Agricultural Production

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2 IPCC EMISSIONS SCENARIOS 2.1 Emissions scenario families 2.2 SRES and climate change 2.3 Impacts on global agricultural production 2.4 Impact on forestry 2.5 Projected changes for New Zealand's pasture production 2.6 Summary of climate change impacts CHAPTER 3 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES 3.1 Mitigation of gases 3.2 Methane capture 3.3 Sequestration CHAPTER 4 CONSUMER RESPONSES 4.1 Environmental impacts 4.2 Willingness to pay 4.3 Consumer variables and preferences 4.4 Supply chain issues 4.

This article investigates the markup pricing behaviour of U.S. exporters of agricultural products. Agricultural products studied are feed, flour, frozen potatoes, frozen orange juice, five categories of beef, five categories of pork, and two categories of chicken. The popular pricing-to-market (PTM) approach of Krugman (1987) is used to examine market power and imperfect competition for the markets under study. The

This paper explores the dynamic effects of biodiversity conservation on agricultural production in the context of specialised intensive farming systems that may be in transition towards more sustainable farming. The focus is on the analysis of the dynamic effects of changes in the levels of agrobiodiversity, on technical change and productivity in intensive agricultural systems. A theoretical model is used to derive hypotheses regarding these linkages that are empirically tested using a stochastic production frontier model with data from a panel of UK cereal farms for the period 1989-2000. The results suggest that the increased agrobiodiversity has positively helped to shift the production frontier outwards. This indicates that agricultural transition from more to less intensive agricultural systems can be consistent with non-decreasing output levels and an enhancement of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.

The paper estimates the effect of soil degradation on crop yields for dominant cereals in Ethiopia at a nationwide level and analyses its relation with population density and fertiliser use. A soil degradation index is derived from an ordered qualitative classification on the degree of soil degradation and the area extension. Biophysical variability is incorporated by using, as dependent variable, the yield ratio (actual/potential yield) to correct for agro-climatic and crop genetic differences, and by including soil fertility as explanatory variable. The data set is cross sectional and obtained from gridded overlays on soil degradation, climate, soil, land form, population (and cattle) density. The relationships are estimated via non-parametric (kernel density) regression and the estimation results are depicted in 3-D graphs. It appears that the relationship between yield ratio, land degradation and soil fertility is not very strong. Yet, three stylised facts can be identified. First, land degradation has its major impact on soils of lower fertility, where population levels are low. Secondly, on fertile soils, land degradation is largely compensated by fertiliser application. Finally, most people can be found on the slope facing a deep and dangerous precipice. A spatial representation of the elasticity of crop productivity with respect to soil degradation indicates that most vulnerable areas are located in the northern part of the country.

India is one of the world's largest and oldest agricultural societies. Agriculture is a part of livelihood of most of the rural households in India. During the past decades the agriculture sector in India has undergone wide ranging changes in terms of productivity, growth pattern, influenced by market fluctuations, urbanization and change in climatic conditions. About 50 years ago farming

Water value as agriculture production may be overlooked, though it is an important factor to rational water allocations within a region. An analysis of cotton (Upland and Pima) lint yield, lint yieldconsumptive use ratio (LY:ET c ), water-use ef®ciency (WUE) and lint price for Arizona (AZ) and California (CA) during 1988±1999 is considered as part of an attempt to determine lint water value, or bene®t. It included determination of means and variability of cotton lint production, LY:ET c ratios and associated irrigation water values (IWVs) and compared these numbers with published estimates of WUE, forage hay water values and municipal water costs. Available rainfall, reference evapotranspiration (ET o ), lint yields and price data for counties in both states were used. Consumptive use was estimated using a four-stage crop coef®cient function veri®ed by literature values or County Advisor experience. As with dry matter production, cotton lint yields in interior valley regions of CA were weakly correlated with ET c and averaged 1.33 Mg/ha (Upland) and 1.08 Mg/ha (Pima). Cotton lint yields in desert regions of AZ and CA were not correlated with ET c . The greatest LY:ET c ratios (1.9±2.1 kg/ha-mm) were in the San Joaquin valley of CA, were similar to that from WUE type studies and resulted in gross IWVs ($3400±3800 US$/ha-m), with relatively moderate variability at a net irrigation water requirement (IWR) of approximately 720 mm. While this IWV is 2.5 times greater than water delivery prices below the California Delta, it is less than average municipal water costs of $4200 US$/ha-m for Los Angeles, San Francisco and Pheonix while the overall AZ/CA average cotton lint IWV is considerably less. However, cotton lint IWV is two to three times greater than that obtained for alfalfa and sudangrass hay crops in all regions. #

While slash-and burn farmers convert forest to agriculture, they also regenerate significant areas of secondary fallow forests on their farms. Under what conditions does secondary forest cover persist on slash-and-burn farms? Survey data from Pará, Brazil show that secondary forests occupy 20% of farm area even after a century of settlement. In addition to restoring soil fertility, secondary forests contribute over 20% of farmers' income through products such as charcoal, fruit, game animals and firewood for on-farm processing. Econometric analysis shows that slow rates of population growth and increases in agricultural incomes through on-farm processing of agricultural products enable farmers to maintain long fallows and result in diversified systems compatible with secondary forest cover in the study area. On the other hand, declining agricultural productivity, subsidized credit, declines in the growth rate of secondary forests and policies favoring speculative land acquisition threaten secondary forest persistence. In older settlement areas, secondary forests are often the only forest resource available to the rural poor. Fallow areas should therefore be managed not only for agricultural productivity, but also for conserving forest resources.

African smallholder farmers face perennial food shortages due to low crop yields. The major cause of poor crop yields is soil fertility decline. The diversity of sites and soils between African farming systems is<span class=GramE>great,</span>therefore strategies to solve soil fertility problems should suit the opportunities and problems encountered in the different climatic regions. This thesis characterizes the semi-arid regions of south-western Zimbabwe and explores some of the strategies that can be used to provide farmers with more options for soil fertility improvement.<o:p></o:p></span>Resource flow maps were used to study the characteristics of the semi-arid farming system of Tsholotsho (Mkhubazi)in south-western<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Zimbabwe. The results revealed that farmers in the region face perennial cereal grain shortages, but the poorly-resourced farmers are the most affected. N...

Gender can influence knowledge acquisition and on-farm decision making and must be thoroughly understood if agricultural research and extension programs are to design appropriate technologies for small-scale farming systems. In order to improve IPM program design and delivery, two hundred farmers (52% women, 48% men) from Eastern Uganda were surveyed in 1999, to explore perceptual and knowledge differences between men and women about crop production and pest management. The results indicate that women do play an important role in agricultural production and pest management; however, there is no indication that women play a predominant role in either. Pest management decisions appear to be made by the household head, whether that person is a male or female. Women have greater knowledge of dimensional attributes of IPM than men, particularly awareness of potential harmful effects of synthetic pesticides. Thus targeting women may expedite adoption of IPM.

Keywords: Gender, Women, Pest Management, Data-Differentiation, Uganda, Decision-Making

Telecommunication and more specially mobile phones have the potential to provide solution to the existing information asymmetry in various lagging sectors like Agriculture. India’s agricultural sector suffers from low growth rates and low productivity. Issues in access to information is a week point at every stage of the agrisupply chain. For small farmers base economy like India, access to information can possible enable better incomes and productivity to the farmers. This paper through focus group discussions and in-depth interview with farmers in villages of India, has tried to find answers to the use and impact of mobile and mobile enabled services on agricultural productivity. The answers to these questions are of relevance to develop better policy environment conducive for the small and medium farmers and has implications for mobile operators, for information service providers, and for policy-makers. The results show that although, mobiles can act as catalyst to improving prod...

The biggest producers and exporters of agricultural products have been adopting the genetic engineering in order to improve the factors productivity and the firms profits In the last decade, the United States of America (US) and the European Union (EU) have established a high divergent regulation on production, distribution and consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Apparently, the EU´s complex legislative framework related to GMOs was intend to satisfy the European consumers which are concerned about food safety and whish to make more informed choice about the food they eat. The aim of this paper is to understand the potential motivations behind the different policies on GM products adopted by US and EU.

This study measured the economic impacts of climate change on crop and livestock farming in Africa based on a cross-sectional survey of over 8000 farming households from 11 countries in east, west, north and southern Africa. The response of net revenue from crop and livestock agriculture across various farm types and systems in Africa to changes in climate normals (i.e. mean rainfall and temperature) is analysed. The analyses controlled for effects of key socioeconomic, technology, soil and hydrological factors influencing agricultural production. Results show that net farm revenues are in general negatively affected by warmer and drier climates. The small-scale mixed crop and livestock system predominantly typical in Africa is the most tolerant whereas specialized crop production is the most vulnerable to warming and lower rainfall. These results have important policy implications, especially for the suitability of the increasing tendency toward large-scale mono-cropping strategies for agricultural development in Africa and other parts of the developing world in light of expected climate changes. Mixed crop and livestock farming and irrigation offered better adaptation options for farmers against further warming and drying predicted under various future climate scenarios.

Characterizing the carbon footprint (CF) of agricultural production offers key information for pursuing low carbon agriculture and food consumption. While China has long strived for increasing food production capacity for its large and still growing population, the high emissions cost, especially from the over use of agro-chemicals, has been widely debated for the last decade. However, the CF of China's crop production has not yet been assessed. This paper reports a basic estimate of CF of crop production using national statistical data available for the period of 1993-2007. The dataset includes the amount of individual agricultural inputs (fertilizer, pesticide, diesel, plastic film, etc.), cultivation area and total of production whole crops. Using the emission factors estimated for China's agricultural features and available abroad, the mean overall CF of China's crop production was estimated to be 0.78 ± 0.08 tCE ha −1 yr −1 and 0.11 ± 0.01 tCE t −1 yr −1 , for land use and bulk production respectively. For the duration the data covered, the carbon intensity under cultivation land use was seen to increase since 1993. Among the total, fertilizer induced emissions exerted the largest contribution of ∼60%, being 0.45 ± 0.04 tCE per ha and 0.07 ± 0.01 tCE per ton of production, on average. Compared to the UK, the estimated overall CF of China's crop production was higher in terms of cultivation land use. While there was a significant positive correlation of carbon intensity with total production, carbon efficiency was shown in a decreasing trend during 2003-2007. Therefore, low carbon agriculture should be pursued, and the priority should be given to reducing fertilizer application in agriculture of China. However, for developing best management practices for climate change mitigation in crop production of China, further studies of crop and regional specific CFs and the variation with climate conditions and agricultural managements are needed.

A POTENTIAL CASH CROP.' ? Economic Botany 54(4):471-476, 2000. Podophyllum peltatum, was reexamined for its potential use in the commercial production of podophyllotoxin, a lignan used in the semisynthesis of important anticancer drugs. A survey of the natural population of the American mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, was conducted in order to identify high-yielding genotypes. Plants were collected from the eastern and central United States. The lignan content of leaf blades and rhizome material of the collected specimens was characterized by aqueous extraction followed by HPLC analysis. Podophyllotoxin and a-peltatin appeared most prominently among the lignans obtained. Leaf blades were generally richer in podophyllotoxin than rhizomes. Several high-yielding accessions were identified, the blades of which contained 4.0-5.6% podophyllotoxin. A negative correlation was observed between podophyllotoxin and peltatin content in the blades. The combination of high biosynthetic capacity and preferential accumulation of podophyllotoxin in leaves of mayapple makes this plant an excellent candidate for agricultural production of podophyllotoxin. A MAYAPPLE AMERICANA FOI REAVALIADA--PoDoPHYLLUM PELTATUM--SERA QUE AINDA TEM PO-TENC1AL LUCRATIVO COMO CULTURA? O potencial de utilizagao do Podophyllum peltatum foi rexaminado para a produg~o comercial de podofilotoxina, um composto usado na semi-s[ntese de importantes drogas anticancerfgenas. Um levantamento da populagao norte-americana da mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, foi conduzido coma finalidade de identificar gen6tipos de alta produtividacle. As coletas foram feitas no centroeste dos Estados Unidos e o contet~do de lignanas do limbo foliare dos rizomas foi caracterizado pot extraf~to aquosa seguida da andlise pot HPLC. Podofilotoxina e a peltatin apareceram mais proemintes do que as demais lignanas. Geralmente, o limbo foliar apresentou um contet~do de podofilotoxina mais rico do que os rizomas. Muitas access6es corn alta produtividade foram identificadas e cujo o conte(tdo de podophyllotoxina no limbo foliar variou entre 4.0-5.6%. Observou-se ainda uma correla~6o negativa entre a podofilotoxina e o contetido de peltatin no limbo foliar. Nas folhas, a com-binag~o entre a capacidade biosint~tica e o act~mulo preferencial da podofilotoxina, faz corn que essa esp(cie seja considerada uma excelente candidata para a produg~o agffcola desta lignana.

In large canal irrigation project areas, integrated management of surface and groundwater resources can improve water use efficiencies and agricultural productivity and also control water logging. Such integrated management requires an estimation of spatial distribution of recharge and ground water flow in the underlying aquifer. Recharge occurs both as percolation losses from fields and seepage losses from the water distribution network. Percolation losses are influenced by weather, soil properties, land use, and canal water and groundwater use. Seepage losses depend on the conditions of flow in the water distribution system. In large irrigation project areas all the factors influencing the recharge of groundwater vary spatially. In this study, a geographical information systems (GIS) is used to map the spatial distribution of recharge which then serves as input to a regional groundwater flow model for simulating the behavior of the underlying aquifer. The basis is that the project...

Primary Eurostat data of EU imports of agricultural products from selected southern hemisphere countries-namely, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Australia and New Zealand-was used to compare the exports from those countries to the EU for the period 1988 to 2000. The study starts with a general overview of the total and agricultural export performance of these selected countries in a global context and their specialization indexes for food. This is followed by a comparison of the total value, total mass and value per tonne of agricultural exports to the EU and of their exploitation of seasonal differences with the northern hemisphere in terms of relative emphasis on particular product groups and value/mass ratios of their major products. Comparison is made of the impact of their location relative to EU ports in terms of transport cost and duration of trips and the efficiency of their own ports. The conclusions reached is that in order to remain competitive, South Africa will have to add value to carefully selected non-seasonal products. Seasonal production will have to expand with a sharper focus on market windows becoming narrower due to research and development conducted by both northern and southern hemisphere competitors. The overview motivates an even more aggressive research and development (R&D) programme by South African agriculture and food industries in order to remain competitive on export markets, especially given the rapidly changing environment. For example, the introduction of much faster ships which will decrease South Africa's present advantage of having the shortest distance to the EU among the other southern hemisphere competitors.

Nondestructive detection method is vital in quality, safety and integrity assurance during fruits and vegetables post harvest. X-ray imaging technology has been proven to be one of the successful nondestructive methods ever to be applied in detecting diseases and defects in agricultural products. In this research, infested Harum Manis mango fruits detection and quality classification will be done by integrating X-ray imaging techniques and Artificial Immune Systems (AIS). The classification is made by applying the AIS self and nonself recognition process unto the Harum Manis mango X-ray images. The output of this study is the proposed automatic nondestructive classification system of Harum Manis mango.

A Decision Support System (DSS) to support sustainable development planning processes in the agricultural sector has been developed in the context of the research project entitled WATER MAP (Development and utilization of vulnerability maps for the monitoring and management of groundwater resources in the Archimed area), which is an Interreg -Archimed project. The model is based on vulnerability maps and facilitates and optimizes the decision-making process relating to the problems of land use, water management and environmental protection. The spatial integration of the vulnerability maps in the DSS enables regional authorities to design optimal spatial development policies. The DSS is based on a Multicriteria Mathematical Programming model and can achieve the optimum agricultural production plan in the area combining different criteria to a utility function under a set of constraints concerning different categories of land, labour, available capital, etc. The model is further used to simulate different scenarios and policies due to changes on different social, economic and environmental parameters. In this way we get alternative production plans and agricultural land uses as well as the economic, social and environmental impact of different policies.

Since the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations in 1994, there has been increasing debate about the implications of freer trade for domestic or "nontrade" objectives in agriculture. These range from traditional concerns, such as food security and rural development, to more recent issues such as the relationship between agriculture and the environment, and the effects of agricultural practices on human health and animal welfare. For countries reluctant to reduce agricultural protection, a key issue is the extent to which domestic policy objectives would need to be sacrificed under freer trade. For countries espousing trade liberalization, the issue is whether domestic policy objectives will be used as a guise to undermine freer trade in agricultural products.

Phosphorus (P) is one of the major constituents in energy metabolism and biosynthesis of nucleic acids and cell membranes with an important role in regulation of a number of enzymes. Soil phosphorous is an important macronutrient for plant growth. Phosphorus deficiency in soil is a major problem for agricultural production. Total soil P occurs in either organic or in organic form. Phytic acid as phytate (salts of phytic acid) is the major form of organic phosphorus in soil and it is not readily available to plants as a source of phosphorus because it either forms a complex with cations or adsorbs to various soil components. Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms are ubiquitous in soils and could play an important role in supplying P to plants. Microorganisms utilizing phytate are found in cultivated soils as well as in wetland, grassland and forest soils. Various fungi and bacteria (including plant growth promoting rhizobacteria) hydrolyze this organic form of phosphorus secreting phosphatases such as phytases and acidic/alkaline phosphatases. A large number of transgenic plants have been developed which were able to utilize sodium phytate as sole source of phosphorus. However, the recombinant phytases were similar to their wild type counterparts in terms of their properties. Increased phytase/phosphatase activity in transgenic plants may be an effective approach to promote their phytate-phosphorus utilization. The extracellular phytase activity of transgenic plant roots is a significant factor in the utilization of phosphorus from phytate. Furthermore, this indicated that an opportunity exists for using gene technology to improve the ability of plants to utilize accumulated forms of soil organic phosphorus. This review is focused on the role of phytases and phytase producing microbes in promoting the growth of different plants.

This paper is on coaching farmers in (re)designing a farm. It describes how farmers can become inspired to design a sustainable farm by the way medical doctors look at the human being and his health. Sustainability in farm management is usually strived for in such a way that damage to People, Planet or Profit is prevented. However, preventing such damage does not automatically mean that humans, animals, rural societies, landscape, and nature can develop and manifest themselves to the full extent. Only in examples where the emphasis is on positive characteristics of and actions in farming, and where the approach is based on coherence between the three layers described (agricultural production, agri-culture, and the meaning of life and existence), we observe that all stakeholders can fully express themselves. This approach is comparable with the positive way in which the World Health Organization describes human health, distinguishing three different layers of health: physical health, socio-cultural health, and mental health. Applying the metaphor of the healthy human enables us to ask relevant questions as to how to achieve farm health. The power of the metaphor of the living human lies in the possibility to introduce the concepts of life lies in the possibility to introduce the concepts of life lies in the possibility to introduce the concepts of , the conscious direction, transformation and health in the process of (re)designing the farm organism. The living farm emerges under the direction of the farmer as a new entity in which the possibilities of the site, the societal and agro-ecological context and the people involved are all mutually fine-tuned. Only if all three interconnected layers of health (i.e., the physical, socio-cultural, and mental health) are equally addressed, true farm health, and, in our definition of farm health, also sustainability can be achieved. This paper does not address the issue of creating an absolutely healthy and sustainable farm but is about farm transformation and the art of development, step-by-step reshaping specific farm elements, thus allowing the entire farm to become healthier.

This study estimates nonparametric non-stochastic Malmquist indices and a stochastic Fourier production frontier to examine agricultural productivity and its interactions with socio-political institutions in 41 sub-Saharan African countries during 1961-1999. We have learned from this study that on average, agricultural productivity in SSA was negative during the 1960's and 1970's, but has been positive during the last two decades. Institutions offer a significant explanation of at least some of the differential performance across countries.

The paper analyzes the relationship hetwcen factor inputs, land yiclda and labor productivity for farms of different size on the basis of FAO farm managcmcnt data for 15 developing countries. For all but three countries a strong negative correlation is found between farm size on the one side, and factor inputs and yields per hectare on the other. The fitting of unconstrained production functions to the above data suggests that in only few casts the dcclinc in yields for increasing farm size can he attrihutcd to decreasing returns to scale. The higher yields observed in small farms are mainly to he ascrihcd to higher factor inputs and to a more intensive use of land. Therefore, where conspicuous labor surpluses exist. the superiority of small farming provides solid arguments in favor of land redistribution.

This paper will propose a data mining framework for the identification of agricultural production areas ill WA. The data mining (DM) framework was developed with the aim of enhancing the analysis of agricultural datasets compared to currently used statistical methods. The DM framework is a synthesis of different technologies brought together for the purpose of enhancing the interrogation of these datasets. The DM framework is based on the data, information, knowledge and wisdom continuum as a horizontal axis, with DM and online analytical processing (OLAP) forming the vertical axis. In addition the DM framework incorporates aspects of data warehousing phases, exploratory data mining (EDM) and a post-processing phase for cyclic updating of data and for data qualification. The DM framework could be used to identify agricultural production areas in WA specifically for crop prediction, planting and harvesting strategies. In addition famers using the results from the DM framework may be ...

Young people from rural settlements in a dilemma and their insertion into the work market. Revista Universidade Rural: Série Ciências Humanas, Seropédica, RJ: EDUR, v. 27, n. 1-2, p. xx-xx, jan.-dez., 2005. This paper summarizes some of the results on the "Young people from rural settlements in a dilemma and their insertion into the work market" research. The main goal of this investigation was to analyse the ways of social reproduction of the settled families in order to apprehend the place of the young people in the productive organization of the plot, and also their place in the urban and rural work markets. The results of this research will be discussed among the settled people, and the university will try to establish a larger and more committed alliance fostering better life conditions for them.

A Wetland Reservoir Subirrigation System (WRSIS) allows for capture, treatment, storage, and reuse of runoff and subsurface drainage waters from cropland, in turn providing both environmental and agricultural production benefits. The three WRSIS sites presently in operation are all located within the northwest Ohio portion of the Maumee River Basin and have been in use for five to six complete growing seasons. WRSIS components include an underground drainage pipe network tied to both a constructed wetland and a water storage reservoir. With this type of system, the drain pipes can be used at different times to either add water (subirrigation) or remove water (subsurface drainage) from the root zone, thereby enhancing crop yields, especially in dry years. Obtaining these crop yield benefits requires a proper water table management approach that includes practicing suggested operational guidelines and initiating as needed system modification improvements. By incorporating a proper water table management approach, and in comparison to control plots, WRSIS subirrigated field crop yield increases for corn and soybeans, respectively, were 34.5 and 38.1% during drier growing seasons, 14.4 and 9.7% during near average to wetter growing seasons, and 19.6 and 17.4% overall.

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Land fragmentation is a major issue in many rural areas around the world, preventing rational agricultural production and sustainable rural development. Traditionally, land consolidation has been the primary land management approach for solving this problem. Land reallocation is recognised as the most important, complex and time consuming process of land consolidation. It is split into two components: land redistribution and land partitioning. In this paper, we outline a land redistribution model called LandSpaCES (Land Spatial Consolidation Expert System) which is the central module of LACONISS, a LAnd CONsolidation Integrated Support System for planning and decision making. LandSpaCES integrates GIS with an expert system (ES) and is able to generate alternative land redistributions under different scenarios. Two key system concepts are utilised: 'No-Inference Engine Theory (NIET)', which differentiates LandSpacES from conventional ES development; and a parcel priority index (PPI), which constitutes the basic measure that defines the redistribution of land in terms of location. The module has been applied to a case study area in Cyprus and the results compare very favourably against an independent solution derived previously by human experts.

African animal trypanosomiasis constrains agricultural production in areas of Africa that hold the continent’s greatest potential for expanded agricultural production. Compared to animals kept in trypanosomiasis free areas, animals kept in areas of moderate risk of trypanosomiasis have lower calving rates, lower milk yields, higher rates of calf mortality, and require more frequent treatment with preventive and curative doses of trypanocidal drugs. At the herd level, trypanosomiasis reduces milk offtake, live animal offtake and the work efficiency of oxen used for cultivation. Herds of trypanosusceptible livestock can be devastated by sudden exposure to high levels of trypanosomiasis risk. Trypanosomiasis also affects where people live, the way they manage their livestock and the number of animals that they keep. In the tsetse-infested areas as a whole, trypanosomiasis reduces the offtake of meat and milk by at least 50%. And by generally constraining farmers from the overall benefi...

This paper attempts to identify sources of resource use inefficiency for cotton production in Pakistan's Punjab. The use of a non-parametric method, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), is developed to study the relative technical and allocative efficiencies of individual farms which use similar inputs, produce the same product and operate under comparable circumstances. In the 'cotton-wheat' system of Pakistan, there are a considerable number of farms that are both technically and allocatively inefficient. The use of DEA shows that the technique provides a clear identification of both the extent and the sources of technical and allocative inefficiencies in cotton production. However, both the interpretation of the farm level results generated and the projection of these results to a higher level require care, given the technical nature of the agricultural production processes.

The study entitled “an assessment of effects of climate change on human lives in context of local
response to agricultural production was conducted in District Buner-Pakistan. Tehsil Gagra, out of the six
tehsils of district Bunir, constituted the universe of the study. A sample size of 370, was randomly selected
from the total population of 10142 through proportional allocation method. The conceptual framework
comprised of two study variables i.e “agriculture production” and “climate change effects on human life”.
To established association between the study variables the perception of climate change effect on human
life was indexed and cross tabulated with local response to agricultural production at bi-variate level, using
chi-square test statistics. The study found that climate change effects on human life had a highly significant
association (P=0.000) with greenhouse gases has decreased the agricultural productivity; climate change
has reduced the production of crops(P=0.000); soil erosion and landslides have increased(P=0.000); Due to
climate change forests, fruits and vegetables have become scarce(P=0.000); water logging and salinity has
affected the production of crops(P=0.000); and loss of agricultural productivity affecting the local economy
with effects on human lives. The study concluded that, climate change has drastically affected the agricultural
practices, resulting into low crop production, soil erosions and water logging salinity. Taking climate change
adaptation measure’s to minimize the impacts on agriculture and economy as well as policy formulation and
implementation to cut short the emission of greenhouse gases were major recommendations.

Species associated with Fusarium head blight are depending on the production and edaphic conditions. The differences are found in the representation of various Fusarium spp. in the diseases, which sporadically occur all over the territory of Slovakia, in all agricultural production types. We identified fifteen Fusarium species during ten years of investigation. Most of the mentioned species F. culmorum (W.G. Smith) Sacc., F. graminearum Schwabe, recently F. cerealis (Cooke) Sacc. (crookwellense Burgess, Nelson & Tousson) and F. sambucinum Fuckel in diseased caryopsis are seed transmitted. The significant differences among species and intra species in cultural and pathogenicity assays in vitro and in vivo were correlated. Some of them are able to produce toxic metabolites -deoxynivalenone, which probably play a role in the aggressiveness of the pathogen and promote disease development and pathogen colonization.

The objectives of the Consulting Assistance on Economic Reform (CAER II) project are to contribute to broad-based and sustainable economic growth and to improve the policy reform content of USAID assistance activities that aim to strengthen markets in recipient countries.

Precision agriculture is a field which provides one of the most suitable scenarios for the deployment of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The particular characteristics of agricultural environments -which may vary significantly with location -make WSNs a key technology able to provide accurate knowledge to farmers. This knowledge represents a valuable resource because it enables real-time decision making with regard to issues such as establishing water saving policies while providing adequate irrigation and choosing the right time to harvest the fruit based on its maturity. This article proposes a methodology consisting of a set of well-defined phases that cover the complete life cycle of WSN applications for agricultural monitoring. We have studied different existing real-world scenarios where WSNs are being applied. Based on this study we have discovered that there exist significant commonalities but no methodology that specifies the best practices that should be used in the general, crop-independent case. The lack of a general methodology negatively impacts the amount of effort, development time, and cost of developing applications.