Reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa through investments in water and other priorities

Water resources are essential to human development processes and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals that seek, inter alia, to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal literacy, and ensure environmental sustainability. Expanding irrigation is essential to increase agricultural production, which is needed to achieve economic development and attain food security in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Water resources and irrigated agriculture are not developed to their full potential. Currently less than 4% of renewable water resources in Africa are withdrawn for agriculture. Barriers include the lack of financial and human resources to build irrigation and related rural infrastructure and acquire agricultural technology, and inadequate access to markets. This constrains progress towards poverty reduction. We examine the linkages between agricultural water, education, markets and rural poverty through a review of published studies. We argue that, linking agricultural water, education, and market interventions, which are so often implemented separately, would generate more effective poverty reduction and hunger eradication programs. Investments in agricultural water management and complementary rural infrastructure and related policies are the pathways to break the poverty trap in smallholder African agriculture.     

Agricultural water management and poverty linkages

Water is critically important to the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people living on less than $1 a day, particularly for the 850 million rural poor primarily engaged in agriculture. In many developing countries, water is a major factor constraining agricultural output, and income of the world's rural poor. Improved agricultural water management can contribute to poverty reduction through several pathways. First, access to reliable water improves production and productivity, enhances employment opportunities and stabilizes income and consumption. Secondly, it encourages the utilization of other yield-enhancing inputs and allows diversification into high-value products, enhances nonfarm outputs and employment, and fulfils multiple needs of households. Third, it may contribute either negatively or positively to nutritional status, health, societal equity and environment. The net impact of agricultural water management interventions on poverty may depend individually and/or synergistically on the working of these pathways. Improved access to water is essential, but not sufficient for sustained poverty reduction. Investments are needed in agricultural science and technology, policies and institutions, economic reform, addressing global agricultural trade inequities, etc. But how best to match the agricultural water management technologies, institutions and policies to the needs of the heterogeneous poor living in diverse agro-ecological settings remains unclear. This article provides a menu of promising pathways through which agricultural water management can contribute to sustained poverty reduction.     

论农业生产发展对中大功率拖拉机的需求

通过对我国农村劳动力转移及农村经济发展情况的分析,论证了我国农业生产正在由分户小规模经营逐步向规模经营发展,因此对中大功率拖拉机的需求将会扩大.从农艺要求及耕作制度的发展,论证了农田作业对拖拉机功率的需求必将增大.此外,农田基本建设及复式作业的需要,论证了拖拉机还要向多功能方向发展.     

Co-effects of climate policy and agricultural policy on regional agricultural viability in Finland

The agricultural sector has potentially a significant role in reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs). Besides providing public goods, GHG reduction offers farmers new alternatives for income generation. This is especially interesting in marginal agricultural areas, e.g., in less-favoured areas (LFA) of the European Union (EU), where significant GHG reduction potential coincides with low productivity in the production of agricultural commodities.In this study, the effects of peatland cultivation restrictions were evaluated, where the objective was to decrease GHG fluxes deriving from agricultural production. The regional role of peatlands in GHG reduction and agricultural production is also evaluated. Ceasing the agricultural use of peatlands altogether could decrease Finnish agricultural sector carbon effluents by up to 10% according to a dynamic regional sector model of the Finnish agriculture (DREMFIA). Accompanying decreases in national and even in regional agricultural incomes do not appear drastic, but locally, in some municipalities and on individual farms they may be devastating. In an alternative scenario, where perennial grass production is allowed to continue and only cultivation of annual crops is forbidden, the (negative) income effects are very low. The most notable result is that significant GHG reductions can be reached with little decrease in national agricultural incomes.The two forms of restrictions were tested in two alternative agricultural policy settings: Agenda 2000 and the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform agreed in Luxembourg on 26th June 2003. These two agricultural policy alternatives are connected with both of the aforementioned climate policy alternatives and resulting scenarios are evaluated in the simulation. The simulation provides the second main result, which says that it is not so much the climate policy which determines aggregate agricultural production and income, but rather it is the general agricultural policy framework setting the stage.     

Pathways to breaking the poverty trap in Ethiopia: Investments in agricultural water, education, and markets

Investments in agricultural water management should complement or strengthen the livelihood and coping systems of the rural poor, and should thus be instrumental for breaking the poverty trap in Ethiopia. Underdeveloped water resources constrain progress towards poverty reduction. We examine linkages and complementarities between agricultural water, education, markets and rural poverty through an empirical study using household level data from selected villages in southern Ethiopia. We show that investments in irrigation can contribute to poverty reduction, but the poverty reducing impacts of irrigation water are greater when human capital and rural markets are well developed. The size of landholding, access to irrigation water, on-farm land and water conservation practices, literacy of the household head, and years of education of adults are all significant determinants of household welfare, and thus potential pathways for reducing poverty. Expansion of cultivated land, particularly irrigated land, universal literacy, and an extra school year for adults all reduce poverty, but reductions in poverty are greater when irrigation is combined with universal literacy. These findings call for simultaneous investments in agricultural water, education, markets and related policy support measures for reducing poverty in smallholder agriculture in Ethiopia.     

论我国农业机械化的几个关系

论述了我国农业机械化进程中发生的农业机械化与合作化、人多地少、精耕细作、生态农业、包产到户等关系的争论与实践;对农业机械化与社会进步和经济发展,机电动力与劳力、畜力,农机与农艺,农业机械化与经济效益、规模经营、地区差别等关系进行了研究,提出了正确处理的原则或方针。还根据市场经济体系的建设和农村经济的发展,提出了农业机械化的新特点与新任务。     

浦江县蔬菜产业机械化现状及机械装备需求

为提高浙江省浦江县蔬菜产业发展水平,在分析浦江县蔬菜产业和蔬菜机械化生产现状的基础上,对该县蔬菜生产各个环节所需的机械装备与技术进行了预测分析。      

Agricultural intensification in the Sahel – The ladder approach

Agricultural intensification in the Sahel can be described as climbing a ladder. The capital, labour, management and institutional requirements increase when farmers climb the ladder, but the potential gains are also higher. The first step on this ladder are agricultural practices without any financial outlay but with increasing labour demand, such as organic fertilizer use, seed priming, water harvesting and harvesting grains at physiological maturity to improve fodder quality. The next step on the ladder is the use of micro-fertilising, popularly known as microdose, at the rate of 0.3 g NPK fertilizer per pocket in sorghum and millet. The following step is the development of improved crop/livestock systems characterized by use of higher rates of mineral fertilisers and manure, increasing cowpea density and improved animal fattening. The last step presented on the ladder is the development of more commercially orientated agriculture characterized by development of cash crops, milk production and/or agroforestry systems. Evidences from the field support the observation that farmers intensify their production in a sequential manner similar to the way described in this paper. The technologies presented can facilitate agricultural intensification by reducing the risks and minimising the cost in agricultural production.     

我国农机信息化技术发展的区域特征分析

当前，我国进入了农机信息化高速发展的时代。不同于世界其他国家，我国由于地形多样化，农机信息化表现出了明显的区域特点。本文针对不同场景农机信息化情况进行分析，并在农机化发展现状的基础上研究其共性特征，对农机信息化未来发展重点方向进行预测。     

旋耕减阻降耗技术研究进展

我国是农业大国,农业发展关系到国计民生,而耕作是农业生产中的重要环节.随着我国农业机械化发展转型升级,耕作能耗过高,成为农业生产中必须面对的主要问题之一.旋耕作为一种应用广泛的耕作方式,开展旋耕减阻降耗技术研究,对我国农业可持续发展具有重要的现实意义.本文介绍了旋耕减阻降耗技术的研究要点,重点分析了国内外在旋耕刀辊结构...     

开封市农业机械化与农村剩余劳动力转移问题浅析

简述了农业机械化与农村剩余劳动力转移的现状及问题，浅析了二者之间的关系。农村剩余劳动力的转移必然将大量土地集中在农业生产能手中。要达到规模化经营、减轻劳动强度、提高劳动效率，必须加大对农业机械的投入力度，全面提高农机化水平。农业机械化的发展为劳动力向非农产业转移提供了保证。     

发展农业机械化 应对农业劳动力转移

从江苏省农业与农机化发展的变迁着手,通过调查及对统计资料进行研究,分析了农机化发展对生产力水平的提高、农业劳动力转移及现代农业的支撑和促进作用,实证分析发展农业机械化是应对农村劳动力转移的有效途径。     

峄城区农业综合开发工作调研与分析

峄城区“十五”农业综合开发,充分利用土地等资源优势．切实搞好农业综合开发项目效益,推动了全区农业发展、农民增收。回顾五年来全区农业综合开发的经验、发展现状、制约因素等情况,对于推进“十一五”农业综合开发,帮助项目区农民群众脱贫致富,又好又快地建设社会主义新农村有着积极指导意义和借鉴作用。     

国外农业机械化的现状及发展态势

国外先进国家的农业机械化是本世纪初开始的。由于自然条件、土壤资源、农业生产和劳动力等特点不同,实现农业机械化的过程也不一样。为此,阐述了国外农业机械的发展及现状;分析介绍了农业机械在实际生产中的地位和作用;指出了我国农业机械的不足之处。     

发展农业循环经济是解决我国农业问题的根本出路

近年来,我国农民人均收入增幅呈连年下降趋势,其根源就是我国落后的粗放式的农业生产方式无法在有限资源的条件下容纳大量的农村剩余劳动力,因此发展更具有可持续发展前景的就成为了解决我国农业问题的根本出路,为此需要用循环经济的运作规律来防治农业点源和面源污染;要以农业循环经济引导传统农业向工业型大农业发展,引导资源耗费型农业向资源循环利用型农业转化;加快传统农业向工业型大农业发展的步伐,培植农业循环经济载体。     

天津市智能机械化技术发展现状及建议

智慧农业是现代农业发展的必然趋势,智能农机是智慧农业的重要支撑,应用现代信息技术提高农机装备的智能化水平,是提高农业发展质量和效益的重要手段。目前天津市基层农机化技术推广体系人才匮乏、农机作业标准化程度低、尚未形成完善的智能机械化技术模式和机具配置方案等问题,严重制约了智能机械化技术的推广应用。通过分析天津市智能机械化技术发展现状和存在的问题,提出了大力推广此项技术的举措,对改善农业生产环境、减轻农民劳动强度、减少人力费用支出、降低农业生产成本、提高农业生产效益等发挥重要作用。      

Estimating the potential of rainfed agriculture in India: Prospects for water productivity improvements

A detailed district and agro-ecoregional level study comprising the 604 districts of India was undertaken to (i) identify dominant rainfed districts for major rainfed crops, (ii) make a crop-specific assessment of the surplus runoff water available for water harvesting and the irrigable area, (iii) estimate the efficiency of regional rain water use and incremental production due to supplementary irrigation for different crops, and (iv) conduct a preliminary economic analysis of water harvesting/supplemental irrigation to realize the potential of rainfed agriculture. A climatic water balance analysis of 225 dominant rainfed districts provided information on the possible surplus runoff during the year and the cropping season. On a potential (excluding very arid and wet areas) rainfed cropped area of 28.5 million ha, a surplus rainfall of 114 billion m³ (Bm³) was available for harvesting. A part of this amount of water is adequate to provide one turn of supplementary irrigation of 100 mm depth to 20.65 Mha during drought years and 25.08 Mha during normal years. Water used in supplemental irrigation had the highest marginal productivity and increase in rainfed production above 12% was achievable even under traditional practices. Under improved management, an average increase of 50% in total production can be achieved with a single supplemental irrigation. Water harvesting and supplemental irrigation are economically viable at the national level. Net benefits improved by about threefold for rice, fourfold for pulses and sixfold for oilseeds. Droughts have very mild impacts on productivity when farmers are equipped with supplemental irrigation.     

不同生计策略选择对农户多维贫困的影响研究

探讨生计策略选择对降低农户多维贫困有重要意义。基于2019年新疆维吾尔自治区塔城市额敏县305户农户的调查数据,分析不同生计策略选择对农户多维贫困的影响。首先基于可行能力理论,运用A-F方法测算出多维贫困指数,识别脱贫农户的多维贫困。其次,采用倾向得分匹配法,分析不同生计策略对多维贫困的缓解效应。最后基于生计可持续框架,采用Probit回归模型,探讨选择不同生计策略的农户所拥有的生计资本对农户多维贫困的影响。实证结果表明,选择非农主导型生计策略的农户更能缓解农户的多维贫困,平均处理效应为-18.07%。此外人力资本对选择3个不同的生计策略农户的多维贫困均有缓解,金融资本有利于缓解农业型农户和非农业型农户的多维贫困,物质资本不利于缓解兼业型农户的多维贫困。