Tackling fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) outbreak in Africa: an analysis of farmers’ control actions

Abstract

Since its emergence in Africa in 2016, fall armyworm (FAW) has spread rapidly and poses a severe threat to the food security and livelihood of millions of smallholder farmers in the continent. Using survey data from Ghana and Zambia, we examined FAW prevention and control methods implemented by farm households and their impacts on maize output and household consumption of self-produced maize. The main control methods used included pesticide application and handpicking of larvae, while access to information on FAW was a key driver behind the implementation of the control methods. Results from an endogenous switching regression showed that the implementation of a FAW management strategy significantly enhanced maize yield and households’ own maize consumption. When disentangling the impacts of the main control methods, we found that the combination of pesticide application and handpicking of larvae produced the highest yield gain of 125%. We concluded that the current interventions put in place by farmers to tackle FAW infestations are providing positive outcomes, but successful management of the pest will require more actions, including raising awareness to enhance the adoption of control interventions and exploring other control options.     

《青岛市新型职业农民培育管理办法》立法调研报告

为了促进和规范新型职业农民培育工作,提高农民科学文化素质和从业能力,加快培育新型职业农民和现代农业新型经营主体,青岛市农委将《青岛市新型职业农民培育管理办法》列入2013~2015年青岛市立法论证和调研计划。调研组于2013年3月至2016年3月,通过查阅文献资料、实地调研、问卷调查、召开座谈会等方式开展立法调研工作,认为《青岛市新型职业农民培育管理办法》政府规章的出台十分必要。     

返乡农民创业政策及经济效益的研究

为了研究返乡农民的创业政策及创业所带来的经济收益,以2008—2014年湖南省怀化市农民创业培训班学员的创业信息反馈为材料,通过理论与实证相结合的方法进行了分析。研究认为应鼓励农民积极创业,引导他们奋发进取,创业创新,努力实现自我价值,从而有力推进社会主义新农村建设。     

畅通农村“信息高速公路”惠及山区农民

以农技110网络为主平台,统筹提升信息化服务领域和功能,畅通农村＂信息高速公路＂,引导农民接轨大市场,发展特色经济,惠及山区农民。     

论乡村产业振兴

当前,全国上下正在全力推进乡村振兴战略的实施。乡村振兴,产业兴旺是重点。如何实现乡村产业振兴、产业兴旺,这是值得研究的紧迫而现实的重要问题。本文首先从乡村产业振兴在乡村振兴战略中的地位与作用入手分析,对新中国成立70年来中国乡村产业发展的历程进行了简要回顾,并将其划分为4个发展阶段：第一阶段：1949—1977年,传统产业缓慢发展;第二阶段：1978—2000年,乡镇企业异军突起;第三阶段：2001—2011年,新型产业不断涌现;第四阶段：2012年至今,乡村产业绿色“转型”。同时也指出了当前中国乡村产业存在的突出问题,即：产业门类少、生产规模小、产业层次浅、产业链条短、生产效率低、特色产业弱、品牌产业缺、产业环境差、产品质量低和缺乏竞争力。最后,针对上述存在的问题,提出了实施乡村振兴战略、实现乡村产业振兴要遵循的6大原则和10项具体措施,以期为推动实施乡村振兴战略做出积极贡献。     

Introduction: That most remarkable of outside men – Harold Brookfield's intellectual legacy

Abstract: Harold Brookfield's academic career spans more than half a century, traversing small tropical and subtropical islands and mountainous uplands, focusing on people–environment relations and linking to a diversity of institutions and disciplines. His unwavering commitment to fieldwork at the local level and to comparative study is paralleled by a healthy scepticism with respect to academic trends and orthodoxy of any kind, whether intellectual or physical. It is the farmers of the developing world who are the source of much of his inspiration. His theoretical contributions are based essentially on his observations of their practices and his learning from their experiences. His academic insights into the processes of change in rural areas of Melanesia, East and South‐East Asia, Africa and South America, where small‐scale ecological studies are linked to global forces, are of lasting significance.     

Factors affecting a sheep vegetation management system in British Columbia, Canada

A silvopastoral agroforestry system involving sheep is an important silvicultural issue. We examined the factors that affect the continuation or discontinuation of sheep vegetation management (SVM) in British Columbia. A questionnaire was used to conduct interviews with a randomly selected sample of contractors and farmers who were involved in SVM in British Columbia (BC). Based on a stepwise discriminant analysis, we found that the profitability of SVM, and the practitioners' commitment (number of ewes owned by the farmer or contractor), experience (number of years the farmer or contractor has practiced SVM on public lands in BC) and trust or confidence (number of years the farmer or contractor has consistently worked for the landlord) contributed to the farmer's or contractor's continuation or discontinuation of SVM practice. The factors we defined seemed to be validated (corroborated) by a complex of determinants voiced by various experts concerning the relationship between SVM and the forestry economy in BC, the scale of sheep farming in BC, the relative absence of an agricultural infrastructure to support sheep farming in BC, and the continuity of SVM from year to year. Further investigation into these factors and others is required to advance our understanding of SVM in British Columbia. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Palms in Indigenous and Settler Communities in Southeastern Ecuador: Farmers’ Perceptions and Cultivation Practices

Most palms used in agroforestry systems are exploited from wild stands or are only occasionally cultivated, while only a few palms have been domesticated. In this study we investigated how socio-economic factors and people's perceptions of changes in palm use and availability, influenced palm cultivation among indigenous Shuar and mestizo settlers in south-eastern Ecuador. We also looked at how different uses of palms influenced which species they cultivated. Our results showed that perceptions of declining palm availability in combination with heavy reliance on palm products was positively related to palm cultivation. Hence, cultivation was more common in more remote villages where alternative products were hard to get. In addition, palm cultivation was more common among wealthier people and among indigenous people than among recent settlers. This points to a limiting role of assets such as land and to the importance of history and culture with regard to cultivation. It was not possible to identify any single palm use as the primary reason for cultivating a species, but the more uses a species had, the more likely it was to be cultivated. These findings have important implications for development projects that promote cultivation of palms and other long-lived tree crops. They illustrate how market access and lack of necessary assets may undermine cultivation of native species even though these are regarded as important resources.     

The effect of cattle foot traffic on soil compaction in a silvo-pastoral system

In India, small farmers have generally found that the growing of eucalypts as a cash crop provides poor returns, and many have reverted to growing annual crops. Farmgate prices have been much lower than retail prices, due to the existence of middlemen, and retail prices have fallen to lower levels than expected as markets have become saturated. This article describes the situation in eastern Gujarant, where farmers sold their eucalypts directly to buyers at prices close to those in organised wood markets. An important reason for this unusual situation is the absence in Gujarat of controls on eucalyptus sales, which has helped producers to avoid dependence on rent-seeking intermediaries. The survey shows that growing eucalyptus can be a profitable activity for small farmers, given the right circumstances.     

竹业在社会主义新农村建设中的作用及应注意的问题——以龙游县为例

以龙游县为例,分析了竹业富民、生态环境保护、乡村绿化和景观改善、农村剩余劳动力就地安置、农民素质提高等竹业在社会主义新农村建设中的作用,提出了竹林立地生产力衰退、竹产业链环节的利益分配、竹业生产中的环境恶化等方面的现实问题及解决这些问题的建议。