other materials that are allowed start on farm to off farm should be separated from conventional agriculture. The farm is just a negate the use of synthetic agrochemicals without regard to the cultivation process and the system of post-harvest organic results are said to be premium food which is not as organic food, because organic food is food produced from OFS by applying processing practices to preserve the ecosystem of sustainable, control of weeds, pests, diseases, selection and crop rotation, water management, land preparation and planting and the use of biological materials. Thus the system of organic agriculture is a holistic management system to improve and develop the agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. The first step that must be done is the conversion of land for food crops from anorganic to organic farming for 2 years did not get the requisite amount of agrochemical applied to the soil for annual crop and 3 years for perennial crops. If agriculture in paddy soil can control the conventional farms into OFS, then the resulting rice is as an organic product.

Agricultural Production. Numeracy. Level 1. Level 2. Level 3. Support Materials for Agricultural Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Batman, Kangan; Tully, Chris

This publication contains the three numeracy units of the three levels of Support Materials for Agricultural Training (SMAT) in agricultural production: Level 1 (starting), 2 (continuing), and 3 (completing). The units are designed to help the learner improve his or her numeracy skills needed to deal with agricultural production. SMAT materials…

Nutritional Sustainability: Aligning Priorities in Nutrition and Public Health with Agricultural Production.

Science.gov (United States)

Finley, John W; Dimick, Dennis; Marshall, Elizabeth; Nelson, Gerald Charles; Mein, Jonathan R; Gustafson, David I

2017-09-01

Nutrition science-based dietary advice urges changes that may have a great impact on agricultural systems. For example, the 2016 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends greatly increased fruit and vegetable consumption, but the present domestic production is insufficient to accommodate large-scale adoption of these guidelines. Increasing production to the extent needed to meet the DGA will necessitate changes in an already stressed agriculture and food system and will require nutrition and agriculture professionals to come together in open and collegial discourse. All involved need to understand the stress placed on the food system by increasing populations, changing diets, and changing environments, and recognize the major diet-based public health challenges. Furthermore, there is a need to understand the intricate interplay of the myriad parts of the food system and the vast amount of work necessary to make even small changes. New systems approaches are needed, especially at the research level, where nutrition, public health, agriculture, and the food industry work together to solve interconnected problems. Future well-being depends on a sustainable food system that continues to deliver optimal health with minimal impact on the environment. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

Towards a new generation of agricultural system data, models and knowledge products: Information and communication technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Janssen, Sander J C; Porter, Cheryl H; Moore, Andrew D; Athanasiadis, Ioannis N; Foster, Ian; Jones, James W; Antle, John M

2017-07-01

Agricultural modeling has long suffered from fragmentation in model implementation. Many models are developed, there is much redundancy, models are often poorly coupled, model component re-use is rare, and it is frequently difficult to apply models to generate real solutions for the agricultural sector. To improve this situation, we argue that an open, self-sustained, and committed community is required to co-develop agricultural models and associated data and tools as a common resource. Such a community can benefit from recent developments in information and communications technology (ICT). We examine how such developments can be leveraged to design and implement the next generation of data, models, and decision support tools for agricultural production systems. Our objective is to assess relevant technologies for their maturity, expected development, and potential to benefit the agricultural modeling community. The technologies considered encompass methods for collaborative development and for involving stakeholders and users in development in a transdisciplinary manner. Our qualitative evaluation suggests that as an overall research challenge, the interoperability of data sources, modular granular open models, reference data sets for applications and specific user requirements analysis methodologies need to be addressed to allow agricultural modeling to enter in the big data era. This will enable much higher analytical capacities and the integrated use of new data sources. Overall agricultural systems modeling needs to rapidly adopt and absorb state-of-the-art data and ICT technologies with a focus on the needs of beneficiaries and on facilitating those who develop applications of their models. This adoption requires the widespread uptake of a set of best practices as standard operating procedures.

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service overview for operational monitoring of current crop conditions and production forecasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Crutchfield, J.

2016-12-01

The presentation will discuss the current status of the International Production Assessment Division of the USDA ForeignAgricultural Service for operational monitoring and forecasting of current crop conditions, and anticipated productionchanges to produce monthly, multi-source consensus reports on global crop conditions including the use of Earthobservations (EO) from satellite and in situ sources.United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) International Production AssessmentDivision (IPAD) deals exclusively with global crop production forecasting and agricultural analysis in support of the USDAWorld Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) lockup process and contributions to the World Agricultural Supply DemandEstimates (WASE) report. Analysts are responsible for discrete regions or countries and conduct in-depth long-termresearch into national agricultural statistics, farming systems, climatic, environmental, and economic factors affectingcrop production. IPAD analysts become highly valued cross-commodity specialists over time, and are routinely soughtout for specialized analyses to support governmental studies. IPAD is responsible for grain, oilseed, and cotton analysison a global basis. IPAD is unique in the tools it uses to analyze crop conditions around the world, including customweather analysis software and databases, satellite imagery and value-added image interpretation products. It alsoincorporates all traditional agricultural intelligence resources into its forecasting program, to make the fullest use ofavailable information in its operational commodity forecasts and analysis. International travel and training play animportant role in learning about foreign agricultural production systems and in developing analyst knowledge andcapabilities.

Implementation of a system of social accounting in the cooperative of agricultural production “Camilo Cienfuegos” and in the basic unit of cooperative production “Julian Alemán". Main results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yamira Mirabal González

2014-12-01

• To determine the results of the implementation of the System of Social Accounting in the Cooperative of Agricultural Production “Camilo Cienfuegos” and in the Basic Unit of Cooperative Production “Julián Alemán”.    The main results of the investigation are centered in: Characterization of the administration of the Cooperative of Agricultural Production “Camilo Cienfuegos” and of the Basic Unit of Cooperative Production “Julián Alemán”, evaluation of the level of execution of a group of premises that you/they allow the implementation of the system and the results of the implementation of the System of Social Accounting in both cooperatives.

Nondestructive quality evaluation technology of agricultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noh, Sang Ha

1997-01-01

Quality evaluation of agricultural products has been interested to many researchers for many years and as the result, several nondestructive techniques and so many papers have been reported for quality evaluation of agricultural products. These nondestructive techniques are based on the detection of mechanical, optical, electrical, electro-magnetical, dielectric and vibrational properties of agricultural products that are well correlated with certain quality factors of the products such as color, shape, firmness, sugar content, external or internal defects, moisture content, etc. The sophistication of nondestructive methods has evolved rapidly with modem technologies. In this paper an emphasis was put on reviewing some of those papers and techniques which could be led to on-line measurement for practical use.

Environmental impacts of organic and conventional agricultural products--are the differences captured by life cycle assessment?

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Matthias S; Stoessel, Franziska; Jungbluth, Niels; Juraske, Ronnie; Schader, Christian; Stolze, Matthias

2015-02-01

Comprehensive assessment tools are needed that reliably describe environmental impacts of different agricultural systems in order to develop sustainable high yielding agricultural production systems with minimal impacts on the environment. Today, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly used to assess and compare the environmental sustainability of agricultural products from conventional and organic agriculture. However, LCA studies comparing agricultural products from conventional and organic farming systems report a wide variation in the resource efficiency of products from these systems. The studies show that impacts per area farmed land are usually less in organic systems, but related to the quantity produced impacts are often higher. We reviewed 34 comparative LCA studies of organic and conventional agricultural products to analyze whether this result is solely due to the usually lower yields in organic systems or also due to inaccurate modeling within LCA. Comparative LCAs on agricultural products from organic and conventional farming systems often do not adequately differentiate the specific characteristics of the respective farming system in the goal and scope definition and in the inventory analysis. Further, often only a limited number of impact categories are assessed within the impact assessment not allowing for a comprehensive environmental assessment. The most critical points we identified relate to the nitrogen (N) fluxes influencing acidification, eutrophication, and global warming potential, and biodiversity. Usually, N-emissions in LCA inventories of agricultural products are based on model calculations. Modeled N-emissions often do not correspond with the actual amount of N left in the system that may result in potential emissions. Reasons for this may be that N-models are not well adapted to the mode of action of organic fertilizers and that N-emission models often are built on assumptions from conventional agriculture leading to even greater

Impact of greenhouse gases on agricultural productivity in Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valasai, G.D; Harijan, K.; Uqaili, M.S.; Memon, H.R

2005-01-01

Pakistan is an agricultural developing country. About 68% of the country's population resides in rural areas and is mostly linked with agriculture. Agricultural sector contributes more than 25% to GDP, employees about 45% of the labour force and contributes significantly to export earnings of the country. Energy sector is the major source (80%) of emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). Agriculture and livestock sectors are also responsible for GHGs emissions. The emissions of GHGs results in acid rain and earth's temperature rise (global warming). The destabilization of the global climate destroys natural ecosystem and increases natural disasters, such as violent storms, floods, droughts etc. The acid rain and these natural disasters affect the agricultural productivity. The study indicates that the agricultural productivity per capita in Pakistan decreased continuously during the last two decades. The paper concludes that due to emissions of GHGs, the agricultural productivity is significantly affected in the country. The government should take concrete measures to minimize the emissions of GHGs for increasing the agricultural productivity and reducing other harmful impacts in the country. This paper presents the review and analysis of the effects of GHGs emissions on the agricultural productivity in Pakistan. (author)

Relationship between biodiversity and agricultural production

OpenAIRE

Brunetti, Ilaria; Tidball, Mabel; Couvet, Denis

2018-01-01

Agriculture is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. In this work we model the interdependent relationship between biodiversity and agriculture on a farmed land, supposing that, while agriculture has a negative impact on biodiversity, the latter can increase agricultural production. Farmers act as myopic agents, who maximize their instantaneous profit without considering the negative effects of their practice on the evolution of biodiversity. We find that a tax on inputs can have a pos...

Optimizing cultivation of agricultural products using socio-economic and environmental scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

RaheliNamin, Behnaz; Mortazavi, Samar; Salmanmahiny, Abdolrassoul

2016-11-01

The combination of degrading natural conditions and resources, climate change, growing population, urban development, and competition in a global market complicate optimization of land for agricultural products. The use of pesticides and fertilizers for crop production in the agricultural fields has become excessive in the recent years and Golestan Province of Iran is no exception in this regard. For this, effective management with an efficient and cost-effective practice should be undertaken, maintaining public service at a high level and preserving the environment. Improving the production efficiency of agriculture, efficient use of water resources, decreasing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, improving farmer revenue, and conservation of natural resources are the main objectives of the allocation, ranking, and optimization of agricultural products. The goal of this paper is to use an optimization procedure to lower the negative effects of agriculture while maintaining a high production rate, which is currently a gap in the study area. We collected information about fertilizer and pesticide consumption and other data in croplands of eastern Golestan Province through face-to-face interviews with farmers to optimize cultivation of the agricultural products. The toxicity of pesticides according to LD50 was also included in the optimization model. A decision-support software system called multiple criteria analysis tool was used to simultaneously minimize consumption of water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides and maximize socio-economic returns. Three scenarios for optimization of agricultural products were generated that alternatively emphasized on environmental and socio-economic goals. Comparing socio-economic and environmental performance of the optimized agricultural products under the three scenarios illustrated the conflict between social, economic, and environmental objectives. Of the six crops studied (wheat, barley, rice, soybeans, oilseed rape

Energy for agriculture. A computerized information retrieval system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stout, B.A.; Myers, C.A. (comps.)

1979-12-01

Energy may come from the sun or the earth or be the product of plant materials or agricultural wastes. Whatever its source, energy is indispensable to our way of life, beginning with the production, processing, and distribution of abundant, high quality food and fiber supplies. This specialized bibliography on the subject of energy for agriculture contains 2613 citations to the literature for 1973 through May 1979. Originally issued by Michigan State University (MSU), it is being reprinted and distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The literature citations will be incorporated into AGRICOLA (Agricultural On-Line Access), the comprehensive bibliographic data base maintained by Technical Information Systems (TIS), a component of USDA's Science and Education Administration (SEA). The citations and the listing of research projects will be combined with other relevant references to provide a continuously updated source of information on energy programs in the agricultural field. No abstracts are included.

Production conditions of bioenergy in Swedish agriculture; Produktionsfoerutsaettningar foer biobraenslen inom svenskt jordbruk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerjesson, Paal

2007-05-15

The overall aim of this report is to analyse and describe the production conditions of bioenergy in Swedish agriculture and how these conditions can vary due to different factors. The conclusion is that the potential for producing bioenergy in Swedish agriculture will vary significantly depending on which energy crops are cultivated, which type of agricultural land is utilised and the geographical location of the production. Furthermore, different crop residues and other by-products from agriculture, utilised for energy purposes, will affect the bioenergy potential. To which extent this physical/biological potential will be utilised in the future depends mainly on economic conditions and financial considerations. These aspects are not included in this study. The report starts with a description of current crop production in Sweden, expressed in energy terms, the energy needed for this production and the regional variation in crop yields. The local variations in cultivation conditions are also analysed, as well as variations over the area of a single farm. Another aspect discussed is the production conditions of energy crops on previous farm land not currently utilised. The report includes an analysis of the potential supply of crop residues and other by-products for energy purposes, such as straw, tops and leaves of sugar beets, manure etc, as well as the regional variation of these residues and by-products. A similar analysis is made of the regional production conditions and potential biomass yields of traditional crops and new energy crops. These analyses also include energy balance calculations showing the energy input needed for different production systems in relation to the harvested biomass yield, and the potential for increased biomass yields in the future. Based on the findings of these various analyses, calculations are made showing some examples of how much bioenergy Swedish agriculture can deliver, depending on how much agricultural land is utilised for

Agricultural production and nutrient runoff in the Corn Belt ...

Science.gov (United States)

Agricultural production in the Corn Belt region of the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) remains a leading source of nitrogen runoff that contributes to the annual hypoxic 'Dead Zone' in the Gulf of Mexico. The rise of corn production, land conversion, and fertilizer use in response to ethanol policy incentives in recent years is well documented and may worsen this effect. We develop a spatially distributed dynamic environmental performance index (EPI), accounting for both desirable agricultural outputs and undesirable nonpoint source emissions from farm production, to examine the corresponding changes in environmental performance within the UMRB between 2002 and 2007, which is characterized by increasing policy incentives for ethanol production. County-level production data from the USDA agricultural census are aggregated to hydrologic unit code (HUC8) boundaries using a geographic information system (GIS), and a previously developed statistical model, which includes net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI) as well as precipitation and land use characteristics as inputs, is used to estimate annual nitrogen loadings delivered to streams from HUC8 watersheds. The EPI allows us to decompose performance of each HUC8 region over time into changes in productive efficiency and emissions efficiency. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the corresponding changes in environmental performance for producers in this region at the watershed scale. The resu

Estimated effects of radioactive fallout on agricultural production in Sweden. Contamination of crop products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eriksson, Aake; Loensjoe, H.; Karlstroem, F.

1994-01-01

The study is part of a research project, 'Radioactivity problems within the food sector' performed in 1991-94 at the request of the National Board of Agriculture in Sweden by The National Research Establishment, Dept. of NBC Defence, and the Dept. of Radioecology and the Dept. of Biosystems and Technology, the latter two belonging to the Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences. The aim of the study was to investigate the contamination levels that may occur in agricultural crop products in Sweden in a situation of radioactive fallout from the use of nuclear weapons. There is a risk for a major nuclide transport in agricultural systems by the feeds, mainly by pasture grass and silage and hay crops but also to some extent by grain crops. For that reason, cattle are expected to be important vectors of the fallout nuclides to the human diet, particularly in milk from dairy cattle but also in beef. The activity transport by grain to pig products may also be of some importance. 8 refs, 7 figs, 25 tabs

Set of information technologies and their role in automation of agricultural production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Al’t

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The modern enterprises of agrarian and industrial complex are characterized by the high level of automation of technological processes. The technological development level conformto 5th and 6th technology revolutions. The automatic and automated technologies in crop production and livestock production use data of internet technologies, Global Positioning Satellite survey and observations, mashine and tractor aggregates automated operating. The models nucleus and row of information models of agricultural objects were designed on the basis of information streams systematization. The analysis of results of simulation of biological objects, cenosises, ecosystems, agro cenosises and agroecosystems showed that the most acceptable type of model is the systemically determined dynamic model of potentially effective type. The Internet-oriented database of innovative development of institutes of an agrarian profile is designed. It contains the information about sorts, machines, mechanization means, electrification and technologies in crop production, livestock production, forage production, feed processing, crop protection, biotechnologies, mechanization, veterinary science and agricultural production processing. The database is positioned as the subject-oriented, retrieval database in web space. The list of indices to which the created architecture of the database corresponds is defined. More than 20 various databases of agricultural purpose which are used in educational process and production are created. These databases are useful to agricultural producers and also organizers of agricultural production, scientists, teachers and students. Information on key indicators of innovative products and institutes – developers of innovative solutions is provided in a basis.

Grassland-Cropping Rotations: An Avenue for Agricultural Diversification to Reconcile High Production with Environmental Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemaire, Gilles; Gastal, François; Franzluebbers, Alan; Chabbi, Abad

2015-11-01

A need to increase agricultural production across the world to ensure continued food security appears to be at odds with the urgency to reduce the negative environmental impacts of intensive agriculture. Around the world, intensification has been associated with massive simplification and uniformity at all levels of organization, i.e., field, farm, landscape, and region. Therefore, we postulate that negative environmental impacts of modern agriculture are due more to production simplification than to inherent characteristics of agricultural productivity. Thus by enhancing diversity within agricultural systems, it should be possible to reconcile high quantity and quality of food production with environmental quality. Intensification of livestock and cropping systems separately within different specialized regions inevitably leads to unacceptable environmental impacts because of the overly uniform land use system in intensive cereal areas and excessive N-P loads in intensive animal areas. The capacity of grassland ecosystems to couple C and N cycles through microbial-soil-plant interactions as a way for mitigating the environmental impacts of intensive arable cropping system was analyzed in different management options: grazing, cutting, and ley duration, in order to minimize trade-offs between production and the environment. We suggest that integrated crop-livestock systems are an appropriate strategy to enhance diversity. Sod-based rotations can temporally and spatially capture the benefits of leys for minimizing environmental impacts, while still maintaining periods and areas of intensive cropping. Long-term experimental results illustrate the potential of such systems to sequester C in soil and to reduce and control N emissions to the atmosphere and hydrosphere.

PRODUCTION POTENTIAL AND AGRICULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS IN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Baer-Nawrocka

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper was to assess the relation between agricultural production factors and effectiveness in European Union’s agriculture. For each country two synthetic coefficients were calculated using TOPSIS method. The first one characterises production factors relations, the latter one displays effectiveness of production factors. The objective of the research was to verify the correlation between these indices. The analysis proved that in many analysed countries the agricultural potential is correlated positively with the agricultural effectiveness. 

Food, Feed, or Fuel? Phosphorus Flows Embodied in US Agricultural Production and Trade

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, G.; Bennett, E.; Carpenter, S.

2012-12-01

Agricultural phosphorus (P) use is integral to sustainable food production and water quality regulation. Globalization of agricultural systems, changing diets, and increasing biofuel production pose new challenges for managing non-renewable P reserves, particularly in key agricultural producing regions such as the US. We used a detailed model of the US agricultural system to assess the quantity of mineral P fertilizers used to produce food crops, livestock, and biofuels relative to the P ultimately consumed in domestic diets. We also quantified linkages in fertilizer use between the US and its trading partners globally via agricultural trade. Feed and livestock production drove by far the largest demand for P fertilizers in the US (56% of all P use for domestic and imported products). Of the total mineral P inputs to US domestic agriculture in 2007 (1905 Gg P), 28% were retained in agricultural soils as surplus P, 40% were lost through processing and waste prior to consumption in human diets, while 10% were diverted directly to biofuel production. One quarter of P fertilizer in the US was required to produce exports, particularly major food and feed crops (corn, soybean, and wheat) that drove a large net P flux out of the country (338 Gg P) with strongly crop-specific effects on soil P imbalances nationally. However, US meat consumption involved considerable reliance on P fertilizer use in other countries to produce red meat imports linked primarily to soil P surpluses abroad. We show that changes in domestic farm management and consumer waste could together reduce the P fertilizer needed to produce food consumed in the US by half, which is comparable to the P fertilizer reduction attainable by cutting domestic meat consumption (44%). More effective distribution of P use for major crops nationally and greater recycling of all agricultural wastes is critical to using US phosphate rock reserves as efficiently as possible while maintaining export-oriented agriculture.

[Discussion on agricultural product quality and safety problem from ecological view].

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Ming; Dong, Nan; Lyu, Xin

2015-08-01

There are many different perspectives about the sustainable agriculture, which had been proposed since the last three decades in the world. While China's ecologists and agronomists proposed a similar concept named 'ecological agriculture'. Although ecological agriculture in China has achieved substantial progress, including theory, models and supporting technologies nearly several decades of practice and development, its application guidance still is not yet clear. The organic agriculture model proposed by European Union is popular, but it is limited in the beneficiary groups and the social and ecological responsibility. In this context, the article based on an ecological point of view, analyzed the shortcomings of ecological imbalance caused by a single mode of agricultural production and the negative impact on the quality of agricultural products, and discussed the core values of ecological agriculture. On this basis, we put forward the concept of sustainable security of agricultural products. Based on this concept, an agricultural platform was established under the healthy ecosysphere environment, and from this agricultural platform, agricultural products could be safely and sustainably obtained. Around the central value of the concept, we designed the agricultural sustainable and security production model. Finally, we compared the responsibility, benefiting groups, agronomic practices selection and other aspects of sustainable agriculture with organic agriculture, and proved the advancement of sustainable agricultural model in agricultural production quality and safety.

Restrictive Factors and Output Forecast of Green Development of Agricultural Industry Based on Gray System

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Fengru

2018-01-01

This paper analyzes the characteristics of agricultural products from the perspective of agricultural production, farmers’ income, adjustment of agricultural structure and environmental improvement, and analyzes the characteristics of agricultural products in LanZhou area. Through data mining and empirical analysis, the regional agriculture (1) forecasting model of gray system with dynamic data processing, combined with the output data of lily in 2004-2003, the yield prediction is predicted and the fitting state is good and the error is small. Finally, combined with the relevant characteristics of the local characteristics of the agricultural industry to make reference, by changing the characteristics of agricultural production as the center of the mindset, and agricultural industrialization and organic combination, take the characteristics of efficient industrialization of agricultural products.

Agriculture products as source of radionuclides and some monitoring principles of agriculture near nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aleksakhin, R.M.; Korneev, N.A.; Panteleev, L.I.; Shukhovtsev, B.I.

1985-01-01

Migration of radionuclides into agriculture products in regions adjoining the nuclear facilities depends on a large number of factors. Among them is the complex of ecological conditions: meteorological factors, type of soils etc., as well as biological peculiarities of agriculture plants and animals. It is possible to control the radionuclide content administered to man's organism with agriculture products changing large branches of agriculture and varying within the range of seprate branches of industry, taking into account the most effective ways of radionuclide pathways

Urban and peri-urban agricultural production in Beijing municipality and its impact on water quality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wolf, J.; Wijk, van M.S.; Cheung, X.; Hu, Y.; Diepen, van C.A.; Jongbloed, A.W.; Keulen, van H.; Lu, C.H.; Roeter, R.

2003-01-01

This paper reviews water use and water resource issues in Beijing Municipality, the main trends in the agricultural production systems in and around the city with respect to land use, input use, production and economic role, and the impacts of agricultural activities on water quality. Rapid

Device to irradiate agricultural product on the production site, after harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jegu, Jean; Palomo, Georges; Blaive, Daniel.

1982-01-01

The invention concerns a device to irradiate agricultural product on the production site, after harvesting. It includes an outer shielding to absorb the radiations and containers in which the products are placed for irradiation. The shielding is rotationally symmetrical around a vertical axis and holds an irradiation chamber containing a radioactive bar fitted along the shielding axis. The cylindrical containers are placed around the chamber with their axes parallel to the axis of the shielding. They are set in rotation by a motor and receive the farm products through their top ends which communicate with a supply system. Their bottom ends are closed by shutters covering a means for evacuating the products. The invention applies in particular to the irradiation of newly dug potatoes to avoid germination [fr

motorable roads and transportation system in the agricultural zones

African Journals Online (AJOL)

sustain the traditional farming system. ... Consequently, people have to travel to work, to play, to buy and sell, to obtain professional services, to socialize and to convey agricultural products from one place to another. Road is an asset to ..... Cleaver, K.M (1993) A Strategy to Develop Agriculture in Sub-Saharan African and a.

Students' Perception of West African Agricultural Productivity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

E M IGBOKWE

recommended that West African Agricultural Productivity Programme officials ... The agricultural sector in the 1960s provided the main source of employment, .... their fathers and mothers' occupation were majorly trading (43.3%) and trading.

SAR Agriculture Rice Production Estimation (SARPE)

Science.gov (United States)

Raimadoya, M.

2013-12-01

The study of SAR Agriculture Rice Production Estimation (SARPE) was held in Indonesia on 2012, as part of Asia-Rice Crop Estimation & Monitoring (Asia-RiCE), which is a component for the GEO Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) initiative. The study was expected to give a breakthrough result, by using radar technology and paradigm shift of the standard production estimation system from list frame to area frame approach. This initial product estimation system is expected to be refined (fine tuning) in 2013, by participating as part of Technical Demonstration Site (Phase -1A) of Asia-RICE. The implementation period of this initial study was from the date of March 12 to December 10, 2012. The implementation of the study was done by following the approach of the BIMAS-21 framework, which has been developed since 2008. The results of this study can be briefly divided into two major components, namely: Rice-field Baseline Mapping (PESBAK - Peta Sawah Baku) and Crop Growth Monitoring. Rice-fields were derived from the mapping results of the Ministry of Agriculture (Kemtan), and validated through Student Extension Campaign of the Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB). While for the crop growth, it was derived from the results of image analysis process. The analysis was done, either on radar/Radarsat-2 (medium resolution) or optical/ MODIS (low resolution), based on the Planting Calendar (KATAM) of Kemtan. In this case, the planting season II/2012-2013 of rice production centers in West Java Province (Karawang, Subang and Indramayu counties). The selection of crop season and county were entirely dependent on the quality of the available PESBAK and procurement process of radar imagery. The PESBAK is still in the form of block instead of fields, so it can not be directly utilized in this study. Efforts to improve the PESBAK can not be optimal because the provided satellite image (ECW format) is not the original one. While the procurement process of

Designing an agricultural vegetative waste-management system under uncertain prices of treatment-technology output products.

Science.gov (United States)

Broitman, D; Raviv, O; Ayalon, O; Kan, I

2018-05-01

Setting up a sustainable agricultural vegetative waste-management system is a challenging investment task, particularly when markets for output products of waste-treatment technologies are not well established. We conduct an economic analysis of possible investments in treatment technologies of agricultural vegetative waste, while accounting for fluctuating output prices. Under a risk-neutral approach, we find the range of output-product prices within which each considered technology becomes most profitable, using average final prices as the exclusive factor. Under a risk-averse perspective, we rank the treatment technologies based on their computed certainty-equivalent profits as functions of the coefficient of variation of the technologies' output prices. We find the ranking of treatment technologies based on average prices to be robust to output-price fluctuations provided that the coefficient of variation of the output prices is below about 0.4, that is, approximately twice as high as that of well-established recycled-material markets such as glass, paper and plastic. We discuss some policy implications that arise from our analysis regarding vegetative waste management and its associated risks. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NEW TRENDS IN AGRICULTURE - CROP SYSTEMS WITHOUT SOIL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioan GRAD

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The paper studied new system of agriculture - crop systems without soil. The culture systems without soil can be called also the hydroponic systems and now in Romania are not used only sporadically. In other countries (USA, Japan, the Netherlands, France, UK, Denmark, Israel, Australia, etc.. they represent the modern crop technology, widely applied to vegetables, fruits, fodder, medicinal plants and flowers by the experts in this area. In the world, today there are millions of hectares hydroponics, most of the vegetables, herbs, fruits of hypermarkets are coming from the culture systems without soil. The process consists of growing plants in nutrient solutions (not in the ground, resorting to an complex equipment, depending on the specifics of each crop, so that the system can be applied only in the large farms, in the greenhouses, and not in the individual households. These types of culture systems have a number of advantages and disadvantages also. Even if today's culture systems without soil seem to be the most modern and surprising technology applied in plant growth, the principle is very old. Based on him were built The Suspended Gardens of the Semiramis from Babylon, in the seventh century BC, thanks to him, the population from the Peru”s highlands cultivates vegetables on surfaces covered with water or mud. The peasant households in China, even today use the millenary techniques of the crops on gravel. .This hydroponic agriculture system is a way of followed for Romanian agriculture too, despite its high cost, because it is very productive, ecological, can cover, by products, all market demands and it answer, increasingly, constraints of urban life. The concept of hydroponics agriculture is known and appreciated in Romania also, but more at the theory level.

The quality management system: an element for the competitiveness and sustainability of agricultural production in Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Armando Fonseca C.

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Under the conditions of the increasing globalization of markets, changing consumer habits, frequent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses (FBI, social organizations and governments seeking production and food supply include the assurance of safeness in all links in the chain. One way to achieve it, is to implement a Quality Management System (QMS for certification in agricultural production units, the process addresses the farm give the perspective of general systems theory, shaped by production subsystems and support; them develop both technical and management activities that seek to streamline processes while maintaining standards of sustainability and social responsibility to achieve food production with previously established quality criteria. the process of developing and implementing the QMS requires the construction and operation of support documents and manuals on issues of organization, and organization of producers, which are structured to meet the requirements of a standard, protocol or code of conduct; their compliance is verified through inspections that could lead to the granting of certification or seal of product quality or service, the process can be developed individually by a producer or a producer organization.

Resource analysis of the Chinese society 1980-2002 based on exergy-Part 3: Agricultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, B.; Chen, G.Q.

2007-01-01

This part is the continuation of the second part on renewable energy sources and forest. The major agricultural products entering the Chinese society from 1980 to 2002 are calculated and analyzed in detail in this paper. The relative political infrastructure and organization of the agricultural production in the rural areas frequently and rapidly changed during the past two decades, making profound impact on the crop structure and yields. The planning and organization of agriculture has been adjusted when prices and market are introduced into agricultural production and the direct planning is restricted. The growth in usage of fertilizers, pesticides and farm-use plastic membrane is revealed. The state farm system as the pioneer of exploring the modernization of agriculture and accumulating experiences is also described

Mining, Pollution and Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Ghana

OpenAIRE

Fernando Aragon; Juan Pablo Rud

2012-01-01

Most modern mines in the developing world are located in rural areas, where agriculture is the main source of livelihood. This creates the potential of negative spillovers to farmers through competition for key inputs (such as land) and environmental pollution. To explore this issue, we examine the case of gold mining in Ghana. Through the estimation of an agricultural production function using household level data, we find that mining has reduced agricultural productivity by almost 40%. This...

Design of multi-language trading system of ethnic characteristic agricultural products based on android

Science.gov (United States)

Huanqin, Wu; Yasheng, Jin; Yugang, Dai

2017-06-01

Under the current situation where Internet technology develops rapidly, mobile E-commerce technology has brought great convenience to our life. Now, the graphical user interface (GUI) of most E-commerce platforms only supports Chinese. Thus, the development of Android client of E-commerce that supports ethnic languages owns a great prospect. The principle that combines front end design and database technology is adopted in this paper to construct the Android client system of E-commerce platforms that supports ethnic languages, which realizes the displaying, browsing, querying, searching, trading and other functions of ethnic characteristic agricultural products on android platforms.

Assessing the transfer of risk due to transportation of agricultural products.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Pei-Chiun; Shih, Hsiu-Ching; Ma, Hwong-Wen

2015-02-01

Health risk assessment (HRA) is the process used to estimate adverse health effects on humans. The importance and sensitivity of food chains to HRA have been observed, but the impact of the transportation of food has generally been ignored. This study developed an exposure assessment to demonstrate the significance of the transportation of agricultural products in HRA. The associated case study estimated the health risks derived from various sources of arsenic emissions in Taiwan. Two assessment scenarios, self-sufficiency and transportation of agricultural products, were compared to calculate risk transfer ratios that show the impact of agriculture transportation. The risk transfer ratios found by the study range from 0.22 to 42.10, indicating that the quantity of transportation of agricultural products is the critical factor. High air deposition and high agricultural production are the two main contributors to the effect of the transportation of agricultural products on HRA. Risk reduction measures could be applied to high-pollution areas as well as to areas with high agricultural productivity to reduce ingestion risks to residents. Certain areas that are sensitive to the transportation of agricultural products may incur more risks if emissions increase in agriculturally productive counties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

State regulation of the biotechnology (GM agricultural products: analysis of different approaches in the world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Vladimirovna Yakovleva

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Although GM crops are cultivated on 175 million hectares in 27 countries, the regulation of agricultural biotechnology is in its becoming. In the future, many countries, of course, will lead to market biotech products, and the main focus will be biosafety issues for humans and the environment. Some countries have special regulatory mechanisms, others do not have the original national regulatory system, but their actions are under the provisions of international treaties for the production and handling of GM products. What are the main components of a strict but not stifling regulatory system? What are the disadvantages of existing systems? The article presents an overview of the state regulation systems of biotech agricultural products in the US, the EU, Argentina, South Africa and Brazil.

Endemic diseases and agricultural productivity: Challenges and policy response

OpenAIRE

Martine AUDIBERT

2008-01-01

Contrary to Asian countries, the agricultural sector in Africa had not benefited from the green revolution success. After a long time of disinterest in the agriculture sector in Africa, several voices arise now in favour of greater efforts towards this sector. Several studies tend to show the crucial role of agriculture in African countries' growth and highlight the huge need of increasing the productivity in this sector. If increase in agriculture productivity requires both an expansion of i...

Insect community composition and functional roles along a tropical agricultural production gradient

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bellamy, Angelina Sanderson; Svensson, Ola; Den Brink, van Paul J.; Gunnarsson, Jonas; Tedengren, Michael

2018-01-01

High intensity agricultural production systems are problematic not only for human health and the surrounding environment, but can threaten the provision of ecosystem services on which farm productivity depends. This research investigates the effects of management practices in Costa Rica on on-farm

Increasing rice production in Malaysia: Department of Agriculture approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asna Booty Othman; Chua Lee Kiang; Rathinam Thiagarajan; Aziziah Md Jan

2002-01-01

Increasing rice productivity will continue to be an important agenda in the agricultural development program of the country. This represents a challenge to the Department of Agriculture. To address this challenge, it calls for creativity, innovation, ideas and initiatives in the use of technologies that consist of land leveling, in the field water management, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), production and distribution of quality seeds, effective fertilizer usage and value added activities. Rice areas which have been leveled using laser guided technology have shown yield increase from 3.3 t/ha to 5.1 t/ha. In-field water management increases rice yield, reduces water wastage and ensures timeliness of operations and improve soil water bearing capacity. IPM has proven highly beneficial in the control of field rats, reducing the incidence of diseases such as rice blast, lowering the occurrence of insect pest outbreaks and weed infestation. Fish rearing and fattening of ducklings to adulthood in the rice fields have also been undertaken as profitable enterprises in the rice farming system. In its effort to modernise and increase rice productivity, the Department of Agriculture approach in acquisition of technology from research agencies, and its adaptation and adoption are discussed. Any technology promoted must be economically viable, socially acceptable and technologically feasible for effective implementation. (Author)

Effects of Amendment of Agricultural Bye Products with Animal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Effects of Amendment of Agricultural Bye Products with Animal Manures on Soil ... Discovery and Innovation ... Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ... into the effectiveness of locally available agricultural by-products as source of nutrient.

Modeling and analysing storage systems in agricultural biomass supply chain for cellulosic ethanol production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebadian, Mahmood; Sowlati, Taraneh; Sokhansanj, Shahab; Townley-Smith, Lawrence; Stumborg, Mark

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Studied the agricultural biomass supply chain for cellulosic ethanol production. ► Evaluated the impact of storage systems on different supply chain actors. ► Developed a combined simulation/optimization model to evaluate storage systems. ► Compared two satellite storage systems with roadside storage in terms of costs and emitted CO 2 . ► SS would lead to a more cost-efficient supply chain compared to roadside storage. -- Abstract: In this paper, a combined simulation/optimization model is developed to better understand and evaluate the impact of the storage systems on the costs incurred by each actor in the agricultural biomass supply chain including farmers, hauling contractors and the cellulosic ethanol plant. The optimization model prescribes the optimum number and location of farms and storages. It also determines the supply radius, the number of farms required to secure the annual supply of biomass and also the assignment of farms to storage locations. Given the specific design of the supply chain determined by the optimization model, the simulation model determines the number of required machines for each operation, their daily working schedule and utilization rates, along with the capacities of storages. To evaluate the impact of the storage systems on the delivered costs, three storage systems are molded and compared: roadside storage (RS) system and two satellite storage (SS) systems including SS with fixed hauling distance (SF) and SS with variable hauling distance (SV). In all storage systems, it is assumed the loading equipment is dedicated to storage locations. The obtained results from a real case study provide detailed cost figures for each storage system since the developed model analyses the supply chain on an hourly basis and considers time-dependence and stochasticity of the supply chain. Comparison of the storage systems shows SV would outperform SF and RS by reducing the total delivered cost by 8% and 6%, respectively

The Status of Human Nutrition and Agricultural Productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyse, Bonita; And Others

1986-01-01

The authors state that the U.S. Department of Agriculture should be considering productive alternatives for the American farmer, exploring ways to use or export the excess fat, and should be spending at least half of its resources to convince the consumers of the value they are getting from agricultural products. (CT)

Positive and negative impacts of agricultural production of liquid biofuels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reijnders, L.; Hester, R.E.; Harrison, R.M.

2012-01-01

Agricultural production of liquid biofuels can have positive effects. It can decrease dependence on fossil fuels and increase farmers’ incomes. Agricultural production of mixed perennial biofuel crops may increase pollinator and avian richness. Most types of agricultural crop-based liquid biofuel

AGRICULTURAL TAX SYSTEM IN POLAND AND DIRECTIONS OF THE CHANGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marzena Malewska

2014-03-01

Full Text Available A research problem taken in the article is a question, whether legal solutions applied in the Polish system of the taxation of agriculture have an appropriate shape and whether this system is optimal? If not, what are possible options of changes and whether the in-come tax is good for agricultural activities. A method of analysis of secondary sources was used in order to solve the research problem. Required data was taken from the base of the Główny Urząd Statystyczny and scientific publications of the publishing universi-ty. In the article were formulated the following hypotheses: 1.\tThe system of the taxation of agriculture is different than other existing Polish law and it is regarded as unfair in relation to other social groups. 2.\tChanging the tax system in agriculture is necessary and would lead to positive chang-es in the structure of agriculture. 3.\tThe reform of the taxation system of agricultural production is in many aspects neces-sary and beneficial, but it should nevertheless take into account the specificities of the agricultural activity. 4.\tThe introduction of the income tax has its bad side and carries the disadvantages for both farmers and municipalities.

Virtual water flows in the international trade of agricultural products of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu; Zhang, Jinhe; Tang, Guorong; Chen, Min; Wang, Lachun

2016-07-01

With the rapid development of the economy and population, water scarcity and poor water quality caused by water pollution have become increasingly severe in China. Virtual water trade is a useful tool to alleviate water shortage. This paper focuses on a comprehensive study of China's international virtual water flows from agricultural products trade and completes a diachronic analysis from 2001 to 2013. The results show that China was in trade surplus in relation to the virtual water trade of agricultural products. The exported virtual water amounted to 29.94billionm(3)/yr. while 155.55billionm(3)/yr. was embedded in imported products. The trend that China exported virtual water per year was on the decline while the imported was on a rising trend. Virtual water trade of China was highly concentrated. Not all of the exported products had comparative advantages in virtual water content. Imported products were excessively concentrated on water intensive agricultural products such as soya beans, cotton, and palm oil. The exported virtual water mainly flowed to the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong of China and Japan, while the imported mainly flowed from the United States of America, Brazil and Argentina. From the ethical point of view, the trade partners were classified into four types in terms of "net import" and "water abundance": mutual benefit countries, such as Australia and Canada; unilateral benefit countries, such as Mongolia and Norway; supported countries, such as Egypt and Singapore; and double pressure countries, such as India and Pakistan. Virtual water strategy refers to water resources, agricultural products and human beings. The findings are beneficial for innovating water resources management system, adjusting trade structure, ensuring food security in China, and promoting the construction of national ecological security system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Theoretical Application of Supervision over Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Xin; CHENG; Ying; ZHANG

2013-01-01

Supervision over quality and safety of agricultural products has received high attention of management department.Competent authorities have formulated and issued many measures to strengthen supervision over quality and safety of agricultural products and improve China’s agricultural product quality and safety level.From the perspective of management science,this paper elaborates basic contents of two basic management theories,Broken Windows Effect and Effect of Heat Furnace.Then,it analyzes influence of Broken Windows Effect and Effect of Heat Furnace on supervision over quality and safety of agricultural products.Finally,it comes up with recommendations for supervision over quality and safety of agricultural products.

Transport and agricultural productivity: A cross-national analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sike Liu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The transportation infrastructure plays a significant role in the development of agriculture. In this study we examine the relationship between transport and agricultural performance by employing the World Bank’s roads infrastructure indicators. Based on a cross-country sample, a classic method is employed to test the hypothesis that better transport fosters agricultural productivity. The empirical results of the method support the hypothesis. As for this method, the estimation results of the widely-used inter-country aggregate agricultural production function describe that a country with better transport can produce more agricultural outputs given the same amounts of agricultural inputs and the same education level. Our empirical work lends support to the claim of Gollin and Rogerson (2010 [19] that transport is a basic factor explaining the poor economic performance of many developing countries, apart from physical and education investments, more emphasis should be placed on improving the transport infrastructure of these countries.

Web-based information system design of agricultural management towards self-sufficiency local food in North Aceh

Science.gov (United States)

Salahuddin; Husaini; Anwar

2018-01-01

The agricultural sector, especially food crops and horticulture, is one of the sectors driving regional economic pillars in Aceh Utara Regency of Aceh Province. Some agricultural products and food crops that become excellent products in North Aceh regency are: rice, corn, peanuts, long beans, cassava and soybeans. The Local Government of North Aceh Regency has not been optimal in empowering and maximizing the potential of agriculture resources. One of the obstacles is caused by the North Aceh Regency Government does not have an adequate database and web information system/GIS (Geographic Information System) for data management of agricultural centre in North Aceh Regency. This research is expected to assist local government of North Aceh Regency in managing agriculture sector to realize local food independence the region in supporting national food security program. The method in this research is using waterfall method for designing and making information system by conducting sequential process starting from data collection stage, requirement analysis, design, coding, testing and implementation system. The result of this research is a web-based information system for the management of agriculture superior agricultural product centre in North Aceh. This application provides information mapping the location of agricultural superior product producers and mapping of potential locations for the development of certain commodities in North Aceh Regency region in realizing food self-sufficiency in the region.

Management of efficiency of agricultural production on the basis of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Management of efficiency of agricultural production on the basis of margin approach. ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences ... and systematized to the management of production costs of agricultural products, the proposed definition ...

TO THE QUESTION OF FORMATION OF EARTHQUAKES OF CORPORATE STRUCTURES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KUSTOVSKA О.

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the development of corporate structures in agricultural production, proves the influence of corporate formations on the efficiency of agrarian production. On the basis of the analysis of official information of agro holdings, an assessment was made of the efficiency of their activities and a conclusion was made about the optimal size of their structural subdivisions. The advantages and disadvantages of integrated structures are highlighted, peculiarities of formation of their land relations are determined. Issues of expansion of land masses of agro holdings related to the conclusion of land lease agreements are considered. The association of separate agro-industrial enterprises of various industrial-economic orientation form an independent legal entity - a legal entity. The economic feasibility of the creation and functioning of corporate associations is objective based on obtaining the greatest effect, the essence of which is that the result of the joint corporate activities of economic structures will always be higher compared to the results of the individual work of each of them. Corporate forms of management in agriculture were founded in Ukraine on the basis of the general theoretical model of an open, competitive, multi-faceted agricultural market economy type, aimed at an integrated world economic system. The methodology of construction involves taking into account the world economic trends and the national specificity of the country's agricultural development; it is aimed at finding rational forms of organization of agricultural production, mechanisms for overcoming crisis phenomena, stabilizing the economy and creating conditions for further qualitative and quantitative growth of the agrarian sector of the economy. For many years, leading American co-operators have been distributing concepts and concepts that are perceived and used throughout the world. This work is coordinated by the Organization for International

Mandatory Production Controls. Issues in Agricultural Policy. Agriculture Information Bulletin Number 520.

Science.gov (United States)

Economic Research Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

Mandatory restrictions on agricultural production continue to be suggested as an alternative policy for reducing price-depressing surplus production, increasing farm income, and cutting farm program costs. A mandatory production control program (MPCP) can be implemented through two methods: (1) acreage allotments, which restrict individual farmers…

Organization of monitoring of agricultural products in NPP region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panteleev, L.I.; Spirin, E.V.; Sanzharova, N.I.

1990-01-01

Problem of organizing chemical and radiation monitoring of agricultural products in NPP region is considered. Attention is paid to monitoring during NPP siting and designing, to monitoring of radioactive contamination of agricultural products under normal NPP operation, emergency situations and decommissioning

Policies for reduced deforestation and their impact on agricultural production.

Science.gov (United States)

Angelsen, Arild

2010-11-16

Policies to effectively reduce deforestation are discussed within a land rent (von Thünen) framework. The first set of policies attempts to reduce the rent of extensive agriculture, either by neglecting extension, marketing, and infrastructure, generating alternative income opportunities, stimulating intensive agricultural production or by reforming land tenure. The second set aims to increase either extractive or protective forest rent and--more importantly--create institutions (community forest management) or markets (payment for environmental services) that enable land users to capture a larger share of the protective forest rent. The third set aims to limit forest conversion directly by establishing protected areas. Many of these policy options present local win-lose scenarios between forest conservation and agricultural production. Local yield increases tend to stimulate agricultural encroachment, contrary to the logic of the global food equation that suggests yield increases take pressure off forests. At national and global scales, however, policy makers are presented with a more pleasant scenario. Agricultural production in developing countries has increased by 3.3-3.4% annually over the last 2 decades, whereas gross deforestation has increased agricultural area by only 0.3%, suggesting a minor role of forest conversion in overall agricultural production. A spatial delinking of remaining forests and intensive production areas should also help reconcile conservation and production goals in the future.

The influence of farmland pollution on the quality and safety of agricultural products

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Z. L.; Li, L. Y.; Ye, C.; Lin, X. Y.; B, C.; Wei

2018-02-01

The quality and safety of agricultural products is not only a major livelihood issues for people’s health, but also the main barriers to international trade of agricultural products nowadays. The soil is the foundation to the production of agricultural products and the guarantee of agricultural development. The farmland soil quality is directly related to the quality and safety of agricultural products. Our country’s soil has been polluted by a series of pollution, Such as the excessive discharge of industrial wastes, the encroachment of household waste, and the unreasonable use of pesticides and fertilizers. Soil degradation is a serious threat to the quality and safety of agricultural products, so eliminating soil degradation is the fundamental way out for quality and safety of agricultural products. By analyzing problems of the quality and safety of agricultural products in our country, and exploring the farmland soil influence on the quality and safety of agricultural products. This article provides a reference for improving the control level of quality and safety of agricultural products and the farmland soil quality.

Development of Bioelectrochemical Systems to Promote Sustainable Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaojin Li

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Bioelectrochemical systems (BES are a newly emerged technology for energy-efficient water and wastewater treatment. Much effort as well as significant progress has been made in advancing this technology towards practical applications treating various types of waste. However, BES application for agriculture has not been well explored. Herein, studies of BES related to agriculture are reviewed and the potential applications of BES for promoting sustainable agriculture are discussed. BES may be applied to treat the waste/wastewater from agricultural production, minimizing contaminants, producing bioenergy, and recovering useful nutrients. BES can also be used to supply irrigation water via desalinating brackish water or producing reclaimed water from wastewater. The energy generated in BES can be used as a power source for wireless sensors monitoring the key parameters for agricultural activities. The importance of BES to sustainable agriculture should be recognized, and future development of this technology should identify proper application niches with technological advancement.

Laser-based agriculture system

KAUST Repository

Ooi, Boon S.

2016-03-31

A system and method are provided for indoor agriculture using at least one growth chamber illuminated by laser light. In an example embodiment of the agriculture system, a growth chamber is provided having one or more walls defining an interior portion of the growth chamber. The agriculture system may include a removable tray disposed within the interior portion of the growth chamber. The agriculture system also includes a light source, which may be disposed outside the growth chamber. The one or more walls may include at least one aperture. The light source is configured to illuminate at least a part of the interior portion of the growth chamber. In embodiments in which the light source is disposed outside the growth chamber, the light source is configured to transmit the laser light to the interior portion of the growth chamber via the at least one aperture.

Laser-based agriculture system

KAUST Repository

Ooi, Boon S.; Wong, Aloysius Tze; Ng, Tien Khee

2016-01-01

A system and method are provided for indoor agriculture using at least one growth chamber illuminated by laser light. In an example embodiment of the agriculture system, a growth chamber is provided having one or more walls defining an interior portion of the growth chamber. The agriculture system may include a removable tray disposed within the interior portion of the growth chamber. The agriculture system also includes a light source, which may be disposed outside the growth chamber. The one or more walls may include at least one aperture. The light source is configured to illuminate at least a part of the interior portion of the growth chamber. In embodiments in which the light source is disposed outside the growth chamber, the light source is configured to transmit the laser light to the interior portion of the growth chamber via the at least one aperture.

Systems Biology for Smart Crops and Agricultural Innovation: Filling the Gaps between Genotype and Phenotype for Complex Traits Linked with Robust Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, Rajesh Kumar; Gupta, Sanjay Mohan; Gaur, Vikram Singh; Pandey, Dinesh

2015-01-01

Abstract In recent years, rapid developments in several omics platforms and next generation sequencing technology have generated a huge amount of biological data about plants. Systems biology aims to develop and use well-organized and efficient algorithms, data structure, visualization, and communication tools for the integration of these biological data with the goal of computational modeling and simulation. It studies crop plant systems by systematically perturbing them, checking the gene, protein, and informational pathway responses; integrating these data; and finally, formulating mathematical models that describe the structure of system and its response to individual perturbations. Consequently, systems biology approaches, such as integrative and predictive ones, hold immense potential in understanding of molecular mechanism of agriculturally important complex traits linked to agricultural productivity. This has led to identification of some key genes and proteins involved in networks of pathways involved in input use efficiency, biotic and abiotic stress resistance, photosynthesis efficiency, root, stem and leaf architecture, and nutrient mobilization. The developments in the above fields have made it possible to design smart crops with superior agronomic traits through genetic manipulation of key candidate genes. PMID:26484978

AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES PRODUCTION EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serhiy Us

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to analyze correlation between production volume (V, labour factor (L and capital factor (K with further production volume forecasting of researched agricultural enterprises in Ukraine as well as their competitiveness in the European market. Methodology. The survey based on statistical data of State statistics service in Ukraine, Poland and accounting data of investigated enterprises during 2004-2013 years. Production volume and capital amount taken in monetary terms, labour factor is calculated in monetary terms using the average wage and the number of employees. Treatment of major production factors according to classical economic theory is generalized. Correlation of V, L and K factors are calculated using method of the least squares in production function evaluation. Production volume of enterprises A and B are forecasted with further evaluation of its reliability in the econometric program EViews 7. Results of the survey showed the dominant role of L factor over the K factor especially after world economic crisis 2008 in investigated agricultural enterprises of Ukraine. According to high determination coefficient, the influence of both factors on production volume is 85% for enterprise A and 95% for enterprise B. Production forecast shows the increase of its volume till 2020 in both enterprises with high probability according to forecast credibility indicator MAPE. Practical implications. Application of the results, in particular the ratio of production factors and forecast of production volume, will allow more effective use of production resources and better planning of production process taking into account market conditions. Value/originality. Production activity estimation and output forecast of investigated agricultural enterprises were used for competitiveness analysis of agricultural enterprises in Ukraine and Poland, which is important for European integration process of domestic economy.

Obstacles to Development of Marketing Channels of Agricultural Products in China and Countermeasures

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

This paper introduces the connotation of marketing channels of agricultural products, and gives an overall of current modes of marketing channels of agricultural products in China, including the marketing channel of transportation and sale of agricultural products, the marketing channel of intermediary sales agent, and the marketing channel of mutual cooperation. The problems existing in the marketing channel of agricultural products in China as follows: first, the cost is high; second, the technological content is low; third, the upstream main body lacks competitiveness; fourth, the structure of investment is irrational. Corresponding countermeasures are put forward to develop marketing channels of agricultural products as follows: perfect the service function of wholesale market of agricultural products; propel the construction of integration and expansion of wholesale market; develop the circulation cooperatives of agricultural products; develop the integrated organization of production and sales of agricultural products.

Marketing research of organic agricultural products' customers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salai Suzana

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of customers' marketing research is to acquire information about the way domestic customers behave towards organic agricultural products. This research focuses the overview of conditions and factors influencing customer behavior in nutrition processes in the EM and in Yugoslavia. The acquired information about changes and directions directly affect the possibilities of getting involved into supply processes as well as the 'transmission' of some directions in customer behavior. Anticipations based, on marketing research deal with changes on customers' level, in consumption, products and other competitors. The results of a part of problems concerning customer behavior in nutrition processes follow below, with an emphasis on organic agricultural products.

Corn Production. A Unit for Teachers of Vocational Agriculture. Production Agriculture Curriculum Materials Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Grace, Clyde, Jr.

Designed to provide instructional materials for use by vocational agriculture teachers, this unit contains nine lessons based upon competencies needed to maximize profits in corn production. The lessons cover opportunities for growing corn; seed selection; seedbed preparation; planting methods and practices; fertilizer rates and application;…

Outsourcing Agricultural Production: Evidence from Rice Farmers in Zhejiang Province.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Ji

Full Text Available China has recorded positive growth rates of grain production for the past eleven consecutive years. This is a remarkable accomplishment given that China's rapid industrialization and urbanization has led to a vast reduction of arable land and agricultural labor to non-agricultural sectors. While there are many factors contributing to this happy outcome, one potential contributing factor that has received increasing attention is the emergence of agricultural production outsourcing, a new rural institution that has emerged in recent years. This study aims to contribute to the limited but growing literature on agricultural production outsourcing in China. Specifically, this study analyzes factors affecting farmers' decisions to outsource any or some production tasks using data from rice farmers in Zhejiang province. Results from a logistic model show that farm size and government subsidy encourages farmers to outsource while ownership of agricultural machines and land fragmentation have negative effects on farmers' decisions to outsource production tasks. Results also showed that determinants of outsourcing decisions vary with the production tasks that farmers outsourced.

Outsourcing Agricultural Production: Evidence from Rice Farmers in Zhejiang Province.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Chen; Guo, Hongdong; Jin, Songqing; Yang, Jin

2017-01-01

China has recorded positive growth rates of grain production for the past eleven consecutive years. This is a remarkable accomplishment given that China's rapid industrialization and urbanization has led to a vast reduction of arable land and agricultural labor to non-agricultural sectors. While there are many factors contributing to this happy outcome, one potential contributing factor that has received increasing attention is the emergence of agricultural production outsourcing, a new rural institution that has emerged in recent years. This study aims to contribute to the limited but growing literature on agricultural production outsourcing in China. Specifically, this study analyzes factors affecting farmers' decisions to outsource any or some production tasks using data from rice farmers in Zhejiang province. Results from a logistic model show that farm size and government subsidy encourages farmers to outsource while ownership of agricultural machines and land fragmentation have negative effects on farmers' decisions to outsource production tasks. Results also showed that determinants of outsourcing decisions vary with the production tasks that farmers outsourced.

Gender Differences in Access to Extension Services and Agricultural Productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Ragasa, Catherine; Berhane, Guush; Tadesse, Fanaye; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum

2013-01-01

Purpose: This article contributes new empirical evidence and nuanced analysis on the gender difference in access to extension services and how this translates to observed differences in technology adoption and agricultural productivity. Approach: It looks at the case of Ethiopia, where substantial investments in the extension system have been…

Industrial use of agricultural products: European prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bocchini, A.

1992-01-01

This paper first discusses how the GATT internal trade agreement has affected Italian and European agricultural practices, especially in that which regards the production of soybean and other vegetable oils. It then assesses how current Italian agricultural policies impact on proposals now being designed to encourage the production of vegetable oils for use as ecological automotive fuel alternatives. The paper cites the need for a greater say by farming associations, and cooperation among fuel oil producers and government bodies in the drafting up of future policies

Impacts of reducing red meat consumption on agricultural production in Finland

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Heikki Sakari Lehtonen

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper summarises the simulated effects on Finnish agricultural production and trade of a 20% decrease in Finnish demand for red meat (beef, pork, lamb. According to our results, reduced red meat consumption would be offset by increased consumption of poultry meat, eggs, dairy products and fish, as well as small increases in consumption of fruits and vegetables, peas, nuts, cereal products and sweets. By including the derived demand changes in an agricultural sector model, we show that livestock production in Finland, incentivised by national production-linked payments for milk and bovine animals, would decrease by much less than 20% due to the complex nature of agricultural production and trade. Overall, assuming unchanged consumer preferences and agricultural policy, a 20% reduction in red meat consumption is not likely to lead to a substantial decrease in livestock production or changed land use, or greenhouse gas emissions, from Finnish agriculture.

Pellet production from agricultural raw materials - A systems study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Daniel; Bernesson, Sven; Hansson, Per-Anders [Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7032, SE-75007 Uppsala (Sweden)

2011-01-15

The demand for biofuel pellets has increased considerably in recent years, causing shortage of the traditional raw materials sawdust and wood shavings. In this study, the costs and energy requirements for the production of pellets from agricultural raw materials were analysed. The materials studied were Salix, reed canary grass, hemp, straw, screenings, rape-seed meal, rape cake and distiller's waste. Four production scales were analysed, having an annual output of 80,000, 8000, 800 and 80 tonnes of pellets per year. It was concluded that the raw materials of greatest interest were Salix and reed canary grass. They had competitive raw material costs and acceptable fuel properties and could be mixed with sawdust in existing large-scale pelleting factories. Straw had low production costs but can cause serious ash-related problems and should, as also is the case for screenings, be avoided in small-scale burners. Hemp had high raw material costs and is of less commercial interest, while distiller's waste, rape-seed meal and rape cake had higher alternative values when used as protein feed. The scale of production had a crucial influence on production costs. The machinery was used much more efficiently in large-scale plants, resulting in clear cost savings. Small-scale pelleting, both static and mobile, required cheap raw materials, low labour costs and long utilisation times to be profitable. In most cases, briquetting would be more commercially viable. The energy use in manufacturing pellets from air-dried crops was generally no higher than when moist sawdust was used as the raw material. (author)

Evaluation of thermal and photovoltaic solar systems in agricultural production units, Northern Huetar Region, Costa Rica

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Tomás de Jesús Guzmán Hernández

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The dependence on fossil fuels urges society to seek for clean energy alternatives, in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. The objective of this study was to determine the potential of solar energy used for water heating and electricity generation. The study was conducted at the dairy of the Technology Institute of Costa Rica, San Carlos Headquarter, from May 15 to April 2016. The data related to the amount of the electricity produced and the temperature reached by water was obtained from the installed photovoltaic and thermal systems, the data was recorded by a computerized register. The obtained information about electricity production allowed researchers to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent that was not emitted into the atmosphere, and also the acquired economic saving on consumption. The use of these systems allowed the production unit have a self- sufficient source of electrical energy percentage, actually around 30 to 40% of the total electrical consumption. According to the energy production, the solar thermal system was capable to increase water temperature between 20 to 37 °C, temperature that represents more than 70% of the energy needed in order to reach the required water temperature (70 °C for cleaning and sanitizing the milking equipment, and also an economical saving around $90 per month was achieved. The results showed that these systems allow to improve the economical and productive efficiency of agricultural production units in the Northern Huetar Region of Costa Rica.

Mass production of entomopathogenic fungi using agricultural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2008-06-17

Jun 17, 2008 ... Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, SRM University Ram, Apuram campus, Chennai 89, India. ... Various agricultural products and by products such as grains, vegetable ..... Premise Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE RECOVERY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ON RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED LANDS

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Kustovska O.V.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Effective management of agricultural production in the Polesie Ukraine traditionally was complicated through the low natural land fertility, their high acidity, perevolotsky valley. During the centrally planned economic system that the natural contrast of the Polesie land had been somewhat neglected by the state through differentiation of purchase prices for agricultural products, which gave the possibility of redistribution of the rent in favor of the farms with poorer land. With transition to market relations the role of the state, and hence the possibility of its influence on this situation has changed dramatically. Economic conditions have become more profitable for the farmers that are occupying the best lands. However, the situation in the regions has not yet been investigated systematically taking into account the modern complex socio-economic processes and phenomena caused by increased environmental stress on land resources. One of the most pernicious environmental effects of the Chernobyl accident was radioactive contamination of agricultural land, defined in the final stage of transfer of radionuclides in the human body and further irradiation. The main danger of the accumulation by plants of radionuclides lies in the fact that they are a major link in the migratory chain of transmission of radionuclides to the more radiosensitive species and, above all, human. Economic feature of agricultural production in the study area is insufficient pricesambien, transformation of land use, violations of industrial-economic relations, the structure of agricultural production, changes in the natural-cost structure commodity products, the reform of the organizational structure of agricultural production. In the farms located in contaminated areas, the necessary conversion of dairy cattle for meat. In conditions of high pollution, the production of milk requires a serious sanitary objections in that time, as meat production is more environmentally

Development of innovation infrastructure of agricultural production Lviv area

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Vasyl Chemerys

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Innovative infrastructure of agrarian production in Lviv Area and basic problems of its development are investigated. On the basis of the conducted cluster analysis in the article six optimum areas are offered clusterizations of agricultural production, which are certain after the criterion of balanced cluster educations. The first area of clusterization is most suitable for development of plant-grower. In particular, in four its districts, almost fourth part of plant-grower products is concentrated in the permanent costs of 2010 year. The second area of clusterization can be identified as mainly stock-raising, as its localization in the districts of foot-hill of area creates favourable terms for the production of meat and milk goods. The third area can be attributed to balanced stock-raising-plant-grower straight, with development of agriculture, oriented to the sale of products to the cities, above all things in Lviv. The fourth area of clusterization can be considered mainly plant-grower-oriented with simultaneous development of the suckling cattle breeding. The fifth area of clusterization, as marked already, can be identified as innovative oriented with predominance of stock-raising and production of goods on an export. A sixth (mountain area of clusterization is the least suitable for development of agriculture (except for the milk and meat cattle breeding. The applied approach is based on the account of ten key indexes which characterize potential of agricultural production development in each districts of Lviv Area: products of plant-grower are in all categories of economic agents; products of stock-raising are in all categories of economic agents; area of agricultural lands which are engaged in an agricultural production area of plough-land of economic agents which are engaged in an agricultural production; sowing areas are in all categories of economic agents; a quantity of cattle is in all categories of economic agents; a quantity of

Preliminary Study on the Standard of Selenium Content in Agricultural Products

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Zhi-yuan; YOU Yong; GUO Qing-quan; WANG Yong-hong; DENG Shi-lin

2012-01-01

With the improvement of living standards, people pay more attention to the agricultural products with health protection function, and the selenium-rich agricultural products attract more and more consumers. The main biological role of selenium is to resist oxidation and inflammatory response, mainly focusing on resisting aging, preventing cardiovascular disease, protecting eyesight, counteracting or destroying the toxic properties, preventing cancer and thyroid disease. In most areas of China, there is a widespread shortage of selenium, thus producing selenium-rich agricultural products to provide natural selenium-rich health food to the areas in need of selenium, has gradually become a new hot spot of China’s health food industry, but high content of selenium in food is detrimental to human body, even leads to selenium intoxication, and artificially adding inorganic selenium is difficult to guarantee that the selenium content of agricultural products is not exceeded. According to human body’s daily demand for selenium in dietetics and the content of selenium in agricultural products in the Chinese food composition table, we put forward the recommendations on the standard of selenium in agricultural products, in order to provide the basis for China to formulate the health standard of selenium content in selenium-rich agricultural products.

International Trade of Agricultural Products in the Context of "B&R" Initiative

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Lijing WU; Shuhua XIE

2016-01-01

At present,China’s agricultural product trade is facing the development dilemma. The trade deficit is expanding,market and product structure is irrational,and the Chinese agriculture products often encounter trade barriers. " B&R" initiative provides a rare opportunity for the development of agricultural products in China. It is necessary to seize this opportunity to change idea and innovate upon mechanism so as to increase the added value of exported agricultural products through various channels. There is also a need to develop electronic commerce,and make full use of interconnectivity and trade facilitation in " B&R" initiative to develop the international trade of agricultural products.

FACTOR ANALYSIS OF LABOR PRODUCTIVITY IN AGRICULTURE IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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Irina Elena PETRESCU

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper represents an analysis of the level of labor productivity in agriculture for each development region of Romania. Labor productivity in agriculture was analyzed by two parameters, namely: the value of agricultural production and the number of employees in agriculture for the period 2011 – 2012. The level of labor productivity is influenced by the quality of biological and bio-capacity of plants and animals as well, as well as the equipment and quality of work performed. From the factorial analysis it can be noticed a decrease of labor productivity caused by a decrease in the value of agricultural production.

Mini Tuber Production in Potato Via Aeroponic System

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Hussein Abdullah Ahmed AHMED

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The aeroponic production system is one of the new applications in soilless agriculture. This system is also an alternative seed production system for mini-tuber production of potato in terms of providing optimum growth conditions, enabling potato production to be free from diseases and pests and to make economic use of agricultural inputs. This system, which is independent of climatic conditions, has the advantage of improving the vegetative growth, delaying tuber formation, prolonging the vegetative period, increasing the tuber yield per plant and total tuber yield while decreasing the tuber weight. Due to the problems experienced in potato seedling tuber production in recent years, it emerged as an alternative production system for our country.

Agricultural Production. Level 1. Level 2. Level 3. Support Materials for Agricultural Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Batman, Kangan; Gadd, Nick; Lucas, Michele

This publication contains the three communication skills units of the three levels of Support Materials for Agricultural Training (SMAT) in agricultural production: Level 1 (starting), 2 (continuing), and 3 (completing). The units are designed to help the learner improve his or her written and spoken communication skills needed to deal with…

Productivity limits and potentials of the principles of conservation agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

Pittelkow, Cameron M; Liang, Xinqiang; Linquist, Bruce A; van Groenigen, Kees Jan; Lee, Juhwan; Lundy, Mark E; van Gestel, Natasja; Six, Johan; Venterea, Rodney T; van Kessel, Chris

2015-01-15

One of the primary challenges of our time is to feed a growing and more demanding world population with reduced external inputs and minimal environmental impacts, all under more variable and extreme climate conditions in the future. Conservation agriculture represents a set of three crop management principles that has received strong international support to help address this challenge, with recent conservation agriculture efforts focusing on smallholder farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. However, conservation agriculture is highly debated, with respect to both its effects on crop yields and its applicability in different farming contexts. Here we conduct a global meta-analysis using 5,463 paired yield observations from 610 studies to compare no-till, the original and central concept of conservation agriculture, with conventional tillage practices across 48 crops and 63 countries. Overall, our results show that no-till reduces yields, yet this response is variable and under certain conditions no-till can produce equivalent or greater yields than conventional tillage. Importantly, when no-till is combined with the other two conservation agriculture principles of residue retention and crop rotation, its negative impacts are minimized. Moreover, no-till in combination with the other two principles significantly increases rainfed crop productivity in dry climates, suggesting that it may become an important climate-change adaptation strategy for ever-drier regions of the world. However, any expansion of conservation agriculture should be done with caution in these areas, as implementation of the other two principles is often challenging in resource-poor and vulnerable smallholder farming systems, thereby increasing the likelihood of yield losses rather than gains. Although farming systems are multifunctional, and environmental and socio-economic factors need to be considered, our analysis indicates that the potential contribution of no-till to the

Actor Network Theory Approach and its Application in Investigating Agricultural Climate Information System

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Maryam Sharifzadeh

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Actor network theory as a qualitative approach to study complex social factors and process of socio-technical interaction provides new concepts and ideas to understand socio-technical nature of information systems. From the actor network theory viewpoint, agricultural climate information system is a network consisting of actors, actions and information related processes (production, transformation, storage, retrieval, integration, diffusion and utilization, control and management, and system mechanisms (interfaces and networks. Analysis of such systemsembody the identification of basic components and structure of the system (nodes –thedifferent sources of information production, extension, and users, and the understanding of how successfully the system works (interaction and links – in order to promote climate knowledge content and improve system performance to reach agricultural development. The present research attempted to introduce actor network theory as research framework based on network view of agricultural climate information system.

The Relationship between Customer Knowledge Management and Performance of Agricultural Product Innovation

OpenAIRE

Hu, Jia-jia

2012-01-01

This paper takes an overview of the CKM and the performance of agricultural product innovation from contents of agricultural product innovation and customer knowledge management (CKM), the relation between CKM and agricultural product innovation. On the basis of the overview, it builds the theoretical framework of CKM and agricultural product innovation. It points out that enterprises can satisfy demands of customers through acquisition, share, utilization and innovation of customer knowledge...

A THEORETICAL SPOTLIGHT OVER THE ROMANIAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

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Tarcza Teodora

2012-07-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at identifying and classifying new types of agricultural products, especially in Romania, but not only. As we well know, all the countries all over the world have their own history, traditions, economic structure, and a certain type of agriculture, adapted to their soil, climate, and nevertheless to theirs people needs. So, we know that certain countries used to cultivate certain agricultural products, while others are wellknown for others. Usually, we associate Spain with great wines, Belgium with delicious chocolate, Turkey with coffee, India with rice, Romania with grain, Russia with cereals, SUA – tobacco, etc.\\r\

Geographical view on agricultural land and structural changes plant production Montenegro

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G. Rajović

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE This paper analyzes agricultural land and structural changes in plant production Montenegro. The Montenegro represents a significant potential for agricultural development, but plant production insufficiently developed in relation to natural resources and the demands of intensive agricultural production. Average possession by agricultural holdings in 1960 amounts is 5.34 ha with only 2.05 ha arable area per agricultural holdings. Yet more unfavorable is the situation with arable surfaces. Namely, agricultural holdings in the Montenegro in 1960 are on average dispose with maximum of 0.74 ha of arable land. Judging by the size of the cultivated area, production volume, as well as according other parameters, plant production in the Montenegro in 2007, mainly used for meeting need households. A smaller area for is market. The role of the Montenegrin village and agriculture must be first-rate, as are its potentials, the main power future development of Montenegro. This requires radically new relationship between society and science to agriculture and the countryside. Instead of the existing approach in which they observed the preventive as producers of cheap food has to be developed a new concept, a comprehensive agricultural and rural development, which will be based on demographic, natural, economic and socio-cultural potential of Montenegro. 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY ASSESSMENT IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

OpenAIRE

Serrao, Amilcar

2001-01-01

This research work examines levels and trends in global agricultural productivity in fifteen European Union countries and four Eastern European countries that have already applied for European Union membership. The study makes use of data collected from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and covers the period 1980-1998. An approach based on Data Envelopment Analysis is used to provide information on the peers of the (inefficient) i-th country and to derive the Malmqui...

Exposures from consumption of agricultural and semi-natural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strand, P.; Skuterud, L.; Balonov, M.; Travnikova, I.; Hove, K.; Howard, B.; Prister, B.S.; Ratnikov, A.

1996-01-01

The importance of food from different production systems to the internal dose from radiocesium, was investigated in selected study sites in Ukraine and Russia. Food products from semi-natural ecosystems are major contributors to the individual internal dose to rural population in areas affected by the Chernobyl accident. At the selected study sites it is estimated in 1995 that foods from private farms and forests contribute on average 35% to 60%, to the individual internal dose, variation relating to soil types and implemented countermeasures. The importance of food products from private farms and particularly forest products increases with time since Cs concentration in some of the natural food products have longer ecological half life than food products from agricultural systems. A significant relationship was observed between consumption of mushrooms and whole body content of radiocesium in rural people. The contribution to the collective dose of food products produced in the semi-natural ecosystems is less than the contribution to the individual internal dose for the local rural population

Effects Of Agricultural Extension On Cassava And Maize Production ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was carried out to assess the effects of agricultural extension on food production in Abak Agricultural zone of Akwa Ibom state. Specifically, the effect was measured using the productivity of small-scale maize and cassava farmers between the years 2004 and 2005. Data for the study were collected from 108 ...

Wastes and by-products - alternatives for agricultural use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boles, J.L.; Craft, D.J.; Parker, B.R.

1994-01-01

Top address a growing national problem with generation of wastes and by-products, TVA has been involved for several years with developing and commercializing environmentally responsible practices for eliminating, minimizing, or utilizing various wastes/by-products. In many cases, reducing waste generation is impractical, but the wastes/by-products can be converted into other environmentally sound products. In some instances, conversion of safe, value-added agricultural products in the best or only practical alternative. TVA is currently involved with a diversity of projects converting wastes/by-products into safe, economical, and agriculturally beneficial products. Environmental improvement projects have involved poultry litter, cellulosic wastes, used battery acid, ammonium sulfate fines, lead smelting effluents, deep-welled sulfuric acid/ammonium bisulfate solutions, wood ash, waste magnesium ammonium sulfate slurry from recording tape production, and ammunition plant waste sodium nitrate/ammonium nitrate streams

effects of climate change on agricultural productivity in the federal

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Osondu

2012-10-18

Oct 18, 2012 ... The effects of the dynamics of climate on agricultural production are the thrust of this paper. Temperature .... climatic conditions that influence agricultural production in ... temperature when there are few clouds in the. FCT.

Optimization of production planning in Czech agricultural co-operative via linear programming

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Jitka Janová

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The production planning is one of the key managerial decisions in agricultural business, which must be done periodically every year. Correct decision must cover the agriculture demands of planting the crops such as crop rotation restrictions or water resource scarcity, while the decision maker aims to plan the crop design in most profitable way in sense of maximizing the total profit from the crop yield. This decision problem represents the optimization of crop design and can be treated by the me­thods of linear programming which begun to be extensively used in agriculture production planning in USA during 50’s. There is ongoing research of mathematical programming applications in agriculture worldwide, but the results are not easily transferable to other localities due to the specific local restrictions in each country. In Czech Republic the farmers use for production planning mainly their expert knowledge and past experience. However, the mathematical programming approach enables find the true optimal solution of the problem, which especially in the problems with a great number of constraints is not easy to find intuitively. One of the possible barriers for using the general decision support systems (which are based on mathematical programming methods for agriculture production planning in Czech Republic is its expensiveness. The small farmer can not afford to buy the expensive software or to employ a mathematical programming specialist. The aim of this paper is to present a user friendly linear programming model of the typical agricultural production planning problem in Czech Republic which can be solved via software tools commonly available in any farm (e.g. EXCEL. The linear programming model covering the restrictions on total costs, crop rotation, thresholds for the total area sowed by particular crops, total amount of manure and the need of feed crops is developed. The model is applied in real-world problem of Czech agriculture

Application of Mixed Group Decision Making to Safety Evaluation of Agricultural Products

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2012-01-01

In view of the gravity of issues concerning safety of agricultural products and urgency of resolving these issues,after analyzing the problems existing in safety of agricultural products,this article offers a method for evaluating safety of agricultural products on the basis of mixed group decision making.First of all,it introduces the factors influencing safety evaluation of agricultural products;subsequently,given that the judgment matrices offered by the group of experts contain both reciprocal and complementary judgment matrices in the process of jointly participating in evaluation arising from personal preference,it proposes to assemble expert information in order to obtain indicator weight using the OWA operator;finally,the process of evaluating safety of agricultural products is given.

Agricultural R&D, technology and productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Piesse, J; Thirtle, C

2010-09-27

The relationships between basic and applied agricultural R&D, developed and developing country R&D and between R&D, extension, technology and productivity growth are outlined. The declining growth rates of public R&D expenditures are related to output growth and crop yields, where growth rates have also fallen, especially in the developed countries. However, growth in output value per hectare has not declined in the developing countries and labour productivity growth has increased except in the EU. Total factor productivity has generally increased, however it is measured. The public sector share of R&D expenditures has fallen and there has been rapid concentration in the private sector, where six multinationals now dominate. These companies are accumulating intellectual property to an extent that the public and international institutions are disadvantaged. This represents a threat to the global commons in agricultural technology on which the green revolution has depended. Estimates of the increased R&D expenditures needed to feed 9 billion people by 2050 and how these should be targeted, especially by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), show that the amounts are feasible and that targeting sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia can best increase output growth and reduce poverty. Lack of income growth in SSA is seen as the most insoluble problem.

Nanoagroparticles emerging trends and future prospect in modern agriculture system.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Syed; Volova, Tatiana; Prudnikova, Svetlana V; Satish, S; Prasad M N, Nagendra

2017-07-01

Increment of technical knowledge has remarkably uplifted logical thinking among scientific communities to shape the theoretical concepts into near product-oriented research. The concept of nanotechnology has overwhelmed almost all forms of lives and has traded its applications in myriad fields. Despite rapid expansion of nanotechnology, sustainable competitions still do exist in the field of agriculture. In current scenario, agriculture is a manifestation demand to provide adequate nutrition for relentless growing global population. It is estimated that nearly one-third of the global crop production is destroyed annually. The loss owes to various stresses such as pest infestation, microbial pathogens, weeds, natural calamities, lack of soil fertility and much more. In order to overcome these limitations, various technological strategies are implemented but a majority of these have their own repercussions. Hence there is a scrawling progress on the evaluation of nanoparticles into agriculture sector which can reform the modern agricultural system. Applications of these nanomaterials can add tremendous value in the current scenario of a global food scarcity. Nanotechnology can address the adverse effects posed by the abundant use of chemical agrochemicals which are reported to cause biomagnification in an ecosystem. Based on these facts and consideration, present review envisages on nanoparticles as nanoherbicides, nanopesticides, onsite detection agro-pathogens and nanoparticles in post harvest management. The review also elucidates on the importance of nanoparticles in soil fertility, irrigation management and its influence on improving crop yield. With scanty reports available on nanotechnology in agriculture system, present review attributes toward developing nanoagroparticles as the future prospect which can give new facelift for existing agriculture system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Agricultural Water Productivity for Tea Production in Tea Fields of Guilan Province

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kourosh majdsalimi

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Water productivity index is one of the main factors in efficient use of water for agricultural products. In this study, the rate of water productivity (WP in six irrigated tea fields and three rainfed (no irrigation were assessed by farmer’s management for two years (2009-2010. Yield of each tea field in successive harvests, soil moisture monitoring by gravimetric soil and use of water balance equation was conducted during the growing seasons. Volume of water entered to irrigation system and amount of water reached to surface level were also measured. Tea mean yield in irrigated and rainfed field were 2843 and 1095 Kg. ha-1, respectively. Average of gross irrigation and effective rainfall (WP and irrigation water productivity (IWP in the irrigated fields were 4.39 and 4.55 kg (made tea ha-1 mm-1 and average of net WP (actual evaportanspiration and net IWP was 5.18 and 6.61 kg ha-1 mm-1, respectively. Average WP in rainfed tea fields was 3.4 kg ha-1 for each mm of effective rainfall. The most effective factors on WP reduction in tea fields were improper harvesting operations (un standard plucking and economic problems. Moreover, improper operation and maintenance and old irrigation systems and unprincipled irrigation scheduling in irrigated tea fields were also effective on WP reduction. Comparing the results of this study with other studies in past, showed that by implementing the proper methods in irrigation management and appropriate agricultural practices can improve water productivity in tea fields.

Agricultural Productivity, Co-Operatives and Organisational ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Huria: Journal of the Open University of Tanzania ... can enhance productivity and increase farmers' income by bringing financial services closer. ... of Kimuli Agricultural Marketing Co-operative Society (AMCOS) and Muungano Savings and ...

Project AProWa: a national view on managing trade-offs between agricultural production and conservation of aquatic ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Dietzel, Anne; Rahn, Eric; Stamm, Christian

2014-05-01

Swiss agriculture is legally committed to fulfill several, partially conflicting goals such as agricultural production on the one hand and the conservation of natural resources on the other hand. In the context of the research project AProWa ("Agricultural Production and Water"), the relationships between the production aspect and the conservation of aquatic ecosystems is analyzed with a holistic approach. Agricultural production and the protection of water resources have high potential for conflicts: Farmers use ground and surface water to irrigate their fields. On the other hand, drainage systems enable the production on otherwise unfavorably wet soils. These in turn often affect ground water recharge and divert precipitation directly into surface waters, which changes their hydrological regime. Typically, drainage systems also elevate the input of nutrients and pesticides into the water bodies. In general, applied fertilizers, plant protection products, veterinary drugs and phytohormones of cultivated plants are introduced into the ground and surface waters through different processes such as drift, leaching, runoff, preferential flow or erosion. They influence the nutrient cycles and ecological health of aquatic systems. The nutrient and pesticide loss processes themselves can be altered by tillage operations and other agricultural practices. Furthermore, the competition for space can lead to additional conflicts between agriculture and the protection of aquatic ecosystems. For example, channelized or otherwise morphologically changed rivers do not have a natural discharge pattern and are often not suitable for the local flora and fauna; but naturally meandering rivers need space that cannot be used for agriculture. In a highly industrialized and densely populated country like Switzerland, all these potential conflicts are of importance. Although it is typically seen as a water-rich country, local and seasonal overexploitation of rivers through water extraction

Environmental impacts and production performances of organic agriculture in China: A monetary valuation.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Fanqiao; Qiao, Yuhui; Wu, Wenliang; Smith, Pete; Scott, Steffanie

2017-03-01

Organic agriculture has developed rapidly in China since the 1990s, driven by the increasing domestic and international demand for organic products. Quantification of the environmental benefits and production performances of organic agriculture on a national scale helps to develop sustainable high yielding agricultural production systems with minimum impacts on the environment. Data of organic production for 2013 were obtained from a national survey organized by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China. Farming performance and environmental impact indicators were screened and indicator values were defined based on an intensive literature review and were validated by national statistics. The economic (monetary) values of farming inputs, crop production and individual environmental benefits were then quantified and integrated to compare the overall performances of organic vs. conventional agriculture. In 2013, organically managed farmland accounted for approximately 0.97% of national arable land, covering 1.158 million ha. If organic crop yields were assumed to be 10%-15% lower than conventional yields, the environmental benefits of organic agriculture (i.e., a decrease in nitrate leaching, an increase in farmland biodiversity, an increase in carbon sequestration and a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions) were valued at 1921 million RMB (320.2 million USD), or 1659 RMB (276.5 USD) per ha. By reducing the farming inputs, the costs saved was 3110 million RMB (518.3 million USD), or 2686 RMB (447.7 USD) per ha. The economic loss associated with the decrease in crop yields from organic agriculture was valued at 6115 million RMB (1019.2 million USD), or 5280 RMB (880 USD) per ha. Although they were likely underestimated because of the complex relationships among farming operations, ecosystems and humans, the production costs saved and environmental benefits of organic agriculture that were quantified in our study compensated substantially for the

Population pressure and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhury, R H

1983-01-01

The relationship between population pressure or density and agricultural productivity is examined by analyzing the changes in the land-man ratio and the changes in the level of land yield in the 17 districts of Bangladesh from 1961-64 and 1974-77. The earlier years were pre-Green Revolution, whereas in the later years new technology had been introduced in some parts of the country. Net sown area, value of total agricultural output, and number of male agricultural workers were the main variables. For the country as a whole, agricultural output grew by 1.2%/year during 1961-64 to 1974-77, while the number of male agricultural workers grew at 1.5%/year. The major source of agricultural growth during the 1960s was found to be increased land-yield associated with a higher ratio of labor to land. The findings imply that a more intensified pattern of land use, resulting in both higher yield and higher labor input/unit of land, is the main source of growth of output and employment in agriculture. There is very little scope for extending the arable area in Bangladesh; increased production must come from multiple cropping, especially through expansion of irrigation and drainage, and from increases in per acre yields, principly through adoption of high yield variants, which explained 87% of the variation in output per acre during the 1970s. Regional variation in output was also associated with variation in cropping intensity and proportion of land given to high yield variants. There is considerable room for modernizing agricultural technology in Bangladesh: in 1975-76 less than 9% of total crop land was irrigated and only 12% of total acreage was under high yield variants. The adoption of new food-grain technology and increased use of high yield variants in Bangladesh's predominantly subsistence-based agriculture would require far-reaching institutional and organizational changes and more capital. Without effective population control, expansion of area under high yield

THE STATUS AND PROSPECTS OF THE ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS MARKET IN UKRAINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandr Maslak

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The modern agricultural market is characterized by an increasing demand for higher quality agricultural products and food. Thus certified organic production was launched in Ukraine, which prohibited the use of chemically synthesized components, genetically modified organisms, etc., and labelling requirements for such products were established. However, experiencing both external and internal demand, the market for organic products in Ukraine is developing slowly. The subject of study focuses on the theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of forming the organizational-economic basis of organic agricultural products market development in Ukraine. Methodology. Methodological support for the study is based on dialectical and systemic approaches to the study of economic phenomena and processes of formation of the organizational-economic bases of organic agricultural products market development. General scientific and special methods are used, in particular: methods of analogies and comparisons, systematization, statistical and economic, calculation-constructive, program-oriented. The aim of the research is to identify the state of organic agricultural products market in Ukraine and prospects of its further development. The defined goal led to the following tasks: a study of the current state of organic production in Ukraine is carried out; set of problems that hinder its further development are defined; the possible scenarios of this market are identified; prospective tasks, solution of which will contribute to the further development of the market of organic agricultural products in Ukraine, are outlined. According to the results of the conducted research, the following conclusions are made: the tendencies of organic market development in Ukraine are investigated; it is found that the lack of a proper legislative and regulatory framework, a lack of modern market infrastructure, and effective mechanisms of its functioning are holding back

Agriculture production as a major driver of the earth system exceeding planetary boundaries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campbell, Bruce Morgan; Beare, Douglas J.; Bennett, Elena M.

2017-01-01

We explore the role of agriculture in destabilizing the Earth system at the planetary scale, through examining nine planetary boundaries, or “safe limits”: land-system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, biosphere integrity, climate change, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone...

Relationship between Balanced Fertilization and Healthy Agricultural Products (A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.J. Malakouti

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Based on World Health Organization (WHO report, our society’s health ranks 123 among 192 countries. Unfortunately, this ranking position is very low and its main reason is malnutrition due to imbalanced fertilization. Although more than 85% of Iranian people are not hungry, about 90% of them are suffering from cell hunger, because agricultural authorities and hence producers do not pay attention to food security. According to the latest information, about 86.5% of applied fertilizers in our country appertain to urea and triple super phosphate. In fact, this is an alarming issue in respect to the production of healthy agricultural products and it remains a threat to food security. At present, a total subsidy of more than 7,000 billion rials is paid for nitrogen (N and phosphate (P fertilizers. Whereas, it should be considered that, firstly, the efficiency of these fertilizers, due to different reasons such as mismanagement and existing subsidy level, is low and, secondly, the overuse of these fertilizers causes the accumulation of nitrate (NO3 and cadmium (Cd in agricultural products. Furthermore, according to the law of minimum, the overdosed fertilizers do not have any special positive effect on sustainable production and society’s health. Paying for such high-cost subsidy just for N and P-fertilizers has caused farmers to overuse and waste these fertilizers in the country and moreover not having any tendency to apply biologic, organic and micronutrient fertilizers. Whereas, the application of these fertilizers, beside their adaptability with the environment, has a very positive effect on the human health. Therefore, at this time scientific management of production and application of all kinds of fertilizers is inevitable. In this case, by improving the quality of all types of fertilizers, and following the principle of balanced fertilization, besides achieving the desired yield increase, the quality of agricultural products will be

Nitrogen fertilization for wheat growing in dual purpose integrated system of agricultural production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Éderson Luis Henz

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, there are numerous arrangements of Integrated Systems of Agricultural Production, due, the particularities of each region and/or rural enterprise. The use of dual-purpose species such as, for example, BRS Tarumã® wheat further intensifies the system, because there is plant-animal production in a short time. Study aimed to evaluate the production and chemical composition of dual purpose wheat pastures managed with different DAN during periods of spikelet terminal (ST and anthesis (AN, aiming crop production (pasture and grain and animal (milk and / or meat. The experimental randomized block design with five treatments (0, 75, 150, 225 e 300 Kg de N ha-1, in the form of ammonium nitrate and four replications. The average biomass values before the first and the second grazing were respectively: 2,164 and 2,127 kg DM per hectare and the waste of about 824 and 1,772 kg of DM per hectare and the daily average accumulation rate between the two grazing DM was 86 kg per hectare at 17 day intervals. The variables, number of spikes per square meter, grain number per square meter, thousand grain weight, hectoliter weight and grain yield did not differ (P>0.05 between treatments. Nitrogen fertilization increases linearly (P=0.0017 the size of the spikes depending on nitrogen rates. For the linear variable layering increased (P=0.0001, indicating the susceptibility of the crop to high levels of nitrogen. The application of nitrogen fertilizer levels in dual purpose grazed wheat before the spikelet terminal stage and anthesis does not influence on grain yield variables. The nitrogen fertilization on wheat double purpose must be fractionated at tillering and after each grazing increasing the remobilization rate of nitrogen by culture.

Status of Agricultural Production and Crop Variety Improvement in Thailand

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

JIAO Chun-hai; GUO Ying; YAO Ming-hua; WAN Zheng-huang

2012-01-01

We introduced basic conditions of agricultural production in Thailand, and variety improvement of major crops, including rice, cassava, rubber, and vegetable, in the hope of providing reference for agricultural production and crop variety improvement in Hubei Province and even in the whole country.

Development of a Global Agricultural Hotspot Detection and Early Warning System

Science.gov (United States)

Lemoine, G.; Rembold, F.; Urbano, F.; Csak, G.

2015-12-01

The number of web based platforms for crop monitoring has grown rapidly over the last years and anomaly maps and time profiles of remote sensing derived indicators can be accessed online thanks to a number of web based portals. However, while these systems make available a large amount of crop monitoring data to the agriculture and food security analysts, there is no global platform which provides agricultural production hotspot warning in a highly automatic and timely manner. Therefore a web based system providing timely warning evidence as maps and short narratives is currently under development by the Joint Research Centre. The system (called "HotSpot Detection System of Agriculture Production Anomalies", HSDS) will focus on water limited agricultural systems worldwide. The automatic analysis of relevant meteorological and vegetation indicators at selected administrative units (Gaul 1 level) will trigger warning messages for the areas where anomalous conditions are observed. The level of warning (ranging from "watch" to "alert") will depend on the nature and number of indicators for which an anomaly is detected. Information regarding the extent of the agricultural areas concerned by the anomaly and the progress of the agricultural season will complement the warning label. In addition, we are testing supplementary detailed information from other sources for the areas triggering a warning. These regard the automatic web-based and food security-tailored analysis of media (using the JRC Media Monitor semantic search engine) and the automatic detection of active crop area using Sentinel 1, upcoming Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 imagery processed in Google Earth Engine. The basic processing will be fully automated and updated every 10 days exploiting low resolution rainfall estimates and satellite vegetation indices. Maps, trend graphs and statistics accompanied by short narratives edited by a team of crop monitoring experts, will be made available on the website on a

Development of an Integrated Wastewater Treatment System/water reuse/agriculture model

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, C. H.; Schuler, A.

2017-12-01

Factors like increasing population, urbanization, and climate change have made the management of water resources a challenge for municipalities. By understanding wastewater recycling for agriculture in arid regions, we can expand the supply of water to agriculture and reduce energy use at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This can improve management decisions between WWTPs and water managers. The objective of this research is to develop a prototype integrated model of the wastewater treatment system and nearby agricultural areas linked by water and nutrients, using the Albuquerque Southeast Eastern Reclamation Facility (SWRF) and downstream agricultural system as a case study. Little work has been done to understand how such treatment technology decisions affect the potential for water ruse, nutrient recovery in agriculture, overall energy consumption and agriculture production and water quality. A holistic approach to understanding synergies and tradeoffs between treatment, reuse, and agriculture is needed. For example, critical wastewater treatment process decisions include options to nitrify (oxidize ammonia), which requires large amounts of energy, to operate at low dissolved oxygen concentrations, which requires much less energy, whether to recover nitrogen and phosphorus, chemically in biosolids, or in reuse water for agriculture, whether to generate energy from anaerobic digestion, and whether to develop infrastructure for agricultural reuse. The research first includes quantifying existing and feasible agricultural sites suitable for irrigation by reuse wastewater as well as existing infrastructure such as irrigation canals and piping by using GIS databases. Second, a nutrient and water requirement for common New Mexico crop is being determined. Third, a wastewater treatment model will be utilized to quantify energy usage and nutrient removal under various scenarios. Different agricultural reuse sensors and treatment technologies will be explored. The

The central role of agricultural water-use productivity in sustainable water management (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Gleick, P. H.

2013-12-01

As global and regional populations continue to rise for the next several decades, the need to grow more food will worsen old -- and produce new -- challenges for water resources. Expansion of irrigated agriculture is slowing due to constraints on land and water, and as a result, some have argued that future new food demands will only be met through improvements in agricultural productivity on existing irrigated and rainfed cropland, reductions in field losses and food waste, and social changes such as dietary preferences. This talk will address the central role that improvements in water-use productivity can play in the food/water/population nexus. In particular, the ability to grow more food with less water will have a great influence on whether future food demands will be met successfully. Such improvements can come about through changes in technology, regulatory systems, economic incentives and disincentives, and education of water users. Example of potential savings from three different strategies to improve agricultural water productivity in California. (From Pacific Institute).

Research on the Development of E-commerce Model of Agricultural Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huo Yaping

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, electronic commerce of agricultural products has developed rapidly. In the development process of electronic commerce of agricultural products,many classic cases and business models have emerged. Such as tootoo industrial commune model (product drive type, Original life model (marketing driven type, Suichang model (service platform type. The author analyzes and compares each model from 7 aspects, and summarizes their differences and links. Finally, The author puts forward suggestions on the development of electronic commerce of agricultural products in china.

Agricultural Productivity Forecasts for Improved Drought Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Limaye, Ashutosh; McNider, Richard; Moss, Donald; Alhamdan, Mohammad

2010-01-01

Water stresses on agricultural crops during critical phases of crop phenology (such as grain filling) has higher impact on the eventual yield than at other times of crop growth. Therefore farmers are more concerned about water stresses in the context of crop phenology than the meteorological droughts. However the drought estimates currently produced do not account for the crop phenology. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have developed a drought monitoring decision support tool: The U.S. Drought Monitor, which currently uses meteorological droughts to delineate and categorize drought severity. Output from the Drought Monitor is used by the States to make disaster declarations. More importantly, USDA uses the Drought Monitor to make estimates of crop yield to help the commodities market. Accurate estimation of corn yield is especially critical given the recent trend towards diversion of corn to produce ethanol. Ethanol is fast becoming a standard 10% ethanol additive to petroleum products, the largest traded commodity. Thus the impact of large-scale drought will have dramatic impact on the petroleum prices as well as on food prices. USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) serves as a focal point for economic intelligence and the commodity outlook for U.S. WAOB depends on Drought Monitor and has emphatically stated that accurate and timely data are needed in operational agrometeorological services to generate reliable projections for agricultural decision makers. Thus, improvements in the prediction of drought will reflect in early and accurate assessment of crop yields, which in turn will improve commodity projections. We have developed a drought assessment tool, which accounts for the water stress in the context of crop phenology. The crop modeling component is done using various crop modules within Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). DSSAT is an agricultural crop

Determining the optimum production portfolio in agricultural sector : province of Denizli case

OpenAIRE

Akyer, Hasan; Utku, Mehmet; Kaya, Yusuf

2016-01-01

Agriculture is a field which is critically important for the economy of every country. Countries pursue different agricultural production strategies in different regions in accordance with their needs. In this study, a production planning model was developed based on Modern Portfolio Theory for the production of summer and winter vegetables in Denizli, which has a significant agricultural production potential for the Aegean region. The historical data of the specified products were obtained f...

Improving agricultural production under water scarcity in Fars province, Iran

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hosseini, M.R.; Haile, A.M.; McClain, M.E.

2012-01-01

ABSTRACT Water scarcity is one of the major limiting factor for improving agricultural production in the world, which significantly affects agricultural production and livelihood of millions of people who live in arid and semi-arid regions. This case study presents the analysis of the effectiveness

Residue management practices and planter attachments for corn production in a conservation agriculture system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Nejadi

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Seed placement and failure to establish a uniform plant stand are critical problems associated with production of corn (Zea mays following wheat (Triticum aestivum in a conservation agriculture system in Iran. Our objectives were to evaluate the performance of a corn row- crop planter equipped with two planter attachments (smooth/toothed coulters at six wheat residue management systems (three tillage systems and two levels of surface residue at two forward speeds of 5 and 7 km h-1. Residue retained after planting, seeding depth, emergence rate index (ERI and seed spacing indices were determined. The baled residue plots tilled by chisel plow followed by disc harrow (BRCD resulted in minimum residue after planting as compared to other residue treatments. Furthermore, the maximum values of the ERI and uniformity of plant spacing pertained to this treatment. Other results showed that the ERI increased up to 18% for the toothed coulter as compared to the smooth coulter. The toothed coulter also established a deeper seed placement as compared to the smooth coulter. Planting at forward speed of 5 km h-1 resulted in deeper seeding depth as compared to a forward speed of 7 km h-1. However, lower values of miss and precision indices were obtained at forward speed of 7 km h-1, indicating a more uniformity of plant spacing. Results of this study showed that equipping the conventional planter with toothed coulter and planting in soil prepared under the BRCD residue management system can result in a satisfactory conservation crop production system.

Proposed improvement of the Accounting System of Non-Agricultural Cooperatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yamira Mirabal González

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The improvement of the accounting system of the cooperatives should contribute to the consolidation of the cooperative role as a way of economic and social development, in the sphere of agricultural production, and in other sectors of the economy, raising the levels of efficiency and economic efficiency, productive and social. The research is aimed at: Perfecting the accounting system of the non-agricultural cooperative "Café Pinar", based on a set of tools for each of the subsystems that comprise it, which contributes to the improvement of the accounting information generated as part of its management process. The results of the research focus on: the theoretical and methodological foundations of Accounting and Accounting Systems, the results of the diagnosis of the Accounting System of the non-agricultural Cooperative "Café Pinar" and the tools for each of the subsystems that make up the Accounting system of the cooperative. In the development of the research, theoretical methods such as the historical and the logical ones were applied, among these the systemic, the modeling and the axiomatic-deductive. In addition to empirical methods such as scientific observation and measurement. Based on the diagnosis made, the existing deficiencies in the Accounting System of the cooperative object of study were determined. On this basis, the proposal was made to improve its Accounting System that will contribute to the improvement of the accounting information that the cooperative generates as part of its management.

Economic Analyses of Ware Yam Production in Orlu Agricultural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Economic Analyses of Ware Yam Production in Orlu Agricultural Zone of Imo State. ... International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development ... statistics, gross margin analysis, marginal analysis and multiple regression analysis. Results ...

TRENDS OF DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTION AND REALIZATION OF PLANT PRODUCTION AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES OF MYKOLAIV REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kushniruk Viktor

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Agriculture is one of the largest and most important sectors of the Ukrainian economy. The food security and independence of the state, the state of the internal and external markets, and, consequently, the standard of living of the population are directly dependent on its functional state. Mykolaiv region has significant opportunities for the development of the agricultural sector. There are favorable natural and climatic conditions, fertile land, labor resources and long-standing cultivating traditions. The region is considered one of the regions of intensive agriculture in Ukraine and has significant land resources. Purpose. The article presents the analysis of the development of production and sale of crop production by the agrarian enterprises of the Mykolaiv region, as well as revealing ways to increase the volume of their production and sales. Results. The crop area of main agricultural crops in all categories of farms was analyzed, and structural changes for 2010-2016 were revealed. The priority branch of the agro-industrial complex, which has an important strategic significance, first of all, is determined by the level of production of which the food security of the state depends, its economy and welfare of the population. The dynamics of agricultural crop yields in agrarian enterprises as the determining factor of influence on the efficiency of activity in the field of plant growing is researched. The dynamics of gross collections of crop production in agricultural enterprises is analyzed and the contribution of the Mykolaiv region to the national production of grain is determined. The volumes and average prices of sales of agricultural products by agrarian enterprises are investigated and it is determined that the modern development of the agrarian sector of the economy requires special attention to the formation and activation of the activities of market infrastructure entities. The production of which crops are an

Effects of agricultural credit facility on the agricultural production and rural development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GE Ekwere

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Lack of capital has been identified as one of the constraints that faced by small scale farmers. The aim of this research was to examine the effect of agricultural credit on the agriculture production, and calculate the inputs and outputs among small scale farmers. Structured questionnaires were distributed to 136 farmers, who had been selected using the stratified random sampling technique, and the data obtained were summarized into percentages. Regression analysis was adopted to assess the impacts of socio-economic factors on loan size among farmers, while Cobb-Douglas Production Function Analysis (CDPFA was used to test the relationship between key independent variables such as loan amount, farm size, inputs and farm output as dependent variable. The analysis revealed a significantly high value of coefficient of determination (R2= 0.922 that reflected a high relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables; gender, age, education, family size, farm size, farming experience. The Adjusted (R2 coefficient (R2 = 0.918 revealed that 91.8 % of variation in loam size explained by the changes in variables. The results showed a significance in F-test in size of loan. The hypothesis two, exhibited that the independent variables; loan size, farm size, and inputs explained the variation in the total value of farmers output. The study therefore showed that to achieve the positive agricultural credit impacts on agricultural production, The Government and the private sector should regularly and timely facilitate the credit to the small scale farmers. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i2.10529 International Journal of the Environment Vol.3(2 2014: 192-204

Agricultural Production, Food and Nutrition Security in Rural Benin ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Agricultural Production, Food and Nutrition Security in Rural Benin, Nigeria. ... that rural-urban migration results in shortage of manpower for agricultural activities. ... to support education, health care, sanitation and safe drinking water supply.

Agricultural Productivity and Policy Interventions in Nyamagabe ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Improving agricultural productivity has received considerable policy intervention in many African countries and particularly in Rwanda. The question remains to know the extent to which the policy contributes to the variation being upwards or downwards of the crop productivity. There are number of determinant factors some ...

Production of Enzymes From Agricultural Wastes and Their Potential Industrial Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bharathiraja, S; Suriya, J; Krishnan, M; Manivasagan, P; Kim, S-K

Enzymatic hydrolysis is the significant technique for the conversion of agricultural wastes into valuable products. Agroindustrial wastes such as rice bran, wheat bran, wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, and corncob are cheapest and plentifully available natural carbon sources for the production of industrially important enzymes. Innumerable enzymes that have numerous applications in industrial processes for food, drug, textile, and dye use have been produced from different types of microorganisms from agricultural wastes. Utilization of agricultural wastes offers great potential for reducing the production cost and increasing the use of enzymes for industrial purposes. This chapter focuses on economic production of actinobacterial enzymes from agricultural wastes to make a better alternative for utilization of biomass generated in million tons as waste annually. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pricing Power of Agricultural Products under the Background of Small Peasant Management and Information Asymmetry

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Dexuan LI

2016-01-01

From the background of small peasant management and information asymmetry,this paper introduced the middle profit sharing model and discussed influence factors and ownership of pricing power of agricultural products. It obtained following results:( i) the transaction scale has positive effect on farmer’s pricing power of agricultural products,while the competitor’s transaction scale has negative effect on it,so does the cost for information search;( ii) under the condition of small peasant management system,farmer is in a relatively weak position in the distribution of pricing power of agricultural products,due to factors such as small transaction scale,information asymmetry and farmer’s weak negotiation ability;( iii) through cooperative game,farmer and buyers can share cooperative surplus at the agreed ratio;( iv) the introduction of self-organizing specialized farmers cooperatives is favorable for solving the problem of pricing power of agricultural products,and possible problems,such as " collective action dilemma" and " fake cooperatives" in the cooperative development process can be solved by internal and external division of labor and specialization of cooperatives.

Numerical modeling of the agricultural-hydrologic system in Punjab, India

Science.gov (United States)

Nyblade, M.; Russo, T. A.; Zikatanov, L.; Zipp, K.

2017-12-01

The goal of food security for India's growing population is threatened by the decline in freshwater resources due to unsustainable water use for irrigation. The issue is acute in parts of Punjab, India, where small landholders produce a major quantity of India's food with declining groundwater resources. To further complicate this problem, other regions of the state are experiencing groundwater logging and salinization, and are reliant on canal systems for fresh water delivery. Due to the lack of water use records, groundwater consumption for this study is estimated with available data on crop yields, climate, and total canal water delivery. The hydrologic and agricultural systems are modeled using appropriate numerical methods and software. This is a state-wide hydrologic numerical model of Punjab that accounts for multiple aquifer layers, agricultural water demands, and interactions between the surface canal system and groundwater. To more accurately represent the drivers of agricultural production and therefore water use, we couple an economic crop optimization model with the hydrologic model. These tools will be used to assess and optimize crop choice scenarios based on farmer income, food production, and hydrologic system constraints. The results of these combined models can be used to further understand the hydrologic system response to government crop procurement policies and climate change, and to assess the effectiveness of possible water conservation solutions.

Soil biota and agriculture production in conventional and organic farming

Science.gov (United States)

Schrama, Maarten; de Haan, Joj; Carvalho, Sabrina; Kroonen, Mark; Verstegen, Harry; Van der Putten, Wim

2015-04-01

Sustainable food production for a growing world population requires a healthy soil that can buffer environmental extremes and minimize its losses. There are currently two views on how to achieve this: by intensifying conventional agriculture or by developing organically based agriculture. It has been established that yields of conventional agriculture can be 20% higher than of organic agriculture. However, high yields of intensified conventional agriculture trade off with loss of soil biodiversity, leaching of nutrients, and other unwanted ecosystem dis-services. One of the key explanations for the loss of nutrients and GHG from intensive agriculture is that it results in high dynamics of nutrient losses, and policy has aimed at reducing temporal variation. However, little is known about how different agricultural practices affect spatial variation, and it is unknown how soil fauna acts this. In this study we compare the spatial and temporal variation of physical, chemical and biological parameters in a long term (13-year) field experiment with two conventional farming systems (low and medium organic matter input) and one organic farming system (high organic matter input) and we evaluate the impact on ecosystem services that these farming systems provide. Soil chemical (N availability, N mineralization, pH) and soil biological parameters (nematode abundance, bacterial and fungal biomass) show considerably higher spatial variation under conventional farming than under organic farming. Higher variation in soil chemical and biological parameters coincides with the presence of 'leaky' spots (high nitrate leaching) in conventional farming systems, which shift unpredictably over the course of one season. Although variation in soil physical factors (soil organic matter, soil aggregation, soil moisture) was similar between treatments, but averages were higher under organic farming, indicating more buffered conditions for nutrient cycling. All these changes coincide with

Agriculture in the climate change negotiations; ensuring that food production is not threatened.

Science.gov (United States)

Muldowney, J; Mounsey, J; Kinsella, L

2013-06-01

With the human population predicted to reach nine billion by 2050, demand for food is predicted to more than double over this time period, a trend which will lead to increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. Furthermore, expansion in food production is predicted to occur primarily in the developing world, where adaptation to climate change may be more difficult and opportunities to mitigate emissions limited. In the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 'ensuring that food production is not threatened' is explicitly mentioned in the objective of the Convention. However, the focus of negotiations under the Convention has largely been on reducing GHG emissions from energy, and industrial activities and realizing the potential of forestry as a carbon sink. There has been little attention by the UNFCCC to address the challenges and opportunities for the agriculture sector. Since 2006, concerted efforts have been made to raise the prominence of agriculture within the negotiations. The most recent The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and 'The Emissions Gap Report' by the UNEP highlighted the significant mitigation potential of agriculture, which can help contribute towards keeping global temperature rises below the 2°C limit agreed in Cancun. Agriculture has to be a part of the solution to address climate change, but this will also require a focus on how agriculture systems can adapt to climate change in order to continue to increase food output. However, to effectively realize this potential, systematic and dedicated discussion and decisions within the UNFCCC are needed. UNFCCC discussions on a specific agriculture agenda item started in 2012, but are currently inconclusive. However, Parties are generally in agreement on the importance of agriculture in contributing to food security and employment as well as the need to improve understanding of agriculture and how it can contribute to

Implications of middlemen in the supply chain of agricultural products

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper appraised the roles of middlemen in the distribution of agricultural products and the inherent implications to food security. The results showed that climate and weather are known limiting factors of production in agriculture. Also, middlemen intervention raise price for consumers. The result showed that farmers ...

THE IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY ON RURAL TO URBAN MIGRATION IN JAVA, INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Fauzia

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates if the improvement of agricultural productivity will decrease rural to urban migration. Since rural to urban migration occurs due mainly to disparity between urban and agricultural wage, we assume that boosting agricultural income will reduce migration to urban areas. It is hypothesized that increase in agricultural productivity would result in a rise in agricultural wage, and hence income, ceteris paribus, reduces rural-urban migration. The data used in this study is the 2010 provincial statistics in West Java, Central Java, and East Java, Indonesia. The agricultural productivity and migration equations were estimated by using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS. The research findings may offer the suggestion to reduce rural to urban migration by boosting rural income through focusing the policy on agricultural productivity. Enhancing investment in agricultural sector such as increasing the number of subsidized fertilizer, adding agricultural labor and livestock, increasing education of rural people, and utilizing agricultural land resource are expected to increase agricultural output.Thus, it would also minimize the wage differential between urban and rural area.

Quality of agricultural-food products as a factor of the Republic of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Jane

2011-08-03

Aug 3, 2011 ... encourages manufacturers and processors of agricultural products to offer a ... AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION COMPETITIVENESS. Serbia has .... quality, modest design and packaging, products have uncertain sale in the ...

3-D Imaging Systems for Agricultural Applications—A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Vázquez-Arellano

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Efficiency increase of resources through automation of agriculture requires more information about the production process, as well as process and machinery status. Sensors are necessary for monitoring the status and condition of production by recognizing the surrounding structures such as objects, field structures, natural or artificial markers, and obstacles. Currently, three dimensional (3-D sensors are economically affordable and technologically advanced to a great extent, so a breakthrough is already possible if enough research projects are commercialized. The aim of this review paper is to investigate the state-of-the-art of 3-D vision systems in agriculture, and the role and value that only 3-D data can have to provide information about environmental structures based on the recent progress in optical 3-D sensors. The structure of this research consists of an overview of the different optical 3-D vision techniques, based on the basic principles. Afterwards, their application in agriculture are reviewed. The main focus lays on vehicle navigation, and crop and animal husbandry. The depth dimension brought by 3-D sensors provides key information that greatly facilitates the implementation of automation and robotics in agriculture.

Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural food production to supply Indian diets: Implications for climate change mitigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Vetter, Sylvia H; Sapkota, Tek B; Hillier, Jon; Stirling, Clare M; Macdiarmid, Jennie I; Aleksandrowicz, Lukasz; Green, Rosemary; Joy, Edward J M; Dangour, Alan D; Smith, Pete

2017-01-16

Agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. The growing global population is putting pressure on agricultural production systems that aim to secure food production while minimising GHG emissions. In this study, the GHG emissions associated with the production of major food commodities in India are calculated using the Cool Farm Tool. GHG emissions, based on farm management for major crops (including cereals like wheat and rice, pulses, potatoes, fruits and vegetables) and livestock-based products (milk, eggs, chicken and mutton meat), are quantified and compared. Livestock and rice production were found to be the main sources of GHG emissions in Indian agriculture with a country average of 5.65 kg CO 2 eq kg -1 rice, 45.54 kg CO 2 eq kg -1 mutton meat and 2.4 kg CO 2 eq kg -1 milk. Production of cereals (except rice), fruits and vegetables in India emits comparatively less GHGs with foods could greatly increase GHG emissions from Indian agriculture. A range of mitigation options are available that could reduce emissions from current levels and may be compatible with increased future food production and consumption demands in India.

Radiation technology for enhancing agriculture productivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Souza, S.F.

2016-01-01

Radiations and radioisotopes are used in agricultural research to develop improved crop varieties, to manage insect pests, monitor fate of pesticides, to study fertilizer and plant micronutrient uptake and to preserve agricultural produce. This is one of the important fields of peaceful applications of atomic energy for societal benefit. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has contributed significantly in this area especially in the development of new mutant crop varieties which are benefitting the farmers in enhancing their productivity. With an effective blend of induced mutagenesis and recombination breeding, 42 new crop varieties developed at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) have been released and Gazette notified by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India for commercial cultivation. These include 21 in oilseeds (15-groundnut, 3 mustard , 2 soybean, 1 sunflower), 19 in pulses (8-mungbean, 5-urdbean, 5-pigeonpea, 1-cowpea) and one each in rice and jute. Some of the desirable traits which have been bred through induced mutations in these crops include higher yields, improved quality traits, early maturity and resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. Several of these varieties have high patronage from the farming community and are grown extensively across the country. Groundnut varieties have given record yields in farmer's fields. Pulses such as mung, urid and tur are popular among farmers in view of their disease resistance and suitability to rice fallow situations. Many of the breeding programmes in national/state systems have been utilizing BARC varieties as parental materials/donors and have developed several other improved varieties using them. (author)

Agricultural field reclamation utilizing native grass crop production

Science.gov (United States)

J. Cure

2013-01-01

Developing a method of agricultural field reclamation to native grasses in the Lower San Pedro Watershed could prove to be a valuable tool for educational and practical purposes. Agricultural field reclamation utilizing native grass crop production will address water table depletion, soil degradation and the economic viability of the communities within the watershed....

Implications of Climate Mitigation for Future Agricultural Production

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Christoph; Elliott, Joshua; Chryssanthacopoulos, James; Deryng, Delphine; Folberth, Christian; Pugh, Thomas A. M.; Schmid, Erwin

2015-01-01

Climate change is projected to negatively impact biophysical agricultural productivity in much of the world. Actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate future climate changes, are thus of central importance for agricultural production. Climate impacts are, however, not unidirectional; some crops in some regions (primarily higher latitudes) are projected to benefit, particularly if increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is assumed to strongly increase crop productivity at large spatial and temporal scales. Climate mitigation measures that are implemented by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations lead to reductions both in the strength of climate change and in the benefits of carbon dioxide fertilization. Consequently, analysis of the effects of climate mitigation on agricultural productivity must address not only regions for which mitigation is likely to reduce or even reverse climate damages. There are also regions that are likely to see increased crop yields due to climate change, which may lose these added potentials under mitigation action. Comparing data from the most comprehensive archive of crop yield projections publicly available, we find that climate mitigation leads to overall benefits from avoided damages at the global scale and especially in many regions that are already at risk of food insecurity today. Ignoring controversial carbon dioxide fertilization effects on crop productivity, we find that for the median projection aggressive mitigation could eliminate approximately 81% of the negative impacts of climate change on biophysical agricultural productivity globally by the end of the century. In this case, the benefits of mitigation typically extend well into temperate regions, but vary by crop and underlying climate model projections. Should large benefits to crop yields from carbon dioxide fertilization be realized, the effects of mitigation become much more mixed, though still positive globally and beneficial in many

Implications of climate mitigation for future agricultural production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Müller, Christoph; Elliott, Joshua; Chryssanthacopoulos, James; Deryng, Delphine; Folberth, Christian; Pugh, Thomas A M; Schmid, Erwin

2015-01-01

Climate change is projected to negatively impact biophysical agricultural productivity in much of the world. Actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate future climate changes, are thus of central importance for agricultural production. Climate impacts are, however, not unidirectional; some crops in some regions (primarily higher latitudes) are projected to benefit, particularly if increased atmospheric carbon dioxide is assumed to strongly increase crop productivity at large spatial and temporal scales. Climate mitigation measures that are implemented by reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations lead to reductions both in the strength of climate change and in the benefits of carbon dioxide fertilization. Consequently, analysis of the effects of climate mitigation on agricultural productivity must address not only regions for which mitigation is likely to reduce or even reverse climate damages. There are also regions that are likely to see increased crop yields due to climate change, which may lose these added potentials under mitigation action. Comparing data from the most comprehensive archive of crop yield projections publicly available, we find that climate mitigation leads to overall benefits from avoided damages at the global scale and especially in many regions that are already at risk of food insecurity today. Ignoring controversial carbon dioxide fertilization effects on crop productivity, we find that for the median projection aggressive mitigation could eliminate ∼81% of the negative impacts of climate change on biophysical agricultural productivity globally by the end of the century. In this case, the benefits of mitigation typically extend well into temperate regions, but vary by crop and underlying climate model projections. Should large benefits to crop yields from carbon dioxide fertilization be realized, the effects of mitigation become much more mixed, though still positive globally and beneficial in many food insecure

Agricultural production data for the Sizewell area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-11-01

The proposed site for the Sizewell B nuclear power station is located at the centre of the East Suffolk coastline. The county itself is predominantly agricultural, producing a very wide range of foodstuffs which in the case of one or two particular foodstuffs contribute a significant proportion of the total national production. A general view of the agricultural setting within which the development would be sited and a compendium of more detailed agricultural data relating to the immediate vicinity of the site, which has been drawn on in the Ministry's assessment of the radiological impact of routine atmospheric waste emission, are given. (U.K.)

Towards a New Generation of Agricultural System Data, Models and Knowledge Products: Design and Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Antle, John M.; Basso, Bruno; Conant, Richard T.; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Jones, James W.; Herrero, Mario; Howitt, Richard E.; Keating, Brian A.; Munoz-Carpena, Rafael; Rosenzweig, Cynthia

2016-01-01

This paper presents ideas for a new generation of agricultural system models that could meet the needs of a growing community of end-users exemplified by a set of Use Cases. We envision new data, models and knowledge products that could accelerate the innovation process that is needed to achieve the goal of achieving sustainable local, regional and global food security. We identify desirable features for models, and describe some of the potential advances that we envisage for model components and their integration. We propose an implementation strategy that would link a "pre-competitive" space for model development to a "competitive space" for knowledge product development and through private-public partnerships for new data infrastructure. Specific model improvements would be based on further testing and evaluation of existing models, the development and testing of modular model components and integration, and linkages of model integration platforms to new data management and visualization tools.

PRODUCTION OF BIOETHANOL FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTE

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Braide W, Kanu I.A, Oranusi U.S and Adeleye S.A

2016-05-01

May 1, 2016 ... ethanol can be made from the named agricultural waste and the process is ..... of lignocellulosic materials for ethanol production: a review. Bioresour. ... [6] Martín, C., Klinke, H.B. and Thomsen, A.B. Wet oxidation as a ...

New Research in Organic Agriculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

1996-01-01

The book is the proceedings from the bi-annual international scientific conference on organic agriculture. The chapters are: - plant and soil interactions, - animal production systems, - traditional knowledge in sustainable agriculture, - research, education and extension in sustainable agricultu......, - environmental impact and nature, - potentials of organic farming, - community, consumer and market, and - policy and financial strategies.......The book is the proceedings from the bi-annual international scientific conference on organic agriculture. The chapters are: - plant and soil interactions, - animal production systems, - traditional knowledge in sustainable agriculture, - research, education and extension in sustainable agriculture...

Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, G.; Shah, M.; Van Velthuizen, H.

2002-08-01

After the introduction Chapter 2 presents details of the ecological-economic analysis based on the FAO/IIASA agro-ecological zones (AEZ) approach for evaluation of biophysical limitations and agricultural production potentials, and IIASA's Basic Linked System (BLS) for analyzing the world's food economy and trade system. The BLS is a global general equilibrium model system for analyzing agricultural policies and food system prospects in an international setting. BLS views national agricultural systems as embedded in national economies, which interact with each other through trade at the international level. The combination of AEZ and BLS provides an integrated ecological-economic framework for the assessment of the impact of climate change. We consider climate scenarios based on experiments with four General Circulation Models (GCM), and we assess the four basic socioeconomic development pathways and emission scenarios as formulated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Third Assessment Report. Chapter 3 presents the main AEZ results of the impact of climate change on agriculture. Results comprise environmental constraints to crop agriculture; climate variability and the variability of rain-fed cereal production; changes in potential agricultural land; changes in crop-production patterns; and the impact of climate change on cereal-production potential. Chapter 4 discusses the AEZ-BLS integrated ecological-economic analysis of climate change on the world food system. This includes quantification of scale and location of hunger, international agricultural trade, prices, production, land use, etc. It assesses trends in food production, trade, and consumption, and the impact on poverty and hunger of alternative development pathways and varying levels of climate change. Chapter 5 presents the main conclusions and policy implications of this study

THE NEED TO IMPROVE PRACTICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM IN AGRICULTURE AND SPECIALIZED INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romeo Cătălin CREŢU

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In Romania, the establishment of the market economy has required the elaboration and implementation of agricultural, alimentary and nutritional policies, based on scientific criteria, to ensure that the structure of Romanian agriculture would come close to that of the European Union agriculture. Agricultural policy needs to be coherent, flexible and directed towards the economic, social and environmental protection performance. Worldwide practice shows that empiric experience of economic agents does not suffice, but requires plenty of scientific knowledge. The hereby study undertakes to carry out a radiography of the production potential of agricultural operations in Romania and to demonstrate the need for improving practical information systems in agriculture and specialized industry.

A survey of radioactive levels of agricultural products in Saitama prefecture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Motegi, Misako; Miyake, Sadaaki; Oosawa, Takashi; Nakazawa, Kiyoaki [Saitama Inst. of Public health, Saitama (Japan)

1997-09-01

Past atmospheric nuclear testing which have been conducted frequently, have caused environmental pollution due to the diffusion of radioactive substances into the atmosphere and from the radioactive fallout. The environmental pollution from nuclear testing into the atmosphere has resulted in the radioactive contamination in agricultural products and has continued for a long time. The radioactive contamination of agricultural products occurs through air, water and soil which were contaminated by radioactive fallout. In this paper, for the purpose of analyzing the extent of the radioactive contamination levels in the agricultural products of Saitama Prefecture, spinach, green soybeans, dried shiitake and welsh onion, were selected among products, as the amount of the harvest is abundant in all of Japan. Radioactivity concentration was investigated by gamma-ray spectrometry and radiochemical analysis. The radioactivity concentrations of artificial radioactive nuclides, cesium-137 ({sup 137}Cs) and strontium-90 ({sup 90}Sr), were detected in the range which is considered to be the result of radioactive fallout. Moreover, in order to examine the effect on radioactivity concentrations in agricultural products by culinary processing, the raw agricultural products were boiled, and their radioactivity concentrations were compared with the raw produce. The radioactivity concentrations in the boiled were lower than those in the raw produce. (author)

A survey of radioactive levels of agricultural products in Saitama prefecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Motegi, Misako; Miyake, Sadaaki; Oosawa, Takashi; Nakazawa, Kiyoaki

1997-01-01

Past atmospheric nuclear testing which have been conducted frequently, have caused environmental pollution due to the diffusion of radioactive substances into the atmosphere and from the radioactive fallout. The environmental pollution from nuclear testing into the atmosphere has resulted in the radioactive contamination in agricultural products and has continued for a long time. The radioactive contamination of agricultural products occurs through air, water and soil which were contaminated by radioactive fallout. In this paper, for the purpose of analyzing the extent of the radioactive contamination levels in the agricultural products of Saitama Prefecture, spinach, green soybeans, dried shiitake and welsh onion, were selected among products, as the amount of the harvest is abundant in all of Japan. Radioactivity concentration was investigated by gamma-ray spectrometry and radiochemical analysis. The radioactivity concentrations of artificial radioactive nuclides, cesium-137 ( 137 Cs) and strontium-90 ( 90 Sr), were detected in the range which is considered to be the result of radioactive fallout. Moreover, in order to examine the effect on radioactivity concentrations in agricultural products by culinary processing, the raw agricultural products were boiled, and their radioactivity concentrations were compared with the raw produce. The radioactivity concentrations in the boiled were lower than those in the raw produce. (author)

Greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions and mitigation options from livestock production in peri-urban agriculture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wei, S.; Bai, Z.H.; Chadwick, D.; Hou, Y.; Qin, W.; Zhao, Z.Q.; Jiang, R.F.; Ma, L.

2018-01-01

Livestock production in peri-urban areas constitutes an important sub-sector of the agricultural production system in China, and contributes to environmental degradation and local air borne pollution contributing to smog. As a result, local policies are being implemented to safeguard the

Assessing Climate Smart Agriculture and Its Determinants of Practice in Ghana: A Case of the Cocoa Production System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Akrofi-Atitianti

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Agriculture in Africa is not only exposed to climate change impacts but is also a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs. While GHG emissions in Africa are relatively minimal in global dimensions, agriculture in the continent constitutes a major source of GHG emissions. In Ghana, agricultural emissions are accelerating, mainly due to ensuing deforestation of which smallholder cocoa farming is largely associated. The sector is also bedevilled by soil degradation, pests, diseases and poor yields coupled with poor agronomic practices. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA thus offers a way to reduce the sector’s GHG emissions and to adapt the sector to the adverse impacts of climate change. This study assesses the potential of CSA vis-à-vis conventional cocoa systems to enhance production, mitigate and/or remove GHG emissions and build resilience, in addition to understanding key determinants influencing CSA practices. Using a mixed methods approach, data was collected in Ghana’s Juabeso and Atwima Mponua districts through semi-structured household questionnaires administered to 80 household heads of cocoa farms, two focus group discussions and expert interviews. A farm budget analysis of productivity and economic performance for both scenarios show that CSA practitioners had a 29% higher income per ha compared to the conventional farmers. Estimations using the FAO Ex-Ante Carbon-Balance Tool (EX-ACT indicate CSA practices preserve forest resources without which the effect on carbon balance as presented by conventional farming would remain a source of GHG emissions. Farm tenure, age of farmers, location of farm, residential status and access to extension services were the main determining factors influencing CSA practices among cocoa farmers. An in-depth understanding of these indicators can help identify ways to strengthen CSA strategies in the cocoa sector and their contributions to climate change mitigation and resilience.

Quality of agricultural-food products as a factor of the Republic of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study analyzes the competitiveness of agricultural-food products of Serbia in the local and international markets. The subject of this research is analysis of relevant competitiveness factors of agricultural-food products, aiming to assess the products' quality and highlight the main intentions of production and processing.

Agricultural productivity growth and technology progress in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The goal of this investigation was to analyze the impact of some variables of production(input) on agricultural productivity growth (output) in China over the period 1989-2002. To this aim, Cobb-Douglas function has been used. The methodology used in this study is correct and the resulting conclusion is that labor, capital ...

Application of fuzzy inference system to increase efficiency of management decision-making in agricultural enterprises

OpenAIRE

Balanovskаya, Tetiana Ivanovna; Boretska, Zoreslava Petrovna

2014-01-01

Application of fuzzy inference system to increase efficiency of management decision- making in agricultural enterprises. Theoretical and methodological issues, practical recommendations on improvement of management decision-making in agricultural enterprises to increase their competitiveness have been intensified and developed in the article. A simulation example of a quality management system for agricultural products on the basis of the theory of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic has been proposed...

Implications of salinity pollution hotspots on agricultural production

Science.gov (United States)

Floerke, Martina; Fink, Julia; Malsy, Marcus; Voelker, Jeanette; Alcamo, Joseph

2016-04-01

Salinity pollution can have many negative impacts on water resources used for drinking, irrigation, and industrial purposes. Elevated concentrations of salinity in irrigation water can lead to decreased crop production or crop death and, thus, causing an economic problem. Overall, salinity pollution is a global problem but tends to be more severe in arid and semi-arid regions where the dilution capacity of rivers and lakes is lower and the use of irrigation higher. Particularly in these regions agricultural production is exposed to high salinity of irrigation water as insufficient water quality further reduces the available freshwater resources. According to the FAO, irrigated agriculture contributes about 40 percent of the total food production globally, and therefore, high salinity pollution poses a major concern for food production and food security. We use the WaterGAP3 modeling framework to simulate hydrological, water use, and water quality conditions on a global scale for the time period 1990 to 2010. The modeling framework is applied to simulate total dissolved solids (TDS) loadings and in-stream concentrations from different point and diffuse sources to get an insight on potential environmental impacts as well as risks to agricultural food production. The model was tested and calibrated against observed data from GEMStat and literature sources. Although global in scope, the focus of this study is on developing countries, i.e., in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as these are most threatened by salinity pollution. Furthermore, insufficient water quality for irrigation and therefore restrictions in irrigation water use are examined, indicating limitations to crop production. Our results show that elevated salinity concentrations in surface waters mainly occur in peak irrigation regions as irrigated agriculture is not only the most relevant water use sector contributing to water abstractions, but also the dominant source of salinity pollution. Additionally

Influences of Packaging on Consumers’ Choice of Agricultural Products in Enugu, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chukwuebuka Ebube Wilfred

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study focused on packaging and its influence on consumers’ choice of agricultural products in Enugu metropolis, Nigeria. In addition, it also aimed to ascertain the relationship between packaging of agricultural products and their perceived quality. The study population is made up of agro-product consumers in Enugu metropolis, Nigeria. A total of 165 questionnaires were administered to respondents. Data obtained through questionnaires were tabulated and analyzed using simple percentages while the chi-square was used to test the research hypotheses. The major findings of this study were that packaging has a direct relationship both to consumers’ choice of agricultural products and their perception of the quality of such products. Accordingly, the researchers conclude and recommend that improved packaging design for agricultural products is essential in attracting consumers and positively influencing their choice of purchase.

Evolution Model and Simulation of Profit Model of Agricultural Products Logistics Financing

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Bo; Wu, Yan

2018-03-01

Agricultural products logistics financial warehousing business mainly involves agricultural production and processing enterprises, third-party logistics enterprises and financial institutions tripartite, to enable the three parties to achieve win-win situation, the article first gives the replication dynamics and evolutionary stability strategy between the three parties in business participation, and then use NetLogo simulation platform, using the overall modeling and simulation method of Multi-Agent, established the evolutionary game simulation model, and run the model under different revenue parameters, finally, analyzed the simulation results. To achieve the agricultural products logistics financial financing warehouse business to participate in tripartite mutually beneficial win-win situation, thus promoting the smooth flow of agricultural products logistics business.

Multi-Product Crops for Agricultural and Energy Production : an AGE Analysis for Poland

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ignaciuk, A.; Dellink, R.B.

2005-01-01

By-products from agriculture and forestry can contribute to production of clean and cheap (bio)electricity. To assess the role of such multi-product crops in the response to climate policies, we present an applied general equilibrium model with special attention to biomass and multi-product crops

Detecting Chaos from Agricultural Product Price Time Series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Su

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Analysis of the characteristics of agricultural product price volatility and trend forecasting are necessary to formulate and implement agricultural price control policies. Taking wholesale cabbage prices as an example, a multiple test methodology has been adopted to identify the nonlinearity, fractality, and chaos of the data. The approaches used include the R/S analysis, the BDS test, the power spectra, the recurrence plot, the largest Lyapunov exponent, the Kolmogorov entropy, and the correlation dimension. The results show that there is chaos in agricultural wholesale price data, which provides a good theoretical basis for selecting reasonable forecasting models as prediction techniques based on chaos theory can be applied to forecasting agricultural prices.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennetzen, Eskild Hohlmann

unit. This dissertation presents results and comprehensions from my PhD study on the basis of three papers. The overall aim has been to develop a new identity-based framework, the KPI, to estimate and analyse GHG emissions from agriculture and LUC and apply this on national, regional and global level....... The KPI enables combined analyses of changes in total emissions, emissions per area and emissions per product. Also, the KPI can be used to assess how a change in each GHG emission category affects the change in total emissions; thus pointing to where things are going well and where things are going less...... well in relation to what is actually produced. The KPI framework is scale independent and can be applied at any level from field and farm to global agricultural production. Paper I presents the first attempt to develop the KPI identity framework and, as a case study, GHG emissions from Danish crop...

The economics of hybrid power systems for sustainable desert agriculture in Egypt

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kamel, S.M.; Dahl, C.

2005-01-01

Egypt has embarked on an ambitious desert land reclamation program in order to increase total food production. Energy planners for these desert agriculture locations have chosen diesel generation power technology because minimization of the initial capital cost of a power supply system is their top...... priority. This heavy reliance on diesel generation has negative effects on the surrounding environment including soil, groundwater, and air pollution. Although good solar and wind resource prospects exist for the use of cleaner hybrid power systems in certain desert locations, little research has been done...... to investigate the economic potential of such systems in Egypt’s desert agriculture sector. Using optimization software, we assess the economics of hybrid power systems versus the present diesel generation technology in a remote agricultural development area. We also consider the emission reduction advantages...

Microcredit Effect on Agricultural Productivity: A Comparative ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

F-value of 9.84 and 10.11 recorded for the two categories of farmers respectively, and being significant at 1 percent each, led to the rejection of the hypothesis of inputs having no significant effect on output. It is thus concluded that credit could bring about higher productivity and profit in agricultural production, hence, this ...

Agricultural recycling of biodigested vinasse for lettuce production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camila Roberta Javorski Ueno

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The agricultural use of waste products represents an interesting alternative for nutrient cycling. Biodigested vinasse, the final waste product of vinasse biodigestion and biogas production, can be reused for agricultural purposes. The present work sought to quantify the shoot dry mass production of lettuce plants, as well as foliar nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content following the application of biodigested vinasse on soil. Biodigested vinasse was produced from anaerobic vinasse digestion, using anaerobic sludge as a source of microorganisms. The treatments, with four replications in entirely randomized design, consisted of anaerobic sludge from a gelatin factory, vinasse in natura, biodigested vinasse and a control treatment. The experiment was conducted over 45 days using 5 L vases and applying a dose equivalent to 150 m3 ha-1 . Lettuce treated with biodigested vinasse showed higher shoot dry mass production and higher accumulation of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in its leaves than that treated with vinasse in natura.

Annual cropped area expansion and agricultural production ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management ... considerable annual increase of varying extent over time and space for both annual output and area ... The study suggests improving productivity through sustainable agricultural ...

Rainwater harvesting and management in rainfed agricultural systems in Sub-Saharan Africa - A review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Biazin, B.; Sterk, G.; Temesgen, M.; Abdulkedir, A.; Stroosnijder, L.

2012-01-01

Agricultural water scarcity in the predominantly rainfed agricultural system of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is more related to the variability of rainfall and excessive non-productive losses, than the total annual precipitation in the growing season. Less than 15% of the terrestrial precipitation

Guide for dosimetry in radiation research on food and agricultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

This guide covers the minimum requirements for dosimetry and absorbed-dose validation needed to conduct research on the irradiation of food and agricultural products. Such research includes establishment of the quantitative relationship between the absorbed dose and the relevant effects in these products. This guide also describes the overall need for dosimetry in such research, and in reporting of the results. This guide is intended for use by research scientists in the food and agricultural communities, and not just scientists conducting irradiation research. It, therefore, includes more tutorial information than most other ASTM and ISO/ASTM dosimetry standards for radiation processing. This guide is in no way intended to limit the flexibility of the experimenter in the experimental design. However, the radiation source and experimental set up should be chosen such that the results of the experiment will be beneficial and understandable to other scientists, regulatory agencies, and the food and agricultural communities. The effects produced by ionizing radiation in biological systems depend on a large number of factors which may be physical, physiological, or chemical. Although not treated in detail in this guide, quantitative data of environmental factors that may affect the absorbed-dose response of dosimeters, such as temperature and moisture content in the food or agricultural products should be reported. The overall uncertainty in the absorbed-dose measurement and the inherent absorbed-dose range within the specimen should be taken into account in the design of an experiment. The guide covers research conducted using the following types of ionizing radiation: gamma rays, bremsstrahlung X-rays, and electron beams. This guide does not include other aspects of radiation processing research, such as planning of the experimental design. Dosimetry must be considered as an integral part of the experimental design. The guide does not include dosimetry for irradiator

Reduction of radiation injury of fresh agricultural products by saccharide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todoroki, Setsuko; Hayashi, Toru

1999-01-01

Radiation exposure has been paid attention as an alternative technique of methylbromide to protect agricultural products against insects. However, it has been pointed out that radiation at a dose lower than 300-400 Gy necessary for insecticidal effects might produce damages in fresh agricultural products. To reduce such radiation damages, radiation sensitivities of various fresh products were determined to clarify whether sugar treatment is effective for reduction of damages. Further, the timing of the treatment and its influence on the metabolism of agricultural product were investigated. When sucrose was added to a cut flower of chrysanthemum via water before and during irradiation, the withering time of its leaves and flowers was earlier than that of the untreated product, whereas continuous administration of sucrose after radiation exposure caused to lengthen the flower's life and delay the leave's yellowing. Thus, it was indicated that continuous sugar supply after irradiation was effective for prevention of radiation damages. (M.N.)

Trade-offs between cattle production and bird conservation in an agricultural frontier of the Gran Chaco of Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Mastrangelo, Matias E; Gavin, Michael C

2012-12-01

Intensification of food production in tropical landscapes in the absence of land-use planning can pose a major threat to biological diversity. Decisions on whether to spatially integrate or segregate lands for production and conservation depend in part on the functional relations between biological diversity and agricultural productivity. We measured diversity, density, and species composition of birds along a gradient of production intensification on an agricultural frontier of the Argentine Chaco, where dry tropical forests are cleared for cattle production. Bird species diversity in intact forests was higher than in any type of cattle-production system. Bird species richness decreased nonlinearly as cattle yield increased. Intermediate-intensity silvopastoral systems, those in which forest understory is selectively cleared to grow pastures of non-native plants beneath the tree canopy, produced 80% of the mean cattle yield obtained in pastures on cleared areas and were occupied by 70-90% of the number of bird species present in the nearest forest fragments. Densities of >50% of bird species were significantly lower in open pastures than in silvopastoral systems. Therefore, intermediate-intensity silvopastoral systems may have the greatest potential to sustain cattle yield and conserve a large percentage of bird species. However, compared with low-intensity production systems, in which forest structure and extent were intact, intermediate-intensity silvopastoral systems supported significantly fewer forest-restricted bird species and fewer frugivorous birds. These data suggest that the integration of production and conservation through intermediate-intensity silvopastoral systems combined with the protection of forest fragments may be required to maintain cattle yield, bird diversity, and conservation of forest-restricted species in this agricultural frontier. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

Computerised image analysis of biocrystallograms originating from agricultural products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jens-Otto; Henriksen, Christian B.; Laursen, J.

1999-01-01

Procedures are presented for computerised image analysis of iocrystallogram images, originating from biocrystallization investigations of agricultural products. The biocrystallization method is based on the crystallographic phenomenon that when adding biological substances, such as plant extracts...... on up to eight parameters indicated strong relationships, with R2 up to 0.98. It is concluded that the procedures were able to discriminate the seven groups of images, and are applicable for biocrystallization investigations of agricultural products. Perspectives for the application of image analysis...

Electromagnetic radiation properties of foods and agricultural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohsenin, N.N.

1984-01-01

In this book, the author examines the effects of the various regions of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum on foods and agricultural products. Among the regions of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum covered are high-energy beta and neutron particles, gamma-rays and X-rays, to lower-energy visible, near infrared, infrared, microwave and low-energy radiowaves and electric currents. Dr. Mohsenin applies these electromagnetic phenomena to food products such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, dairy products, meat and processed foods. Contents: Some Basic Concepts of Electromagnetic Radiation. Basic Instruments for Measurement of Optical Properties. Applications of Radiation in the Visible Spectrum. Color and its Measurement. Sorting for Color and Appearance. Near-Infrared and Infrared Radiation Applications. Applications of High-Energy Radiation. Related Concepts of Microwaves, Radiowaves, and Electric Currents. Measurement of Electrical Properties of Foods and Agricultural Products. Applications of Electrical Properties. Appendix, Cited References. Subject Index

The impact of German biogas production on European and global agricultural markets, land use and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Britz, Wolfgang; Delzeit, Ruth

2013-01-01

As part of its climate policy, Germany promotes the production of biogas via its so-called Renewable-Energy-Act (EEG). The resulting boost in biogas output went along with a significant increase in production of green maize, the dominant feedstock. Existing studies of the EEG have analysed its impacts on German agriculture without considering market feedback. We thus expand existing quantitative analysis by also considering impacts on European and global agricultural markets, land use and the environment by combining a detailed location model for biogas plants, the Regionalised Location Information System-Maize (ReSi-M2012), with a global Partial Equilibrium model for agriculture, the Common Agricultural Policy Regional Impact (CAPRI) model. Our results indicate that the German biogas production is large enough to have sizeable impacts on global agricultural markets in prices and quantities, causing significant land use change outside of Germany. While profits in the agricultural sector increase, food consumer face higher prices, and subsidies for biogas production are passed on to electricity consumers. The German biogas program, as long as it is almost entirely based on non-waste feedstocks, is probably not a promising avenue towards a GHG-saving renewable energy production, but a rather expensive one. - Highlights: • Recent changes to that program decrease green maize use but increase land demands. • The program could raise EU prices for cereals by 3%. • Agricultural land use expansion outside of the EU estimated at 1 Mio ha

Data Entities and Information System Matrix for Integrated Agriculture Information System (IAIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Budi Santoso, Halim; Delima, Rosa

2018-03-01

Integrated Agriculture Information System is a system that is developed to process data, information, and knowledge in Agriculture sector. Integrated Agriculture Information System brings valuable information for farmers: (1) Fertilizer price; (2) Agriculture technique and practise; (3) Pest management; (4) Cultivation; (5) Irrigation; (6) Post harvest processing; (7) Innovation in agriculture processing. Integrated Agriculture Information System contains 9 subsystems. To bring an integrated information to the user and stakeholder, it needs an integrated database approach. Thus, researchers describes data entity and its matrix relate to subsystem in Integrated Agriculture Information System (IAIS). As a result, there are 47 data entities as entities in single and integrated database.

The determinants of agricultural productivity and rural household ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper aims at investigating the determinants of agricultural productivity and rural household income in Ethiopia. Three econometric models namely: Pooled ordinary least square (POLS), fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) model were used to examine the relationship between productivity and income; using ...

Agricultural sectoral demand and crop productivity response across the world

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, M.; Ray, D. K.; Cassidy, E. S.; Foley, J. A.

2013-12-01

With an increasing and increasingly affluent population, humans will need to roughly double agricultural production by 2050. Continued yield growth forms the foundation of all future strategies aiming to increase agricultural production while slowing or eliminating cropland expansion. However, a recent analysis by one of our co-authors has shown that yield trends in many important maize, wheat and rice growing regions have begun stagnating or declining from the highs seen during the green revolution (Ray et al. 2013). Additional research by our group has shown that nearly 50% of new agricultural production since the 1960s has gone not to direct human consumption, but instead to animal feed and other industrial uses. Our analysis for GLP looks at the convergence of these two trends by examining time series utilization data for 16 of the biggest crops to determine how demand from different sectors has shaped our land-use and intensification strategies around the world. Before rushing headlong into the next agricultural doubling, it would be prudent to first consult our recent agricultural history to better understand what was driving past changes in production. Using newly developed time series dataset - a fusion of cropland maps with historic agricultural census data gathered from around the world - we can examine yield and harvested area trends over the last half century for 16 top crops. We combine this data with utilization rates from the FAO Food Balance Sheet to see how demand from different sectors - food, feed, and other - has influenced long-term growth trends from the green revolution forward. We will show how intensification trends over time and across regions have grown or contracted depending on what is driving the change in production capacity. Ray DK, Mueller ND, West PC, Foley JA (2013) Yield Trends Are Insufficient to Double Global Crop Production by 2050. PLoS ONE 8(6): e66428. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066428

Profitability Analysis for Agricultural Investment Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florina Oana VIRLANUTA

2011-11-01

Full Text Available In agriculture production is based on a process both economically as well as the biological one, the work results are influenced, more than any branch of economic, natural and climatic conditions are subject to higher risk and permanently. Due to the features of production in agriculture, we believe that it is necessary such as performance agricultural units to be assessed under a system of specific indicators. The correct assessment units are closely related agricultural economic-financial investment in agriculture. In the following we present and analyze a complex system of specific performance indicators of the extremely for assessing agricultural units.

Guidelines on nitrogen management in agricultural systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This publication deals with the topic of nitrogen management in agro-ecosystems. Nitrogen (N) is an essential plant nutrient, and N deficiency severely restricts crop yields in most cultivated soils. Therefore, substantial N inputs are required for optimum plant growth and adequate food, feed and fibre production. Developing countries use more than 55 million metric tons (t) of N fertilizers at an estimated value of US $16 billion annually, of which approximately 2 million t are used in Africa, 5 in Latin America and 50 in Asia. It is estimated that adequate production of food (in particular cereals) for present and future populations will not be achieved without external inputs of fertilizer N. However, management practices involving fertilizer N should be efficient in order to optimize crop production while minimizing adverse effects on the environment. Moreover, the use of alternative N sources such as organic residues and biological nitrogen fixation should be increased within the context of integrated soil fertility management to ensure food security in areas of the world where fertilizer N is too expensive or simply not available. At present, legumes such as soybean, common bean, groundnuts, chickpeas, cowpeas, etc., are fixing approximately 11 million t of N in developing countries. This publication covers, concisely and comprehensively, key topics dealing with the utilization of all sources of N in farming systems, in particular to demonstrate to scientists in developing countries how isotopic tracer technologies can be used in research to improve overall N use efficiency in agricultural systems while increasing crop yields in a sustainable manner, i.e. conserving the natural resource base and protecting the environment. It is a timely publication; increasing attention is being paid to N management in food production, energy consumption and environmental protection. The subject matter is covered in four chapters, starting with an introduction to N

Food-Energy Interactive Tradeoff Analysis of Sustainable Urban Plant Factory Production Systems

OpenAIRE

Li-Chun Huang; Yu-Hui Chen; Ya-Hui Chen; Chi-Fang Wang; Ming-Che Hu

2018-01-01

This research aims to analyze the food–energy interactive nexus of sustainable urban plant factory systems. Plant factory systems grow agricultural products within artificially controlled growing environment and multi-layer vertical growing systems. The system controls the supply of light, temperature, humidity, nutrition, water, and carbon dioxide for growing plants. Plant factories are able to produce consistent and high-quality agricultural products within less production space for urban a...

Agroecology and the Sustainable Production of Food and Fiber: Emergy Evaluation of Agriculture in the Montado

Science.gov (United States)

The silvopastoral, agricultural system of the montado in Southern Portugal is an example of the self-organization of an agroecological system adapted to the climate and soil conditions of the Mediterranean basin. This system with its consistent production of food, fiber, and ecos...

Effects of climate change on agricultural production and rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigeria is still practicing rain fed agriculture which renders her vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Extreme climatic events such as flooding, extreme heat, and drought has led to soil degradation which results in low crop yields. Decline in agricultural productivity discourages the farmers and may lead to ...

A brief review on activated carbon derived from agriculture by-product

Science.gov (United States)

Yahya, Mohd Adib; Mansor, Muhammad Humaidi; Zolkarnaini, Wan Amani Auji Wan; Rusli, Nurul Shahnim; Aminuddin, Anisah; Mohamad, Khalidah; Sabhan, Fatin Aina Mohamad; Atik, Arif Abdallah Aboubaker; Ozair, Lailatun Nazirah

2018-06-01

A brief review focusing on preparation of the activated carbon derived from agriculture by-products is presented. The physical and chemical activation of activated carbon were also reviewed. The effects of various parameters including types of activating agents, temperature, impregnation ratio, were also discussed. The applications of activated carbon from agricultural by products were briefly reviewed. It is provenly evident in this review, the relatively inexpensive and renewable resources of the agricultural waste were found to be effectively being converted into wealth materials.

Radiation Processed Materials in Products from Polymers for Agricultural Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-07-01

This publication results from a technical meeting on radiation processed materials in products from polymers for agricultural applications, which was held from 8 to 12 July 2013 at the IAEA in Vienna. The meeting provided a forum for the sharing of practical experiences and lessons learned, and reviewed the recent developments in the use of radiation technologies for the preparation of environmental friendly products based on polymers for agricultural applications

Radiation Processed Materials in Products from Polymers for Agricultural Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2014-07-15

This publication results from a technical meeting on radiation processed materials in products from polymers for agricultural applications, which was held from 8 to 12 July 2013 at the IAEA in Vienna. The meeting provided a forum for the sharing of practical experiences and lessons learned, and reviewed the recent developments in the use of radiation technologies for the preparation of environmental friendly products based on polymers for agricultural applications.

Advanced Agriculture system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shrinivas R. Zanwar

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This article addresses the advanced system which improves agriculture processes like cultivation on ploughed land, based on robotic platform. We have developed a robotic vehicle having four wheels and steered by DC motor. The advanced autonomous system architecture gives us the opportunity to develop a complete new range of agricultural equipment based on small smart machines. The machine will cultivate the farm by considering particular rows and specific column at fixed distance depending on crop. The obstacle detection problem will also be considered, sensed by infrared sensor. The whole algorithm, calculation, processing, monitoring are designed with motors & sensor interfaced with microcontroller. The result obtained through example activation unit is also presented. The dc motor simulation with feedforward and feedback technique shows precise output. With the help of two examples, a DC motor and a magnetic levitation system, the use of MATLAB and Simulink for modeling, analysis and control is designed.

Sustainable Water Management in Urban, Agricultural, and Natural Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tess Russo

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Sustainable water management (SWM requires allocating between competing water sector demands, and balancing the financial and social resources required to support necessary water systems. The objective of this review is to assess SWM in three sectors: urban, agricultural, and natural systems. This review explores the following questions: (1 How is SWM defined and evaluated? (2 What are the challenges associated with sustainable development in each sector? (3 What are the areas of greatest potential improvement in urban and agricultural water management systems? And (4 What role does country development status have in SWM practices? The methods for evaluating water management practices range from relatively simple indicator methods to integration of multiple models, depending on the complexity of the problem and resources of the investigators. The two key findings and recommendations for meeting SWM objectives are: (1 all forms of water must be considered usable, and reusable, water resources; and (2 increasing agricultural crop water production represents the largest opportunity for reducing total water consumption, and will be required to meet global food security needs. The level of regional development should not dictate sustainability objectives, however local infrastructure conditions and financial capabilities should inform the details of water system design and evaluation.

Agriculture in Bangladesh : A Note on Food Security by Enhancing Productivity

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2009-01-01

Awami League's Election Manifesto 2008 appropriately recognizes the importance of ensuring food security for all in Bangladesh. Food Security requires increasing agricultural growth which in turn is a key factor in reducing poverty in the country. Food security also requires increasing agricultural production and protecting consumers. Sustained production increases, in turn, require tec...

Process Reengineering of Cold Chain Logistics of Agricultural Products Based on Low-carbon Economy

OpenAIRE

Guo, Hong-xia; Shao, Ming

2012-01-01

Through the process analysis of cold chain logistics of agricultural products, we find that cold chain logistics of agricultural products contradict the development model of low-carbon economy to some extent. We apply the development idea of low-carbon economy, introduce the third-party logistics companies, establish distribution center of cold chain logistics of agricultural products, and strengthen information sharing, to reengineer the process of cold chain logistics of agricultural produc...

CHALLENGES OF AGRICULTURAL COMPANIES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY AND FUNDING ACCES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Livia TRASCA

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The development of agriculture was a priority for the member states of the European Union since its foundation, the Common Agricultural Policy being one of the most ancient politics at the European level. Agriculture is a sector which has a special economic and social importance for Romania. The paper aimed to identify the challenges of the agricultural companies from the perspective of labour productivity and funding access. In this respect, a series of economic indicators as the contribution of agriculture to GDP, the value of agricultural production, the evolution of reference interest rate, the evolution of credits for agriculture, were studied. the conclusion was that in order to improve labour productivity, it is needed a higher qualification of the occupied population in agriculture and the significant improvement of technological endowment of this sector and, from the point of view of funding access, it is necessary the continuous support of the companies which carry out their activity in agriculture, but not only by the diminution of difference interest rate.

Multi-Objective Fuzzy Linear Programming In Agricultural Production Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H.M.I.U. Herath

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Modern agriculture is characterized by a series of conflicting optimization criteria that obstruct the decision-making process in the planning of agricultural production. Such criteria are usually net profit total cost total production etc. At the same time the decision making process in the agricultural production planning is often conducted with data that accidentally occur in nature or that are fuzzy not deterministic. Such data are the yields of various crops the prices of products and raw materials demand for the product the available quantities of production factors such as water labor etc. In this paper a fuzzy multi-criteria mathematical programming model is presented. This model is applied in a region of 10 districts in Sri Lanka where paddy is cultivated under irrigated and rain fed water in the two main seasons called Yala and Maha and the optimal production plan is achieved. This study was undertaken to find out the optimal allocation of land for paddy to get a better yield while satisfying the two conflicting objectives profit maximizing and cost minimizing subjected to the utilizing of water constraint and the demand constraint. Only the availability of land constraint is considered as a crisp in nature while objectives and other constraints are treated as fuzzy. It is observed that the MOFLP is an effective method to handle more than a single objective occurs in an uncertain vague environment.

Asymmetries of cattle and crop productivity and efficiency during Brazil’s agricultural expansion from 1975 to 2006

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Gerd Sparovek

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Brazil has global importance for food production and conservation of natural resources. The country has plans to increase yields and commitments to decrease deforestation that require higher productivity. Plans and policies for the growth of Brazilian agriculture, however, have been made without an integrated analysis of the harvest and not supported by a universal metric regarding its efficiency. Applying methods to model flows of energy and matter along food supply chains for agricultural production from 1975 to 2006, we found that crop and cattle harvests and their productivity have increased during the last four decades in consolidated and deforestation frontier regions. Yet in 2006, crop protein production was 20 times larger than cattle protein, using an area 2.6 times smaller than pastures. Crop protein productivity was 0.25 ton.ha–1 with emissions of 2 ton GHG per ton of protein, while cattle productivity was 0.01 ton.ha–1 with emissions of 283 ton GHG per ton of protein. From 1975 to 2006, the portion of crop protein and energy going to feed increased while the portion going to direct human consumption decreased. Our findings suggest that more efficient food systems would be achieved by a combination of intensification of cattle systems, optimization of feed-meat systems and an increase in the share of the consumption of crops as a source of protein. We suggest an initial road map to the expansion of the cultivated area and intensification of agriculture for zero deforestation, efficient and sustainable land use and food systems where cattle pasture intensification is a transition that will last until the expansion of crops replace all pasture present on suitable arable land. During this transition, pasture area will decrease until it is limited only to marginal non-arable lands. Such change could be achieved by a robust strategy that combines penalties and incentives and prevents the risks of a rebound effect for the

Nitrogen Exchanges: Testing the Hypothesis of a Country without Agricultural Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.-F. Slak

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Today, finding data on agricultural nitrogen balances is quite easy. Calculations of such balances are carried out by most of the European countries as an indicator of environmental pollution attributable to the agricultural sector. In France, average values of agricultural nitrogen balances show an excess of 1.5 to 2 million tons of nitrogen. This excess is enormous. What would the balance of a country be if agricultural activity were stopped? In the following article, a country (France is used as an example without agriculture is studied in order to assess its nitrogen balance. Using a previously published model describing nitrogen input and output of a given country, nitrogen flows are identified. Inputs include deposition, fixation, and products not intended for agricultural use. Outputs are reduced to zero if agriculture disappears (in France, agriculture is the only sector exporting products containing nitrogen. All flows are calculated considering the hypothesis of disappearance of agriculture. Nitrogen requirements to feed people and pets in France are estimated based on medical and veterinary data (recommended daily amounts for proteins and/or usual average consumption. Indeed, most of the food that nourishes the French population is produced nationally. If agriculture stops, it will be necessary to import food from foreign countries. Results show an unexpectedly high excess (for a country without agriculture having a structure similar to France: number of human beings and pets of 1.5 million tons of nitrogen. An attempt to calculate an agricultural balance with the same data gives a result close to 3 million tons. Differences in French agricultural balances found in the literature can mainly be explained by values taken into account for deposition and fixation (values used here are at least 300,000 tons higher than values used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In conclusion, nitrogen excess in agriculture

IMPACT OF CREDENCE ATTRIBUTES OF AGRICULTURAL FOOD PRODUCTS ON CUSTOMER ATTITUDE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fareeha NISAR

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to enhance understanding on how a firm can generate value for its customers using a competitive advantage strategy by accumulating credible attributes to its products. There are certain product attributes that customers can only perceive. In the case of agricultural food products, the customers’ consciousness for safe, natural and organic products has enriched the perceived value of the product. To explore the relationship between the credence attributes and attitude of the customers for the agricultural food, a survey questionnaire has been administered to consumers of agricultural food products in the different regions of Punjab, Pakistan. The data analysis has been conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS to investigate the desired relationship in that particular region of the country. It can be concluded that the trust of customer is now very much depending on the presence of credence attribute that customer cannot describe but evaluate during the purchase of food items.

[Applicability of agricultural production systems simulator (APSIM) in simulating the production and water use of wheat-maize continuous cropping system in North China Plain].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lin; Zheng, You-fei; Yu, Qiang; Wang, En-li

2007-11-01

The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) was applied to simulate the 1999-2001 field experimental data and the 2002-2003 water use data at the Yucheng Experiment Station under Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, aimed to verify the applicability of the model to the wheat-summer maize continuous cropping system in North China Plain. The results showed that the average errors of the simulations of leaf area index (LAI), biomass, and soil moisture content in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 field experiments were 27.61%, 24.59% and 7.68%, and 32.65%, 35.95% and 10.26%, respectively, and those of LAI and biomass on the soils with high and low moisture content in 2002-2003 were 26.65% and 14.52%, and 23.91% and 27.93%, respectively. The simulations of LAI and biomass accorded well with the measured values, with the coefficients of determination being > 0.85 in 1999-2000 and 2002-2003, and 0.78 in 2000-2001, indicating that APSIM had a good applicability in modeling the crop biomass and soil moisture content in the continuous cropping system, but the simulation error of LAI was a little larger.

Agricultural and Food Production in Hungary: On the Road to Sustainability

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Szűcs Csaba

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In the last 25 years Hungarian agriculture has lost its position. Rapid growth in the world’s population requires an increase in food production since one seventh of the population is still starving. The development of agricultural production and the food industry is the basis for the development of rural areas. Hungary produces two per cent of the EU agricultural output, which is far behind its potential. Agriculture, food industry and food trade can only develop together. We need to find the most favourable forms of coexistence with multinational chains sustainably. Food industry is a critical point in the product line, it lags behind the performance of European countries, and resources are insufficient. Long-term co-operation between farmers and processors is inadequate; the common organizations of the markets are minimal. Today, sustainability is increasingly emphasized, environmental and nature protection has been appreciated. The agriculture and forestry sectors are not only suitable for production of food and other raw materials, but they can also replenish resources and have a beneficial effect on biodiversity as well. Today’s problems can only be solved by taking sustainability into consideration. Agri-food industry that complies with the requirements can play a major role in rural employment and value creation.

The commercial use of gamma facilities in North and South America for agricultural product processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butterweck, J.S.

1993-01-01

The treatment of agriculture and food products with ionizing radiation has been proven to be safe, effective, economical, and according to consumer surveys, the end product is better. However, commercial implementation of food irradiation has been slow because of the following: the lack of profit incentives; the failure of the political system to deal with antinuclear groups; the failure of public health authorities to actively support this technology. Food irradiation cannot be considered successfully implemented until the commercial industry is making a profit by the use of this technology. Use of this technology will: (1) reduce food borne infections (FBI); (2) decrease the hazards of the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry production; (3) reduce the need for agriculture quarantine procedures; and (4) increase shelf-life of perishable foods. However, only (1) and (3) are being considered as economic alternatives by the present day's food industry. Previously, agriculture has focused on technology that would increase production and reduce costs. Today this is rapidly changing to implementing technology that markets a product the consumer wants and is perceived as being safer and environmentally responsible. (author)

The commercial use of gamma facilities in North and South America for agriculture product processing

Science.gov (United States)

Butterweck, Joseph S.

1993-07-01

The treatment of agriculture and food products with ionizing radiation has been proven to be safe, effective, economical, and according to consumer surveys, the end product is better. However, commercial implementation of food irradiation has been slow because the following: 1. The lack of profit incentives 2. The failure of the political system to deal with antinuclear groups 3. The failure of public health authorities to actively support this technologyFood irradiation cannot be considered successfully implemented until the commercial industry is making a profit by the use of this technology. Use of this technology will: (1) reduce food borne infections (FBI); (2) decrease the hazards of the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry production; (3) reduce the need for agriculture quarantine procedures; and (4) increase shelf-life of perishable foods. However, only (1) and (3) are being considered as economic alternative by the present day's food industry. Previously, agriculture has focused on technology that would increase production and reduce costs. Today this is rapidly changing to implementing technology that markets a product the consumer wants and is perceived as being safer and environmental responsible.

Influence of radioactive contamination to agricultural products by rainfall during a nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, W. T.; Han, M. H.; Choi, Y. H.; Lee, H. S.; Lee, C. W.

2001-01-01

For the consideration of the effects on radioactive contamination of agricultural products by rainfall during a nuclear accident, the wet interception coefficients for the plants were derived, and the previous dynamic food chain model was also modified. From the results, radioactive contamination of agricultural products was greatly decreased by rainfall, and it decreased dramatically according to increase of rainfall amount. It means that the predictive contamination in agricultural products using the previous dynamic food chain model, in which dry interception to the plants is only considered, can be overestimated. Influence of rainfall on the contamination of agricultural products was the most sensitive for 131 I, and the least sensitive for 90 Sr

Microbiological Production of Surfactant from Agricultural Residuals for IOR Application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bala, Greg Alan; Bruhn, Debby Fox; Fox, Sandra Lynn; Noah, Karl Scott; Thompson, David Neal

2002-04-01

Utilization of surfactants for improved oil recovery (IOR) is an accepted technique with high potential. However, technology application is frequently limited by cost. Biosurfactants (surface-active molecules produced by microorganisms) are not widely utilized in the petroleum industry due to high production costs associated with use of expensive substrates and inefficient product recovery methods. The economics of biosurfactant production could be significantly impacted through use of media optimization and application of inexpensive carbon substrates such as agricultural process residuals. Utilization of biosurfactants produced from agricultural residuals may 1) result in an economic advantage for surfactant production and technology application, and 2) convert a substantial agricultural waste stream to a value-added product for IOR. A biosurfactant with high potential for use is surfactin, a lipopeptide biosurfactant, produced by Bacillus subtilis. Reported here is the production and potential IOR utilization of surfactin produced by Bacillus subtilis (American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 21332) from starch-based media. Production of surfactants from microbiological growth media based on simple sugars, chemically pure starch medium, simulated liquid and solid potato-process effluent media, a commercially prepared potato starch in mineral salts, and process effluent from a potato processor is discussed. Additionally, the effect of chemical and physical pretreatments on starchy feedstocks is discussed.

ADVANTAGES OF AN INFORMATION SYSTEM MONITORING AND STOCKS AGRICULTURAL PRICES. CASE STUDY – ROSIM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena COFAS

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract agricultural policy in our country is based on information dispersed, especially because there is no centralized monitoring system, who to provide reliable information, while the agricultural and food market is experiencing a general feeling of instability - basically, it consists of channels and a dysfunctional organizational structure, based on communication systems do not operate in real time.. An integrated on-line monitoring of prices of agricultural products is of great interest due to the integration of computer technology (communications and agricultural sciences, based on specific concepts: client / server architecture, the integrated platform software, decision support, database distributed relational distance communication through the web, object oriented programming, mathematical modeling, interactivity etc..

Productive interactions for societal impact: Developing a research information system for agriculture (RIS-Agric) at Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boshoff, N.; Esterhuyse, H.

2016-07-01

Assessments of the societal impact of research rely on primary data as input to the relevant indicators. In the current project, the data collection for indicator construction is guided by the SIAMPI approach to societal impact assessment. According to SIAMPI, the achievement of societal impact involves two elements: stakeholders and productive interactions. The latter includes three kinds of interactions: direct personal interactions; indirect interactions where contact is mediated by a material or human ‘carrier’; and financial interactions that refer to the economic exchanges between researchers and stakeholders. The question to be explored is whether the assessment of the societal impact of research can be facilitated by capturing any direct, indirect and financial interactions between researchers and societal stakeholders in a research information system. CREST/SciSTIP is developing such a system, called RIS-Agric, in cooperation with the Faculty of AgriSciences at Stellenbosch University and four agricultural research funders in South Africa that represent different agricultural commodities. A RIS with productive interactions at its core – and the funded research project as the unit of observation – will produce the necessary data for indicators linked to the societal impact of research, in addition to generating insights about the ‘pathway’ from research to societal impact. The indicators need to be ‘socially robust’ in the sense that their validation processes should include the research beneficiaries and their representatives. In doing so, RIS-Agric will produce a useful, standardised measurement mechanism that is aligned across the different commodities. The focus on productive interactions will be supplemented by other methods in order to enable the quantification of societal impact in the form of ‘impact scores’. (Author)

Optimal Scheme Selection of Agricultural Production Structure Adjustment - Based on DEA Model; Punjab (Pakistan)

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zeeshan Ahmad; Meng Jun; Muhammad Abdullah; Mazhar Nadeem Ishaq; Majid Lateef; Imran Khan

2015-01-01

This paper used the modern evaluation method of DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) to assess the comparative efficiency and then on the basis of this among multiple schemes chose the optimal scheme of agricultural production structure adjustment. Based on the results of DEA model, we dissected scale advantages of each discretionary scheme or plan. We examined scale advantages of each discretionary scheme, tested profoundly a definitive purpose behind not-DEA efficient, which elucidated the system and methodology to enhance these discretionary plans. At the end, another method had been proposed to rank and select the optimal scheme. The research was important to guide the practice if the modification of agricultural production industrial structure was carried on.

Technological Innovation of Agricultural Products Processing Enterprises from the Perspective of Modern Marketing——A Case of Agricultural Products Processing Enterprises in Hubei Province,China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

The science and technology development of agricultural products processing enterprises in Hubei Province is analyzed.From the perspective of modern marketing,problems in the research and development work of agricultural products processing enterprises are analyzed from the aspects of market,personal training and technology radiation,which are mainly the lack of close connection with market.Countermeasures for the technological innovation of agricultural products processing enterprises are put forward,such as establishing modern enterprise culture with innovative features,strengthening the market benefits of brand,constructing a comprehensive customer orientation information platform,scientifically predicting and developing the market,doing well in market positioning of enterprise,selecting corresponding technology innovation strategy,taking technological innovation strategy as the basis,realizing the transformation from "4P" marketing combination to "4C",cultivating technical personnel,and realizing the integration of professional skill and marketing ability.

Measuring excess capital capacity in agricultural production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhengfei, G.; Kumbhakar, S.C.; Myers, R.J.; Oude Lansink, A.G.J.M.

2009-01-01

We introduce the concept "excess capital capacity" and employ a stochastic input requirement frontier to measure excess capital capacity in agricultural production. We also propose a two-step estimation method that allows endogenous regressors in stochastic frontier models. The first step uses

Precision Agriculture Technologies Positively Contributing to GHG Emissions Mitigation, Farm Productivity and Economics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Athanasios Balafoutis

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Agriculture is one of the economic sectors that affect climate change contributing to greenhouse gas emissions directly and indirectly. There is a trend of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions reduction, but any practice in this direction should not affect negatively farm productivity and economics because this would limit its implementation, due to the high global food and feed demand and the competitive environment in this sector. Precision agriculture practices using high-tech equipment has the ability to reduce agricultural inputs by site-specific applications, as it better target inputs to spatial and temporal needs of the fields, which can result in lower greenhouse gas emissions. Precision agriculture can also have a positive impact on farm productivity and economics, as it provides higher or equal yields with lower production cost than conventional practices. In this work, precision agriculture technologies that have the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions are presented providing a short description of the technology and the impacts that have been reported in literature on greenhouse gases reduction and the associated impacts on farm productivity and economics. The technologies presented span all agricultural practices, including variable rate sowing/planting, fertilizing, spraying, weeding and irrigation.

Macroeconomic impacts of bioenergy production on surplus agricultural land. A case study of Argentina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wicke, Birka; Smeets, Edward; Faaij, Andre; Tabeau, Andrzej; Hilbert, Jorge

2009-01-01

This paper assesses the macroeconomic impacts in terms of GDP, trade balance and employment of large-scale bioenergy production on surplus agricultural land. An input-output model is developed with which the direct, indirect and induced macroeconomic impacts of bioenergy production and agricultural intensification, which is needed to make agricultural land become available for bioenergy production, are assessed following a scenario approach. The methodology is applied to a case study of Argentina. The results of this study reveal that large-scale pellet production in 2015 would directly increase GDP by 4%, imports by 10% and employment by 6% over the reference situation in 2001. When accounting for indirect and induced impacts, GDP increases by 18%, imports by 20% and employment by 26% compared to 2001. Agricultural intensification reduces but does not negate these positive impacts of bioenergy production. Accounting for agricultural intensification, the increase in GDP as a result of bioenergy production on surplus agricultural land would amount to 16%, 20% in imports and 16% in employment compared to 2001. (author)

Macroeconomic impacts of bioenergy production on surplus agricultural land. A case study of Argentina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wicke, Birka; Smeets, Edward; Faaij, Andre [Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation - Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht (Netherlands); Tabeau, Andrzej [Landbouw Economisch Instituut - Wageningen University and Research Centre, Burgermeester Partijnlaan 19, 2585 BE Den Haag (Netherlands); Hilbert, Jorge [Instituto Ingenieria Rural - Instituto Nacional de la Tecnologia Agropecuario, C.C. 25, 1712 Castelar (Buenos Aires) (Argentina)

2009-12-15

This paper assesses the macroeconomic impacts in terms of GDP, trade balance and employment of large-scale bioenergy production on surplus agricultural land. An input-output model is developed with which the direct, indirect and induced macroeconomic impacts of bioenergy production and agricultural intensification, which is needed to make agricultural land become available for bioenergy production, are assessed following a scenario approach. The methodology is applied to a case study of Argentina. The results of this study reveal that large-scale pellet production in 2015 would directly increase GDP by 4%, imports by 10% and employment by 6% over the reference situation in 2001. When accounting for indirect and induced impacts, GDP increases by 18%, imports by 20% and employment by 26% compared to 2001. Agricultural intensification reduces but does not negate these positive impacts of bioenergy production. Accounting for agricultural intensification, the increase in GDP as a result of bioenergy production on surplus agricultural land would amount to 16%, 20% in imports and 16% in employment compared to 2001. (author)

A Risk-Based Interval Two-Stage Programming Model for Agricultural System Management under Uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye Xu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Nonpoint source (NPS pollution caused by agricultural activities is main reason that water quality in watershed becomes worse, even leading to deterioration. Moreover, pollution control is accompanied with revenue’s fall for agricultural system. How to design and generate a cost-effective and environmentally friendly agricultural production pattern is a critical issue for local managers. In this study, a risk-based interval two-stage programming model (RBITSP was developed. Compared to general ITSP model, significant contribution made by RBITSP model was that it emphasized importance of financial risk under various probabilistic levels, rather than only being concentrated on expected economic benefit, where risk is expressed as the probability of not meeting target profit under each individual scenario realization. This way effectively avoided solutions’ inaccuracy caused by traditional expected objective function and generated a variety of solutions through adjusting weight coefficients, which reflected trade-off between system economy and reliability. A case study of agricultural production management with the Tai Lake watershed was used to demonstrate superiority of proposed model. Obtained results could be a base for designing land-structure adjustment patterns and farmland retirement schemes and realizing balance of system benefit, system-failure risk, and water-body protection.

Institutions and Agricultural Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa

OpenAIRE

Lilyan E. Fulginiti; Richard K. Perrin; Bingxin Yu

2005-01-01

Agricultural productivity in 41 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries from 1960 to 1999 is examined by estimating a semi-nonparametric Fourier production frontier. Over the four decades the estimated rate of productivity change was 0.83% per year, although the average rate from 1985-99 was a strong 1.90% per year. Former UK colonies exhibited significantly higher productivity gains than others, while Liberia and countries that had been colonies of Portugal or Belgium exhibited net reductions in ...

Characteristics of Serbian foreign trade of agricultural and food products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Božić Dragica

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Agricultural and food products are a significant segment of the total foreign trade of Serbia, which is characterized by a relatively high import dependency, modest export and constantly present deficit. In such conditions, agrarian sector serves as a stabilizer, and its importance is reflected in the permanently positive balance, increased participation, particularly in total exports, and balancing the trade balance of the country. The aim of the paper is to analyze the basic characteristics of foreign trade of agricultural and food products of Serbia in the period 2005-2015. The tendencies in export, import, and the level of coverage of import by export of agro-food (or agrarian products are analysed. The participation of these products in the total foreign trade of Serbia is also considered, followed by the comparison of this indicator with the neighbouring countries. In the next part of the paper, the structure of Serbian export and import of agricultural and food products (by product groups is analysed. Special attention is given to the territorial orientation of export and import of agrarian products by the most important trade partners. In order to conduct more comprehensive analysis of comparative advantages, or competitiveness of certain groups of agro-food products of Serbia in the exchange with the world, indicator of Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA is calculated. The analysis of qualitative competitiveness is derived using the indicator - unit value of export and import. The analysis points to the dynamic growth in the value of Serbian export and import of agro-food products, with the constant surplus of trade balance in the observed period. These products are significantly represented in the structure of the total foreign trade of the country, particularly in export (with about 20%. RCA indicators show that Serbia has a comparative advantage in trade of agro-food products to the world in primary products and products of lower

AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN JAPAN - A MODEL FOR COOPERATIVIZATION OF AGRICULTURE FROM ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Remus Gherman

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Japan's agriculture provides only a part from the population's needs, in caloric terms Japan must impute 60% of foods. Arable land are few, but are worked very performant, rice being the main crop together with cotton, citrus, sugarcane, wheat, potato, soybean, sugar beet, other vegetables. Widely is practiced sericulture and fisheries, Japan being one of the leading producers of silk from the world and having over 600 ports specialized for fishing. Japanese agriculture has remained behind the industry and services, this trend being manifested after the very high economic growth from 1960-1970. The main focus of the movements from the Japanese cooperative system is represented by the creation of large specialized farms through the replacing of the traditional ones. The most important task of agricultural cooperatives from Japan is meeting the consumption needs of its members. Integrated leadership of Japanese cooperatives of farmers act at all levels, primary, at prefecture level and at national level. Contractual relationships play a decisive role in the integration of Japanese farmers. In Japan there are about 840 agricultural cooperatives very well organized with a balanced planning and efficiently conducted, agricultural cooperative MIKABI being the most developed, mainly focused on the production of mandarins. In Japan there are three large distribution centers of agricultural products, 29 distribution markets controlled by the prefecture and 1,000 local markets. Organization of cooperatives is the pyramid system on three levels: local, prefecture and national (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives.

Efficiency of Different Integrated Agriculture Aquaculture Systems in the Red River Delta of Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nguyen Van Huong

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Integrated Agriculture Aquaculture (IAA is characteristic with diversity of small-scale production systems in the Red River Delta, Vietnam where most integrated aquaculture systems are closely associated to the VAC model, an ecosystem production that three components: garden (V, pond (A and livestock pen (C are integrated. These VAC systems effectively use all the available land, air, water and solar energy resources, and also effectively recycle by-products and waste for providing diversified agricultural products to meet the complex nutritional demands of rural communities. The IAA systems are dynamic, diverse and subject to economic and environmental changes. By investigating 167 aquaculture households, the traditional VAC, New VAC, Animal Fish (AF and Commercial Fish (FS systems are identified as four existing IAA systems. This paper presents the main characteristics and economic efficiency of these IAA systems. The study’s results indicate clear evidence that the traditional VAC system and New VAC system are the most efficient and effective models. The findings of this study have shed light on the important role of integrated aquaculture systems to food security and economic development of households and local communities. The VAC systems are likely to propose for improving household food security and developing the local economy.

Insect disinfestation of food and agricultural products by irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

Insect infestation is a major cause of post-harvest food loss. Use of chemical pesticides is one of the main methods of controlling storage losses caused by insects. Decades of research conducted worldwide on radiation disinfestation of food and agricultural products have shown that this method could be an alternative to the chemical treatment of foods. The advantages of irradiation processing include no undesirable residues in the foods, no resistance developed by the insects and no significant changes in the physicochemical properties or the nutritive value of the treated products. This volume contains the proceedings of the final Research Co-ordination Meeting on insect disinfestation of food and agricultural products by irradiation, held in May 1987. The individual contributions are indexed separately. Refs, figs and tabs

Seasonality in birth defects, agricultural production and urban location.

Science.gov (United States)

McKinnish, Terra; Rees, Daniel I; Langlois, Peter H

2014-12-01

This paper tests whether the strength of the "spring spike" in birth defects is related to agricultural production and urban location using Texas Birth Defects Registry data for the period 1996-2007. We find evidence of a spike in birth defects among children conceived in the spring and summer, but it is more pronounced in urban non-agricultural counties than in other types of counties. Furthermore, the spike lasts longer in urban non-agricultural counties as compared to other types of counties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DETERMINANTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN SUB-SAHARA AFRICA: 1961-2003

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Olajide Abraham Ajao

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This study examined changes in agricultural productivity in Sub-Sahara Africa countries in the context of diverse institutional arrangements using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA. From a time series which consists of information on agricultural production and means of production were obtained from FAO AGROSTAT and rainfall data from Steve O’Connell data base. The information was for a 43-year period (1961-2003; DEA method was used to measure Malmquist index of total factor productivity. A decomposition of TFP measures revealed that the observed increase in the TFP in the sub–Sahara Africa agriculture is due to technological change rather than efficiency change which is the main constrained of achieving higher level of TFP during the reference period. The study further examined the effect of land quality, malaria, education and selected governance indicators such as, control of corruption and government effectiveness on productivity growth. All the variables included in the model are significant with the exception of government effectiveness

Buffers for biomass production in temperate European agriculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christen, Benjamin; Dalgaard, Tommy

2013-01-01

, environmental pressures from intensive agriculture and policy developments. Use of conservation buffers by farmers outside of designated schemes is limited to date, but the increasing demand for bioenergy and the combination of agricultural production with conservation calls for a much wider implementation....... This paper reviews the biophysical knowledge on buffer functioning and associated ecosystem services. It describes how a three-zone buffer design, with arable fields buffered in combination by grassland, short rotation forestry (SRF) or coppice (SRC) and undisturbed vegetation along water courses, can...... be incorporated into farming landscapes as productive conservation elements and reflects on the potential for successful implementation. Land use plays a much greater role in determining catchment hydrology than soil type: shelterbelts or buffer strips have markedly higher infiltration capacity than arable...

A Modernized System for Agricultural Monitoring for Food Security in Tanzania

Science.gov (United States)

Dempewolf, J.; Nakalembe, C. L.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C. J.; Tumbo, S.; Mbilinyi, B.; Maurice, S.; Mtalo, M.

2016-12-01

Accurate and timely information on agriculture, particularly in many countries dominated by complex smallholder, subsistence agricultural systems is often difficult to obtain or not available. This includes up-to-date information during the growing season on crop type, crop area and crop condition such as developmental stage, damage from pests and diseases, drought or flooding. These data are critical for government decision making on production forecasts, planning for commodity market transactions, food aid delivery, responding to disease outbreaks and for implementing agricultural extension and development efforts. In Tanzania we have been working closely with the National Food Security Division (NFSD) at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MALF) on designing and implementing an advanced agricultural monitoring system, utilizing satellite remote sensing, smart phone and internet technologies. Together with our local implementing partner, the Sokoine University of Agriculture we trained a large number of agricultural extension agents in different regions of Tanzania to deliver field data in near-realtime. Using our collaborative internet portal (Crop Monitor) the team of analysts compiles pertinent information on current crop and weather conditions from throughout the country in a standardized, consistent manner. Using the portal traditionally collected data are combined with electronically collected field data and MODIS satellite image time series from GLAM East-Africa (Global Agricultural Monitoring System, customized for stakeholders in East Africa). The main outcome of this work has been the compilation of the National Food Security Bulletin for Tanzania with plans for a public release and the intention for it to become the main avenue to dispense current updates and analysis on agriculture in the country. The same information is also a potential contribution to the international Early Warning Crop Monitor, which currently covers Tanzania

Reforming the Public Agricultural Extension System in China ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Reforming the Public Agricultural Extension System in China : Supporting Rural Innovation. The public agricultural extension system has played a critical role in Chinese agricultural development over the past few decades. There is growing evidence that since the mid-1990s the system has failed to provide new and ...

Production and Perception of Agricultural Reuse in a Rural Community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valmir Cristiano Marques Arruda

2017-07-01

Full Text Available There is a growing competition among the various sectors of society in the world for the use of water where agriculture stands out as a major consumer. Since it is carried out in a controlled manner, irrigation with effluents from a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP is a very attractive practice, as it allows a greater supply of water for nobler purposes. This work had the general objective of evaluating the perception of a rural community in the municipality of Pesqueira, Pernambuco, Brasil, in terms of consumption and production of products cultivated with the practice of agricultural reuse. The local population showed acceptance for the cultivation and consumption of products through agricultural reuse, above all, with reliable information on the appropriate quality of the effluents used for irrigation. In the estimated data, the same community had a potential of production of corn, beans and cotton in the order of 19.8 tons, 3.4 tons and 7.7 tons respectively, with the use of treated sewage in irrigation.

Agricultural Extension, Collective Action and Innovation Systems: Lessons on Network Brokering from Peru and Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Hellin, Jon

2012-01-01

Purpose: New approaches to extension service delivery are needed that stimulate increased agricultural production, contribute to collective action and which also foster the emergence of agricultural innovation systems. Research in Peru and Mexico explores some of these new approaches. Design/methodology/approach: In both countries, a qualitative…

Improving food and agricultural production. Thailand. Improving food and agricultural production with nuclear and related technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanderdeelen, J.

1991-01-01

In the northern and north-eastern regions of Thailand, low agricultural production is due mainly to poor soil conditions and variability in the seasonal rainfall distribution. With respect to the former aspect, phosphorus fertilization is one of the major constraints. The aim of the mission was to provide guidance on the studies addressing the use of naturally occurring rock phosphate deposits or phosphate fertilizer. 9 refs, 3 tabs

Crop succession requirements in agricultural production planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klein Haneveld, W.K.; Stegeman, A.

2005-01-01

A method is proposed to write crop succession requirements as linear constraints in an LP-based model for agricultural production planning. Crop succession information is given in the form of a set of inadmissible successions of crops. The decision variables represent the areas where a certain

PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY OF AGRICULTURAL AND NON AGRICULTURAL BANKS IN THE UNITED STATES: DEA APPROACH

OpenAIRE

Dias, Weeratilake

1998-01-01

Efficient operation of agricultural credit markets is very important both for the producer as well as for the policy makers. DEA approach is used to calculate productivity analysis which allows decomposition of sources of productivity changes into efficiency and technical change. Measured efficiencies are comparable to most recent parametric studies.

Diffusion of innovative agricultural production systems for sustainable development of small islands: A methodological approach based on the science of complexity

Science.gov (United States)

Barbera, Guiseppe; Butera, Federico M.

1992-09-01

In order to develop small islands, not only must a vital agricultural system be maintained, but the range of opportunities for tourism must be increased with respect to both the seaside and the environmental features of the rural landscape. As an alternative to the traditional and economically declining ones, many innovative production processes can be identified, but their success depends on their interaction with the physical, biological, economic and social environment. In order to identify the main nodes and the most critical interactions, so as to increase the probability of success of a new productive process, a methodological approach based on the science of complexity is proposed for the cultivation of capers ( Capparis spinosa L.) on the island of Pantelleria. The methodology encompasses the identification of actors and factors involved. the quantitative evaluation of their interactions with the different stages of the productive process, and a quasiquantitative evaluation of the probability that the particular action will be performed successfully. The study of “traditional,” “modernized,” and “modernized-sustainable” processes, shows that the modernized-sustainable process offers mutually reinforcing opportunities in terms of an integrated development of high-quality agricultural products and the enhancement of environmental features, in conjunction with high-efficiency production techniques, in conjunction with high-efficiency production techniques, in a way that suits the development of Pantelleria. There is a high probability of failure, however, as a result of the large number of critical factors. Nevertheless, the present study indicates which activities will enhance the probability of successful innovation in the production process.

Energy consumption and total factor productivity growth in Iranian agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Moghaddasi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this study we investigated the relation between energy consumption and growth of total factor productivity (TFP of agriculture in Iran from 1974 to 2012 using Solow residual method. The results from estimated aggregate Cobb–Douglas production function showed that one percent change in the value of labor, capital and energy will lead to 4.07, 0.09 and 0.49 percent change in agriculture value added, respectively. Also in a long term, based on the Johansen cointegration test, there is a negative relation between TFP growth and energy consumption in Iranian agriculture which might be due to cheap and inefficient energy use in this sector. Gradual liberalization of energy price and use of so called green box support policies is recommended.

Monitoring Agricultural Production in Primary Export Countries within the framework of the GEOGLAM Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C. O.; Vermote, E.

2012-12-01

Up to date, reliable, global, information on crop production prospects is indispensible for informing and regulating grain markets and for instituting effective agricultural policies. The recent price surges in the global grain markets were in large part triggered by extreme weather events in primary grain export countries. These events raise important questions about the accuracy of current production forecasts and their role in market fluctuations, and highlight the deficiencies in the state of global agricultural monitoring. Satellite-based earth observations are increasingly utilized as a tool for monitoring agricultural production as they offer cost-effective, daily, global information on crop growth and extent and their utility for crop production forecasting has long been demonstrated. Within this context, the Group on Earth Observations developed the Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) initiative which was adopted by the G20 as part of the action plan on food price volatility and agriculture. The goal of GEOGLAM is to enhance agricultural production estimates through the use of Earth observations. This talk will explore the potential contribution of EO-based methods for improving the accuracy of early production estimates of main export countries within the framework of GEOGLAM.

Potential and impacts of renewable energy production from agricultural biomass in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Tingting; McConkey, Brian; Huffman, Ted; Smith, Stephen; MacGregor, Bob; Yemshanov, Denys; Kulshreshtha, Suren

2014-01-01

Highlights: • This study quantifies the bioenergy production potential in the Canadian agricultural sector. • Two presented scenarios included the mix of market and non-market policy targets and the market-only drivers. • The scenario that used mix of market and policy drivers had the largest impact on the production of bioenergy. • The production of biomass-based ethanol and electricity could cause moderate land use changes up to 0.32 Mha. • Overall, agricultural sector has a considerable potential to generate renewable energy from biomass. - Abstract: Agriculture has the potential to supply considerable amounts of biomass for renewable energy production from dedicated energy crops as well as from crop residues of existing production. Bioenergy production can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using ethanol and biodiesel to displace petroleum-based fuels and through direct burning of biomass to offset coal use for generating electricity. We used the Canadian Economic and Emissions Model for Agriculture to estimate the potential for renewable energy production from biomass, the impacts on agricultural production, land use change and greenhouse gas emissions. We explored two scenarios: the first considers a combination of market incentives and policy mandates (crude oil price of $120 bbl −1 ; carbon offset price of $50 Mg −1 CO 2 equivalent and policy targets of a substitution of 20% of gasoline by biomass-based ethanol; 8% of petroleum diesel by biodiesel and 20% of coal-based electricity by direct biomass combustion), and a second scenario considers only carbon offset market incentives priced at $50 Mg −1 CO 2 equivalent. The results show that under the combination of market incentives and policy mandates scenario, the production of biomass-based ethanol and electricity increases considerably and could potentially cause substantial changes in land use practices. Overall, agriculture has considerable potential to

PERFORMANCE OF ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE IN ROMANIA

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CIPRIAN APOSTOL

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The term ecological agriculture has been attributed by the European Union of Romania to define this system of agriculture and is similar with terms organic agriculture or biological agriculture, which are used in other member states. One of the main goals of ecological agriculture is the production of agricultural and food products fresh and genuine through processes created to respect nature and its systems. Thus, it prohibits the use of genetically modified organisms, fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, stimulators and growth regulators, hormones, antibiotics for livestock and the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, drastic interventions on the soil, the introduction of genetically modified organisms, in the case of the cultivated soil. The study aims to highlight the main features of ecological agriculture and its impact on the national economy. Through a descriptive and comparative analysis of specific indicators are surprising the main aspects of ecological agriculture performance in Romania and are identified investment opportunities in this sector of the national economy. Following this study, it was found that ecological agriculture in Romania is quite performant and recorded a continuous development, but mainly in the production, not in the processing and trading of natural products, which is why investment in these areas would be welcome.

Triggering system innovation in agricultural innovation systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Turner, James A.; Williams, Tracy; Nicholas, Graeme; Foote, Jeff; Rijswijk, Kelly; Barnard, Tim; Beechener, Sam; Horita, Akiko

2017-01-01

This article describes a process for stimulating engagement among change agents to develop a shared understanding of systemic problems in the agricultural innovation system (AIS), challenge prevalent institutional logics and identify actions they might undertake to stimulate system innovation.

Declining agricultural production in rapidly urbanizing semi-arid regions: policy tradeoffs and sustainability indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Dozier, André Q.; Arabi, Mazdak; Wostoupal, Benjamin C.; Goemans, Christopher G.; Zhang, Yao; Paustian, Keith

2017-08-01

In rapidly urbanizing semi-arid regions, increasing amounts of historically irrigated cropland lies permanently fallowed due to water court policies as agricultural water rights are voluntarily being sold to growing cities. This study develops an integrative framework for assessing the effects of population growth and land use change on agricultural production and evaluating viability of alternative management strategies, including alternative agricultural transfer methods, regional water ownership restrictions, and urban conservation. A partial equilibrium model of a spatially-diverse regional water rights market is built in application of the framework to an exemplary basin. The model represents agricultural producers as profit-maximizing suppliers and municipalities as cost-minimizing consumers of water rights. Results indicate that selling an agricultural water right today is worth up to two times more than 40 years of continued production. All alternative policies that sustain agricultural cropland and crop production decrease total agricultural profitability by diminishing water rights sales revenue, but in doing so, they also decrease municipal water acquisition costs. Defining good indicators and incorporating adequate spatial and temporal detail are critical to properly analyzing policy impacts. To best improve agricultural profit from production and sale of crops, short-term solutions include alternative agricultural transfer methods while long-term solutions incorporate urban conservation.

[Integrated evaluation of circular agriculture system: a life cycle perspective].

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Long; Chen, Yuan-Quan; Gao, Wang-Sheng

2010-11-01

For the point of view that recycling economy system is one of ways to achieve the low-carbon economy, we have made an evaluation on a typical circular agriculture duck industry in Hunan Province, China, through improving the framework of life cycle assessment (LCA). The analysis indicated that the consumption of non-renewable resources, land and water were 48.629 MJ, 2.36 m2 and 1 321.41 kg, while the potential greenhouse gas (GHGs), acidification, eutrophication, human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity were 11 543.26 g (CO2 eq), 52.36g (SO2eq), 25.83g (PO4eq), 1.26, 60.74 and 24.65 g (1,4-DCBeq), respectively. The potential damage of aquatic eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity was more serious than that of GHGs. Main results were following: i. the circular agricultural chain promoted the principle of "moderate circulation", which based on the traditional production methods; ii. circular agriculture could not blindly pursue low carbon development. Instead, soil and biological carbon sequestration should be considered, in addition to reducing carbon emissions; iii. circular economy and circular agriculture should take other potential environmental impacts into account such as acidification, eutrophication and ecotoxicity,with the exception to carbon emissions,to developed integrated system assessment; iv. LCA could provide a comprehensive assessment of circular agriculture, and it was worth of further study.

Students' Perception of West African Agricultural Productivity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

More than half (55.6%) of them were favourably disposed to the programme while respondents' farming background (r=3.740, p ≤ 0.05) was significantly related to their perception of the programme. It was recommended that West African Agricultural Productivity Programme officials should focus more attention on ...

Global warming threatens agricultural productivity in Africa and South Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Sultan, Benjamin

2012-12-01

The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC; Christensen et al 2007) has, with greater confidence than previous reports, warned the international community that the increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gases emissions will result in global climate change. One of the most direct and threatening impacts it may have on human societies is the potential consequences on global crop production. Indeed agriculture is considered as the most weather-dependent of all human activities (Hansen 2002) since climate is a primary determinant for agricultural productivity. The potential impact of climate change on crop productivity is an additional strain on the global food system which is already facing the difficult challenge of increasing food production to feed a projected 9 billion people by 2050 with changing consumption patterns and growing scarcity of water and land (Beddington 2010). In some regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia that are already food insecure and where most of the population increase and economic development will take place, climate change could be the additional stress that pushes systems over the edge. A striking example, if needed, is the work from Collomb (1999) which estimates that by 2050 food needs will more than quintuple in Africa and more than double in Asia. Better knowledge of climate change impacts on crop productivity in those vulnerable regions is crucial to inform policies and to support adaptation strategies that may counteract the adverse effects. Although there is a growing literature on the impact of climate change on crop productivity in tropical regions, it is difficult to provide a consistent assessment of future yield changes because of large uncertainties in regional climate change projections, in the response of crops to environmental change (rainfall, temperature, CO2 concentration), in the coupling between climate models and crop productivity functions, and in the adaptation of

'Underutilised' agricultural land: its definitions, potential use for future biomass production and its environmental implications

Science.gov (United States)

Miyake, Saori; Bargiel, Damian

2017-04-01

A growing bioeconomy and increased demand for biomass products on food, health, fibre, industrial products and energy require land resources for feedstock production. It has resulted in significant environmental and socio-economic challenges on a global scale. As a result, consideration of such effects of land use change (LUC) from biomass production (particularly for biofuel feedstock) has emerged as an important area of policy and research, and several potential solutions have been proposed to minimise such adverse LUC effects. One of these solutions is the use of lands that are not in production or not suitable for food crop production, such as 'marginal', 'degraded', 'abandoned' and 'surplus' agricultural lands for future biomass production. The terms referring to these lands are usually associated with the potential production of 'marginal crops', which can grow in marginal conditions (e.g. poor soil fertility, low rainfall, drought) without much water and agrochemical inputs. In our research, we referred to these lands as 'underutilised' agricultural land and attempted to define them for our case study areas located in Australia and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Our goal is to identify lands that can be used for future biomass production and to evaluate their environmental implications, particularly impacts related to biodiversity, water and soil at a landscape scale. The identification of these lands incorporates remote sensing and spatially explicit approaches. Our findings confirmed that there was no universal or single definition of the term 'underutilised' agricultural land as the definitions significantly vary by country and region depending not only on the biophysical environment but also political, institutional and socio-economic conditions. Moreover, our results highlighted that the environmental implications of production of biomass on 'underutilised' agricultural land for biomass production are highly controversial. Thus land use change

Agricultural mechanization in Ethiopian: Experience, status and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Agricultural Mechanization deals with the use of any mechanical aid in agricultural production. ... The productivity of each level depends on the power source. ... During Imperial Ethiopia, there were big farms operating as share companies, ... based agricultural mechanization system, where precision and efficiency are the ...

Systems assessment of water savings impact of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) utilizing wirelessly networked Sense•Decide•Act•Communicate (SDAC) systems.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campbell, Jonathan T.; Baynes, Edward E., Jr.; Aguirre,Carlos (University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX); Jordan, Jon (University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ); Giacomelli, Gene (University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ); Waggoner, Justin (New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM); Loest, Clint (New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM); Szumel, Leo; Nakaoka, Tyler; Pate, Ronald C.; Berry, Nina M.; Pohl, Phillip Isabio; Aguirre, Francisco Luis (Invernaderos y Maquinaria Aguirre, Cd., Aldama, Chihuahua, Mexico); Aguilar, Jose (University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX); Gupta, Vipin P.; Ochoa, Juan (University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX); Davis, Jesse Zehring; Ramos, Damian (University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX)

2005-02-01

Reducing agricultural water use in arid regions while maintaining or improving economic productivity of the agriculture sector is a major challenge. Controlled environment agriculture (CEA, or, greenhouse agriculture) affords advantages in direct resource use (less land and water required) and productivity (i.e., much higher product yield and quality per unit of resources used) relative to conventional open-field practices. These advantages come at the price of higher operating complexity and costs per acre. The challenge is to implement and apply CEA such that the productivity and resource use advantages will sufficiently outweigh the higher operating costs to provide for overall benefit and viability. This project undertook an investigation of CEA for livestock forage production as a water-saving alternative to open-field forage production in arid regions. Forage production is a large consumer of fresh water in many arid regions of the world, including the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. With increasing competition among uses (agriculture, municipalities, industry, recreation, ecosystems, etc.) for limited fresh water supplies, agricultural practice alternatives that can potentially maintain or enhance productivity while reducing water use warrant consideration. The project established a pilot forage production greenhouse facility in southern New Mexico based on a relatively modest and passive (no active heating or cooling) system design pioneered in Chihuahua, Mexico. Experimental operations were initiated in August 2004 and carried over into early-FY05 to collect data and make initial assessments of operational and technical system performance, assess forage nutrition content and suitability for livestock, identify areas needing improvement, and make initial assessment of overall feasibility. The effort was supported through the joint leveraging of late-start FY04 LDRD funds and bundled CY2004 project funding from the New Mexico Small Business Technical

Participation of Urban Women in Agricultural Production Activities in the Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barau, A. A.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study examines the participation of urban women in agricultural production activities in the Sokoto metropolis, Nigeria. Both primary data and secondary information were used in the study. The primary data were obtained using a structured questionnaire, administered to 72 respondents selected using the snowball sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the primary data generated. These include frequency and percentage, and Pearson product moment correlation, respectively. The results show that most of the urban women (38.9 % were in the active age range and had a family size of 1-5 persons (73.6 %. The majority attained tertiary education (62.5 % and have relatively low income (61.1 %, with monthly earnings of 5,000-99,000 Naira. The majority of the women were involved in agricultural production activities all year round (52.8 % with the highest participation seen in poultry farming (43.1 %. Although most of the women were motivated to participate for several reasons, it was mostly for the increased income (33.3 %. It was also found that the major constraint faced was inadequate capital (43.1 %. Age, marital status, educational attainment, household size and farm size were negatively and not significantly (p<5 % related to the participation of urban women in agricultural production activities. Monthly income was however, positively related to the urban women’s participation in agricultural production activities and was also significant (p<5 %. In general, urban women participate in agricultural production activities on a small scale all year round. Proper orientation and awareness programs, provision of credit and women-targeted agricultural programs would go a long way to improving the participation of urban women in agricultural production activities.

Evaluating multiple indices of agricultural water use efficiency and productivity to improve comparisons between sites and trends

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, M. C.

2012-12-01

Approximately 70% of global available freshwater supplies are used in the agricultural sector. Increased demands for water to meet growing population food requirements, and expected changes in the reliability of freshwater supplies due to climate change, threaten the sustainability of water supplies worldwide - not only on farms, but in connected cities and industries. Researchers concerned with agricultural water use sustainability use a variety of theoretical and empirical measures of efficiency and productivity to gain insight into the sustainability of agricultural water use. However, definitions of measures, or indices, vary between different natural and political boundaries, across regions, states and nations and between their respective research, industry, and environmental groups. Index development responds to local data availability and local agendas, and there is debate about the validity of various indices. However, real differences in empirical index measures are not well-understood across the multiple disciplines that study agricultural water use, including engineering and hydrology, agronomy, climate and soil sciences, and economics. Nevertheless reliable, accessible, and generalizable indices are required for planners and policymakers to promote sustainable water use systems. This study synthesizes a set of water use efficiency and productivity indices based on academic, industry and government literature in California and Australia, two locations with similarly water-stressed and valuable agricultural industries under pressure to achieve optimal water use efficiency and productivity. Empirical data at the irrigation district level from the California San Joaquin Valley and Murray Darling Basin states of Victoria and New South Wales in Australia are used to compute indices that estimate efficiency, yield productivity, and economic productivity of agricultural water use. Multiple index estimates of same time-series data demonstrate historical spread

Conservationist Systems, one environmental alternative for the agriculture of the Northeastern Andes of Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villamizar Moreno, J.

1999-01-01

The article shows the results of a proposal of alternative handling of the agriculture ecosystem tobacco-bean-maize, main agricultural activity of the Northeastern Andes of Colombia. This system is the base of the economic and alimentary security and the main factor of degradation of the natural resources of the region. The work looks for to develop the diversified rotations, as essential component of biological diversity, the reduced works as strategy of protection of the soil and the promotion of the agriculture ecology like new model of agricultural development. The results of the work show that the high volume of organic residuals coming from the rotation tobacco bean maize, become compost in the field and the reduction of the farm, they promote the stability of the productive components of the soils and their agricultural yields. The biggest levels of organic matter and of total porosity, generated by the biggest biological activity, they indicate that the technological alternatives of the proposal slow the effects of the degradation originated by the conventional agriculture. These alternatives can be included in the regional programs of agricultural production, like solution principle and as strategy for the sustainable development of the region

Energetic performance analysis of drying agricultural products ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Renewable energy sources such as solar energy for drying purposes in a more effective and efficient way is inevitable for preservation of agricultural products in developing nations with inadequate access to electricity. This study investigates the effects of using a solar tracking device on the energy performance of drying ...

Integrated Systems Mitigate Land Degradation and Improve Agricultural System Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Landblom, Douglas; Senturklu, Songul; Cihacek, Larry; Brevik, Eric

2017-04-01

Rain-fed agricultural production supported by exogenous inputs is not sustainable because a continuous influx of expensive inputs (fertilizer, chemicals, fossil fuel, labor, tillage, and other) is required. Alternatives to traditional management allow natural occurring dynamic soil processes to provide the necessary microbial activity that supports nutrient cycling in balance with nature. Research designed to investigate the potential for integrated systems to replace expensive inputs has shown that healthy soils rich in soil organic matter (SOM) are the foundation upon which microbial nutrient cycling can reduce and eventually replace expensive fertilizer. No-till seed placement technology effectively replaces multiple-pass cultivation conserving stored soil water in semi-arid farming systems. In multi-crop rotations, cool- and warm-season crops are grown in sequence to meet goals of the integrated farming and ranching system, and each crop in the rotation complements the subsequent crop by supplying a continuous flow of essential SOM for soil nutrient cycling. Grazing animals serve an essential role in the system's sustainability as non-mechanized animal harvesters that reduce fossil fuel consumption and labor, and animal waste contributes soil nutrients to the system. Integrated systems' complementarity has contributed to greater soil nutrient cycling and crop yields, fertilizer reduction or elimination, greater yearling steer grazing net return, reduced cow wintering costs grazing crop residues, increased wildlife sightings, and reduced environmental footprint. Therefore, integrating crop and animal systems can reverse soil quality decline and adopting non-traditional procedures has resulted in a wider array of opportunities for sustainable agriculture and profitability.

Potential To Increase Productivity And Sustainability In Argentinean Agriculture With Controlled Traffic Farming: A Short Discussion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antille Diogenes L.

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Drivers for and potential barriers against adoption of controlled traffic farming (CTF systems in Argentina are reviewed. Traffic compaction is one of the main factors affecting crop productivity within Argentinean agriculture, and has significant although less quantified impacts on the whole-of-farm system. This suggests that the benefits of no-tillage (NT, which represents the dominant form of cropping in Argentina, are not fully realised. Conservative estimates indicate that crop yields could be improved by at least 15% if NT is used in conjunction with CTF. Cost-benefit analyses of available options for compaction management are required. Despite this, and based on reported evidence internationally, a shift toward increased uptake of CTF within Argentinean agriculture is likely to: (1 improve productivity and farm profitability, (2 enhance environmental performance, and (3 maintain competitiveness of the agricultural sector. Appropriate technical advice and support is a key requirement to drive adoption of CTF. Therefore, the adoption process will benefit from collaboration developed with well-established research and extension organisations in Australia and the United Kingdom, and active engagement of machinery manufacturers.

Nitrogen performance indicators for dairy production systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klein, De Cecile A.M.; Monaghan, Ross M.; Alfaro, Marta A.; Gourley, Cameron J.P.; Oenema, Oene; Mark Powell, J.

2017-01-01

Nitrogen (N) is invaluable for maintaining agricultural production, but its use, and particularly inefficient use, can lead to environmental losses. This paper reviews N use efficiency (NUE) and N surplus indicators for dairy production systems to assess their utility for optimising N use outcomes

Innovation in Agriculture - a Way for Romanian Farmers to Adjust Production to Market Requirements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuela Dora Orboi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available One of the main problems of the world in the coming years is food security. The main problem of agriculture in the future is not only to produce more, but to do so in a sustainable way. European Innovation Partnership called "Productivity and sustainability of agriculture" aims to provide a working interface between agriculture, bio-economy, science and other disciplines at national, regional and EU level. European Innovation Partnership is a new concept that was introduced in Strategy Europe 2020 of the European Commission. In this document, the Commission underlines the role of research and innovation as key elements in adapting to future challenges of the European Union. This partnership will also serve as a catalyst to increase the effectiveness of actions related to innovation supported through rural development policy, EU research and innovation. It has been identified two main objectives for the European Innovation Partnership: promoting productivity and efficiency of agriculture and durable agriculture sustainability in all Member States. It aims to create a better cooperation between research and agricultural practice, namely farmers. Through National Program for Rural Development 2014 - 2020, can be financed such initiatives, through Measure 16, sub-16.1 - Support for the establishment and operation of operational groups of the EIP for agricultural productivity and sustainability and sub-16.2 - Support for pilot projects and development of new products, practices, processes and technologies. The purpose of these sub-measures is to support the establishment of operational groups between partners coming from research: research institutes, research stations or centers, higher education institutions that have research in agriculture or which can be applied in agriculture and agricultural producers (farmers, companies, cooperatives and producer groups. Development and innovation activities would enable farmers to capitalize on joint the

Key attributes of agricultural innovations in semi-arid smallholder farming systems in south-west Zimbabwe

Science.gov (United States)

Mutsvangwa-Sammie, Eness P.; Manzungu, Emmanuel; Siziba, Shephard

2018-06-01

In Sub-Sahara Africa, which includes Zimbabwe, about 80% of the population depends on agriculture for subsistence, employment and income. Agricultural production and productivity are, however, low. This has been attributed to a lack of appropriate innovations despite the huge investments that have been made to promote 'innovations' as a means to safeguarding agriculture-based livelihoods, which raises the question of how innovations are conceptualized, designed and implemented. This paper explores the key attributes of agricultural innovations by assessing how innovations are conceptualized, designed and implemented in semi-arid smallholder farming systems in south-west Zimbabwe. The study gathered information from 13 key informants and a household survey of 239 farmer households from Gwanda and Insiza districts. Results showed a multiplicity of understandings of agricultural innovations among different stakeholders. However, novelty/newness, utility and adaptability were identified as the major attributes. In general, farmers characterized agricultural innovations as 'something new and mostly introduced by NGOs' but did not associate them with the key attributes of utility and adaptability. More crop-related innovations were identified despite the area being suitable for livestock production. The paper concludes that, rather than view the multiple and sometimes competing understandings of agricultural innovations as undesirable, this should be used to promote context specific innovations which stand a better chance of enhancing agriculture-based livelihoods.

A process-based agricultural model for the irrigated agriculture sector in Alberta, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Ammar, M. E.; Davies, E. G.

2015-12-01

Connections between land and water, irrigation, agricultural productivity and profitability, policy alternatives, and climate change and variability are complex, poorly understood, and unpredictable. Policy assessment for agriculture presents a large potential for development of broad-based simulation models that can aid assessment and quantification of policy alternatives over longer temporal scales. The Canadian irrigated agriculture sector is concentrated in Alberta, where it represents two thirds of the irrigated land-base in Canada and is the largest consumer of surface water. Despite interest in irrigation expansion, its potential in Alberta is uncertain given a constrained water supply, significant social and economic development and increasing demands for both land and water, and climate change. This paper therefore introduces a system dynamics model as a decision support tool to provide insights into irrigation expansion in Alberta, and into trade-offs and risks associated with that expansion. It is intended to be used by a wide variety of users including researchers, policy analysts and planners, and irrigation managers. A process-based cropping system approach is at the core of the model and uses a water-driven crop growth mechanism described by AquaCrop. The tool goes beyond a representation of crop phenology and cropping systems by permitting assessment and quantification of the broader, long-term consequences of agricultural policies for Alberta's irrigation sector. It also encourages collaboration and provides a degree of transparency that gives confidence in simulation results. The paper focuses on the agricultural component of the systems model, describing the process involved; soil water and nutrients balance, crop growth, and water, temperature, salinity, and nutrients stresses, and how other disciplines can be integrated to account for the effects of interactions and feedbacks in the whole system. In later stages, other components such as

The system of protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products System chronionych nazw pochodzenia i oznaczeń geograficznych produktów rolnych

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Izabela Lipińska

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to determe the scheme of actual legal protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs. The protection is reserved only for producers who fulfill all requirements mentioned in the regulations, considering region, origins and quality. They only may sell such products on the internal market under the certain logos. Labels are vital, giving EU farmers and producers the possibility of higher returns in exchange for better quality, and giving consumers specific products that come with the guarantee of a certain production method and enable to gain some financial support from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

Global and regional phosphorus budgets in agricultural systems and their implications for phosphorus-use efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Lun, Fei; Liu, Junguo; Ciais, Philippe; Nesme, Thomas; Chang, Jinfeng; Wang, Rong; Goll, Daniel; Sardans, Jordi; Peñuelas, Josep; Obersteiner, Michael

2018-01-01

The application of phosphorus (P) fertilizer to agricultural soils increased by 3.2 % annually from 2002 to 2010. We quantified in detail the P inputs and outputs of cropland and pasture and the P fluxes through human and livestock consumers of agricultural products on global, regional, and national scales from 2002 to 2010. Globally, half of the total P inputs into agricultural systems accumulated in agricultural soils during this period, with the rest lost to bodies of water through complex flows. Global P accumulation in agricultural soil increased from 2002 to 2010 despite decreases in 2008 and 2009, and the P accumulation occurred primarily in cropland. Despite the global increase in soil P, 32 % of the world's cropland and 43 % of the pasture had soil P deficits. Increasing soil P deficits were found for African cropland vs. increasing P accumulation in eastern Asia. European and North American pasture had a soil P deficit because the continuous removal of biomass P by grazing exceeded P inputs. International trade played a significant role in P redistribution among countries through the flows of P in fertilizer and food among countries. Based on country-scale budgets and trends we propose policy options to potentially mitigate regional P imbalances in agricultural soils, particularly by optimizing the use of phosphate fertilizer and the recycling of waste P. The trend of the increasing consumption of livestock products will require more P inputs to the agricultural system, implying a low P-use efficiency and aggravating P-stock scarcity in the future. The global and regional phosphorus budgets and their PUEs in agricultural systems are publicly available at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.875296.

The Role of Aerospace Technology in Agriculture. The 1977 Summer Faculty Fellowship Program in Engineering Systems Design

Science.gov (United States)

1977-01-01

Possibilities were examined for improving agricultural productivity through the application of aerospace technology. An overview of agriculture and of the problems of feeding a growing world population are presented. The present state of agriculture, of plant and animal culture, and agri-business are reviewed. Also analyzed are the various systems for remote sensing, particularly applications to agriculture. The report recommends additional research and technology in the areas of aerial application of chemicals, of remote sensing systems, of weather and climate investigations, and of air vehicle design. Also considered in detail are the social, legal, economic, and political results of intensification of technical applications to agriculture.

PRODUCTION, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL BIOGAS PLANT IN KOSTKOWICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karol Węglarzy

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the economic and ecological effect of Kostkowice Agricultural biogas plant based on a four year study carried out on the prototype installation. Agricultural biogas plant is part of the nature of the research conducted for twenty years at the National Research Institute of Animal PIB Experimental Station. Prof. Mieczyslaw Czaja relates to various aspects of environmental protection. It describes the economic justification for the production of energy from waste biomass (manure, slurry, wastes from feeding table, by the characteristics of substrates and products. It was found that agricultural biogas plant in rural areas are an important link in energy security, mainly due to the very high availability. Ecological effect is presented as effect of the installation solutions for the reduction of pollution of water, soil and air. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the recycling of environmentally harmful by-products of animal production of electricity and thermal energy, which is a substitute for environmentally harmful fossil fuels. The advantage of substances digestate is odorless, which is important both in an effort to improve the work culture in agriculture and improving living conditions in rural communities and it is an indisputable argument for the use of biomass for energy purposes.

From biophysical to social-ecological trade-offs: integrating biodiversity conservation and agricultural production in the Argentine Dry Chaco

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Matias E. Mastrangelo

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Agricultural intensification in rural areas of developing countries compromises the provision of ecosystem services. Social conflict arises among landholders with different preferences for ecosystem services and land-use practices in agricultural frontiers of the Argentine Dry Chaco. We explored policy and management options by assessing the actual and potential outcomes of alternative land-use systems and scenarios. We first constructed the efficiency frontier for avian habitat and agricultural productivity to analyze the combinations of ecosystem services that can be achieved under different land-use intensities. A nonlinear, concave efficiency frontier indicated opportunities to achieve large gains for production with small losses for conservation, for instance, by transitioning from low- to intermediate-intensity systems. Second, we projected production and conservation outcomes, which can be achieved through the implementation of five alternative policy options. The land sharing with conservation scenario, 70% of the landscape covered by intermediate-intensity systems and 30% by undisturbed forests, yielded the higher combination of avian habitat and agricultural productivity. Third, we constructed indifference curves of three landholder groups, i.e., preproductivist, multifunctional, and productivist, by assessing their intentions (proxies for preferences to conserve and convert remnant forests in their landholdings. Multifunctional landholders showed balanced preferences for conserving and converting forests in their landholdings, and maintaining intermediate-intensity systems. A general willingness to conserve forests coexisted in preproductivist landholders with the intention to clear some portions of the landholding and intensify landuse, indicating the potential of an endogenously motivated transition toward a multifunctional regime. Such transition may increase their productivity by 35-65% without compromising avian habitat