Cuba: Ethics, biological control, and crisis

The 1989 collapse of trade relations with the former socialist bloc plunged Cuba into an economic and food crisis. Cuban farmers, scientists, and planners have responded with alternative agricultural technology to make up for imported food and Green Revolution inputs that are no longer available. A review of Cuban experience to date with biological pest control practices shows that, on the one hand, significant progress has been made that may serve as a model for other countries, while, on the other hand, there still remains a long way to go if Cuba is to create a truly sustainable agriculture. It is essential that we understand the Cuban case if we are to be concerned about ethical issues in biological control. The apparent ability of Cuba to overcome a food crisis without significant use of pesticides stretches our concept of the possible. It thus helps refute the most common argument – that we couldn't “feed the hungry” without pesticides – against taking the “ethical” position in real-world pest management policy debates.     

Plant diseases and their control by biological means in Cuba

Beginning in 1989, the breakup of the Soviet Bloc disrupted trade and cut off Cuba's source of subsidized fuel oil, making many modern agricultural practices impossible, including the wide use of pesticides. Among Cuba's responses was an emphasis on biological control of plant diseases. Research into biological control began in the 1930s, and after the revolution many scientists maintained an unofficial interest. When the 1989 economic crisis occurred, the government placed a high priority on biocontrol, and researchers were in a position to begin immediate implementation. For example, the construction of factories for the mass production of biological agents had been approved in 1988, and are currently in operation. Disease monitoring was undertaken before the current crisis, with more than 90% of Cuban agriculture using it to some extent. Such monitoring has allowed a reduction in pesticide use. Since the 1989 onset of economic crisis the monitor system has not been greatly modified for use with biological control techniques, but an example of a successful transition from chemical treatment to biocontrol in Cuba is in banana plantations. At the various research centers, research is being conducted in the biocontrol of vegetable diseases, tobacco root diseases, nematodes, and pasture weeds. Technical research is being done on mass production of inoculum, the production of application formulations, and storage of biocontrol products. Because wide use of biocontrol agents was urgently desired, the government cooperated at every step of research, including in regulatory matters. Obstacles to successful biocontrol mentioned by Cuban scientists were the lack of taxonomic knowledge and the need for strict quality control. There are few economic studies of biocontrol agents despite the importance of such studies. Cuban scientists are in an excellent position to do such research. Forced by the economic crisis to act, Cuba has made a major change in national agronomic policy that may represent a significant and new direction for “modern” agricultural practices.     

Cuba and the dilemma of modern agriculture

Having lost 73% of its purchasing power and 42% of it gross national product since the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba faces a crisis with the modern agricultural system it had developed over the past 30 years. The response has been to put an alternative model into practice. The successes and problems associated with this model are discussed.     

以经济矛盾的层次性探析美国金融危机爆发的原因

经济矛盾是构成一切经济活动发生、发展的基本要素。层次性作为经济矛盾的一个基本特征，是运用矛盾分析法解决现实经济问题的过程中需要把握的重要方面。这次美国金融危机的爆发，是不同层次经济矛盾综合作用的结果：从社会制度层次上看，危机根源于资本主义基本矛盾；从运行机制层次上看，则是由于过度的金融衍生所导致的虚拟经济与实体经济严重脱节；从微观的市场主体行为层次上看，原因在于市场交易中信用的软约束。     

国际金融危机应对措施的评析与我国经济法律制度的完善

从政治经济学的角度分析,此次金融危机无非是资本主义固有的基本矛盾在新的历史阶段的一次周期性的爆发,西方各国采取的经济法律措施也无法从根本上解决危机的根源。而危机对我国的影响及警示不仅在于克服危机对社会经济造成的短期冲击,从长远看,更应该从完善社会保障、优化产业结构、促进经济稳定的法律制度层面做好危机的预防与控制工作,为...     

后金融危机时期中国农业科技发展若干问题的思考——掌握农业科技竞争主动权，迎接新一轮的世界科技革命

金融危机爆发以来,世界经济增速放缓。各国正重新审视经济发展和产业转型,赋予新兴产业引领新一轮科技革命、摆脱经济危机束缚的历史使命,战略性新兴产业成为投资重点。中国农业科技发展需要抢抓机遇,通过加强自主创新,支持企业技术开发,加强科企联合,构建技术标准,发展低碳绿色科技农业等方式应对国际挑战,努力掌握世界农业发展主动权;积极培育现代生物种业、现代装备业、绿色投入品、生物能源、农产品加工与物流、沙漠与海洋农业等农业新兴产业生长点;通过不断深化农业科技体制改革,建立科学的人才评价体系,稳定基本科研经费,实行“政研分开”,树立勇于创新的科研价值观,营造鼓励创新的学术环境和文化氛围等方式充分激发农业科技人员的创新活力,引领农业科技发展方向,推动中国实现传统农业向现代农业重大转型。     

后金融危机时期中国农业科技发展若干问题的思考——高度重视原始创新，抢占农业科技前沿领域的制高点

2008年美国爆发金融危机后,欧债危机随后爆发,新兴经济体也受到严重冲击,世界经济增速放缓。历史经验表明,经济危机往往孕育着新的科技革命。在经济全球化的背景下,谁能在科技创新方面占据优势,谁就能够掌握发展的主动权,率先复苏并走向繁荣。而作为基础产业的农业和农业科技进步对中国经济发展具有举足轻重的作用。为此,应充分抓住金融危机给农业科技发展带来的机遇,高度重视科技原始创新能力的培养,要做到遵循农业科研规律,优化配置农业基础科技资源,强化农业基础研究和高新技术研究,提升农业核心技术研发水平,加快完善科学评价体系,超前部署一批前瞻性科技专项,增强科技战略储备能力,抢占以生物技术、信息技术、先进制造技术等为核心的农业科技前沿领域的制高点,以科技创新促进现代农业发展。     

For whose benefit?: A second look at fund raisers and other charitable responses to the U.S. farm crisis

The deepening U.S. farm crisis has been accompanied by numerous benefit fund raisers, individual donations and volunteer programs—all an expression of cooperation and concern on the part of U.S. citizens, farmer and non-farmer alike. These responses have received wide media attention and much public praise. A sense of patriotism and self-reliance underlies their popularity. Nevertheless, such efforts work to undermine their own ultimate objective—that of improving the economic circumstances of the family farm and farm family. This irony, it is argued, arises from the fact that these charitable responses typically depoliticize the nature of the U.S. farm crisis. First, they deflect public attention away from the larger economic context and the structural inequities within it. Second they revitalize agrarian-based myths which serve to rationalize and to reproduce the ‘independent’ behavior of small, commercial farmers. Finally, it is argued that the depoliticization of the farm crisis is itself a political strategy, one which supports and legitimizes ‘business as usual’ and is compatible with the interests of corporate agriculture.     

基于DSP的数字励磁控制器的设计与开发

以中国基金市场32家基金管理公司旗下的103只开放式偏股型基金作为样本,选择恰当的面板数据模型形式,分别建立金融危机之前、危机期间和危机之后三个时期基金家族绩效与风险关系模型,以剖析不同经济形势下两者之间的关系。结果表明,金融危机之前和危机期间基金家族绩效与风险显著负相关,而危机之后两者关系不显著,在金融危机期间和危机之后基金业绩效状况持续恶化,危机之后基金业整体风险水平降低;金融危机后,为弥补金融危机中造成的损失,各基金家族倾向于采取“打造明星基金”的投资策略以充分利用有限资源、提升家族整体绩效。     

新疆甜高粱开发利用研究

甜高粱是一种新型绿色可再生高能作物,生物产量高,开发用途广,利用价值大.利用新疆独特的自然资源,开发再生性能源和相关化工产品,逐步建立新能源产业和新的经济增长点,是促进新疆可再生能源、畜牧业、化工产品等相关产业发展,农民增收的有效途径.发展甜高粱生产,将有效缓解能源危机,具有良好的经济、社会和生态效益.     

六个籼稻品种对水稻白叶枯病的抗性遗传研究

分析了６个籼稻抗病品种（Ｃｕｂａ２３０１，Ｃｕｂａ２１９６，Ｃｈｂａ４０１０，双抗１２，双抗１８，三江）对１４个水稻白叶枯病菌系的抗性表现和对Ｐ１，ＨＢ－１７和８工陵６９１三个菌系的抗性遗传和抗性苈在的等位关系，结果表明，这６个抗病品种均在全育期抗除菲律宾菌系Ｐ２和Ｐ３的其余１２个菌系。这６个抗病品种对３个菌系的全生育期抗性均由一对显性基因控制，受细胞核影响。与已知基因的等位性测定表明，这６个品种     

全球贸易保护主义的遏制措施与中国的应对策略

国际金融危机对全球经济格局的影响是广泛而深刻的,自危机爆发以来,全球贸易呈现急剧下滑态势。贸易保护主义已全面回潮(抬头),各国争相开始对外高筑壁垒,而且形式变得多样化,手段复杂化。文章分析了贸易保护主义的新特点和危害,指出WTO要担起维护贸易自由化的重任,在对抗和遏制全球贸易保护主义过程中发挥更大的作用。最后提出了我国反对贸易保护主义的立场和措施。     

The greening of the “barrios”: Urban agriculture for food security in Cuba

Urban agriculture in Cuba has rapidly become a significant source of fresh produce for the urban and suburban populations. A large number of urban gardens in Havana and other major cities have emerged as a grassroots movement in response to the crisis brought about by the loss of trade, with the collapse of the socialist bloc in 1989. These gardens are helping to stabilize the supply of fresh produce to Cuba's urban centers. During 1996, Havana's urban farms provided the city's urban population with 8,500 tons of agricultural produce, 4 million dozens of flowers, 7.5 million eggs, and 3,650 tons of meat. This system of urban agriculture, composed of about 8,000 gardens nationwide has been developed and managed along agroecological principles, which eliminate the use of synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilizers, emphasizing diversification, recycling, and the use of local resources. This article explores the systems utilized by Cuba's urban farmers, and the impact that this movement has had on Cuban food security.     

我国国民经济预警监测指标体系的建立与完善

随着国民经济的快速发展和更快的融入世界经济,我国国民经济面临的风险因素越来越多。从国际经验来看,经济危机造成的危害也在加大。为了更好的防范经济危机,本文将在研究世界其他国家危机的基础上遵循科学合理的原则,构建我国的经济预警指标体系,并以此为基础进行模型的选择和评判分析。     

加入WTO后两岸农产品贸易发展前景及影响因素

加入WTO后 ,两岸农产品贸易关系将从本质上发生巨大的变化 ,但影响因素仍不容忽视。两岸农产品贸易方面除了存在很强的互补性外 ,同时也存在着利益冲突的潜在危机。按照比较优势原理和WTO的规范 ,实现两岸农产品贸易正常化 ,将提高台商及农民赴祖国大陆投资农业的诱因 ,对两岸农业资源的配置、产业结构的优化以及经济结构的调整具有积极的促进作用。     

Economic development and biotechnology: Public policy response to the farm crisis in Iowa

In periods of social crisis, policymakers become particularly vulnerable to interest groups mobilizing to compete for scarce funds. At this point, legislators are no longer able to address the specific needs of their primary constituency directly, but rather are forced to do so in pretext only. New, unfamiliar technologies provide ample ammunition for astute interest groups to take advantage of times of economic turmoil and maneuver for policy support through dramatic campaigns of “salesmanship.” By publicizing a crisis situation, dramatizing it effectively, and advertising an innovation as the solution to the crisis, legislators may be effectively persuaded to give priority to interest group pressures above and beyond those of the local constituency. Iowa's attempts to address the farm crisis through economic development strategies relying on biotechnology is examined in this paper. The results of extensive surveys of Iowa's legislators and farmers are examined and the consequences for Iowa's policy process of using biotechnology under the auspices of economic development are discussed.     

次贷危机后美联储非常规货币政策及退出机制分析——基于美联储资产负债表的视角

《秦律十八种》里“不夏月”、“田舍”、“稍赏”、“襄”等字词解释及“隶臣妾老弱及不可诚仁者”的理解略作陈述:1.“不夏月”之“不”当为衍文;2.百姓居田舍者毋敢（酤）酉（酒）”一句的解释当为：居住在田舍中百姓不准卖酒或买酒;3.“稍赏”应解释“逐渐偿还”;4.“隶臣妾老弱及不可诚仁者勿令”一句应当翻译为“年老体弱和不足信赖的隶臣妾,不要派出去传递文书。”;5.“ 别粲、糯之襄（酿）,岁异积之,勿增积、以给客”一句应该翻译为：“将秈稻和糯稻中颗粒饱满的区别开来,每年单独贮积,不要使陈谷新谷层积在一起,以用来供给宾客。”     

亟待开展转基因作物商业化整体战略研究

2008年的粮食危机使转基因作物商业化重新成为争论的焦点,我国在2008年启动了转基因生物新品种培育科技重大专项,标志着我国转基因作物商业化又迈进了一步。然而,目前缺乏对转基因作物商业化整体战略的研究。转基因作物商业化是一个复杂的综合性问题,涉及粮食安全、知识产权、经济社会环境影响、种业及农业生物技术产业发展等问题。文章分析了转基因商业化整体战略研究的背景和必要性,提出了整体战略研究的目标,最后提出了整体战略研究的框架。     

转变农民的思想观念:新农村建设成败的关键——由建设社会主义新农村引发的思考

当前开展的社会主义新农村建设,不论在理论界还是在实践中都存在着忽视转变农民思想观念的问题。而如果农民的思想观念不能彻底向现代化转变,则所有新农村建设的实施都将成为空谈,甚至会造成像城市现代化过程中出现的思想观念混乱、经济发展偏颇的现代性危机。文章运用历史和逻辑统一的方法,从理论、历史、现状3个层面进行分析,认为虽然经济基础决定上层建筑,但思想观念作为上层建筑对经济的发展也会产生一定的反作用;中国在近代现代化的实现过程中,正是由于在不同的阶段都程度不同地忽视了思想观念的转变,才造成了中国现代化进程中的现代性危机;同时从农民现状来看,思想观念更是滞后于现代化的进程。因此,从伦理的规范、道德的重建、传统的继承等方面转变农民的思想观念就成为新农村建设中不可忽略的重要内容,成为关乎新农村建设成败的关键所在。     

北京市秸秆资源调查及应用前景

通过对北京市农作物秸秆资源全面调查以及对这些地区草食家畜饲养情况、秸秆利用情况的统计分析 ,同时结合反刍家畜的营养特点 ,认为北京市丰富的农作物秸秆资源作为反刍家畜饲料将有着非常广泛、光明的应用前景。但目前秸秆还没有被充分、有效的利用 ,原因在于秸秆的深加工技术。因此探索先进、实用的秸秆处理技术 ,提升秸秆的利用价值 ,使它成为一种经济实用的粗饲料原料 ,对北京市农业及畜牧业产业结构调整将有着深远和重要的意义。