Academic literature on the topic 'Farming systems projects'
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Journal articles on the topic "Farming systems projects"
1
Fiorilla, Edoardo, Alice Cartoni Mancinelli, Marco Birolo, Cesare Castellini, Dominga Soglia, Elisabetta Macchi, Silvia Mioletti, et al. "Poultry biodiversity for alternative farming systems development." E3S Web of Conferences 335 (2022): 00004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202233500004.
Full textAbstract:
Poultry biodiversity represents a key factor to improve poultry resilience and promote sustainable and low input farming systems. The EU and member states promote protection of livestock biodiversity and the development of alternative farming through funding projects such as “Local Chicken Breeds in Alternative Production Chain: Welfare, Quality and Sustainability” (funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and University). The aim of the present research was to identify among five different poultry genotypes Bionda Piemontese (BP), Robusta Maculata (RM), RM x Sasso (RMxS), BP x Sasso (BPxS) and a commercial hybrid (Ross 308) the best suitable breed in terms of productivity and welfare for alternative housing system. A total of 300 (60 x genotype), 21 days old male birds were randomly allotted in two housing systems: 1) standard intensive farming (controlled environment, 33 kg/m2 and standard diet) and 2) free-range (“natural” environmental conditions, 21 kg/m2, access to outdoor area and low-input diet). Slaughtering was performed at 81 days of age. During the trial, the productive performance and behaviour of the animals were evaluated. The housing system, the genotype and their interaction significantly affected many of the studied variables, showing broiler not the ideal genotype for extensive farming system, which is more suited for low/medium performance strains.
2
CHRISTIANSEN, S., M. BOUNEJMATE, H. SAWMY-EDO, B. MAWLAWI, F. SHOMO, P. S. COCKS, and T. L. NORDBLOM. "TAH VILLAGE PROJECT IN SYRIA: ANOTHER UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO INTRODUCE LEY-FARMING IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN." Experimental Agriculture 36, no. 2 (April 2000): 181–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0014479700002015.
Full textAbstract:
A participatory on-farm research project was started at Tah village, 100 km south of Aleppo, Syria in 1984. The objective was to introduce annual medics (Medicago spp.) as a replacement for fallow in dryland wheat (Triticum durum)/fallow farming systems. About 50 farmers were directly involved in the project while an equal number were passive participants, receiving seed but no technical advice. The project did not attain its original intention of introducing a ley-farming system into Syria. The Syrian Government decided to eliminate fallow – which was to receive medics – in the agricultural planning for 1989–90. An array of profitable crops such as lentil (Lens culinaris), cumin (Cuminum cyminum), sesame (Sesamum indicum) and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), together with price supports on wheat presented formidable economic competition to the use of pasture on cultivated land. Technical constraints include insufficient farm size, lack of a medic phase in every year, deep ploughing, overgrazing and uncontrolled grazing. The Tah project experience also suggests that feed production projects must include an assessment of how the feed benefits animals and be designed to demonstrate the economic advantages of integrating livestock and crops in dryland farming systems.
3
Rachmawati, Rika Reviza. "SMART FARMING 4.0 UNTUK MEWUJUDKAN PERTANIAN INDONESIA MAJU, MANDIRI, DAN MODERN." Forum penelitian Agro Ekonomi 38, no. 2 (June 2, 2021): 137. http://dx.doi.org/10.21082/fae.v38n2.2020.137-154.
Full textAbstract:
<p class="A04-abstrak2"><span>Smart farming 4.0 based on artificial intelligence is a flagship launched by the Ministry of Agriculture. Smart farming 4.0 encourages the farmers to work more efficient, measurable, and integrated. Through technology, farmers are able to carry out farm practice by relying on mechanization, not on the planting season, from planting to harvesting accurately. Several smart farming technologies such as blockchain for modern off farm agriculture, agri <em>drone</em> sprayer, <em>drone</em> surveillance (<em>drone</em> for land mapping), soil and weather sensors, intelligent irrigation systems, Agriculture War Room (AWR), siscrop (information systems) 1.0 have been implemented in some areas. However, farmers deal with various educational backgrounds, aging farmers phenomenon, and high cost of smart farming technology tools to implement smart farming. This paper aims to analyze the huge opportunities of smart farming by utilizing the potential of millennial farmers as actors and analyzing various government policies to support smart farming 4.0. The Ministry of PDTT has carried out pilot projects to implement smart farming in several locations. The Ministry of Agriculture also needs to play a role by creating a smart farming roadmap. The Government's Strategic Project 2020</span><span>–</span><span>2024 through food estate based on farmer corporations may support massive smart farming applications.</span></p>
4
Dulin, Jerome, and Nelita Lalican. "Socio-Economic Impacts of Climate Change Support-Policies to Farming Systems in a Village in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines." Journal of Environmental Science and Management 18, no. 1 (June 30, 2015): 61–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.47125/jesam/2015_1/07.
Full textAbstract:
This study deals with the farming systems and socio-economic impacts of implemented climate change support-policies to 27 farmer respondents in Barangay Carig Norte, Tuguegarao City. Primary data were gathered through a systematic interview with the respondents using a questionnaire, cratfted based on the ultimate goals of the National Climate Change Action Plan. Existing records, assessment and project reports of the local government were also used as basis of the analysis. Based on interviews and secondary data, there was no clear indication that climate change support policies were implemented in accordance with the objectives set by the national government. In addtion, there were no concrete climate change support-policies yet implemented but there are initiatives and fragmented efforts, policies and projects that address the issues of droughts and flooding. Examples of the fragmented support projects implemented to address climate change are free use of water pump and provision of fuel allowance during drought. The crop insurance for calamities is yet to be implemented.
5
Balafoutis, Athanasios T., Frits K. Van Evert, and Spyros Fountas. "Smart Farming Technology Trends: Economic and Environmental Effects, Labor Impact, and Adoption Readiness." Agronomy 10, no. 5 (May 21, 2020): 743. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10050743.
Full textAbstract:
Farming faces challenges that increase the adverse effects on farms’ economics, labor, and the environment. Smart farming technologies (SFTs) are expected to assist in reverting this situation. In this work, 1064 SFTs were derived from scientific papers, research projects, and industrial products. They were classified by technology readiness level (TRL), typology, and field operation, and they were assessed for their economic, environmental, and labor impact, as well as their adoption readiness from end-users. It was shown that scientific articles dealt with SFTs of lower TRL than research projects. In scientific articles, researchers investigated mostly recording technologies, while, in research projects, they focused primarily on farm management information systems and robotic/automation systems. Scouting technologies were the main SFT type in scientific papers and research projects, but variable rate application technologies were mostly located in commercial products. In scientific papers, there was limited analysis of economic, environmental, and labor impact of the SFTs under investigation, while, in research projects, these impacts were studied thoroughly. Further, in commercial SFTs, the focus was on economic impact and less on labor and environmental issues. With respect to adoption readiness, it was found that all of the factors to facilitate SFT adoption became more positive moving from SFTs in scientific papers to fully functional commercial SFTs, indicating that SFTs reach the market when most of these factors are addressed for the benefit of the farmers. This SFT analysis is expected to inform researchers on adapting their research, as well as help policy-makers adjust their strategy toward digitized agriculture adoption and farmers with the current situation and future trends of SFTs.
6
BRYDON, JERELEEN, and D. A. RENNIE. "A METHOD OF ESTIMATING YIELD FOR LARGE-SCALE FIELD RESEARCH PROJECTS." Canadian Journal of Soil Science 70, no. 1 (February 1, 1990): 43–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/cjss90-005.
Full textAbstract:
The Innovative Acres field-scale project was designed to compare water-efficient farming systems with the more commonly used crop-fallow farming system in Saskatchewan. This project spanned the period between 1982 and 1987, and tested 40 locations each year. The present study was undertaken at two of these locations, to compare the sampling methodology used by the Innovative Acres (IA) project with a more intensive sampling scheme, and thereby assess the relative validity of productivity estimates developed from the IA sampling method. At both locations, grain yield estimates for the field based upon twelve IA benchmark sites were statistically similar (P > 0.05) to yield estimates from the more intensive sampling scheme (59 samples). Yield estimates from the IA transect more closely approximated the farmers' estimates of grain yield at both locations. Weighted grain yields, based on the distribution of topography along the transects, gave no better estimate of yield than did grouped mean data at both locations. The IA sampling procedure estimated to within 10% of the true mean grain yield, at the 90% probability level. It is concluded that this level of precision allows accurate comparisons to be made between two cropping systems. Key words: Field-scale research, transects, topography
7
Barbercheck, Mary, Nancy Ellen Kiernan, Andrew G. Hulting, Sjoerd Duiker, Jeffrey Hyde, Heather Karsten, and Elsa Sanchez. "Meeting the ‘multi-’ requirements in organic agriculture research: Successes, challenges and recommendations for multifunctional, multidisciplinary, participatory projects." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 27, no. 2 (June 8, 2011): 93–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170511000214.
Full textAbstract:
AbstractOrganic farming is one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors worldwide, and funds to support research and extension activities that address the needs of organic producers are becoming more widely available in the USA. Solutions to problems in ecologically complex systems, such as organic farming systems often exceed the expertise of individual investigators or single disciplines. Further, the complex nature of ecological and social interactions within systems-based agricultural research requires not only more emphasis on information exchange but also synthesis between multidisciplinary teams of academic researchers and organic farmers. Accordingly, federal grant agencies that support organic agriculture research increasingly require that projects encompass multiple academic disciplines, multiple functions (research, outreach, education), and the participation of stakeholders for the ultimate purpose of the integration of knowledge. Many researchers, educators and administrators at land grant universities (LGUs) remain inexperienced in multidisciplinary, multifunctional and participatory research. Using post-completion project interviews of the project investigators on an organic transition project, we identified eight factors that affected the integration of knowledge from a farmer advisory board and the conduct of our multidisciplinary, participatory organic transition project. The first five factors include shared values, balance in technical competence, institutional capacity for research, team capacity for problem solving and institutional resistance. The research team also identified three other factors that evoked confusion and divergence during the project, and include the ambiguity of power and control of knowledge, the proposed experimental plan and terms of team engagement. We considered participatory elements of the project according to Biggs’ linear typology of participation, but found more appropriate Neef and Neubert's position that a linear scale of participatory approach is an inadequate framework for helping agricultural scientists to decide on whether and in which phases they want to, can and should incorporate participatory elements into their research projects. From these findings, we conclude with critical issues for academic research and extension teams to consider during the development and before conduct of these types of projects. We also offer recommendations for LGUs and other research institutions, and funding organizations, to facilitate multidisciplinary, multifunctional, participatory research.
8
Mitchell, J. P., P. B. Goodell, R. L. Coviello, T. S. Prather, D. M. May, T. K. Hartz, G. S. Pettygrove, et al. "Extending Biologically Integrated Farming Practices within the San Joaquin Valley's West Side." HortScience 33, no. 3 (June 1998): 530c—530. http://dx.doi.org/10.21273/hortsci.33.3.530c.
Full textAbstract:
The West Side On-Farm Demonstration Project is a large-scale extension program consisting of farmers, researchers, extension advisors from the Univ. of California, and other private and public agency consultants who are evaluating biologically integrated soil-building and pest management practices within a participatory and on-farm demonstration context. Modeled after the Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems (BIOS) Projects that were originally sponsored by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the goals of this project are to facilitate information exchange among West Side farmers, consultants and researchers on soil-building practices and options for reduced reliance on agrichemical inputs, to monitor and evaluate on-farm demonstrations of soil-building practices, including cover cropping and organic soil amendments, and to determine the extent to which IPM practices are utilized in row crops on the West Side and identify constraints preventing further adoption of biologially intensive pest management practices. The Project has generated several adjunct research activities and considerable regional attention. A summary of ongoing impact assessment efforts will be presented.
9
KHEMIRI, Hichem, Khaoula ATTIA, Cyrine DAREJ, Nacer M’HAMDI, and Nizar MOUJAHED. "Characterization of Goat Breeding Systems in Tunisia and In the Mediterranean Region." Genetics & Biodiversity Journal 6, no. 2 (June 7, 2022): 211–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.46325/gabj.v6i2.272.
Full textAbstract:
Despite its socio-economic role in Tunisia, the goat has been considered as an agent of natural resource degradation due to the excessive exploitation of forests and rangelands. Currently goat farms are beginning to regain interest in different Tunisian climatic conditions. Goat breeding is distributed throughout the territory, particularly in the mountain areas, natural rangelands and southern oases. The main systems encountered are (i) systems integrated into farms, (ii) livestock systems in mountainous and forest regions, (iii) oasis ecosystems and (iv) transhumant livestock systems. These farming modes are influenced by developments in agricultural systems in general, which change due to socio-economic development and are dependent on the availability of funding through national projects. In North African countries in general, transhumant pastoral systems dominate arid and semi-arid zones and are characterized by the seasonality of food resources, which are tightly influenced by rainfall. Extensive pastoral farming, mixed with sheep in regions with a dry climate and limited water resources, is the most widespread. Goat farming is a form of savings rather than an economic activity. Concerning the majority of Mediterranean countries; the existing farming systems reveal the importance of socio-territorial unity and available natural resources. The classification of goat farming systems is based on the resources used (natural rangelands or crop residues), the intensity of resource use (extensive or intensive), the types of livestock breeders (nomadic or sedentary), or the product generated and it's quality. The dominant systems in the European countries of the northern Mediterranean shore are farms oriented to the production of goat's milk intended for the manufacture of cheeses.
10
Paul, K. B. "DEVELOPMENT OF A FARMER-BASED BEAN SEED MULTIPLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR RWANDAN FARMERS." HortScience 27, no. 6 (June 1992): 675e—675. http://dx.doi.org/10.21273/hortsci.27.6.675e.
Full textAbstract:
Most farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa plant local cultivars introduced generations ago. Various national and international organizations and development projects introduce annually hundreds of improved germplasms to a country, and test these under farmer conditions for adaptability and acceptability. Although some local varieties perform well under traditional farming practices, many disease and insect pest resistant improved varieties out-yield local cultivars even under low-input production conditions of Africa. Regrettably, the seed production and distribution system in most of these countries are poorly developed; thus the promising varieties remain unavailable to the majority of farmers. To overcome this problem, the University of Arkansas-led Rwanda Farming Systems Research Project (FSRP) personnel trained farmer-cooperators in the production of good quality bean (Phaselous sp.) seeds. This, and the development of a farmer to farmer seed distribution system that led to quick diffusion of improved bean varieties in the project area will be discussed.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Farming systems projects"
1
Brown, W. S., and n/a. "A conservation framework for Australian development assistance projects." University of Canberra. Applied Science, 1986. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060615.154934.
Full textAbstract:
1. It is now generally accepted that conservation is an important
consideration for developing countries. (l. 1 & 1.2)
2. This has been made clear in the World Conservation Strategy, published
in 1980, which sets out the essential link between conservation and
development. Three conservation objectives are identified:
- Maintenance of essential ecological processes
- Preservation of genetic diversity
- Ensuring sustainable utilisation of species and ecosystems (1.3)
3. Foreign aid donors have recognised the importance of conservation
considerations in their aid programs. The World Bank has had an environmental
program since 1970 and USAID since 1975. The emphasis has shifted
from the environmental impact of projects towards projects intended to bring
conservation benefits. Interest has recently been directed toward biological
diversity and wildlands. (1.4)
4. Although Australia has significant expertise in conservation, only in
the last couple of years has interest in the conservation aspects of
Australia's development assistance program been expressed. Australian
support for the World conservation Strategy indicates that conservation
concerns should be included in the aid program. (1.5)
5. Conservation and environmental assessment should be an integral part of
the processes of project appraisal and evaluation. The techniques used in
appraisal and evaluation such as the logical framework and cost benefit
analysis can be linked to environmental assessment, (chapter 2)
6. Many environmental guidelines are available, however these should not
be used directly for project appraisal and evaluation but rather to assist
in the preparation of project specific terms of reference. (2.6)
The intensification of some farming systems damages the ecological
processes on which they depend and hence reduces productivity. Other farming
systems can be intensified without ecological damage. The challenge is to
ensure that when farming is to be intensified it can be done without adverse
ecological consequences. (3.1, 3.2)
8. Constraints on the adoption of sustainable farming systems include the
perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of the society affected, economic
limitations and problems of land tenure. (3.3)
9. Foreign aid donors can make a contribution towards establishing
sustainable farming systems but past project designs have often not been
well suited to conservation. (3.4)
10. Projects can be developed with conservation goals which will conserve
the land, improve subsistence farming and assist with economic production.
There are three stages in these projects:
- Identify the causes of land degradation and the constraints to
countering them.
- Develop and demonstrate appropriate farming systems
- Extension (3.5)
11. A project is likely to have a greater impact if it leads to the
adoption of appropriate conservation techniques over a region than if it
intensively improves a restricted project area. A project must therefore
seek to develop techniques which will be adopted without subsidy. (3.4, 3.5)
12. The Australian projects in northern Thailand have successfully
demonstrated farming systems which would reduce erosion but these have yet
to be adopted on a significant scale by the population in the region. (4.2)
13. The NTT Livestock Development Project in Timor has not yet had
sufficient time to demonstrate suitable farming systems but it is expected
that such systems can be developed. (4.3)
14. In Sikka, Flores, Indonesia, the widespread planting of contour hedgerows
of leucaena has brought substantial conservation benefits. The key
factors in the adoption of this practice appear to have been that the
technique was readily undertaken by fanners, it increases crop yields and
that there was strong support from the local administration. (4.3)
15. It should be possible to introduce conservation farming systems to a
region in a period of about ten years. If success is to be achieved it is
essential that practices be capable of being adopted without subsidy, that
the introduction get strong support from the local administration and that
there be a vigorous extension campaign.
16. It is recommended that:
- Australia should have an explicit policy on conservation and
development assistance based on our commitment to the World
Conservation Strategy. (5.l)
- ADAB should have its focus of conservation within the appraisals
and evaluations area.(5.2)
ADAB should incorporate conservation considerations throughout the
project cycle. (5.3)
- The cost benefit guidelines provided by ADAB should be amended to
include conservation considerations. (5.4)
- ADAB should support and encourage conservation projects and should
seek to develop projects which will have a conservation impact
throughout the relevant region. (5.5)
- ADAB should cooperate with other agencies in its activities on
conservation and development. In particular we should play an active
role in OECD activities relating to environment and development. (5.6)
2
Lawrence, David Norman, and n/a. "Learning as Participation in Grains Research, Development and Extension in Australia." Griffith University. School of Vocational, Technology and Arts Education, 2006. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20070118.111610.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is grounded in the introduction of participatory research, development and extension (RDE) to Australian agriculture. The emphasis on participatory processes emerged as the Transfer-of-Technology (ToT) model is no longer considered adequate to deal with complex farming systems and their diverse stakeholders (Packham 2003). However, RDE agencies are introducing participatory processes with a limited understanding of how they may work in Australia's developed agriculture sector (Vanclay 1994). Consequently, the initiation of three participatory Farming Systems RDE projects in Australia's northern grains region provides opportunity to explore and understand participatory approaches and their impact on participants. Three related themes are developed by exploring the nature of participants' diversity across these projects, the characteristics of participation in each project and the subsequent learning of participants: (i) that increased participation implicitly increases diversity in the conduct of RDE; (ii) that participatory RDE provides opportunities to integrate stakeholders' diverse experience and knowledge; and (iii) that participants' learning can improve current farming systems. Participatory action research was used to understand how participatory RDE should be enacted, and to involve project participants to help them also understand and improve their project processes and goals. The research utilised a range of qualitative and quantitative procedures including: participant and nonparticipant observation at project meetings and activities with farmers; focus groups and semi-structured interviews with project teams, their managers, and participating farmers; a team learning survey of team members; and custom-made questionnaires to quantify participants' perceptions of the projects, their processes, and impacts on learning and behaviour. These interventions identified participants' demographic, organisational and informational diversity. They also identified and elaborated their diverse aims, expectations and passions for participatory RDE, revealed individuals' preferred RDE methodologies and suggested their underlying worldviews. Indeed, ToT paradigms and positivist worldviews remained entrenched in most project staff and their managers. The teams consequently used participation to help farmers better understand technical issues, not build interdependent projects with integrated RDE processes. Farmers generally appreciated their increased participation and influence in RDE activities. While their initial consultative and functional participation did not extend to process decisions or project strategy, farmers valued the opportunity to work with the projects and influence the issues addressed. The projects consequently improved farming practices and management of issues that have long-eluded traditional RDE. For example, the widespread use of: (i) zero tillage and controlled traffic systems to control soil erosion; (ii) nitrogen fertilisers to match crop requirements; (iii) ley pastures to address soil fertility in grain and grazing systems; and (iv) new crops to diversifying grain systems away from monocultures. The projects provided farmers with opportunities for increased participation and learning over time. Functional participation developed in on-farm research that addressed issues identified with farmers, and action learning workshops provided proximal opportunities for farmers to understand existing information and use their own farm data in real decisions. In this way, the behaviourist learning of the ToT approach was supplemented by guided learning to integrate new meaning schemes with farmers' experiential knowledge. Some on-farm research and action learning activities extended to reflecting on their processes, and involved farmers in deciding the most appropriate RDE methodology and methods for subsequent activities. This opportunity to reflect on the values and assumptions of different approaches was critical in developing interactive participation and higher level learning for participants. Nevertheless, the initial participation in each project team failed to meet some team members' expectations. The expected task and process conflicts emerged, but small activity groups with shared values and RDE paradigms developed within each team. Team members' process conflict about the 'best' RDE methodologies for specific issues then developed into worldview conflicts about the relevance and rigour of these methodologies. Some smaller groups subsequently worked independently, with damaging relationship conflict developing from unresolved process issues between some individuals. Team members communicated, but their participation remained largely passive and consultative. Factors that shaped participation were identified, and a framework to support opportunities for stakeholders to plan, manage and evaluate RDE was developed. These helped increase participation in the projects. Participation within the projects' constituent activities subsequently fluxed from isolation to interactive participation. Individuals within activities now expected, and usually had, equality in content decisions (i.e. functional participation), which often extended to process decisions (i.e. interactive participation). Yet, the levels of participation between members of different activities varied across the projects. One project remained a series of parallel and relatively independent activities with passive and consultative participation. A second project had functional and interactive participation imposed for some activities, but otherwise used passive and consultative participation. The third project developed to provide functional and interactive participation in major project decisions. It then became apparent that the learning outcomes of each project varied. Individuals continued to learn from their participation in the projects, but the contributions of diverse sources and participation were major shapers of this learning. Participation within the less diverse activity groups produced mainly technical learning through participants' existing meaning schemes. Again, the level of participation between activities with diverse values, RDE paradigms, and worldviews, shaped the nature of learning. Passive and consultative participation produced mostly technical learning through existing meaning schemes. Yet, teams that embraced their diversity, and reflected on the assumptions of their different RDE methodologies, transformed their approach to learning. With high levels of diversity, the level of participation determined the level of learning. Essentially, participation became learning. This thesis confirms the potential of participatory RDE to improve farming practices. Consultation to identify priority issues, and functional participation to develop proximal opportunities for farmers to understand these issues and make their own decisions had a major impact on farming practices. Yet, participatory processes must rise above the prevailing ToT paradigms of RDE agencies to integrate participants' knowledge, and so achieve sustainable development in Australia. Three main process contributions are made to support this development. Firstly, the evaluation framework provides a challenge and structure to encourage the contributions of all participants at each stage of project activities. It provides a checklist for effective participation in Farming Systems RDE. Secondly, a typology of participation in Farming Systems RDE extends that proposed by Pretty (1995). It provides a catalyst and means to better understand and identify the most appropriate levels of participation in RDE projects. The associated checklist for assessing modes of participation allows monitoring of the participation developed in practice. Finally, the re-conceptualisation of a broader continuum of participation in Farming Systems RDE for developed agriculture is proposed. The subsequent development of the Doing successful on-farm research process is a culmination of the understandings developed in this thesis. It facilitates the development of interactive participation within the on-farm research process that is central to these projects. Recognising the technical focus of most current RDE agency staff, it guides their development of participatory on-farm research processes before reflecting on the appropriateness of different research methods to their research issues. The findings here cannot ensure the development of Australia's RDE beyond the ToT paradigm. However, this thesis provides important insights into the nature of diversity, participation, and learning in the Farming Systems projects, and a series of tools to support this development. Conceptually, it proposes that different kinds of participation will be shaped by participants' diversity from their prior experiences and their expectations that are in turn transformed through evidence of improved practice.
3
Lawrence, David Norman. "Learning as Participation in Grains Research, Development and Extension in Australia." Thesis, Griffith University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366360.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is grounded in the introduction of participatory research, development and extension (RDE) to Australian agriculture. The emphasis on participatory processes emerged as the Transfer-of-Technology (ToT) model is no longer considered adequate to deal with complex farming systems and their diverse stakeholders (Packham 2003). However, RDE agencies are introducing participatory processes with a limited understanding of how they may work in Australia's developed agriculture sector (Vanclay 1994). Consequently, the initiation of three participatory Farming Systems RDE projects in Australia's northern grains region provides opportunity to explore and understand participatory approaches and their impact on participants. Three related themes are developed by exploring the nature of participants' diversity across these projects, the characteristics of participation in each project and the subsequent learning of participants: (i) that increased participation implicitly increases diversity in the conduct of RDE; (ii) that participatory RDE provides opportunities to integrate stakeholders' diverse experience and knowledge; and (iii) that participants' learning can improve current farming systems. Participatory action research was used to understand how participatory RDE should be enacted, and to involve project participants to help them also understand and improve their project processes and goals. The research utilised a range of qualitative and quantitative procedures including: participant and nonparticipant observation at project meetings and activities with farmers; focus groups and semi-structured interviews with project teams, their managers, and participating farmers; a team learning survey of team members; and custom-made questionnaires to quantify participants' perceptions of the projects, their processes, and impacts on learning and behaviour. These interventions identified participants' demographic, organisational and informational diversity. They also identified and elaborated their diverse aims, expectations and passions for participatory RDE, revealed individuals' preferred RDE methodologies and suggested their underlying worldviews. Indeed, ToT paradigms and positivist worldviews remained entrenched in most project staff and their managers. The teams consequently used participation to help farmers better understand technical issues, not build interdependent projects with integrated RDE processes. Farmers generally appreciated their increased participation and influence in RDE activities. While their initial consultative and functional participation did not extend to process decisions or project strategy, farmers valued the opportunity to work with the projects and influence the issues addressed. The projects consequently improved farming practices and management of issues that have long-eluded traditional RDE. For example, the widespread use of: (i) zero tillage and controlled traffic systems to control soil erosion; (ii) nitrogen fertilisers to match crop requirements; (iii) ley pastures to address soil fertility in grain and grazing systems; and (iv) new crops to diversifying grain systems away from monocultures. The projects provided farmers with opportunities for increased participation and learning over time. Functional participation developed in on-farm research that addressed issues identified with farmers, and action learning workshops provided proximal opportunities for farmers to understand existing information and use their own farm data in real decisions. In this way, the behaviourist learning of the ToT approach was supplemented by guided learning to integrate new meaning schemes with farmers' experiential knowledge. Some on-farm research and action learning activities extended to reflecting on their processes, and involved farmers in deciding the most appropriate RDE methodology and methods for subsequent activities. This opportunity to reflect on the values and assumptions of different approaches was critical in developing interactive participation and higher level learning for participants. Nevertheless, the initial participation in each project team failed to meet some team members' expectations. The expected task and process conflicts emerged, but small activity groups with shared values and RDE paradigms developed within each team. Team members' process conflict about the 'best' RDE methodologies for specific issues then developed into worldview conflicts about the relevance and rigour of these methodologies. Some smaller groups subsequently worked independently, with damaging relationship conflict developing from unresolved process issues between some individuals. Team members communicated, but their participation remained largely passive and consultative. Factors that shaped participation were identified, and a framework to support opportunities for stakeholders to plan, manage and evaluate RDE was developed. These helped increase participation in the projects. Participation within the projects' constituent activities subsequently fluxed from isolation to interactive participation. Individuals within activities now expected, and usually had, equality in content decisions (i.e. functional participation), which often extended to process decisions (i.e. interactive participation). Yet, the levels of participation between members of different activities varied across the projects. One project remained a series of parallel and relatively independent activities with passive and consultative participation. A second project had functional and interactive participation imposed for some activities, but otherwise used passive and consultative participation. The third project developed to provide functional and interactive participation in major project decisions. It then became apparent that the learning outcomes of each project varied. Individuals continued to learn from their participation in the projects, but the contributions of diverse sources and participation were major shapers of this learning. Participation within the less diverse activity groups produced mainly technical learning through participants' existing meaning schemes. Again, the level of participation between activities with diverse values, RDE paradigms, and worldviews, shaped the nature of learning. Passive and consultative participation produced mostly technical learning through existing meaning schemes. Yet, teams that embraced their diversity, and reflected on the assumptions of their different RDE methodologies, transformed their approach to learning. With high levels of diversity, the level of participation determined the level of learning. Essentially, participation became learning. This thesis confirms the potential of participatory RDE to improve farming practices. Consultation to identify priority issues, and functional participation to develop proximal opportunities for farmers to understand these issues and make their own decisions had a major impact on farming practices. Yet, participatory processes must rise above the prevailing ToT paradigms of RDE agencies to integrate participants' knowledge, and so achieve sustainable development in Australia. Three main process contributions are made to support this development. Firstly, the evaluation framework provides a challenge and structure to encourage the contributions of all participants at each stage of project activities. It provides a checklist for effective participation in Farming Systems RDE. Secondly, a typology of participation in Farming Systems RDE extends that proposed by Pretty (1995). It provides a catalyst and means to better understand and identify the most appropriate levels of participation in RDE projects. The associated checklist for assessing modes of participation allows monitoring of the participation developed in practice. Finally, the re-conceptualisation of a broader continuum of participation in Farming Systems RDE for developed agriculture is proposed. The subsequent development of the Doing successful on-farm research process is a culmination of the understandings developed in this thesis. It facilitates the development of interactive participation within the on-farm research process that is central to these projects. Recognising the technical focus of most current RDE agency staff, it guides their development of participatory on-farm research processes before reflecting on the appropriateness of different research methods to their research issues. The findings here cannot ensure the development of Australia's RDE beyond the ToT paradigm. However, this thesis provides important insights into the nature of diversity, participation, and learning in the Farming Systems projects, and a series of tools to support this development. Conceptually, it proposes that different kinds of participation will be shaped by participants' diversity from their prior experiences and their expectations that are in turn transformed through evidence of improved practice.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Vocational, Technology and Arts Education
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Ngwenya, Kwanele. "Factors affecting rural farming households’ willingness to participate in a proposed irrigation scheme: a situation analysis of Guquka in Nkonkobe District Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007145.
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Previous studies conducted in the study area recommended an irrigation scheme as a much desired intervention in order to reduce poverty levels, reduce unemployment, provide a livelihood for the households and trigger development. The Land Bank of South Africa has shown keen interest to provide funds to set up an irrigation scheme in Guquka. Absence of peoples’ involvement and farmer participation has been identified as one of the causes of poor performance of smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa. The poor performance of smallholder irrigation projects in South Africa provided a good basis for exploring factors that could possibly affect farmer participation and the success of the proposed irrigation scheme. This knowledge would be useful to providers of extension services, capital providers, policy makers and the recipients of the proposed irrigation scheme. The main objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the willingness of farming households to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. This investigation helped to analyse demographic; socio economic situation; farming practices; economic activities; water sources, uses and management in the study area. The major tool of enquiry in this study was the questionnaire which was used to collect data from the households. Household and farm characteristics were collected using structured questionnaires with the help of locally recruited and trained enumerators. The data used for the empirical analysis was obtained from a survey of 50 farming households in Guquka, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The following variables were selected to determine the scope of their influence on farmer willingness to participate in the proposed scheme: age; membership in local group; investment in agriculture, educational level of the farmers, knowledge, household size, labour and gender. A logit model was used to determine the extent to which these selected characteristics influence the willingness of farmers to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. The results showed that willingness to participate in the scheme was significantly influenced by the afore mentioned variables as well as knowledge about the planned irrigation scheme which is mainly provided by extension agents; and total household income. Age was found to decrease the willingness of farmers to participate in irrigation. A positive association existed between participation and the following variables; membership in local group, investment in agriculture, educational level of the farmers and knowledge. On the other hand, household size, labour and gender were not significant variables affecting willingness to participate in the proposed irrigation scheme. Based on the results from the logit regression model, it can be concluded that membership in a local group, investment in agriculture, education, knowledge and total household income are responsible for increasing the probability of participation. The negative relationship on age and participation indicates that the older the person is, the lesser the chances of participation. It is recommended that stakeholders should improve access to education and farmer training programmes. Support systems to disseminate information, training and knowledge should be enhanced. Improving institutional support and access to financial services should be prioritised by the stakeholders in the study area. Further studies on building institutional capacity and a cost benefit analysis of irrigation options in the study area are recommended.
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Zenda, Sipho Macriba. "A systems approach to marketing in less developed agriculture with reference to Bululwane Irrigation Scheme." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1001045.
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Christodoulou, Nicholas. "Learning to develop participative processes to improve farming systems in the Balonne Shire, Queensland /." View thesis View thesis, 2000. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030507.130624/index.html.
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Thesis (M.Sc.) (Hons.) -- University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 2000."A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Honours)". Bibliography : leaves 123-130.
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Haedrich, Lisa. "Integration of food consumption and nutrition considerations into the RIARS farming systems research and extension project in the Bicol region of the Philippines." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/45975.
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The purpose of the research was to describe the relationship of nutrition/consumption to agricultural production and related areas in the diagnosis and preliminary design of project activities and to describe the contributions of a nutrition focus to problem identification, grouping and treatment selection compared with an agricultural focus.
A multidisciplinary team integrated the nutrition/consumption perspective into the rapid community assessment for planning (RCAP) by incorporating topic areas, observational items and questions in each of five stages in the community diagnosis.
Three problems in subsistence food production and consumption were among the top five priority problems. Differences in problems between the team and the community were attributed to differing perspectives. Compared with the agriculture RCAP, nutrition-related problems were reported only to a limited degree and their rankings were generally lower.
Seasonality was a particularly important linkage, along with income, labor, enterprise mix and markets. Groups of farm families based mainly on farming system shared production-related but not nutrition-related characteristics. The household characteristics most useful for research domain subgroups were agroecology, produce disposal, resources and food and income gaps. Nutrition/consumption information enabled the team to plan separate research designs for groups of families with similar conditions.
Production factors identified for investigation related to the priority problem of food crop production included crop protection, soil improvement, pest and disease control and overall plot design. Nutrition/ consumption aspects related to research trials included: selection of crops and varieties for filling food, income and nutrient gaps; and other nutrition-related areas of sanitation, labor and post-harvest storage, many of which were established based on nutrition information integrated into the RCAP. Areas for ex ante analysis included food preferences, sanitation and womenâ s time conflicts. The nutrition focus contributed information important for problem identification, grouping and treatment selection.
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Schumann, Sybille A. "Research on hydrological processes and pesticide behaviour in irrigated, terraced catchments in the Mid-Hills of Nepal : a collaborative project on environmental risks of pesticides and sustainable development of integrated pesticide management systems (IPMS) in Nepal considering socio-economic conditions /." Clausthal-Zellerfeld : Papierflieger, 2004. http://www.gbv.de/dms/bs/toc/476541220.pdf.
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Camargo, Wladimir Pena. "Desenvolvimento de um ambiente Web para a interação entre participantes de projetos de agricultura de precisão." Universidade de São Paulo, 2005. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/11/11148/tde-01072005-155828/.
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Agricultura de Precisão é um novo paradigma de gestão da produção agrícola, que considera as variabilidades da produtividade e dos fatores de produção. Nesse novo paradigma de produção os agrônomos especializados em Agricultura de Precisão utilizam softwares para o gerenciamento de dados e visualização de mapas que são gerados nas diversas fases do processo. Estes softwares são caros e complexos, o que dificulta para os usuários não especialistas o acesso aos mapas, ficando o seu uso restrito apenas ao usuário especializado. o objetivo deste trabalho é o desenvolvimento de um ambiente, com interface amigável e de baixo custo, que opere pela internet, permitindo aos usuários menos especializados a visualização dos mapas e a inserção de informações indexadas ao talhões de produção em uma base de dados remota. Foi desenvolvida uma solução de software utilizando componentes de software livre como servido web Apache, a linguagem interpretada PHP, o módulo do Apache Mapscript e o Banco de Dados MySQL. Para a interação dos usuários com a imagem dos mapas foi proposto e desenvolvido um algorítmo para a criação de pontos clicáveis que são gerados dinamicamente.Precision Agriculture is a new paradigm to manage yield variability and the agricultural inputs. The agricultural engineer specialized in Precision Farming uses softwares to manage data and to visualize maps that are made in the many steps of the process. These softwares are expensive and complex and, thus, dificult to those users who are not specialized in accessing the maps. The aim of this work is to develop a system, with a friendly-user and low cost interface, that operates through the internet, allowing unspecialized users to visualize thos maps and to insert field indexed information in a remote database. A software was developed using free components like Apache webserver, PHP script language, Mapscript Apache's module and the Mysql database. For user interaction with the map image, a algoritm to dinamicly create link poinst was proposed and developed.
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Ngxetwane, Vuyolwethu. "Integrated crop-livestock farming system for sustainable economic empowerment of small-scale and emerging farmers in the former homeland of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa: a case study of Ciskei area in Nkonkobe municipality." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/459.
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For decades, there has been significant investment in the development of agricultural technologies that aim to increase productivity of smallholder farmers in Africa. But farm output and productivity have stagnated and poverty rates have remained high and even increasing in some areas. At the same time, increases in human population levels have resulted in rising demand for food as well as for arable land. The growing intensification of farming has been accompanied by degradation of wild lands, including tropical forests and wetlands, at an alarming rate. Further pressure on fragile land has come from associated urbanization, leading to agricultural land being converted to residential and industrial uses with serious consequences for agricultural production and food supply. The recent increases in food prices across the globe as well as South Africa have drawn attention to this problem even more strongly. The main objective of the current study was to investigate farmer’s perception of the relative importance of crop-livestock integration in the small holder farming systems. Data were collected from 70 emerging and smallholder farmers selected by stratified random sampling in the communities surrounding Alice, Middledrift and the Seymour- Balfour area of Nkonkobe municipality of the Eastern Cape Province. To collect the data, a semi-structure questionnaire was administered to the respondents through face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the farmers in terms of their socio-economic and demographic backgrounds. A series of multiple linear regression models and a binary logistic regression equation were fitted to determine the factors influencing farmers’ perception and how these in turn contribute to the decision to adopt or not to adopt crop-livestock integration. The results of the study reveal that small farmers in the Nkonkobe municipality have the possibility of realizing immense benefits from the integrated systems which also have the potential to lead to substantial improvements of the physical, chemical and biological soil properties. There is clear evidence of widespread interest to experiment with the practices based on the strong positive perceptions that a majority of the survey farmers exhibited during the course of the survey. But the farmers are facing challenges in coping with the associated complexities of competition on land, and management skill which are often in limited supply. That in most cases is not enough and efficient even to manage one of these two enterprises alone and reduction in crops yield due to use of manure as a substitute of fertilizer. Constraints to integrating crops and livestock include the competition for resources, especially land. Managing two types of farming on the same farm was perceived as difficult and many respondents held the view that use of waste of one enterprise as input to the other enterprise can reduce productivity. For example some farmers considered that the use of manure to improve soil fertility may not lead to output growth to the same extent as the use of fertilizer. A number of farmers (86%) pointed out that they only market their produce after deducting their consumption share, highlighting the crucial role of food security as a motivation for crop-livestock integration. Complementation of inputs rather than substituting inputs is required to render the system more productive and sustainable as costs are minimized and output is boosted. Associations of grain and livestock producers are useful for filling these gaps which include limited access to credit, technology and knowledge and can promote the adoption of a crop-livestock system.
Books on the topic "Farming systems projects"
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Acker, D. G. Tanzania farming systems project: Final technical report. [Corvallis, Or: Oregon State University, 1986.
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Stallings, James L. Data collection in subsistence farming systems: A handbook. Auburn, Ala: Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology [and] Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn University, 1985.
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Knickel, Karlheinz W. Farming systems development--smallholder swamp rice schemes in Sierra Leone. Hamburg: Weltarchiv, 1988.
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Yamada, Ryūichi, and Seishi Yamasaki. Development of technologies and sustainable farming systems in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Tsukuba, Japan: International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, 2007.
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations., ed. Institutionalization of a farming systems approach to development: Proceedings of technical discussions, Rome, 15-17 October 1991. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1992.
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Bargel, Gabriele. Die Monokultur der Kuh: Projektplanung auf den Azoren ; eine soziologische Kritik am "Farming Systems Research" (FSR). Saarbrücken: Verlag Breitenbach, 1989.
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Zanzibar, Wizara ya Kilimo Mifugo na Maliasili. Cash Crops Farming Systems Project (ZCCFSP). Zanzibar: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources, 1995.
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Farming Systems Integrated Pest Management Project (Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station). Farming Systems Integrated Pest Management Project: Selected reports, 1996-2000. Limbe, Malawi: Dept. for Agricultural Research and Technical Services, Farming Systems Integrated Pest Management Project, Bvumbwe Agricultural Research Station, 2000.
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Coppen, J. J. W. Zanzibar Cash Crops Farming Systems Project: Annatto : a techno-economic profile. Zanzibar, Tanzania: The Project, 1993.
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Rambo, A. Terry. Farming Systems Research Sub-project, Khon Kaen University, Research Development Project, USAID project no. 493-0322, 13 January-8 February 1986: Mid-term evaluation report. [Khon Kaen]: The Sub-project, 1986.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Farming systems projects"
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Terrier, Médulline, Pierre Gasselin, and Joseph Le Blanc. "Assessing the Sustainability of Activity Systems to Support Households’ Farming Projects." In Methods and Procedures for Building Sustainable Farming Systems, 47–61. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5003-6_5.
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Smith, Hendrik J., Gerhardus Trytsman, and Andre A. Nel. "On-farm experimentation for scaling-out conservation agriculture using an innovation systems approach in the north west province, South Africa." In Conservation agriculture in Africa: climate smart agricultural development, 416–30. Wallingford: CABI, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/9781789245745.0026.
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Abstract A project under the Farmer Innovation Programme (FIP) that aimed to adapt Conservation Agriculture (CA) among grain farmers in South Africa was implemented in a commercial farming area of the North West Province. The following on-farm, collaborative-managed trials produced key findings concerning: (i) plant population densities (high versus low) under CA; (ii) conventional crop systems versus CA crop systems; (iii) the testing and screening of cover crops; (iv) green fallow systems for soil restoration; and (v) livestock integration. Key results from these trials were that the yield of maize was significantly higher under high-density no-till (NT) systems compared to the normal NT systems. The yield of maize in local conventional systems was lower than the yield in NT systems tested on three farmer-managed trials. The screening trial assisted in testing and learning the suitability and the different attributes of a range of cover crops in that area. Cover crop mixtures used as a green fallow system with livestock showed that CA can facilitate the successful restoration of degraded soil.
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Micheni, Alfred, Patrick Gicheru, and Onesmus Kitonyo. "Conservation agriculture for climate smart agriculture in smallholder farming systems in Kenya." In Conservation agriculture in Africa: climate smart agricultural development, 431–42. Wallingford: CABI, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/9781789245745.0027.
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Abstract Climate change is any significant change in climatic conditions. Such changes may negatively affect productivity of the rain-fed agriculture practised by over 75% of the smallholder Kenyan farmers. The effect leads to failure to sustainably provide adequate food and revenue to famers. It is on this basis that an almost 8-year field study was conducted to evaluate and scale climate resilient agricultural technological options associated with Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems and practices (no-till; maintenance of permanent soil cover; and crop diversification - rotations and associations), complemented with good agricultural strategies. The activities involved were targeted to sustainably increase productivity of maize-legumes farming systems while reducing environmental risks. The results showed improved soil properties (physical, chemical and health) and consequently increased crop yields and human nutrition by over 30%. Such benefits were attributed to cost savings arising from NT and reduced labour requirement for weed control. This was further based on enhanced crop soil moisture and nutrients availability and use efficiency leading to over 25% yield increase advantage. Apart from the field trials, the study used the Agricultural Production Simulator (APSIM) computer model to simulate CA scenario with the aim of providing potential quick answers to adopting CA practices for farm system productivity. The results were inclusively shared, leading to over 21% increase in the number of farmers adopting the CA practices within and beyond the project sites. The study's overall recommendation affirmed the need to integrate the CA practices into Kenyan farming systems for sustainable agricultural livelihoods and economic opportunities.
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Tanaka, Wataru, and Rei Itsukushima. "Attempt to Develop High-Value Rice in the Shimojin District, Mashiki Town, Kumamoto Prefecture: Transition Into Sustainable Local Community Using Disaster Recovery from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes as a Branding Strategy." In Decision Science for Future Earth, 233–51. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8632-3_12.
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AbstractIn this chapter, we report the case of a co-design project undertaken in the Shimojin district that was severely damaged by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes. We, IDS3, and local residents have not only attempted to recover the aforementioned district from the damages it suffered due to the earthquakes but also unite its entire community, which is currently suffering from population decline and aging. To supplement its local agriculture, we initiated the co-design project as a means to promote rice branding by adding value by utilizing the biodiversity in the district and transforming the district’s rice paddy fields into eco-friendly paddy systems. We were involved with the project since the consensus building phase owing to our co-design experience with regard to restoration planning at disaster restoration sites and knowledge about the district. We primarily conducted our research in three fields: (1) design of the recovery plan of eco-friendly paddy fields and agricultural ditches, (2) consensus formation for rice branding, (3) exploration of eco-friendly farming method suitable for the region under study.
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Pandit, Bishnu Hari, Netra Kumari Aryal, and Hans-Peter Schmidt. "Social-Ecological Transformation Through Planting Mixed Tree Species on Abandoned Agricultural Land in the Hills of Nepal." In Fostering Transformative Change for Sustainability in the Context of Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS), 77–93. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6761-6_5.
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AbstractA project entitled, “Building village economies through climate farming & forest gardening” (BeChange) was implemented in four municipality areas of the Tanahun and Lamjung districts of Nepal from May 2015. In order to assess changes in the social-ecological system that result from this project targeting abandoned agricultural lands, this case study was conducted using various methods: triad grouping, GPS point surveys, household surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), field observation and reports. A participatory approach in reforestation on abandoned agricultural land with introduction of carbon credits has become a new livelihood strategy for local communities. It has not only attracted domestic and international tourists, but also helped to conserve biodiversity and local ecology. This activity also united village women and indigenous communities as triad groups for collaborative outcomes. A total of 42,138 seedlings of mixed tree species such as Michelia champaca, Elaeocarpus ganitrus, Bassia butyraceae, Bauhinia purpurea, and Cinnamon tamala were planted by 276 families on abandoned agricultural land between May 2015 and July 2018. However, as of 2020, this range has expanded to include 635 families with plantations of more than 65,000 seedlings. The set-up and maintenance of these forest gardens were financed with advanced payments for the carbon sink services of the planted trees. Farmers who succeeded with tree survival rates above 80% received an additional yearly carbon sink payment. The outcomes of the project show significant improvements in food security and tree biodiversity in the project villages. Of the total sampled households, almost half (45%) were under extreme poverty and had food sufficiency for only 3 months/year before the project. With the project, this percentage dropped to 22%, signals the emergence of seeds for transformative change.
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Rontard, Benjamin, and Humberto Reyes Hernandez. "Emission Trading System and Forest: Learning from the Experience of New Zealand." In Springer Climate, 169–89. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82759-5_9.
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AbstractIn the area of international policy to mitigate climate change, the forest has been important in achieving the objectives of liable countries. The Emissions Trading System in New Zealand (NZ ETS) is the only case of an ETS integrating forestry as a mandatory actor. This is the result of prolonged political discussions and the characteristics of New Zealand forestry. Forest landowners are liable to surrender allowances for deforestation and can potentially receive allowances for the level of carbon sequestered. This scheme created new opportunities for forestry activities and impacted the decision-making trade-offs related to land-use changes. In Mexico, the implementation of an Emissions Trading System in 2020 is evidence of the country’s commitment to controlling domestic emissions under the Paris Agreement. Nevertheless, for now, the forestry sector is not involved as a liable actor. It is possible to envision the integration of the forest sector because of the extensive forest cover in the country, which provides a livelihood for a large part of the population. Mexico has the experience and institutional framework to integrate forestry into national emission accounting and carbon forest projects in the voluntary market. The potential impacts of this integration are both positive and negative. Environmental impacts are positive because forest areas can help mitigate emissions, but intensive carbon farming disrupts native forests and biodiversity. The economic impacts would be highly favorable for forest landowners if market volatility were controlled, but there is a potential loss of public revenue for the State. Finally, carbon forestry has the potential to cause conflict between economic sectors involved in land use and among participating communities.
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Zandstra, Hubert C. "A Cropping Systems Research Methodology for Agricultural Development Projects." In Readings in Farming Systems Research and Development, 74–99. Routledge, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780429303845-7.
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Norem, Rosalie Hulsinga. "Integration of Intra-Household Dynamics into Farming Systems Research and Extension: A Survey of Existing Projects." In Gender Issues in Farming Systems Research and Extension, 19–35. CRC Press, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9780429043895-2.
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Pombo-Romero, Julio. "Assessing and modelling the costs of on-farm distributed renewable energy systems." In Energy-smart farming: Efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability, 137–64. Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.19103/as.2022.0100.07.
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This chapter describes the most relevant costs assessment methodologies and the state-of-the-art research lines regarding the cost of on-farm distributed renewable energy systems (on-farm DG-RES). The analysis of the costs of on-farm DG-RES can be looked at from the perspective of “private” or “public” cost. Private cost analysis aims to assess the financial sustainability of the projects for investors and to compare the economic risks and returns of different alternatives. The most commonly used techniques for assessing the private cost of on-farm DG-RES include techno-economic assessment (TEA) and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). The analysis of the “public” cost of on-farm DG-RES is carried out in order to identify the total costs of the projects, not only for their promoters but also for society as a whole. This includes elements such as indirect and environmental impacts and changes in welfare. Public cost analysis is particularly relevant for public authorities and policy makers in order to produce efficient regulatory frameworks and supporting measures. The methodologies suited to analyse the public cost of on-farm DG-RES include cost-benefit assessment (CBA) and Life Cycle assessment (LCA). Some of the most relevant results of applying TEA, LCOE, CBA and LCA to the analysis of on-farm DG-RES are presented in this chapter, showing the need for creation of reliable datasets and comparable methodologies and metrics in order to facilitate further research. Finally, a case study consisting of the calculation of the LCOE of a solar system for irrigation is included.
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Abu, Godwin Anjeinu, Steve A. Okpachu, and M. Mallam. "Economic Impact Assessment of the National Fadama Development Project on Rural Farming Communities in Niger State of Nigeria." In Food Systems Sustainability and Environmental Policies in Modern Economies, 264–75. IGI Global, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-3631-4.ch012.
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The chapter tested the hypotheses that the National Fadama Development Project had no significant effect on the income of Fadama farmers and that there is no difference in the profit of sugar cane and rice, the two major crops cultivated in the project. Primary data were collected in 2007 through the use of questionnaire randomly administered to 150 farmers in Niger state who are Fadama beneficiaries. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and gross margin analysis. The results of the study showed that sugar cane gave the highest gross margin of N93,460 and rice with a gross margin of N 51,051 gave the highest return per Naira invested of 1.77. The study showed that the difference between the pre-project and post-project income was insignificant at 5%. Scarcity of production inputs and the attendant environmental degradation were the constraints experienced in the project. The chapter concludes that Fadama projects positively impacted on beneficiaries by sustainably increasing farm income. The chapter recommends that the National Fadama Development Project should make timely provision of subsidized production inputs.
Conference papers on the topic "Farming systems projects"
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Nagchaudhuri, Abhijit, Madhumi Mitra, Jesu Raj Pandya, and Caleb Nindo. "Student Experiential Learning Projects in Agricultural Automation and Smart Farming." In 2022 18th IEEE/ASME International Conference on Mechatronic and Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA). IEEE, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/mesa55290.2022.10004458.
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Su, Biao, Karl-Johan Reite, Martin Føre, Karl Gunnar Aarsæther, Morten Omholt Alver, Per Christian Endresen, David Kristiansen, Joakim Haugen, Walter Caharija, and Andrei Tsarau. "A Multipurpose Framework for Modelling and Simulation of Marine Aquaculture Systems." In ASME 2019 38th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/omae2019-95414.
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Abstract Research within marine aquaculture has either focused on technology (e.g. farming structures, autonomous systems, harvesting and transport technologies) or biology (e.g. biomass control, feeding process, fish behavior and welfare). Here, we present a computational framework allowing the integrated analysis of these two aspects in a flexible and evolutive way. This framework is called FhSim which was originally developed for the modelling and simulation of fisheries operations and aquaculture structures, but its application domain has been continuously extended through different research projects. In this paper, we present the basic design principles and functionality of the FhSim framework with the focus on modelling and simulation of marine aquaculture systems. The basic theories and methods used for the modelling of open net cages, closed cages, fish behavior, feeding processes, and ROV operations in net cages are introduced, respectively. It is also shown how the technological and biological aspects of fish farming can be considered in a specialized or integrated analysis. Furthermore, approaches for combining numerical models with monitoring sensor data, techniques for real-time simulation of fish farming operations and the coupling of FhSim with other simulation programs are discussed.
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Ajates Gonzalez, Raquel. "Innovative Food Systems Teaching and Learning: overcoming disciplinary and teaching silos to fix the food system." In Third International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Valencia: Universitat Politècnica València, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/head17.2017.5271.
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While inter-university and interdisciplinary research projects are very common in Higher Education (HE), inter-university and interdisciplinary teaching programmes are still very rare. This paper reflects on the first year of the Innovative Food Systems Teaching and Learning (IFSTAL) programme. IFSTAL is a three-year project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) with the aim of bringing together postgraduate students from very different programmes to learn about food and farming beyond their own disciplines. IFSTAL creates learning environments and activities that encourage students to think systemically about the transdisciplinary challenges facing the food system. IFSTAL combines both face to face events and an inter-university virtual learning environment (VLE) that was created from scratch for this project. At the end of its first year, a survey was carried out to evaluate the programme and inform the structure for year two (Y2). Survey data revealed students preferred interacting at face to face events over the shared VLE. The programme for Y2 was re-designed to incorporate more flipped classroom features with an andragogy-based approach.
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Tornay, Nathali, Luc Floissac, Coralie Garcia, Delphine Rollet, and Catherine Aventin. "Straw Material: End-of-Life Cycle Analysis Scenario." In 4th International Conference on Bio-Based Building Materials. Switzerland: Trans Tech Publications Ltd, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/cta.1.812.
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Bio-based materials end of life is analysed from straw builders and farming practices. This paper proposes a classification of constructive straw systems according to their selective disassembly processes. According to EN 15804 standard, end-of-life (EoL) cycle analysis scenarios are used to create Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). These data will be used: - for architectural projects conception in respect to“RE2020” new French regulation. - as an awareness-raising approach for the long term design of constructive systems.
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Putjaika, Narayut, Sasimanee Phusae, Anupong Chen-Im, Phond Phunchongharn, and Khajonpong Akkarajitsakul. "A control system in an intelligent farming by using arduino technology." In 2016 Fifth ICT International Student Project Conference (ICT-ISPC). IEEE, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ict-ispc.2016.7519234.
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Chen, Ming, Solomon C. Yim, Daniel Cox, Taiping Wang, Michael Huesemann, Zhaoqing Yang, Thomas Mumford, and Geoffrey Wood. "Hydrodynamic Load Modeling for Offshore Free-Floating Macroalgal Aquaculture Under Extreme Environmental Conditions." In ASME 2019 38th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/omae2019-96803.
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Abstract This article describes a preliminary study of an on-going ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) MARINER Phase I project. The hydrodynamic load and dynamic response of an innovative offshore macroalgae cultivation system, Nautical Offshore Macroalgal Autonomous Device (NOMAD), under extreme environmental conditions is examined. The high strength, extremely durable, recyclable carbon fiber (rCF) free-floating long-line is applied with polyculture (Nereocystis luetkeana (bull kelp) and Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp)) in the NOMAD system. This novel macroalgal farming system is designed to free float from Washington State to California along the west coast of the US to avoid anchoring costs and the failure of earlier offshore growth trials. In this study, we expect to identify possible failure modes for the preliminarily design of NOMAD free-floating long-line macroalgal farming system based on the preliminary numerical predictions. We developed a 1km system-scale NOMAD free-floating long-line numerical model and performed a dynamic response analysis on the long-line to determine the behaviors of the long-line under extreme environmental conditions. The 1km free-floating rCF long-line responses very flexible due to wave and current activities even for large bending stiffness. Therefore, the potential entanglement of free-floating long-line on a global scale may cause the system failure even when the tensions and bending moments are in the safe range. Three cases include 10m NOMAD free-floating long-line with sugar kelp, bull kelp, and polyculture numerical models are developed, and the simulation results are analyzed. The tensions at the holdfast of the kelps in these cases are found to be below the breakage limit approximately. However, the severe clumping of the kelps and potential entanglement of adjacent lines may result in damage to the farming system.
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Janse van Rensburg, Nickey, Warren Hurter, and Naude Malan. "A Systems Design Approach to Appropriate, Smart Technology in a Youth Agriculture Initiative." In ASME 2016 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/imece2016-67139.
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A transformative research paradigm is imbedded in knowledge mobilization processes involving close collaboration between researchers and the community. The research presents the development of an integrated, connected food ecosystem that, because of its fundamental design and use of appropriate, smart technology, which tends to naturally create inclusion and prosperity opportunities for many and not simply for the few. The research relies on multi-stakeholder participation to develop appropriate technologies to enhance economic activity amongst unemployed youths in Johannesburg, South Africa. A human-centered, systems engineering approach to develop a pilot project that promotes integrated, online, technologically supported food system is presented. The research is also concerned with how to measure the impact of the intervention the on food resilience as a result of urban farming. This paper presents the systems analysis of the current local food network and the proposed integrated solutions for a pilot project to establish a minimal viable project that can be tested. The research describes the planning and implementation of a pilot project as a minimal viable product to test in the market.
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Aiman, Tabony, and Llabres-Valls Enriqueta. "The Agrarian City in the age of Planetary Scale Computation: Dynamic System Model and Parametric Design Model for the introduction of Vertical Farming in High Dense Urban Environments in Singapore." In International Conference on the 4th Game Set and Match (GSM4Q-2019). Qatar University Press, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.29117/gsm4q.2019.0018.
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Current conditions related to food security lead to study alternative forms of food production in cities such as vertical urban farming in high dense urban environments. This paper discusses the development of the Innovate UK award-winning project consisting of a dynamic system model that generates a large dataset of artificial environments linked to a multi-objective optimization model of urban massing for one square kilometer of development along the coastline of Singapore. The scope of the model is to reach the highest level of self-sufficiency in relation to food consumption. The model operates, as a dynamic system constituted of different subsystems including transport, water, agriculture and energy. These systems dynamically interact among each other and with their environment, which is considered the primary source of energy and the main provider of hydrological resources. A large dataset of artificial environments is created employing a Dynamic System Modelling Software; this includes different scenarios of environmental stress such as sea level rise, population growth or changes on the demand side. Such dataset of artificial environments serves as an input for the multi-objective optimization model that employs genetic algorithms to produce a large data set of urban massing including the distribution of a range of food production technologies in relation to pre-established conditions for vertical urban agriculture and compatibility with other urban programs. Connectivity, solar radiation and visual cones are the fitness criteria against which the model has been tested. This paper assesses whether artificial environments further away from the pareto front produce populations of urban design solutions that respond to extreme environmental conditions and environmental shocks.
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Berstad, Are Johan, Harald Tronstad, Stein-Arne Sivertsen, and Endre Leite. "Enhancement of Design Criteria for Fish Farm Facilities Including Operations." In ASME 2005 24th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering. ASMEDC, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/omae2005-67451.
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A Norwegian Standard NS 9415 (NAS, 2003) has been introduced to the offshore fish farming industry in Norway. This is the first standard dealing with offshore fish farm facilities. The main objective of the standard is to reduce environmental pollution by fish escape. The work process leading to NS 9415 revealed the need for research work in several areas to enhance design criteria with the objective of having a consistent safety level through out the life cycle of a fish farm facility. This paper presents results from a government supported research project with the objective of enhancing criteria for design and operation of fish farm facilities. A case study of a fish farm facility representative for the majority of polyethylene based fish farms in Norway is presented and the sensitivity of such fish farms to variation in the mooring system is shown and discussed for design relevance. The sensitivity of net cage volume to current and weights is presented and discussed. Possible hazards from operational conditions are listed.
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Klotz, Darlan F., Dalcimar Casanova, and Marcelo Teixeira. "Estimating and tuning adaptive action plans for the control of smart interconnected poultry houses." In Congresso Brasileiro de Agroinformática. Sociedade Brasileira de Computação, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.5753/sbiagro.2021.18381.
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In poultry farming, the systematic choice, update, and implementation of periodic (t) action plans define the feed conversion rate (FCR[t]), which is an acceptable measure for successful production. Appropriate action plans provide tailored resources for broilers, allowing them to grow within the so-called comfort zone, without waste or lack of resources. Although the implementation of an action plan is automatic, its configuration depends on a specialist, which tends to be inefficient and result in variable FCR[t]. In this project, the specialist's perception is reproduced, to some extent, by computational intelligence. By combining deep learning and genetic algorithm techniques, we show how action plans can adapt their performance over the time, based on previous well succeeded plans. We also implement a network infrastructure to replicate our method over distributed poultry houses, for their smart, interconnected, and adaptive control. A supervision system is provided as interface to users. Experiments using real data suggest an improvement of 5% on the performance of the most productive specialist, staying close to the optimal FCR[t].
Reports on the topic "Farming systems projects"
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Thi Lua, Hoang, Elisabeth Simelton, Van Tiep Ha, Vu Duc Toan, Nguyen Thi Hoa, Nguyen Van Chung, and Phung Quoc Tuan Anh. Diagnosis of farming systems in the Agroforestry for livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Northwestern Viet Nam project. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.5716/wp13033.pdf.
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Osidoma, Japhet, and Ashiru Mohammed Kinkwa. Creatively Improving Agricultural Practices and Productivity: Pro Resilience Action (PROACT) project, Nigeria. Oxfam, February 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.21201/2021.7260.
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Since April 2016, The European Union and the Oxfam Pro-Resilience Action Project in Kebbi and Adamawa States, Nigeria, have supported poor smallholder rural farmers to improve their agricultural productivity. The project has a specific focus on increasing crop yields per hectare for better land usage, as well as ensuring farmers possess the skills they need to maintain good agricultural practices, such as inputs utilization and climate mitigation strategies, as well as an information-sharing system on weather and market prices. The project uses a Farmer Field School model that continues to serve as a viable platform for rural farmers to access hands-on skills and basic modern farming knowledge and techniques. The case studies presented here demonstrate a significant increase in farmers’ productivity, income and resilience. This approach should be emulated by governments and private sector players to achieve impact at scale in Nigeria’s agricultural sector, which is the country’s top non-oil revenue stream.
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Hulata, Gideon, Thomas D. Kocher, and Micha Ron. Elucidating the molecular pathway of sex determination in cultured Tilapias and use of genetic markers for creating monosex populations. United States Department of Agriculture, January 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.32747/2007.7695855.bard.
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The objectives of this project were to: 1) Identify genetic markers linked to sex-determining genes in various experimental and commercial stocks of O. niloticusand O. aureus, as well as red tilapias; 2) Develop additional markers tightly linked to these sex determiners, and develop practical, non-destructive genetic tests for identifying genotypic sex in young tilapia; A third aim, to map sex modifier loci, was removed during budget negotiations at the start of the project. Background to the topic. A major obstacle to profitable farming of tilapia is the tendency of females to reproduce at a small size during the production cycle, diverting feed and other resources to a large population of small, unmarketable fish. Several approaches for producing all-male fingerlings have been tried, including interspecific hybridization, hormonal masculinization, and the use of YY-supermale broodstock. Each method has disadvantages that could be overcome with a better understanding of the genetic basis of sex determination in tilapia. The lack of sex-linked markers has been a major impediment in research and development of efficient monosex populations for tilapia culture. Major conclusions, solutions, achievements. We identified DNA markers linked to sex determining genes in six closely related species of tilapiine fishes. The mode of sex determination differed among species. In Oreochromis karongaeand Tilapia mariaethe sex-determining locus is on linkage group (LG) 3 and the female is heterogametic (WZ-ZZ system). In O. niloticusand T. zilliithe sex-determining locus is on LG1 and the male is heterogametic (XX-XY system). We have nearly identified the series of BAC clones that completely span the region. A more complex pattern was observed in O. aureus and O. mossambicus, in which markers on both LG1 and LG3 were associated with sex. We found evidence for sex-linked lethal effects on LG1, as well as interactions between loci in the two linkage groups. Comparison of genetic and physical maps demonstrated a broad region of recombination suppression harboring the sex-determining locus on LG3. We also mapped 29 genes that are considered putative regulators of sex determination. Amhand Dmrta2 mapped to separate QTL for sex determination on LG23. The other 27 genes mapped to various linkage groups, but none of them mapped to QTL for sex determination, so they were excluded as candidates for sex determination in these tilapia species. Implications, both scientific and agricultural. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that at least two transitions in the mode of sex determination have occurred in the evolution of tilapia species. This variation makes tilapias an excellent model system for studying the evolution of sex chromosomes in vertebrates. The genetic markers we have identified on LG1 in O. niloticusaccurately diagnose the phenotypic sex and are being used to develop monosex populations of tilapia, and eliminate the tedious steps of progeny testing to verify the genetic sex of broodstock animals.
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Funkenstein, Bruria, and Cunming Duan. GH-IGF Axis in Sparus aurata: Possible Applications to Genetic Selection. United States Department of Agriculture, November 2000. http://dx.doi.org/10.32747/2000.7580665.bard.
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Many factors affect growth rate in fish: environmental, nutritional, genetics and endogenous (physiological) factors. Endogenous control of growth is very complex and many hormone systems are involved. Nevertheless, it is well accepted that growth hormone (GH) plays a major role in stimulating somatic growth. Although it is now clear that most, if not all, components of the GH-IGF axis exist in fish, we are still far from understanding how fish grow. In our project we used as the experimental system a marine fish, the gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), which inhabits lagoons along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe, and represents one of the most important fish species used in the mariculture industry in the Mediterranean region, including Israel. Production of Sparus is rapidly growing, however, in order for this production to stay competitive, the farming of this fish species has to intensify and become more efficient. One drawback, still, in Sparus extensive culture is that it grows relatively slow. In addition, it is now clear that growth and reproduction are physiological interrelated processes that affect each other. In particular sexual maturation (puberty) is known to be closely related to growth rate in fish as it is in mammals, indicating interactions between the somatotropic and gonadotropic axes. The goal of our project was to try to identify the rate-limiting components(s) in Sparus aurata GH-IGF system which might explain its slow growth by studying the ontogeny of growth-related genes: GH, GH receptor, IGF-I, IGF-II, IGF receptor, IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) and Pit-1 during early stages of development of Sparus aurata larvae from slow and fast growing lines. Our project was a continuation of a previous BARD project and could be divided into five major parts: i) obtaining additional tools to those obtained in the previous project that are necessary to carry out the developmental study; ii) the developmental expression of growth-related genes and their cellular localization; iii) tissue-specific expression and effect of GH on expression of growth-related genes; iv) possible relationship between GH gene structure, growth rate and genetic selection; v) the possible role of the IGF system in gonadal development. The major findings of our research can be summarized as follows: 1) The cDNAs (complete or partial) coding for Sparus IGFBP-2, GH receptor and Pit-1 were cloned. Sequence comparison reveals that the primary structure of IGFBP-2 protein is 43-49% identical to that of zebrafish and other vertebrates. Intensive efforts resulted in cloning a fragment of 138 nucleotides, coding for 46 amino acids in the proximal end of the intracellular domain of GH receptor. This is the first fish GH receptor cDNA that had been cloned to date. The cloned fragment will enable us to complete the GH - receptor cloning. 2) IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-2, and IGF receptor transcripts were detected by RT-PCR method throughout development in unfertilized eggs, embryos, and larvae suggesting that these mRNAs are products of both the maternal and the embryonic genomes. Preliminary RT-PCR analysis suggest that GH receptor transcript is present in post-hatching larvae already on day 1. 3) IGF-1R transcripts were detected in all tissues tested by RT-PCR with highest levels in gill cartilage, skin, kidney, heart, pyloric caeca, and brain. Northern blot analysis detected IGF receptor only in gonads, brain and gill cartilage but not in muscle; GH increased slightly brain and gill cartilage IGF-1R mRNA levels. 4) IGFBP-2 transcript were detected only in liver and gonads, when analyzed by Northern blots; RT-PCR analysis revealed expression in all tissues studied, with the highest levels found in liver, skin, gonad and pyloric caeca. 5) Expression of IGF-I, IGF-II, IGF-1R and IGFBP-2 was analyzed during gonadal development. High levels of IGF-I and IGFBP-2 expression were found in bisexual young gonads, which decreased during gonadal development. Regardless of maturational stage, IGF-II levels were higher than those of IGF-L 6) The GH gene was cloned and its structure was characterized. It contains minisatellites of tandem repeats in the first and third introns that result in high level of genetic polymorphism. 7) Analysis of the presence of IGF-I and two types of IGF receptor by immunohistochemistry revealed tissue- and stage-specific expression during larval development. Immunohistochemistry also showed that IGF-I and its receptors are present in both testicular and ovarian cells. Although at this stage we are not able to pinpoint which is the rate-limiting step causing the slow growth of Sparus aurata, our project (together with the previous BARD) yielded a great number of experimental tools both DNA probes and antibodies that will enable further studies on the factors regulating growth in Sparus aurata. Our expression studies and cellular localization shed new light on the tissue and developmental expression of growth-related genes in fish.
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Gender mainstreaming in local potato seed system in Georgia. International Potato Center, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.4160/9789290605645.
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This report presents the study findings associated with the project “Enhancing Rural Livelihoods in Georgia: Introducing Integrated Seed Health Approaches to Local Potato Seed Systems” in Georgia. It also incorporates information from the results of gender training conducted within the framework of the USAID Potato Program in Georgia. The study had three major aims: 1) to understand the gender-related opportunities and constraints impacting the participation of men and women in potato seed systems in Georgia; 2) to test the multistakeholder framework for intervening in root, tuber, and banana (RTB) seed systems as a means to understand the systems themselves and the possibilities of improving gender-related interventions in the potato seed system; and 3) to develop farmers’ leadership skills to facilitate women’s active involvement in project activities. Results of the project assessment identified certain constraints on gender mainstreaming in the potato seed system: a low level of female participation in decision-making processes, women’s limited access to finances that would enable their greater involvement in larger scale potato farming, and a low awareness of potato seed systems and of possible female involvement in associated activities. Significantly, the perception of gender roles and stereotypes differs from region to region in Georgia; this difference is quite pronounced in the target municipalities of Kazbegi, Marneuli, and Akhalkalaki, with the last two having populations of ethnic minorities (Azeri and Armenian, respectively). For example, in Marneuli, although women are actively involved in potato production, they are not considered farmers but mainly as assistants to farmers, who are men. This type of diversity (or lack thereof) results in a different understanding of gender mainstreaming in the potato seed system as well. Based on the training results obtained in three target regions—Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe, and Marneuli—it is evident that women are keen on learning new technologies and on acquiring updated agricultural information, including on potato production. It is also clear that women spend as much time as men do on farming activities such as potato production, particularly in weeding and harvesting. However, women are heavily burdened with domestic work, and they are not major decision-makers with regard to potato variety selection, agricultural investments, and product sales, nor with the inclusion of participants in any training provided. Involving women in project activities will lead to greater efficiency in the potato production environment, as women’s increased knowledge will certainly contribute to an improved production process, and their new ideas will help to improve existing production systems, through which women could also gain confidence and power. As a general recommendation, it is extremely important to develop equitable seed systems that take into consideration, among other factors, social context and the cultural aspects of local communities. Thus, understanding male and female farmers’ knowledge may promote the development of seed systems that are sustainable and responsive to farmers’ needs and capacities.