Academic literature on the topic 'Agro-Climatic risks'

Abstract The objective of the present study was to map the agro-climatic zone for Robusta coffee crop in the Srepok River Basin. In this study, the trends of temperature and precipitation were identified using by the Mann – Kendall non-parametric test, the water deficit was calculated based on the CROPWAT model, and the agro-climatic zones for Robusta coffee crop were mapped using geographic information system (GIS). Results showed that the average annual temperature and the average annual rainfall had increasing trends. In addition, five agro-climatic zones were identified in the study area, including very appropriate, appropriate, neutral, restricted and inappropriate. Most of the territory was classified as Moderately Suitable for Robusta coffee. Suitable areas for the coffee cultivation were found in the east of the basin. Agro-climatic zoning will help managers and farmers improve crop yields effectively, avoid climate risks and maximize local advantages.

The article discusses the relevance of analyzing the level of biological risks from the point of view of activities of enterprises of the agro-industrial complex. Agro-industrial complex enterprises deal with living organisms (plants and animals), characterized by a development cycle closely related to natural and climatic conditions, and subordination to the biological laws of the functioning of living things. This is the reason for risks being specific only to this industry (biological, climatic, risks of seasonality of production, etc.). Biological risks are the undisputed leaders in this list, since they pose a threat to the life and health of people when using the products of agricultural enterprises. The authors consider biological threats of human infection when eating livestock products, since (unlike plants) humans and animals have a common group of diseases called zooanthroponosis. The analysis of studies and opinions of specialists in veterinary and sanitary examination, microbiology, epizootology, infectious diseases and epidemiology allowed to compile a list of biological risk factors, identify criteria for assessing the degree of risk, and conduct their quantitative and qualitative assessment at the regional level.

The topic of the presented article covers the systematic evaluation of operational technologies in the field of crop production, where one of the key factors is the probability of failure to achieve the planned final production results under the influence of agrarian risks. Justification and selection of the optimal technology for growing and harvesting a certain group of agricultural crops is a complex multi-criteria technical and organizational task. At the same time, an urgent practical and pragmatic question arises: is it expedient in the difficult economic and political conditions of the country's economy to use the maximum of resource, technical and technological support of production processes in crop production, if the ratio "costs - the obtained result" can be much less than the expected planned indicators, and, at the same time, there is a significant influence of non-human-controlled factors regarding the cultivation and harvesting of agricultural crops. In this publication, we will consider the planning of production processes regarding the organization of operational technologies in crop production as an example of comparing and choosing the optimal option, considering agro-climatic risks, using the example of growing and harvesting winter wheat. When carrying out the production implementation of the recommendations described in the article on the topic of this study, it should be noted that when making an organizational and economic decision to determine the best relative resistance to agro-climatic risks of the system of operational mechanized technologies, the impact of risks is minimized and not excluded. If the occurrence of a complete crop loss event is critical for a given enterprise and leads to irreparable losses, then it is necessary to apply the system of index agricultural insurance with mandatory consideration of the specifics of the agro-climatic conditions of the region where agricultural production is carried out.

The agro-industrial complex is an extensive and comprehensive sector that needs legal regulation for efficiency and legal protection. One of the labor-intensive and complex branches of the agricultural sector in the economy is agriculture. The complexity of economic development through the agricultural sector lies in the instability of climatic conditions in different rural areas of the Russian Federation. Two directions of development of the agro-industrial complex are considered. A new strategy for the development of the agro-industrial complex until 2030 is analyzed. Very careful attention is paid to the goals and directions of this strategy. There are certain strategic risks in the agro-industrial sector. Fluctuations in the economic situation and the application of sanctions by foreign countries create a negative environment for Russia in international trade. Due to the instability of economic and political factors, it can be said that the agro-industrial sector is a risky industry. Therefore, the way out of this situation is insurance of agro-industrial risks. Insurance refers to the protection of property that has suffered damage or loss in certain insurance cases, with the help of insurance funds. In the future, in the author's opinion, the development of insurance in agriculture should be carried out in the following directions: improvement of legislation, namely the adoption of a regulatory act regulating the specifics of insurance in the agricultural sector, taking into account the changed economic conditions.

Differentiated development of climatic risks in agricultural regions leads to fluctuations in yields and agricultural production volumes, disruption of food chains and a decrease in food reserves, thereby endangering sustainable agricultural production and creating risks for ensuring the country's food security. In the period from 1991 to 2019 in the Saratov region, using satellite monitoring data, a number of unfavorable meteorological (weather) phenomena were identified. The dependence of the main indicators of grain production in the Saratov region on the growing influence of negative climatic factors has been investigated. The necessity of taking into account the impact of hazardous meteorological (weather) phenomena in the system of strategic priorities, as well as when making forecasts for the socio-economic development of the region, modeling the influence of negative climatic factors on the structural balance of the agro-industrial complex has been substantiated.

The article presents the results of studies on the construction of neural network models that will help reduce risks and increase the efficiency of irrigated agriculture. The projected increase in food production on irrigated land is subject to significant risks of climatic and infrastructural nature. Irrigated agriculture, in the global understanding of interrelationships, is a complex dynamic system with nonlinear dependencies. Therefore, traditional approaches based only on physical modeling of environmental and technical processes and relationships often complicate the search for effective solutions. Technological advances that stimulate unprecedented data growth, the rapid extraction of meaningful information from the modern data flow can increase the efficiency of decisions and minimize risks. An approach based on the implementation of neural network models for predicting agro-climatic parameters and intelligent control of irrigation equipment using neurocontrollers is proposed. The models are implemented in the Matlab. The use of these models can significantly reduce risks and increase the efficiency of irrigated agriculture.

The impact of climatic change in 1971–2040 on the potential production areas and risks to nine apple cultivars (Malus domestica Borkh.) was studied over continental Finland using agro-climatic indices and gridded daily mean (Tm) and minimum temperatures from the Rossby Centre regional atmospheric climate model (RCA3) with SRES A2. Point data on daily minimum temperatures from 14 weather stations and low and high warming scenarios were also used. From the 1970’s to the present day, the areas of successful maturing of fruits have strongly expanded northwards. It is predicted that in 2011–2040, the warming of climate will allow expansion of commercial production in the south-eastern lake area, and a wider selection of cultivars for home gardens up to latitudes 65–66°N. Risk of extremely low temperatures (Tm< -26 °C) has reduced from 1980’s to the present but may not reduce much more in 2011–2040. Risk to shoots from fluctuating temperatures in winter and spring is likely to increase under the high warming scenario, more in the south-west than in the south-east. Risk to trees from cold days (Tm< -15 °C) with a concurrent thin snow cover is not predicted to increase. In the western inland of the country, below latitude 63°N, and in the south-western coast areas the frost risk during flowering may increase, especially in the early flowering cultivars. In order to adapt to and gain from the climatic change, breeding and testing targets should be modified within five years and they should include reduced sensitivity to temperature fluctuation in winter, late flowering, and frost tolerance of flowers.;

The article examines the innovative infrastructure in the management of production risks of agricultural enterprises, which is related to the rules for evaluating alternative scenarios for reducing threats in the production system of agricultural production entities in order to obtain the desired result. A methodical approach to the assessment of factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks, which activate the process of economic development of agricultural enterprises in an institutional environment, is presented. It is proved that the institutional determinants that manage the production risks of agricultural enterprises form a system whose effectiveness depends on the implementation of the relevant directions of economic development of agricultural institutes focused on the introduction of innovations into the production cycle. The structural dialectic connection of the concept of innovative development of agricultural enterprises with the cyclical development of the production system is presented. A structural and logical diagram of a methodical approach to the implementation of the mechanism of innovative management of production risks of agricultural enterprises has been built. A mathematical toolkit for evaluating scenarios of innovative management of production risks of agricultural enterprises is defined. Stimulating and disincentive factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks and their impact on the economic development of agricultural enterprises are determined. In order to determine the optimal scenarios for neutralizing threats to the economic development of agricultural enterprises, models of acceleration (deceleration) of the action of stimulating and disincentive factors-tools in the innovative management of production risks were built. The integral index of the economic development of agricultural enterprises of the agro-climatic regions of Ukraine in the pre-war, war-conflict and post-war periods was calculated. It has been established that due to the accumulation of a significant amount of production, financial, material, technical and innovative potential, the level of economic development of agricultural enterprises of the agro-climatic zones of the Forest-Steppe and Polissia increases, which characterizes their ability to reproduce the production system of agriculture in Ukraine.

Le changement climatique modifie l’aléa climatique et impose de reconsidérer les risques agro-climatiques. En France, depuis les années 1960, le changement climatique se traduit par une hausse abrupte des températures autour des années 1987/1988. Ces modifications rapides de l’aléa climatique sont susceptibles de modifier les risques agro-climatiques et d’entraîner des pertes historiques dans les récoltes. La compréhension des effets régionalisés du changement climatique sur les risques agro-climatiques constitue donc un enjeu majeur pour le monde agricole. La sécheresse est l’un des risques agro-climatiques qui impacte fortement la production agricole et les performances des assurances climatiques sur récoltes. Ce travail de thèse, fruit d’une collaboration entre un assureur et un laboratoire de recherche, se propose d’étudier comment et dans quelle proportion les modifications de l’aléa climatique affectent le risque sécheresse, et à terme les performances de l’assurance climatique sur récoltes. Le blé, le maïs et la vigne sont des cultures importantes pour l’entreprise, et sont donc étudiées plus particulièrement dans ce travail.Les données Safran-Isba-Modcou produites par Météo-France permettent, à l’échelle régionale, de quantifier l’évolution structurelle de l’aléa climatique lié au cycle de l’eau sur la période 1959-2021. La prise en compte de la vulnérabilité des cultures via l’utilisation d’un modèle de bilan hydrique simplifié donne l’opportunité d’évaluer les changements dans la contrainte hydrique sur les bassins de production des cultures d’intérêt. La définition d’un seuil de stress hydrique pour les cultures étudiées conduit au développement d’un indice de sécheresse. Les distributions statistiques de ce dernier sont probabilisées avec un modèle de Tweedie, donnant lieu à une caractérisation régionalisée des modifications structurales du risque agro-climatique sécheresse suite aux réchauffement rapides observés en France.Après le réchauffement rapide de 1987/1988, la demande évaporative est en forte hausse, particulièrement au printemps et en été. Cela induit un assèchement progressif des réservoirs en eau du sol, faisant augmenter la contrainte hydrique sur le couvert végétal. La prise en compte de la vulnérabilité des cultures d’intérêt montre que par exemple pour le blé tendre d’hiver, le bilan hydrique évolue en conséquence. Les périodes de dépassement du seuil de stress hydrique s’allongent ou s’intensifient avec le réchauffement, de manière variée selon les bassins de production considérés. Ces évolutions peuvent être expliquées par une forte augmentation de l’évapotranspiration. En fin de saison végétative, la modification des séquences sèches joue également un rôle. La structure du risque agro-climatique lié à la sécheresse en est affectée. Cela se traduit par une augmentation de l’intensité et/ou de l’occurrence des épisodes de sécheresse. Ces modifications dépendent du bassin de production étudié et s’accompagnent d’une hausse des sécheresses extrêmes.Ces modifications du risque sécheresse suite à l’évolution rapide de l’aléa climatique affectent des stades sensibles des cultures, ce qui peut amener à des pertes de rendement importantes. Les performances de l’assurance multirisque climatique sont donc étroitement liées à l’évolution de ce type de risque. L’indice développé dans ces travaux montre, dans certaines conditions, une bonne corrélation avec l’indice de sinistralité utilisé par les assurances. Cela ouvre des perspectives pour étudier la volatilité des performances de l’assurance climatique sur récolte. Il convient néanmoins d’affiner et de consolider ces résultats, qui, pour certaines cultures telles que le blé, ne montrent pas d’améliorations probantes. La projection de ces indices sécheresse pourrait aider les assureurs à élaborer et tester des stratégies de prévention et d’adaptation territorialisées pertinentes pour l’ensemble des parties prenantes
Climate change modifies climatic hazards and requires a reconsideration of agro-climatic risks. In France, since the 1960s, climate change has resulted in an abrupt rise in surface air temperature around 1987/1988. These rapid changes in climatic hazards are likely to modify agro-climatic risks and lead to historic crop losses. Understanding the regional effects of climate change on agro-climatic risks is therefore a major challenge for the agricultural sector. Drought is one of the agro-climatic risks that have a major impact on crop production and climatic crop insurance. This work, which results from a collaboration between an insurance company and a research laboratory, investigates how and to what extent changes in climatic hazards affect drought risk, and ultimately the performance of climatic crop insurance. Since wheat, maize and vineyards are the main crops in the company's portfolio, agro-climatic risk modifications will be studied specifically for these crops of interest.The Safran-Isba-Modcou dataset, produced by Météo-France, allows to quantify structural changes in climatic hazard linked to water cycle on a regional scale over the period 1959-2021. Taking crop vulnerability into account by using a simplified water balance model provides an opportunity to assess changes in water constraint for each production basin of the crops of interest. The definition of a water stress threshold for the crops studied enables to develop a drought index. The statistical distributions of the latter are probabilized using a Tweedie model, resulting in a regionalized characterization of drought risk structural modifications after the rapid warming observed in France.After the rapid warming of 1987/1988, evaporative demand increases sharply, particularly in spring and summer. This leads to a progressive drying-up of soil water reservoirs, increasing water stress on vegetation cover. Taking into account the vulnerability of the crops of interest shows that for winter bread wheat, for example, the water balance changes consequently. Periods when the water stress threshold is exceeded are lengthened or intensified with warming, depending on the production basin considered. These trends can be explained by a sharp increase in evapotranspiration. At the end of the growing season, changes in dry spells also play a role. This affects the structure of the drought-related agro-climatic risk, translating into an increase in the intensity and/or the occurrence of drought episodes. These changes depend on the production basin studied, and are associated with an increase in extreme droughts.The changes in drought risk, resulting from the rapid evolution of climatic hazards, affect sensitive crop stages, and can lead to significant yield losses. The performance of climatic crop insurance is therefore closely linked to changes in this type of risk. Given certain conditions, the drought index developed in this work shows a good correlation with the loss ratio used by insurance companies. This opens up new avenues for studying the volatility of climatic crop insurance performance. However, we need to refine and consolidate these results, which do not show any convincing improvement for certain crops such as wheat. The projection of these drought indices could help insurers to develop and experiment territorialized prevention and adaptation strategies that are relevant to all stakeholders

AbstractIn this chapter, we explore how, in the face of increasing climatic risks and resource limitations, improved agro-technologies can support sustainable intensification (SI) in small-scale farming systems in Limpopo province, South Africa. Limpopo exhibits high agro-ecological diversity and, at the same time, is one of the regions with the highest degree of poverty and food insecurity in South Africa. In this setting, we analyze the effects of different technology changes on both food security dimensions (i.e., supply, stability, and access) and quality of ecosystem service provision. This is conducted by applying a mixed-method approach combining small-scale farmer survey data, on-farm agronomic sampling, crop growth simulations, and socioeconomic modeling. Results for a few simple technology changes show that both food security and ecosystem service provision can be considerably improved when combining specific technologies in a proper way. Furthermore, such new “technology packages” tailored to local conditions are economically beneficial at farm level as compared to the status quo. One example is the combination of judicious fertilizer application with deficit or full irrigation in small-scale maize-based farming systems. Provided comparable conditions, the results could be also beneficial for decision-makers in other southern African countries.

In India, agriculture is a source of employment to more than 50% of the population. Despite major strengths such as geographical location, diverse agro-climatic conditions, variety of soils, and agro-ecological congeniality, Indian farmers face diverse types of risks. Climate change is one the major risks confronting Indian farmers. Variations in climatic parameters such as rainfall, temperature, humidity, etc. result in a decrease in soil moisture and reduction in soil fertility. This has adversely affected crop productivity. History reflects that unpredictable climate change has affected the standard of living of Indian farmers. This gives rise to a strong need to study the risk management techniques of the Indian farmers. The chapter explores the diverse risks faced by Indian farmers and the risk management strategies adopted by them. The purpose of the research is to examine the different hazards that farmers encounter as well as risk management techniques. Primary data has been collected from 192 farmers in Maharashtra. Purposive sampling technique was used for collecting responses from the farmers. And an open-ended interview has also been conducted for another 30 farmers. The data was analysed using QDA miner software. The research shows how farmers deal with hazards using various ways and strategies. It can be advanced by looking into cutting-edge risk management strategies as well as potential enablers and obstacles associated with it.

Agro-pastoralists in the tropical semi-arid dryland areas of sub-Saharan Africa are significantly affected by climate change and variability. The agro-pastoral families are coping with production-related climatic risks through livelihood diversification to ensure food security. Data were collected from a sample of 411 agro-pastoralists across five districts in the semi-arid northern and central regions of Tanzania through survey conducted between November 2017 and July 2018. Secondary data regarding crop yields and livestock populations for eight years from 2009 to 2017 were collected from the National Bureau of Statistics and the respective District offices. Results show that about three-quarters of the agro-pastoralists managed diversified crop and livestock portfolios with two or more crops and animal species. However, simulated crop yields reveal positive correlations. Construction of integrated portfolios that generate good returns at a modest risk can be achieved through strategic choices between high-return high-risk and low-return low-risk crop and livestock activities. Thus, the paper recommends for costly long-term breeding and genotype improvement programs, strategically changing the make-up of the current crop and livestock portfolios which appear to be an affordable and tailored solution for building risk resilience among agro-pastoral communities in the drylands.

This chapter explores the transformative role of nanotechnology in agriculture, aiming to enhance food security while addressing pressing environmental challenges. Agriculture is the cornerstone of many developing nations, providing sustenance and economic stability. However, it faces threats from ecological and climatic changes induced by biotic and abiotic stressors. In this context, nanotechnology offers innovative solutions, particularly through the development of nano-enabled fertilizers and pesticides. These advancements enhance crop productivity while promoting a more sustainable agro-ecosystem. Nanobiosensors further contribute to food safety by detecting contaminants and pathogens. Despite the promises, concerns about the impact of nanotechnology on health, the environment, and regulatory aspects must be addressed. Collaboration, research, and the development of versatile and sustainable nanomaterials are essential for realizing the full potential of nanotechnology in agriculture. Nanotechnology brings efficiency and precision to agriculture, addressing the challenges posed by increasing food demand, urbanization, and resource mismanagement. Nano-enabled fertilizers provide targeted nutrient release, reducing excessive fertilizer application and minimizing environmental harm. Nanobiosensors play a pivotal role in identifying foodborne pathogens, pesticides, and toxins, ensuring food safety and quality. However, responsible use of nanotechnology is crucial, requiring robust research and regulatory frameworks to mitigate potential risks. Overall, nanotechnology offers a promising pathway to secure food supplies, protect livelihoods, and promote environmental sustainability in agriculture.

Agricultural marketing plays a crucial role in accelerating the economic development of hill agriculture. An efficient agriculture marketing system is supposed to add to the welfare of producers as well as consumers. It helps in the optimization of resource use, output management, increase in farm incomes, widening of markets, growth of agro-based industry, addition to national income through value addition and employment creation. India is a country with diverse agro-climatic endowments; conditions under which agriculture in the plains and hills present differing scenario. The mountainous region of the country has tremendous potential or cultivation of many high valued added and rare commodities. Among the 34 million people that inhabit the Himalayan region of the country, a large percentage is of the hill farming communities. The hills of India produces a wide range of goods starting from temperate fruits to subtropical fruits but lacks infrastructure facilities due to which farmers do not get better price for their produce. Traditional agriculture is the major and dominant activity in the hill economy, which confronts multiple risks and uncertainty. The hills of Himachal Pradesh also have lots of inherent constraints related to agricultural marketing in terms of inaccessibility and remoteness, marginality and fragility, scattered land holdings, traditional mode of production, low use of modern inputs, transportation difficulty due to the difficult hilly terrain, non-availability of regulated markets, lack of proper market information and absence of post-harvest infrastructure. As we all know that hilly regions are gradually diversified in favour of fruits and vegetables, different flower plants and forest trees production but, due to scarcity of proper transportation, lack of postharvest infrastructure, under-developed supporting institutions, industries, undulating topography, lack of innovative technologies etc. the growth potential of hill agriculture is still remained unexploited. Therefore, strengthening of markets, innovative marketing techniques and boosting on-line trading can help in a big way for solving the problems of marketing in hills.

Global food security is under-challenged due to over increasing human population, limited cropland, and risk of climate change. Therefore, an appropriate agricultural policy framework needs to be developed for food security that should be sustainable economically and ecologically. Nitrogen (N) is a crucial element that controls the growth productivity of crop plants. N accounts for around 78 volume per cent of the atmosphere but all crop plants cannot use it directly. Agricultural land is mostly dominated by cereals (e.g. rice, wheat, maize) which have specifically high N demand as compared to food legumes. Soybean exemplifies the most significant and cultivated food legume, presently cultivated worldwide under varying climatic conditions. It plays a significant role in global food security as well as agricultural sustainability due to a high seed protein and oil concentration, and low reliance on N fertilization. Soybean enriches soil health by fixing atmospheric N through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), the most productive and economical system for N fixation and crop production, associated with more intensive production systems. However, the efficiency of BNF depends on several factors. This study is focused to develop more reliable guidelines for managing BNF by using the potential of natural agro-ecosystems.

In Ethiopia, 85% of the population is engaged in agriculture (CSA, 1999). Agriculture supplies a significant proportion of the raw materials for the agro-industries, and accounts for 52% of the gross product and 90% of the export earnings. A wide range of climatic, ecological, and socioeconomic diversities influence Ethiopian agriculture. The dependency of most of the population on rain-fed agriculture has made the country’s economy extremely vulnerable to the effects of weather and climate, which are highly variable both temporally and spatially. If rains fail in one season, the farmer is unable to satisfy his needs and pay his obligations (tax, credit, etc). Farmers remain in the bottom line of poverty and lead a risky life. Moreover, due to climatic change and other human-induced factors, areas affected by drought and desertification are expanding in Ethiopia (NMSA, 1996a; WMO, 1986). There are three major food supply systems in Ethiopia (IGADD, 1988; Teshome, 1996): crop, livestock, and market-dependent systems. Cropbased systems are practiced principally over the highlands of the country and comprise a very diverse range of production, depending on altitude, rainfall, soil type, and topography. Any surplus above the farmer’s need is largely dependent on, for example, good weather conditions, absence of pests and diseases, availability of adequate human and animal power. Failure of rains during any cropping season means shortage of food supply that affects farmers and others. The livestock system constitutes about 10% of the total population, which is largely based in arid and semiarid zones of the country. This system is well adapted to highly variable climatic conditions and mainly depends on animals for milk and meat and is usually supplemented by grains during nondrought years. Approximately 15% of the Ethiopian population is market dependent and is affected by the preceding two food supply systems. Its food supply (grain, pulses, and oil seeds) has been facing serious shortages due to recurring droughts. People’s purchasing power determines access to food in the market-dependent food supply system. In Ethiopia, an agricultural drought is assessed using the concept of the length of growing period (LGP).

The last century was characterized by noticeable climatic changes. The whole world, including Ukraine has been significantly impacted. Such changes are characterized by increased average annual temperature on the planet surface, increased level of the water in the oceans, increased number of natural disasters and cataclysms, such as desertification, landslides, hurricanes, etc. Furthermore, the climate change coincides with the period of increasing food shortages in the world. The aim of the article is to study the dependence of agricultural efficiency on the changes in agro-climatic conditions of production in the long term and the impact of these changes on the cultivation of agricultural crops and their productivity. Research methods are general scientific and special, qualitative and quantitative, theoretical and empirical, comparative analysis. Agriculture is the sector of the Ukrainian economy that is the most vulnerable to fluctuations and climate changes. Given its inertial nature and the dependence on weather conditions, it is essential to make timely and adequate decisions regarding the problems caused by climate changes. Taken the expected increase of the air temperature in the Northern Hemisphere, Ukraine's food security will largely depend on the efficient adaptation to upcoming climate changes. The consequences and risks of the climate change for the food production vary from region to region, however the negative impact of climate trends outweighs the positive one. Thus, the research of the impact of climate change on the efficiency of agro-food production is crucial for the development of policies that would help to adapt to the consequences of these changes.

The agricultural operations in India are suffering from a serious problem of shortage of electrical power on one side and economic and effective disposal of agriwaste stuff on the other. India being agriculture based country, 70% of its main income (share in GDP) comes from agriculture sector. Any enhancement of income from this sector is based upon adequate supply of basic inputs in this sector. Regular and adequate power supply is one such input. But, the position of power supply in our country defies both these characteristics. With a major portion of power produced being sent to the industrial and urban consumers, there is a perennial shortage of power in the agriculture sector. Consequently, there is an emergent need to produce more power in order to fulfil the needs of this sector effectively. One way of accomplishing this is setting up captive, preferably rural based, small power generation plants. In these power plants, instead of water-head, diesel oil or coal, we can use agri-residue to produce electricity. One such power plant (1–2 MW capacity) can satisfy the power need of 25 to 40 nearby villages. The agriwaste like rice straw, sugarcane-trash, coir-pith, peanut shells, wheat stalks & straw, cottonseed, stalks and husk, soyabean stalks, maize stalks & cobs, sorghum. Bagasse, wallnut shells, sunflower seeds, shells, hulls and kernels and coconut husk, wastewood and saw dust can be fruitfully utilized in power generation. This stuff is otherwise a waste and liability and consumes a lot of effort on its disposal; in addition to being a fire and health hazard. Agriwaste stuff which at present is available in abundance and prospects of its utilization in producing energy are enormous. This material can be procured at reasonably low rates from the farmers who will thus be benefited economically, apart from being relieved of the responsibility of its disposal. Agri-residue has traditionally been a major source of heat energy in rural areas in India. It is a valuable fuel even in the sub-urban areas. Inspite of rapid increase in the supply of, access lo and use of fossil fuels, agri-residue is likely to continue to play an important role, in the foreseeable future. Therefore, developing and promoting techno-economically-viable technologies to utilize agri-residue efficiently should be a persuit of high priority. Though there is no authentic data available with regard to the exact quantity of agricultural and agro-industrial residues, its rough estimate has been put at about 350 mt per annum. It is also estimated that the total cattle refuse generated is nearly 250 mt per year. Further, nearly 20% of the total land is under forest cover, which produces approximately 50 mt of fuel wood and with associated forest waste of about 5 mt.(1). Taking into account the utilization of even a portion (say 30%) of this agri-residue & agro-industrial waste as well as energy plantation on one million hectare (mha) of wastelands for power generation through bioenergy technologies, a potential of some 18000 MW of power has been estimated. From the foregoing, it is clear that there is an enormous untapped potential for energy generation from agri-residue. What is required is an immediate and urgent intensification of dedicated efforts in this field, with a view to bringing down the unit energy cost and improving efficiency and reliability of agri-waste production, conversion and utilisation, leading to subsequent saving of fossil fuels for other pressing applications. The new initiatives in national energy policy are most urgently needed to accelerate the social and economic development of the rural areas. It demands a substantial increase in production and consumption of energy for productive purposes. Such initiatives are vital for promoting the goals of sustainability. cleaner production and reduction of long-term risks of environmental pollution and consequent adverse climatic changes in future. A much needed significant social, economic and industrial development has yet to take place in large parts of rural India; be it North, West, East or South. It can be well appreciated that a conscious management of agri-residue, which is otherwise a serious liability of the farmer, through its economic conversion into electric power can offer a reasonably viable solution to our developmental needs. This vision will have to be converted into a reality within a decade or so through dedicated and planned R&D work in this area. There is a shimmering promise that the whole process of harvesting, collection, transport and economic processing and utilisation of agri-waste can be made technically and economically more viable in future. Thus, the foregoing paras amply highlight the value of agri-residue as a prospective source of electric power, particularly for supplementing the main grid during the lean supply periods or peak load hours and also for serving the remote areas in the form of stand-alone units giving a boost to decentralised power supply. This approach and option seems to be positive in view of its potential contribution to our economic and social development. No doubt, this initiative needs to be backed and perused rigorously for removing regional imbalances as well as strengthening National economy. This paper reviews the current situation with regards to generation of agriwaste and its prospects of economic conversion into electrical power, technologies presently available for this purpose, and the problems faced in such efforts. It emphasizes the need for an integrated approach to devise ways and means for generating electrical power from agriwaste; keeping in mind the requirements of cleaner production and environmental protection so that the initiative leads to a total solution.

The last decade has been characterized by an increased frequency of climatic anomalies and their amplitude. These anomalies affect the productivity of crops and orchards, which is directly dependent on agro-meteorological conditions. The registered tendencies to change the hydrothermal conditions in the different regions of the country sometimes are a risk factor for their productivity, especially in the initial phenological stages of the development of the fruit trees. Bud dormancy on the fruit trees from the temperate zones is a phase of development that occurs annually and enables trees to survive cold winters. To estimate the chill requirements of orchards, besides temperature data, three chronological dates must be defined: the chill accumulation start date, the deep dormancy breaking date, and the date of eco dormancy end. This study aims to assess the thermal conditions in the initial stages of development of some stone fruit plants grown in Bulgaria. There were analyzed the conditions during the deep dormancy in the orchards and the permanent transition of the average daily temperature above 5�C. Chilling requirements for breaking dormancy were studied for some peach, cherry, and apricot cultivars, located in the regions for industrial producing of these plants. The Utah chilling unit model was used to measure the accumulation of chilling requirements.