Journal articles on the topic 'Farming systems projects'
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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<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>
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Kiryushin, V. I. "Prospects for the development of adaptive landscape farming systems in Russia." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1043, no. 1 (June 1, 2022): 012010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1043/1/012010.
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Abstract The achievements of adaptive landscape agriculture systems (ALAS) were considered as an expression of a new, biospheric paradigm of nature management. ALAS are confined to various agroecological land groups (upland, erosive, hydromorphic, saline, etc.). Within the groups, there are land types for which agricultural technologies of various intensification levels are being developed. The ALAS design tools include a register of land types, a register of crop varieties, and a register of agrotechnologies. The development of ALAS projects for agricultural enterprises is carried out in AgroGIS based on soil and landscape mapping materials based on agroecological typology and landscape-ecological classification of lands. ALAS are formed based on the results of multifactorial field experiments that establish systemic links between agriculture elements and landscape-ecological conditions. The ALAS development is associated with the deepening of landscape differentiation and further with the design of agricultural landscapes (cultivated lands, livestock, water, forestry, residential ones) in the territory ecological framework system. The methodology and tools of their design based on the transformation of ecological functions of the landscape into socio-economic ones are proposed.
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Patindol, Teofanes. "Farming Systems and Crop Diversity in Selected Protected Areas in the Visayas." Science and Humanities Journal 8, no. 1 (December 1, 2008): 66–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.47773/shj.1998.081.5.
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Agricultural Production systems inside protected areas are shifting from subsistence to cash economy. Along this shift, farming systems are also significantly changing from low to high intensity cropping, characterized by continuous cultivation and heavy application of inorganic fertilizer and pesticides. Based on the main crops grown, spatial arrangement and cropping intensities, the different crop production systems were identified such as traditional mosaic, low-input mosaic, low-input abaca-based intercrop, low input staples, and high input vegetables. Crop diversity at the farm level is generally low. Perennial crops are integrated into the farming system but are limited to few species of fruit crops and exotic forest trees. Farm level species diversity is positvely realted to age, number of years with livelihood projects. Livelihood module must be implemented and institutinal support be strengthened to lessen dependence of inhabitants of protected areas on these less sustainable production systems.
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King’au, John Mathenge. "Agri-Systems as a Bridge between Subsistence Farming and Youth Economic Welfare in Sub Sahara Africa: A Case of Nakuru County Kenya." East African Journal of Agriculture and Biotechnology 5, no. 1 (May 20, 2022): 114–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.37284/eajab.5.1.675.
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Young people represent around one-fifth of the world’s population and half of the total unemployed global workforce are the youth. In Kenya, over half of the total population is youth and a majority of them live in rural areas and are unemployed. Most rural youths engage in self-reliance projects to improve their livelihoods. This paper examines the future of rural youth agri-projects in Sub-Sahara Africa. The article is based on a study conducted to determine the effects of self-reliance projects on the livelihoods of youth in selected rural areas of Nakuru County, Kenya. Thorough surveys of youth self-reliance projects and livelihoods were conducted in Nakuru County, Kenya in 2017 by the author. The study surveyed youth who were actively undertaking self-reliance projects aimed at enhancing their livelihood. The surveys included information on the nature and type of self-reliance projects undertaken, the contribution of self-reliance projects to youth economic welfare and the challenges facing the youth and how they overcome them when undertaking the projects. The overall conclusion of this study and other related studies is that youth agri projects are having a significant contribution to their economic welfare in the rural areas, thus improving their livelihoods and hence bridging the way Agri-systems are being enhanced
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Halloran, A., R. Caparros Megido, J. Oloo, T. Weigel, P. Nsevolo, and F. Francis. "Comparative aspects of cricket farming in Thailand, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya." Journal of Insects as Food and Feed 4, no. 2 (June 15, 2018): 101–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.3920/jiff2017.0016.
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Cricket farming can have a positive impact on rural development and rural economy in low- and middle-income countries. Moreover, crickets have the potential to address food and nutrition insecurity and promote food sovereignty through the promotion of local production and consumption. This paper presents and discusses five complementary studies conducted in Thailand, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Kenya. Cricket farming is being promoted in these countries under research projects, public-private partnerships, NGOs and international organisations. In the majority of the countries, cricket farming is still in its infancy and research into how to improve cricket farming systems is still on-going. Cricket farming in Cambodia, Lao PDR, DRC and Kenya remains relatively limited, and many farmers are still a part of pilot projects. In each of the five regions, different cricket species have been a part of traditional diets. As discussed in this paper, many of the potential benefits of the production and consumption of crickets have not yet been realised in many cases due to: (1) lack of adequate support and awareness from stakeholders (especially government agencies); (2) unknown trade volumes; (3) high costs of inputs; and (4) cultural taboos. The information presented in this paper will be especially useful to stakeholders from governmental institutions, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and research institutions.
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WALL, PATRICK C., CHRISTIAN L. THIERFELDER, ISAIAH NYAGUMBO, LEONARD RUSINAMHODZI, and WALTER MUPANGWA. "COMMENT ON ‘DE ROO ET AL. (2019). ON-FARM TRIALS FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPACT? THE ORGANIZATION OF RESEARCH AND THE SCALING OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES’." Experimental Agriculture 55, no. 2 (January 30, 2019): 185–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0014479718000492.
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SUMMARYIn their recent paper ‘On-farm trials for development impact? The organization of research and the scaling of agricultural technologies’, de Roo, Andersson and Krupnik report on three case studies, each undertaken by one of the authors, of projects conducting on-farm research. They reach conclusions on the limitations of the projects themselves and the effects of ‘donor dependency’, and propose a strategy to overcome these issues. However, the description of the philosophy, strategies and conduct of the projects reviewed in the southern African case study is incomplete and misleading, and shows that the case study author did not understand or overlooked important project components. Due to this the conclusions reached, insofar as this case study is concerned, are largely either invalid or already contemplated in the project activities. Here, we describe more fully the philosophy and strategies followed by the series of projects on which the case study was conducted, which were designed to facilitate, through the upscaling of project methodologies, the eventual outscaling and widespread adoption of more sustainable farming systems by smallholder farmers in eastern and southern Africa. We propose these methodologies as a valid comprehensive approach to the organization of agricultural research for development for the successful development, scaling-up and scaling-out of agricultural technologies.
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Harsh, Shethia, Dhiraj Singh, and Shraddha Pathak. "Efficient and Cost-effective Drone – NDVI system for Precision Farming." International Journal of New Practices in Management and Engineering 10, no. 04 (January 24, 2022): 14–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.17762/ijnpme.v10i04.126.
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The motive of the project is to develop a under budget system that automates the process of farming by interfacing cutting edge technologies like Drones and ‘NDVI’ to improve the level of productivity in Agriculture. Humans and satellites have a hard time beating a drone’s eye for detail in scanning farming systems from above. Flying below the clouds, collecting and sending images in almost real-time, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) gained ground quickly in agriculture in the last decade as part of so-called precision agriculture. Among their wide range of applications, they can help farmers check crops’ health, track livestock, plan fertilization, assess damages, and map fields at high-resolution. But all this comes with a cost. Currently the models of drones used for such applications cost extensively higher, which makes it unfeasible for the small farmers, especially in India. The projects aim on designing a drone system that can work on both autonomous as well as manual mode and perform mapping, inspecting and spraying processes with efficiency accuracy and considerably good speed which can help boosting the profits of the farmers with large as well as small agricultural lands. As there are lots of restrictions on Drone flight in India. The project aims to follow and implements all the norms stated by the government. (e.g., Permission before flight). The project aims towards overcoming all the above-mentioned problems by automating the procedure.
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Larjosto, Vilia, and Paivi Raivio. "Dodo farming urban vegetable gardens in Helsinki." TERRITORIO, no. 60 (March 2012): 44–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.3280/tr2012-060008.
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Dodo is a Finnish Ngo which works for the environment and has been interested in urban agriculture since 2009. Since then, the practice of urban agriculture has become widespread and has become an integral part of the city landscape in Helsinki, as it has in the whole world. Dodo works as a catalyst for selfmanaged ‘urban farm' projects and urban gardens, encouraging citizens to reclaim areas in their neighbourhoods and in abandoned areas of the city. The initiatives carried forward so far have generated greater community cohesion and triggered the birth of new systems of local and biological production. In Scandinavia, where the growing season is very short, the climate represents the most interesting challenge, but so far it has discouraged neither the experts nor the beginners. This paper recounts the origin and the spread of this movement through a reading of three examples in the city of Helsinki.
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Fiorelli, F. A. S., and G. O. Diaz. "ANAEROBIC DIGESTION AS CENTRE OF DAIRY LIVESTOCK AND AGRICULTURE INTEGRATION: BASIS FOR MEDIUM-SCALE CDM PROJECTS DEVELOPMENT." Revista de Engenharia Térmica 6, no. 2 (December 31, 2007): 08. http://dx.doi.org/10.5380/reterm.v6i2.61681.
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Dairy producers should improve their activity with modern production techniques/technologies to meet the requirements of a stricter consumer market. In this sense, crop and livestock systems integration represents an interesting alternative for using the dairy farm available resources. This paper analyses the use of anaerobic digestion as basis for supplying energy, fertilizers and feed needs of a farming unit, by means of digestion products usage: biogas, which can be used in energy conversion systems to provide the required energy for processing/conservation equipment for milk and other farming products; and effluent, that can be used as a replacement for chemical fertilizers and for aquatic plants/fish feeding. Fossil fuels replacement by biogas can be classified as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, and economic resources obtained by carbon credits commercialisation may support the required production modernisation. The paper analyses the anaerobic digestion process, evaluating biogas in medium-scale dairy farms, as well as the quantification of carbon credits generated by introducing proper manure and culture remains management.
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Lukin, S. V., and V. A. Chernikov. "Use of agroecological soil monitoring data in designing adaptive landscape farming systems." BIO Web of Conferences 36 (2021): 03015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20213603015.
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The article analyzes the experience of using agroecological monitoring data in designing adaptive landscape systems of agriculture and soil protection in the Belgorod region. On the basis of data on soil acidity, design and estimate documentation for liming is developed. Materials on the content of soil organic matter are used in the design of measures to form a deficient balance of humus. Information on the availability of arable soils with mobile forms of phosphorus and potassium is necessary for calculating doses of mineral fertilizers. With low availability of mobile forms of sulphur and trace elements, recommendations are being developed for the use of fertilizers containing scarce elements. As a result of the implementation by agricultural producers of projects of adaptive landscape systems of agriculture and soil protection, in 2015-2018, compared to 2010-2014, the use of mineral fertilizers increased by 14.4 kg/ha, organic - by 3.3 tons/ha, lime production - by 38.1 thousand ha/year. As a result, arable land productivity increased by 1.01 thousand feed units.
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Bridle, K. L., and R. J. Price. "Undertaking participatory research at a national scale: the Biodiversity in Grain & Graze approach." Animal Production Science 49, no. 10 (2009): 916. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/an09007.
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Limited information is available on the management and delivery of national-scale biodiversity projects. Even less information is available on such projects operating in agricultural matrices, particularly how they address the expectations of multiple stakeholders from paddock to farm, regional and national scales. This paper describes the approach taken to implement and deliver the Biodiversity in Grain & Graze project, which was national in focus, regional in operation and local in delivery. The project was instigated by four research and development corporation partners who were keen to connect the interests of mixed-farming producers to the environmental goals of nine collaborating regions across Australia. One aim of the project was to engage producers in participatory research on the biodiversity values of mixed-farming systems. This aim could not have been met without considerable effort building regional capacity in biodiversity research and developing a national network of researchers, regional extension staff and stakeholders. This national network was engaged primarily through program and project workshops, regular electronic communications and site visits. Levels of engagement were high, resulting in a sense of ownership by all stakeholders, counteracting to some degree the ill feeling associated with the late inclusion of the biodiversity project to regional activities. Issues relating to goal confusion were evident throughout the whole project, despite a concerted effort by the project team to address such tensions. Previous studies have indicated, and we concur, that biodiversity components need to be built into programs like Grain & Graze at the beginning, and need to be developed in consultation with farmers, regional agencies and research organisations to ensure that expectations are shared and the project is fully supported.
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Bisht, Ishwari Singh, Jai Chand Rana, Rashmi Yadav, and Sudhir Pal Ahlawat. "Mainstreaming Agricultural Biodiversity in Traditional Production Landscapes for Sustainable Development: The Indian Scenario." Sustainability 12, no. 24 (December 21, 2020): 10690. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su122410690.
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Mainstreaming biodiversity in production landscapes ensures conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity, the key objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the projects supported by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Global Environment Facility (GEF). Mainstreaming integrates biodiversity in existing or new programs and policies, both cross-sectoral and sector-specific. The conventional model of agricultural production with limited diversity in production systems and use of high chemical input has taught us a valuable lesson as it is adversely impacting the environment, the essential ecosystem services, the soil health and the long term sustainability of our food systems. Using a qualitative participant observation approach, our study investigated four distinct traditional Indian production landscapes to gage (i) the farming communities’ response to institutional policies, programs and agricultural biodiversity-related activities in traditional Indian production landscapes and (ii) opportunities and challenges for sustainable development in smallholder traditional Indian farming systems. Results indicate that the top-down decision-making regime is the least effective towards achieving sustainable development in traditional Indian farming landscapes and that farmers’ experiential knowledge on participatory biodiversity management, maintenance and use for sustainable development are of critical importance to India’s agriculture and economy. Reclaiming agriculture’s spiritual roots through organic farming and locally grown food emerged as key, including the need for designing and implementing a more sovereign food system. Revisiting traditional smallholder farming under the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons learned for repurposing India’s agricultural policy are also highlighted.
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Fussy, Andre, and Jutta Papenbrock. "An Overview of Soil and Soilless Cultivation Techniques—Chances, Challenges and the Neglected Question of Sustainability." Plants 11, no. 9 (April 24, 2022): 1153. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants11091153.
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Resources such as fertile soil and clean water are already limited in many parts of the world. Additionally, the conventional use of arable land is becoming increasingly difficult, which is further exacerbated by climate change. Soilless cultivation systems do not only offer the opportunity to save water and cultivate without soil but also the chance to open up urban areas such as residential rooftops for food production in close proximity to consumers. In this review, applications of soilless farming systems are identified and compared to conventional agriculture. Furthermore, aspects of economic viability, sustainability and current developments are investigated. An insight into the most important soilless farming systems—hydroponics, aquaponics and vertical farming—is provided. The systems are then differentiated from each other and, as far as possible, evaluated in terms of their environmental impact and compared with conventional cultivation methods. Comparing published data analyzing the yield of hydroponic cultivation systems in comparison to soil-based cultivation methods enables a basic overview of the profitability of both methods and, thus, lays the foundation for future research and practical applications. The most important inert substrates for hydroponic applications are presented, and their degree of sustainability is compared in order to emphasize environmental impacts and affect substrate selections of future projects. Based on an assessment of the most important soilless cultivation systems, the challenges and developments of current techniques are highlighted and discussed.
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Fussy, Andre, and Jutta Papenbrock. "An Overview of Soil and Soilless Cultivation Techniques—Chances, Challenges and the Neglected Question of Sustainability." Plants 11, no. 9 (April 24, 2022): 1153. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants11091153.
Full textAbstract:
Resources such as fertile soil and clean water are already limited in many parts of the world. Additionally, the conventional use of arable land is becoming increasingly difficult, which is further exacerbated by climate change. Soilless cultivation systems do not only offer the opportunity to save water and cultivate without soil but also the chance to open up urban areas such as residential rooftops for food production in close proximity to consumers. In this review, applications of soilless farming systems are identified and compared to conventional agriculture. Furthermore, aspects of economic viability, sustainability and current developments are investigated. An insight into the most important soilless farming systems—hydroponics, aquaponics and vertical farming—is provided. The systems are then differentiated from each other and, as far as possible, evaluated in terms of their environmental impact and compared with conventional cultivation methods. Comparing published data analyzing the yield of hydroponic cultivation systems in comparison to soil-based cultivation methods enables a basic overview of the profitability of both methods and, thus, lays the foundation for future research and practical applications. The most important inert substrates for hydroponic applications are presented, and their degree of sustainability is compared in order to emphasize environmental impacts and affect substrate selections of future projects. Based on an assessment of the most important soilless cultivation systems, the challenges and developments of current techniques are highlighted and discussed.
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Cho, A. H., G. E. MacDonald, J. T. Williams, and E. D. Isele. "Peanut farming in the rural interior of Guyana." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 31, no. 1 (October 2, 2015): 9–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170515000356.
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AbstractFarmers of Aranaputa Valley village in the rural interior of Guyana rely on peanut as their primary cash crop. The focus of this study was to document current peanut farming practices in this community. Household surveys and informal interviews were conducted in 2012 to evaluate the 2011 farming season. Farmers relied on distant markets or the community development council for agricultural inputs. More than half of farmers were selling their peanut crop to truck drivers who pass through their community, while 35% sold their peanut crop to the local peanut butter cottage industry. Interviewees indicated the desire for new peanut varieties to produce in their farming systems, suggesting the potential for adoption of new varieties recently evaluated in the region. These results suggest a need for additional agricultural research in the region and development projects that can assist in closing the gap of market accessibility; both for inputs and farm sales.
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McCown, R. L., B. A. Keating, M. E. Probert, and R. K. Jones. "Strategies for Sustainable Crop Production in Semi-Arid Africa." Outlook on Agriculture 21, no. 1 (March 1992): 21–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/003072709202100105.
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This is a record of the experience of a research team attempting to identify a development path for a farming system in semi-arid Africa. The farming system is the largely-subsistence production of crops and livestock by smallholders in the Machakos and Kitui Districts in Eastern Kenya. The region is known locally as Ukambani- “the place where the Kamba people live”. This region has a long history in which the food demands of rapidly growing populations have periodically outstripped the productive capacity of the land and current technology. Today, the population pressure on land and its rate of growth are among the highest in the world, and emigration is no longer a feasible solution. But numerous other areas of Africa are not far behind in population pressures and a more sustainable agriculture in this region is important not only for Kenya. Almost certainly, the problems of agriculture in Machakos-Kitui today represent a future scenario for much of semi-arid Africa. This article is also concerned with methodology for conducting research on farming systems. While the project was designed according to the concepts of Farming Systems Research (FSR) (Collinson, 1982), the realities of development assistance projects created challenges in implementation. The research also departed from the conventional FSR plan as new possibilities were realized, and with great benefit. The outcome is a well-founded hypothesis: contrary to much contemporary wisdom, a strategy of augmenting traditional soil enrichment practices with modest amounts of fertilizer is economically feasible for many farmers and provides the best prospects for food security and sustainable agriculture in this climatic zone.
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Hacker, R. B., M. J. Robertson, R. J. Price, and A. M. Bowman. "Evolution of mixed farming systems for the delivery of triple bottom line outcomes: a synthesis of the Grain & Graze program." Animal Production Science 49, no. 10 (2009): 966. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/an09091.
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The continued evolution of mixed farming systems will depend on the development of technology which addresses the basic biophysical constraints of the agro ecological zone within which these systems have developed. However, the application of these technologies will increasingly depend on the extent to which they address all dimensions of the social–economic–environmental system within which mixed farmers operate. The Grain & Graze program has accelerated the adoption of several technologies that can provide a basis for continuing evolution of mixed farming systems (e.g. grazing of cereals, drought containment of livestock, perennial pastures) while initiating the development and exploration of others whose potential will be realised in the longer term (e.g. pasture cropping, integrated pest management in mixed farming systems, cover cropping and alley farming with old man saltbush). Some technologies capable of supporting continued evolution were not addressed comprehensively by the program but remain opportunities for future development, particularly technologies for feed demand management and inter-seasonal feed transfer. The program made considerable progress in fostering the explicit consideration of the ‘triple bottom line’ consequences of new technology. It has confirmed that no universal solution to the question of profitability and sustainability is to be expected but has also demonstrated that methodology is available to make the formal consideration of this question much more robust. Clearer definition of the institutional requirements for support of change in complex systems, and for effective management of large national projects, will provide key underpinnings to ensure that subsequent programs achieve the benefits of scale in RD&E that Grain & Graze has convincingly demonstrated. In addition, we argue that ongoing evolution of mixed farming systems that will deliver triple bottom line outcomes will require policies that achieve appropriate cost sharing for delivery of environmental benefits and increased capacity for structural adjustment within the industry itself, to account for changes in demography, infrastructure and farm management arrangements.
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Merfield, Charles, Henrik Moller, Jon Manhire, Chris Rosin, Solis Norton, Peter Carey, Lesley Hunt, et al. "Are Organic Standards Sufficient to Ensure Sustainable Agriculture? Lessons From New Zealand’s ARGOS and Sustainability Dashboard Projects." Sustainable Agriculture Research 4, no. 3 (July 14, 2015): 158. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/sar.v4n3p158.
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<p>Our review concludes that organic standards need to account for a broader set of criteria in order to retain claims to ‘sustainability’. Measurements of the ecological, economic and social outcomes from over 96 kiwifruit, sheep/beef and dairy farms in New Zealand between 2004 and 2012 by The <em>Agricultural Research Group on Sustainability</em> (ARGOS) project showed some enhanced ecosystem services from organic agriculture that will assist a “land-sharing” approach for sustainable land management. However, the efficiency of provisioning services is reduced in organic systems and this potentially undermines a “land-sparing” strategy to secure food security and ecosystem services. Other aspects of the farm operation that are not considered in the organic standards sometimes had just as much or even a greater effect on ecosystem services than restriction of chemical inputs and synthetic fertilisers. An organic farming version of the <em>New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard</em> will integrate organic standards and wider agricultural best practice into a broad and multidimensional sustainability assessment framework and package of learning tools. There is huge variation in performance of farms within a given farming system. Therefore improving ecosystem services depends as much on locally tuned learning and adjustments of farm practice on individual farms as on uptake of organic or Integrated Management farming system protocols.</p>
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Yasmin, F., M. Hossain, MS Islam, and MHA Rashid. "Economics of Fresh Water Prawn Farming in Southwest Region of Bangladesh." Progressive Agriculture 21, no. 1-2 (November 2, 2013): 223–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v21i1-2.16779.
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This study was designed to assess the profitability of freshwater prawn farming in gher systems in southwest Bangladesh. Four Upazilas namely: Bagerhat Sadar, Fakirhat, Mollahat and Chitalmari were purposely selected from Bagerhat district. Primary data were collected from randomly selected 100 gher owners. Results of the financial analyses indicate that investment in all the selected golda farming projects is profitable. On an average, total cost of FPF was Tk. 80,301.00 per hectare and average gross return per hectare per year stood at Tk. 216,400.00 and the gross margin per hectare per year was Tk. 205,278.00. The net return per hectare per year was Tk. 136,099.00. Although farmers in the study areas were facing different problems, it was concluded that the freshwater prawn farming is sustainable and it did not have any deleterious effect on environment. Finally, based on the findings of the study, some recommendations were made for the development of sound freshwater prawn farming in Bangladesh.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v21i1-2.16779 Progress. Agric. 21(1 & 2): 223 - 231, 2010
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Benjelloun, Sarah, Mohamed El Mehdi El Aissi, Younes Lakhrissi, and Safae El Haj Ben Ali. "Big Data Technology Architecture Proposal for Smart Agriculture for Moroccan Fish Farming." WSEAS TRANSACTIONS ON INFORMATION SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS 19 (December 16, 2022): 311–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.37394/23209.2022.19.33.
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As the global population increases rapidly, so does the need for fishing products. Aquaculture is well-developed in Asian countries but is underdeveloped in countries that share Morocco's climate. To meet the rising demands for aquaculture production, it is vital to embrace new digital strategies to manage the massive amount of data generated by the aquaculture environment. By employing Big Data methodologies, aquaculture activity is handled more effectively, resulting in increased production and decreased waste. This phase enables fish farmers and academics to obtain valuable data, increasing their productivity. Although Big Data approaches provide numerous benefits, they have yet to be substantially implemented in agriculture, particularly in fish farming. Numerous research projects investigate the use of Big Data in agriculture, but only some offer light on the applicability of these technologies to fish farming. In addition, no research has yet been undertaken for the Moroccan use case. This study aims to demonstrate the significance of investing in aquaculture powered by Big Data. This study provides data on the situation of aquaculture in Morocco in order to identify areas for improvement. The paper then describes the adoption of Big Data technology to intelligent fish farming and proposes a dedicated architecture to address the feasibility of the solution. In addition, methodologies for data collecting, data processing, and analytics are highlighted. This article illuminates the possibilities of Big Data in the aquaculture business. It demonstrates the technological and functional necessity of incorporating Big Data into traditional fish farming methods. Following this, a concept for an intelligent fish farming system based on Big Data technology is presented.
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Croke, Barry, Wendy Merritt, Peter Cornish, Geoffrey J. Syme, and Christian H. Roth. "An integrated approach to improving rural livelihoods: examples from India and Bangladesh." Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences 376 (February 1, 2018): 45–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/piahs-376-45-2018.
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Abstract. This paper presents an overview of work in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and SW Bangladesh through a series of projects from 2005 to the present, considering the impact of farming systems, water shed development and/or agricultural intensification on livelihoods in selected rural areas of India and Bangladesh. The projects spanned a range of scales spanning from the village scale (∼ 1 km2) to the meso-scale (∼ 100 km2), and considered social as well as biophysical aspects. They focused mainly on the food and water part of the food-water-energy nexus. These projects were in collaboration with a range of organisations in India and Bangladesh, including NGOs, universities, and government research organisations and departments. The projects were part funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, and built on other projects that have been undertaken within the region. An element of each of these projects was to understand how the hydrological cycle could be managed sustainably to improve agricultural systems and livelihoods of marginal groups. As such, they evaluated appropriate technology that is generally not dependent on high-energy inputs (mechanisation). This includes assessing the availability of water, and identifying potential water resources that have not been developed; understanding current agricultural systems and investigating ways of improving water use efficiency; and understanding social dynamics of the affected communities including the potential opportunities and negative impacts of watershed development and agricultural development.
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Williams, Nicholas E. "The political ecology of 'ethnic' agricultural biodiversity maintenance in Atlantic Nicaragua." Journal of Political Ecology 23, no. 1 (December 1, 2016): 223. http://dx.doi.org/10.2458/v23i1.20210.
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Correlations between farmer ethnic identity and the agrobiodiversity they maintain have been identified globally. This has been maintained even as small-scale farmers are increasingly connected to extra-local political economic systems, which are cited as the driver of global agrobiodiversity erosion. Yet, how ethnicity influences the maintenance of biodiverse farming systems is poorly understood. Employing a political ecology framework that integrated qualitative, demographic, and agroecological methods in Caribbean Nicaragua's Pearl Lagoon Basin, this research revealed patterns indicating that farmers who identify with the area's indigenous (Miskito) and afro-descendant (Creole and Garífuna) 'minority' groups tend to maintain more diverse farms than nearby farmers who identify as mestizo, particularly those who are recent migrants to the region. In contrast to previous studies, however, the most connected farmers in the Basin tend to have the highest levels of agrobiodiversity within their farming systems. Qualitative and regression analyses reveal that ethnic patterns in the maintenance of agrobiodiversity are explained in part by the historical farming practices that characterize land use in the Basin and the agroecological knowledge that farmers develop over a lifetime farming in this socio-ecological context. Further, by acknowledging the plastic nature of ethnic identity, this research highlights the importance of ethnic-based land rights in the Nicaragua's South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region as a critical factor that directly and indirectly influences the ethnic identities of farmers in the Pearl Lagoon Basin and their abilities to participate in agricultural development projects whose extension activities promote agrobiodiversity conservation.Key Words: Agrobiodiversity, ethnicity, land use and land use change, development, Nicaragua, Pearl Lagoon Basin
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Jara-Rojas, Roberto, Soraya Russy, Lisandro Roco, David Fleming-Muñoz, and Alejandra Engler. "Factors Affecting the Adoption of Agroforestry Practices: Insights from Silvopastoral Systems of Colombia." Forests 11, no. 6 (June 6, 2020): 648. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f11060648.
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In Colombia, one-third of the land is devoted to cattle farming, which is one of the main drivers of deforestation, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, and emissions of greenhouses gases. To mitigate the environmental impacts of cattle farming, agroforestry practices have been extensively promoted with mixed results. Despite research and extension efforts over the last 20-year period, agroforestry systems still involve a complex knowledge process among stakeholders that needs to be addressed. To understand the drivers of cattle farmers’ behavior with regard to adopting agroforestry practices, we apply a double hurdle regression for different social, economic and productive information to capture the decision to adopt and the intensity of the adoption as a joint decision of such practices. For this purpose, we use data from a survey (implemented as part of an international project) administered to 1605 cattle farmers located in five agro-ecological regions in Colombia. Our dependent variables are defined by the adoption of four agroforestry practices: scattered trees, trees and shrubs for forage production, forestry plantations, and management of native forest. The adoption decision of agroforestry practices was influenced by the access and use of credit, location, and the implemented livestock system. Herd size and participation in development projects that involved tree planting had a positive influence on the adoption and intensity of agroforestry practices, while the variable associated with presence of water springs tended to boost the intensity of adoption. The diffusion of these technologies might be increased among farmers who have adopted and who are potential adopters, and social capital and networking can play a crucial role in spreading agroforestry as sustainable practice.
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Crawford, Anne, Ruth Nettle, Mark Paine, and Carolyn Kabore. "Farms and Learning Partnerships in Farming Systems Projects: A Response to the Challenges of Complexity in Agricultural Innovation." Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 13, no. 3 (September 2007): 191–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13892240701427573.
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Monjardino, Marta, Geoff Kuehne, and Jay Cummins. "Value-Ag: An integrated model for rapid ex-ante impact evaluation of agricultural innovations in smallholder systems." Experimental Agriculture 56, no. 4 (July 21, 2020): 633–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0014479720000204.
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AbstractEvaluation of agricultural Research, Development, Extension and Management requires knowledge of farming systems economics and risk as well as broader adoption drivers. But until now, these factors have not been effectively combined when determining the success of agricultural research projects. To fill this gap, we developed Value-Ag, an integrated modelling platform using whole-farm economic analysis and prediction of the scaling potential in the context of production risk and household dynamics to provide an ex-ante estimate of the benefits of adopting an innovation. In this paper, we use a hypothetical case study to illustrate Value-Ag’s potential to evaluate agricultural innovations in a rigorous, systematic and participatory manner across a range of scenarios, thereby stimulating thinking and learning opportunities with the relevant stakeholders, and increasing the scrutiny of projects so that they deliver greater value for money while fostering a more results-focused culture in developing countries.
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Nowysz, Aleksandra. "Modernist Projects of Community-Based Urban Farms in Residential Areas—A Review of Agrarian Cooperatives in the Context of Contemporary Urban Development." Buildings 11, no. 8 (August 20, 2021): 369. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080369.
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This paper concerns the issue of food systems in the context of urban development. It describes relevant residential area ideas that integrate cities with food production, such as agrarian cooperatives. In the first section, modernist projects of residential areas linked with urban farms are reviewed, considering cooperative movement and the Industrial Revolution. This review shows that the aim of these historical projects was self-sufficiency and sustainability, based on local food production and broad areas covered by vegetation. They are considered to be a contemporary residential model. The second part of the paper discusses contemporary projects of farms within estates. The study demonstrates that the production of goods under urban agriculture goes beyond private goods, such as food produced for market or own use. The examples discussed show that urban farming performs key functions in residential architecture.
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Hoover, Elizabeth. "“You Can't Say You're Sovereign if You Can't Feed Yourself”: Defining and Enacting Food Sovereignty in American Indian Community Gardening." American Indian Culture and Research Journal 41, no. 3 (January 1, 2017): 31–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.17953/aicrj.41.3.hoover.
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Within the context of the broader food sovereignty literature, and with a specific focus on notions of America Indian sovereignty, this article explores how members of thirty-nine different Native American community farming and gardening projects in the United States describe and define food sovereignty, as both concept and method. This article further distinguishes how principles of food sovereignty are being operationalized in the broader goals of promoting community health, sustainability, and local economic systems, and of reclaiming and maintaining tribal culture.
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Fraser, T. J., D. R. Stevens, R. W. Scholfield, B. J. Nelson, A. J. Nelson, and S. M. Shortland. "Improved forages to enhance hill country sheep production." NZGA: Research and Practice Series 16 (January 1, 2016): 225–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.33584/rps.16.2016.3234.
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Recently, sheep and beef farms in New Zealand have been out-competed for prime land by dairy and horticulture farming. This means that industry targets to increase sheep and beef production have to be achieved on farms with constraints on pasture production. They are increasingly restricted to hilly and other locations with variable climates and soils, and landscape constraints on farming practices. These challenges lead to the formation of two on farm projects within the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Demonstration Farm programme to improve production from permanent pastures on sheep and beef farms. The first of these was a 4 year evaluation at Whangara Farms North of Gisborne looking at improving forage supply on both noncultivatable hill and flat to easy country through spraying out existing vegetation and oversowing or direct-drilling with white clover and plantain. The second project at Aria in the King Country concentrated on improving the forage quality and quantity at critical times of the year. Clovers and plantain were established through cultivation. Both projects showed that forage and animal production increased after the introduction of clovers and plantain. However, plantain at Whangara did not persist beyond the fourth year from sowing. Poor white clover establishment at Aria resulted in substituting red and white clover for plantain from the second year with improved forage and animal performance. At both sites the costs associated with introducing new forages was repaid within the first 2 years. Keywords: hill country development, forage species, forage quality, whole farm systems
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Zecha, C. W., J. Link, and W. Claupein. "Mobile sensor platforms: categorisation and research applications in precision farming." Journal of Sensors and Sensor Systems 2, no. 1 (May 14, 2013): 51–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/jsss-2-51-2013.
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Abstract. The usage of mobile sensor platforms arose in research a few decades ago. Since the beginning of satellite sensing, measurement principles and analysing methods have become widely implemented for aerial and ground vehicles. Mainly in Europe, the United States and Australia, sensor platforms in precision farming are used for surveying, monitoring and scouting tasks. This review gives an overview of available sensor platforms used in recent agricultural and related research projects. A general categorisation tree for platforms is outlined in this work. Working in manual, automatic or autonomous ways, these ground platforms and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) with an agricultural scope are presented with their sensor equipment and the possible architectural models. Thanks to advances in highly powerful electronics, smaller devices mounted on platforms have become economically feasible for many applications. Designed to work automatically or autonomously, they will be able to interact in intelligent swarms. Sensor platforms can fulfil the need for developing, testing and optimising new applications in precision farming like weed control or pest management. Furthermore, commercial suppliers of platform hardware used in sensing tasks are listed.
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Winter, W. H., and P. T. Doyle. "Increased profitability and social outcomes from livestock in smallholder crop - livestock systems in developing countries: the ACIAR experience." Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48, no. 7 (2008): 799. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ea08013.
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Participating in research and development projects designed to increase the profitability and social outcomes from livestock production in smallholder crop–livestock systems provides valuable and rewarding learning experiences for scientists from Australia and partner countries. The majority of livestock in Asia are in these systems and any interventions to increase animal production need to consider the cropping activities of the farm, which vary considerably in relation to people, land and water resources, season length and the number and types of crops. Understanding the farming systems in enough depth is essential if interventions are to lead to improved outcomes for families. In this paper, we briefly consider the diversity and complexity of crop–livestock systems and the approach of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research in investing in research, development and extension for positive impacts from livestock production on the wellbeing of rural households in developing countries. An important approach to categorising livestock farmers to assess whether they are likely to be receptive to change is described. Consideration is given to the appropriateness of technologies, the need for sound science and the importance of capacity development in underpinning useful changes to systems. Because of the diversity and complexity of systems, systems-modelling is important in exploring options and interactions between components of the farming systems. Examples are given throughout the paper to emphasise learning from experience. The paper concludes with a list of the lessons learnt.
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Mojmír, Soukup. "Drainage Systems and their Water Management Function with regard to Probable Climatic and Hydrological Changes." Soil and Water Research 1, No. 1 (January 7, 2013): 32–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.17221/6503-swr.
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In case that the climatic or farming conditions have changed in a region, it is possible to anticipate that the core parameters of drainage constructions will not be adequate for the current needs. Some of these constructions might be over-dimensioned, which would be inconsistent with current terms of nature and water resources protection. On the other hand, the valuable contribution the regulation of the water regime of originally waterlogged lands and swamps indisputably brought along and thus enabled the agricultural use of drained lands would be depreciated to a certain extent. In this paper, some scenarios of probable climatic changes in the Czech Republic’s territory and the anticipated effect of these changes on the components of the hydrologic water discharge from drained agricultural and forest catchments are studied. The function of drainage systems on selected experimental lands is examined. However, not only probable changes in precipitation, temperature and water runoff should be taken into account, but also changes in the way of farming, i.e. changes in the agricultural conditions and data that played a decisive role in the calculation of the basic parameters of these construction projects, for instance, the spacing of parallel drains or trenches or the depth of their laying. In the Czech Republic about 1.1 million ha of total agricultural land was drained by the end of the twentieth century. In some localities of Eastern and Southern Bohemia up to 80% of agricultural land was drained. To what extent the above-mentioned climatic changes and the changes in the way of farming influence the drainage system and whether adjustments of these systems are required are the questions we tried to answer at least partly in this contribution. The effect of climatic changes on the hydrologic balance and/or on the runoff from the catchments significantly varies up to ± 150% provided that we compare average runoff. The influence of changes in the way of farming on the hydrologic balance manifests itself in a more concrete, but negative way, and that demands a concrete reaction on the part of the water management control. It is therefore vital to take such measures of regulation of the water regime of soil for the existing drainage systems that will ensure both the drainage phase and the phase of runoff retardation. Single-function and obsolete drainage systems should be converted into systems with controlled drainage and irrigation functions – the double-function control systems.
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Vrchota, Jaroslav, Martin Pech, and Ivona Švepešová. "Precision Agriculture Technologies for Crop and Livestock Production in the Czech Republic." Agriculture 12, no. 8 (July 22, 2022): 1080. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081080.
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Modern technologies are penetrating all fields of human activity, including agriculture, where they significantly affect the quantity and quality of agricultural production. Precision agriculture can be characterised as an effort to improve the results of practical farming, achieving higher profits by exploiting the existing spatial unevenness of soil properties. We aim to evaluate precision agriculture technologies’ practical use in agricultural enterprises in the Czech Republic. The research was based on a questionnaire survey in which 131 farms participated. We validated the hypothesis through a Chi-squared test on the frequency of occurrence of end-use technology. The results showed that precision farming technologies are used more in crop than livestock production. In particular, 58.02% of enterprises use intelligent weather stations, 89.31% use uncrewed vehicles, and 61.83% use navigation and optimisation systems for optimising journeys. These technologies are the most used and closely related to autonomous driving and robotics in agriculture. The results indicate how willing are agricultural enterprises to adopt new technologies. For policy makers, these findings show which precision farming technologies are already implemented. This can make it easier to direct funding towards grants and projects.
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Tsuji, Takashi. "The Conventional and Modern Uses of Water Buffalo Milk in the Philippines." Southeastern Philippines Journal of Research and Development 26, no. 2 (September 30, 2021): 1–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.53899/spjrd.v26i2.152.
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In Southeast Asia, milking of livestock is not common. In the Philippines, water buffalo (carabao) milk has been used since the Spanish colonial period of the 16th century. Milk is processed into cheese (kesong puti) or candy (pastillas). These customs are found in a few areas on the Islands of Luzon and Visayas. However, in 1996, following the launch of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), the uses of modern milk have been practiced nationwide using Murrah (buffalo), which produces more milk than a carabao. This paper analyzes the dairy transition currently occurring in the Philippines from the conventional uses of carabao milk to the modern uses of Murrah milk. Intensive fieldwork was broadly conducted in conventional and modern milk use areas of the country, with water buffalo management and milk use systems researched using participatory observation and interview methods. This study delves into how the conventional uses of water buffalo milk have helped support the livelihood of special farmers and whether recent government-backed projects, such as enhancing the ability of water buffaloes to produce milk, have made carabaos dispensable. The shift to modern milk uses, which relies on buffalo milk, has become a national project, in order to improve the subsistence of peasant farmers. This paper concludes that the modern dairy farming of Murrah is becoming popular in farming societies close to the PCC and that the dairy culture has changed from being a minor conventional regional system to a major industrial farming and business system to sustain the lives of local small-scale farmers.
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Caulfield, Mark E., James Hammond, Steven J. Fonte, and Mark van Wijk. "Land Tenure Insecurity Constrains Cropping System Investment in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank." Sustainability 12, no. 16 (August 13, 2020): 6557. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12166557.
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The annual income of small-scale farmers in the Jordan Valley, West Bank, Palestine remains persistently low compared to other sectors. The objective of this study was therefore to explore some of the main barriers to reducing poverty and increasing farm income in the region. A “Rural Household Multi-Indicator Survey” (RHoMIS) was conducted with 248 farmers in the three governorates of the Jordan Valley. The results of the survey were verified in a series of stakeholder interviews and participatory workshops where farmers and stakeholders provided detailed insight with regard to the relationships between land tenure status, farm management, and poverty. The analyses of the data revealed that differences in cropping system were significantly associated with land tenure status, such that rented land displayed a greater proportion of open field cropping, while owned land and sharecropping tenure status displayed greater proportions of production systems that require greater initial investment (i.e., perennial and greenhouse). Moreover, as confirmed by a structural equation model and the interviews and workshops these associations led to significant differences in farm income and progress out of poverty index scores. However, while sharecropping farms enjoyed the benefits of being able to invest in longer-term, more profitable farming strategies, questions were raised regarding the sustainability of these farms as well as the vulnerability of the farming households that manage the land. We concluded that small-scale agricultural development in the Jordan Valley relies on farming households achieving more secure land tenure and that rural development agencies should prioritise farming households that rent land and practice open field cropping systems within their projects and programmes.
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Nelson, Gloria Luz, Oscar Zamora, Lucille Elna de Guzman, Maria Victoria Espaldon, and Jelly Brillon. "The Indigenous Practices and Climate Change Responses of Ati and Suludnon Farmers in Iloilo, Philippines." Journal of Environmental Science and Management 22, no. 1 (September 25, 2019): 87–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.47125/jesam/2019_1/06.
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Climate change has become a major threat to the livelihoods of many farmers in the Philippines, particularly among the indigenous groups. It has been recognized that traditional knowledge is an important source of information for climate change adaptation, for embedded into it are coping strategies evolved through and passed on to generations. This study documented through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and farm visits the indigenous knowledge for climate change adaptation of the Suludnons and Ati in Iloilo. Since 2003, their communities experienced climate change as manifested by strong typhoons, landslides, and the various forms of crop and human diseases. Their responses to climate change include biodiversity-based cropping systems, changes in cropping calendar, use of indigenous varieties, consumption of non-traditional/wild foods, indigenous warning systems and diversified income sources. Both indigenous groups are beneficiaries of government and non-government projects, grants and agricultural trainings where they learned new farming technologies. The traditional practices combined with the adoption of selected agricultural technologies have helped the have helped the Suludnon and the Ati groups become become sustainable and climate-resilient farming communities amidst the adverse impact of climate change on their lives.
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Neuhoff, Daniel, and Julius Kwesiga. "Para-organic intensification of future farming as alternative concept to reactor-based staple food production in Africa." Organic Agriculture 11, no. 2 (January 15, 2021): 209–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13165-020-00326-y.
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AbstractCurrently, staple food self-sufficiency in Africa is just above 80%, and the population is expected to more than double until 2050. To cope with this challenge, technological solutions such as reactor food seem seductive. Western pilot projects have shown considerable production potentials, e.g., 7 t ha−1 of starch within 150 days by algae in reactors that may also be used in Africa. Are these approaches suitable for Africa justifying extensive research activities? Here, we argue that both physical availability of substrates and missing profitability substantially limit the development of reactor food in SSA, also in a mid-term perspective. It is rather suggested to close the considerable existing yield gaps by implementing para-organic farming systems, which combine basic principles of organic farming such as crop diversification, legume growing, and manuring, with a reasonable use of inputs, in particular mineral fertilizers. In combination with irrigation, staple food production in SSA has the potential to keep pace with growing demand.
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PAPATSIROS (Β. ΠΑΠΑΤΣΙΡΟΣ), V. G., P. D. TASSIS (Π.Δ. ΤΑΣΣΗΣ), G. CHRISTODOULOPOULOS (Γ. ΧΡΙΣΤΟΔΟΥΛΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ), S. BOUTSINI (Σ. ΜΠΟΥΤΣΙΝΙ), G. TSIRIGOTAKIS (Γ. ΤΣΙΡΙΓΩΤΑΚΗΣ), and E. D. TZIKA (Ε. TZHKA). "Health and Production of Greek Organic Pig Farming: Current situation and perspectives." Journal of the Hellenic Veterinary Medical Society 63, no. 1 (December 15, 2017): 37. http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/jhvms.15396.
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For many years, outdoor pig farming has been one of the most important livestock production seetors in Greece. Since the 1960s, the introduction of high-yielding pig genotypes, under intensive production systems, has replaced almost to disappearance the traditional -based on the native pig breed- outdoor pig farms.Organic pig production systems in Greece are growing in popularity over the last years due to the increasing interest of consumers for organic products. The National Greek projects for organic pig farming started in 2002 and since then it has increased, representing the 15% of total organic livestock production in 2007. According to the Directorate of Organic Agriculture in the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, the development of organic pig farming industry in West Greece, Thessaly and North Greece was impressive from 2002 to 2007, A significant but more gradual development of organic pig farming was seen in the island of Crete, while insignificant development was observed in the Central Greece. The development of organic pig farming especially in the Northern part of the country started from 2003-2004 onwards.In 2002, the total number of organic pigs was just 1.288, while in 2007 it had reached 175.000 organic pigs in the country. However, a significant reduction has been noticed since 2008, mainly due to the national funding cuts for organic pig farming, as well as the increase of feeding expenses. Moreover, training and specialization of organic pig farmers and their investments on modernization and equipment / housing facilities were insufficient, resulting in animal health problems, poor growth performance, poor carcass quality and high-cost production. The most common health problems in Greek organic pig farming are respiratory problems, gastrointestinal problems, claw and skin problems, parasitic infections and high piglet mortality, Increasing health problems were attributed mainly to poor housing conditions (predispose to various infectious micro-organisms), and the contact of organic pigs with rodents that act as tank of several pathogens (Trichinella spp and Toxoplasma gondii). The housing condition of organic farming may predispose animals to various infectious micro-organisms, normally no longer present indoors because of the strict hygienic measures that arc taken. An important risk factor in organic pig production is the more frequent, compared with conventional swine industry, in contact with rodents. Rodents are actors - tank of several pathogens, some of which arc hazardous to public health, such as Trichinella spp and Toxoplasma gondii. This report aims to present updated information about the health status, production and development of organic pig farming in Greece during the last decade, as well as the potential of this particular productive activity for future development
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Van Wieren, Gretel. "The New Sacred Farm." Worldviews 21, no. 2 (2017): 113–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685357-02102002.
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The food and faith movement in the U.S. is a loose amalgamation of religious communities and organizations, clergy members and lay volunteers, activists and agricultural practitioners who are working, in varied and diverse ways, to address the social, ecological, political, and ethical challenges posed by current food systems. Oftentimes these groups work hand-in-hand with secular food and food justice organizations in organizing community supported agriculture projects, farm to school programs, educational efforts around health, nutrition, cooking, and gardening, and public policy advocacy efforts. What distinguish religious approaches to this work are the ritual practices and narrative tropes that oftentimes orient them. This paper explores some of these motifs by examining the work of three religious, community-based farming projects. It concludes that these religious farms and others like them should be considered sacred spaces for how they ritualize and symbolically interpret agricultural and food practices.
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Veremeychik, N. V., M. I. Gritsyshyn, V. I. Dnes, R. B. Kudrynetskyi, and V. I. Skibchyk. "Features of coordination of parameters of technical equipment with characteristics of production plans of machine-technological systems of farming." https://journal.imesg.gov.ua, no. 11(110) (2020): 218–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.37204/0131-2189-2020-11-25.
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Annotation Purpose. Improving the efficiency of growing agricultural products by harmonizing the parameters of technical equipment with the characteristics of production plans. Methods. Statistical analysis, system analysis and synthesis, monographic, economic and mathematical. Results. Scientific and methodological bases of coordination of parameters of technical equipment with characteristics of production plans of machine-technological systems of tillage, fertilizers and sowing of agricultural crops are developed. Conclusions 1. It is established that the process of coordination of parameters of technical equipment with the characteristics of production plans of machine-technological systems of tillage, fertilization and sowing of winter and spring crops should be considered at strategic (prospective), tactical, operational (current) levels, which increases efficiency technical resources in crop production. 2. The possibility of mathematical description of events in the models of strategic, tactical and operational planning is the basis for the development of an appropriate information and analytical system to improve the management of field harvesting projects. 3. The harmonization of the parameters of technical equipment with the characteristics of production plans will help increase the efficiency of agricultural production. Keywords: farming, system analysis, technical means, equipment, machine-technological systems, production plans, machine operations.
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Pombo-Romero, Julio, and Oliver Rúas-Barrosa. "A Blockchain-Based Financial Instrument for the Decarbonization of Irrigated Agriculture." Sustainability 14, no. 14 (July 19, 2022): 8848. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14148848.
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Farming and food production sustainability increasingly depends on the availability of a clean energy model for irrigated agriculture. This can be achieved by massively introducing photovoltaic irrigation systems (PVI) with sufficient quality and reliability. Nevertheless, such PVI projects require high upfront investment and long payback times, so access to long-term, low-cost capital is essential to ensure their competitiveness. In this regard, decentralized financial (DeFi) solutions based on blockchain (BC) technology present a number of features that can be applied to produce financial instruments (FI) well suited to attract investors to PVI projects and to reduce the cost of clean energy for irrigators. In order to assess such a possibility, a DeFi FI tailored for PVI has been produced and implemented in BC. We demonstrate that a single smart contract executed in a distributed ledger can execute the different tasks related to the securitization of PVI assets. The impact on the cost of capital for PVI projects is significant, leading to an estimated reduction in the cost of clean energy for irrigators of 22%. Nevertheless, decentralization also introduces a number of specific risks that must be considered and mitigated.
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Nguyen, T. H., B. Dell, and R. J. Harper. "Assessment of the feasibility of applying payment for forest ecosystem services in Vietnamese mangrove forests." APN Science Bulletin 12, no. 1 (December 19, 2022): 184–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.30852/sb.2022.2016.
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Mangroves can play a major role in efforts to mitigate climate change through two pathways. These are (1) carbon sequestration following reforestation of areas where mangroves previously existed, and (2) protection of existing carbon stores in intact mangrove forests. There is considerable international interest in carbon mitigation by governments and businesses as a way of meeting emissions reduction targets, and this could result in significant investment in mangrove restoration and protection. This is likely to have positive benefits in terms of coastal protection, biodiversity protection and new economic activity. This project examined three aspects of mangroves related to the emerging carbon economy. There has been considerable (0.2 million hectares) mangrove restoration in Vietnam and this activity provides insights into the causes of project success or failure. A review of this restoration concluded that the failure of several past restoration projects in Vietnam could be attributed to poor species and site selection and lack of incentives to engage residents in long-term management. The economic, environmental and social aspects of mangrove-shrimp farming or aquaculture (MAS) systems in Ca Mau Province, Vietnam, were examined, and it was concluded that this approach allows the achievement of these multiple objectives. Whereas, most of the discussion around mangroves and their role in carbon management is at the international and national levels, implementation occurs at the local level. It was found that whereas local stakeholders had a reasonable understanding of climate change, they were less clear about carbon markets and the role that mangroves can play. This points to the need for new educational programmes. The study concluded that monitoring and verification systems for both carbon and biodiversity are essential to allow the resultant multiple benefits of carbon mitigation projects to be realised.