Integrated freshwater aquaculture,crop and livestock production in the Mekong delta,Vietnam: Determinants and the role of the pond

Promotion of integrated aquaculture with agriculture, including crops and livestock (IAA-farming), requires consideration of both bio-physical and socio-economic contexts. The major factors influencing the adoption of IAA-farming by households at three sites in the Mekong delta were identified. Special attention was given to the multiple roles ponds play in IAA-farming systems. Information was collected through semi-structured interviews and discussions with focus groups and key individuals. Data were analyzed using multivariate factor analysis, analysis of variance or participatory ranking methods. Three major IAA-systems were identified: (1) low-input fish farming integrated with intensive fruit production (system 1), (2) medium-input fish farming integrated with less intensive fruit production (system 2), and (3) high-input fish farming integrated with less intensive fruit production (system 3). System 1 was commonly practised in a rural fruit-dominated area with fertile soils, while systems 2 and 3 were more evident in peri-urban rice-dominated areas with less fertile soils. In the study area, only 6% of poor farmers adopted IAA-farming, while this was 42% for intermediate and 60% for rich households. Richer farmers tended to intensify fish farming and seek a more commercial orientation. The major factors why farmers did not start aquaculture were the inappropriateness of technology, insufficient land holding or poor access to extension services, limited farm management, and through a fear of conflicts associated with pesticide use on crops. The main motivations for practising IAA-farming included increased income and food for home consumption from the available farm resources while reducing environmental impacts. Further improvements to IAA-systems can be realized by strengthening nutrient recycling between different IAA-system components while enhancing farming output and safeguarding the environment.     

Evaluating crop-livestock-based farming systems: A village level study in the dry zone rainfed district of Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka cropping enterprises interact with livestock production on peasant farms. This analysis of the crop-livestock farming system aims at understanding the existing constraints and interactions between crops and livestock in these farms. The main objective of the study is to describe the crop-livestock integrated farming systems in three rainfed villages in the Moneragala district of Sri Lanka, and to evaluate these systems in terms of maximizing farm incomes from the different crop and livestock components of the systems. A field survey was conducted to collect data from 153 farming families for the Maha season of 1982/83. A linear programming model was formulated to test the hypothesis.The results show that in general the activities for lowland rice, highland rice, sugar cane, labour, farm cash cost, and MVP (compost) are higher in the optimal farm plan than in the actual farm situation. The livestock in the optimal plan is mainly confined to milch cattle. However, with the present high level of manutrition among rural livestock industry emphasis should be placed on the expansion of the rural livestock industry in the study villages. The optimal plan also suggests the use of crop residues as a substitute for compost for farm crops. Hence, in the context of escalating prices of chemical fertilizers, research is required to find the suitability of crop residues and household residues as substitutes for compost. Increases in supplementary irrigation may result in the expansion of the farm area and hence the farm income. Other methods of increasing farm income include: replacing hired labour with non-utilized family labour, increased agricultural research, and extension activity regarding the use of modern inputs by farmers on crops.     

Adoption of agroforestry in the hills of Nepal: a logistic regression analysis

Widespread deforestation and increasingly intensive use of land to sustain a growing population has increased soil erosion, lowered soil fertility, and reduced agricultural productivity in the hills of Nepal. This has raised concern over sustainability of the hill farming system. There is growing evidence that agroforestry can be a potential solution to above problems. However, the development of agroforestry as a viable alternative for farmers in diverse ecological and socioeconomic conditions has become a very challenging issue. The objective of this paper was to identify factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry by subsistence farmers in the hills, with reference to an agroforestry project initiated by Nepal Agroforestry Foundation (NAF). Necessary information for this study came from a survey of 223 households (82 project and 141 non-project) from Kumpur, Nalang, and Salang villages in Dhading district in 1998. The results showed that male membership in local NGOs, female education level, livestock population, and farmer's positive perception towards agroforestry have significantly positive effects, while the number of children below 5 years of age, number of males aged 10–59 years, male education, female's Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) membership, and respondents' age had significantly negative effects on adoption of agroforestry among project households. Among non-project households, those with more livestock and male membership to local NGOs were found more likely to adopt, while the households headed by males were less likely to adopt agroforestry.     

Farm-level perspectives regarding irrigation water prices in the Tulkarm district, Palestine

Agriculture consumes about 70% of water available in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Domestic and industrial users utilize 30% of the water supply. Water resource managers are considering the policy of reallocating a portion of the water supply from agriculture to other uses. It is believed that increasing irrigation water prices could influence water consumption and thus make water available for non-agricultural (more economic) uses. This paper examines the impacts of water pricing on agricultural water consumption and farming profitability and provides some guidelines for policy makers regarding water pricing as a tool to manage scarce water resources. We estimate a regression model describing agricultural water consumption as a function of water prices, irrigated land area, farm income, and irrigation frequency, using data collected in a survey of about 150 farmers in the Tulkarm district. We conclude that irrigation water prices are perceived as high and comprise a large portion of total farming expenses. Therefore, attempts to increase irrigation water prices in the Tulkarm district might jeopardize farming feasibility and might have substantial impacts on agricultural water consumption. Nevertheless, many farmers would continue farming even if the water prices were increased beyond their willingness to pay threshold.     

饲料收获机定动刀间隙自动调整装置的研究

快速发展的畜牧业急需新鲜的秸秆来作为牲畜的饲料,而将玉米秸秆切碎收获,不仅能解决牲畜饲料的来源问题,还能增加农民的收入。饲料收获机在作业过程中,用于切碎饲料的动刀片会磨损,磨损之后,会发生切不断情况,需要停机磨刀。磨刀后,刀刃短了,定动刀之间的间隙变大,直接影响到饲料的切碎质量和效率。为了解决这一问题,设计了一种饲料收获机定动刀间隙自动调整装置,可以一键启动,自动调节定动刀之间的间隙,有效降低人工操作的强度,还能保证定动刀左右两边间隙的一致性。该自动调整系统,操作方便,智能化程度高,节约了农时,提高了饲料的切碎质量和作业效率。     

小型机械在会泽县农业生产中的作用

随着经济的发展,小型农业机械基本已经代替了牲畜犁耕田地,也越来越受到广大农民的欢迎.会泽县使用的小型机械主要是小型拖拉机和微耕机.从农机的分布来看,金钟镇,娜姑镇,迤车镇、乐业镇购买的机具较多而者海镇却较少.     

Adaptation to Agenda 2000 (CAP reform) and optimisation of the farming system of French suckler cattle farms in the Charolais area: a model-based study

French suckler farmers need advice on the implications of the Agenda 2000 CAP reform for their farms and, in particular, on the incentives it offers for a more extensive mode of production. To support the dialogue between advisers and farmers, and thus help farmers with their decision-making, we constructed a linear programming (LP) model that optimises the farming system of the northern Massif Central Charolais suckler cattle farms, which may be either mixed (crop-livestock) or specialised (livestock). This model, called Opt'INRA, incorporated all of the production activities presently encountered in this zone, together with the constraints of the CAP premium attributions. We used it to study how, on the basis of their 1999 data, two farms, representing two situations frequently encountered in the Charolais area (a mixed crop-livestock farm and a specialised livestock farm), could best adapt to Agenda 2000.According to the model, for both of the farms studied, the economic impact of Agenda 2000 is relatively low, albeit negative. The adaptation of the system when possible does not lead to a significant increase in the gross margin of this farms. Agenda 2000 did not encourage farmers to extensify their farming system. On the other hand, this CAP reform discourages them from intensifying.     

Application of a simulation model for assessing integration of smallholder shifting cultivation and sheep production in Yucatán, Mexico

Simulation models are effective tools to examine interactions between livestock, cropping systems, households, and natural resources. Our study objective was to use an integrated livestock and crop model to assess the outcomes from selected suites of management decisions observed in smallholder sheep-cropping systems of Yucatán, Mexico. The scenarios contrasted specialized systems versus mixed farming, and evaluated the outcomes of increased crop-livestock integration. Mixed enterprise scenarios involving sheep provided more income than specialized enterprises, and capitalized on a lower price of on-farm maize grain, efficient utilization of surplus labor, and availability of common land. Labor and management income was greatest for the unintegrated and partially integrated crop and livestock scenarios. It was more profitable for producers to sell excess grain and maize stover, and use common land to feed the livestock, suggesting that increased integration does not always result in improved outcomes. The results are consistent with a system not yet pushed to the point where integration is inevitable. For all sets of scenarios, the model structure was able to accommodate subtle management differences to produce appropriate biophysical, labor, and economic outcomes. We conclude there is potential to use similar model development methods to describe other crop-livestock systems, thus providing tools for learning, scenario analysis, and impact assessment.     

Communicating complexity: Integrated assessment of trade-offs concerning soil fertility management within African farming systems to support innovation and development

African farming systems are highly heterogeneous: between agroecological and socioeconomic environments, in the wide variability in farmers’ resource endowments and in farm management. This means that single solutions (or ‘silver bullets’) for improving farm productivity do not exist. Yet to date few approaches to understand constraints and explore options for change have tackled the bewildering complexity of African farming systems. In this paper we describe the Nutrient Use in Animal and Cropping systems - Efficiencies and Scales (NUANCES) framework. NUANCES offers a structured approach to unravel and understand the complexity of African farming to identify what we term ‘best-fit’ technologies - technologies targeted to specific types of farmers and to specific niches within their farms. The NUANCES framework is not ‘just another computer model’! We combine the tools of systems analysis and experimentation, detailed field observations and surveys, incorporate expert knowledge (local knowledge and results of research), generate databases, and apply simulation models to analyse performance of farms, and the impacts of introducing new technologies. We have analysed and described complexity of farming systems, their external drivers and some of the mechanisms that result in (in)efficient use of scarce resources. Studying sites across sub-Saharan Africa has provided insights in the trajectories of change in farming systems in response to population growth, economic conditions and climate variability (cycles of drier and wetter years) and climate change. In regions where human population is dense and land scarce, farm typologies have proven useful to target technologies between farmers of different production objectives and resource endowment (notably in terms of land, labour and capacity for investment). In such regions we could categorise types of fields on the basis of their responsiveness to soil improving technologies along soil fertility gradients, relying on local indicators to differentiate those that may be managed through ‘maintenance fertilization’ from fields that are highly-responsive to fertilizers and fields that require rehabilitation before yields can improved. Where human population pressure on the land is less intense, farm and field types are harder to discern, without clear patterns. Nutrient cycling through livestock is in principle not efficient for increasing food production due to increased nutrient losses, but is attractive for farmers due to the multiple functions of livestock. We identified trade-offs between income generation, soil conservation and community agreements through optimising concurrent objectives at farm and village levels. These examples show that future analyses must focus at farm and farming system level and not at the level of individual fields to achieve appropriate targeting of technologies - both between locations and between farms at any given location. The approach for integrated assessment described here can be used ex ante to explore the potential of best-fit technologies and the ways they can be best combined at farm level. The dynamic and integrated nature of the framework allows the impact of changes in external drivers such as climate change or development policy to be analysed. Fundamental questions for integrated analysis relate to the site-specific knowledge and the simplification of processes required to integrate and move from one level to the next.     

我国南方山平塘建设管理存在的问题及对策——以湖南省衡阳市为例

山平塘是我国南方重要的农业水利基础设施,承担着防洪抗旱、农民饮水、水产养殖、农村环境用水等多种功能。衡阳市山平塘建设存在着总量不足、分布不均,管理不善,淤积严重,塘坝病险情况突出等诸多问题,为此应加大投入,整修与兴建山平塘,同时应积极推广机械化清淤,完善管理机制,实现山平塘的现代化管理。     

单片机技术在畜禽舍环境控制中的应用

畜禽养殖中,畜禽舍的环境对畜禽的健康生长、生产性能有重要的影响.为此,介绍了畜禽养殖环境控制的现状,阐述了基于单片机技术的畜禽养殖环境控制系统的原理和构成,介绍和分析了单片机技术在畜禽养殖环境控制中的应用情况,并结合国内外的发展现状,对以单片机为代表的自动控制技术在养殖环境监测控制方面的应用前景进行了分析.     

农业机械化、规模经营与农民增收——基于江苏省种植类家庭农场的抽样调查证据

在共同富裕和农业现代化背景下,探讨农业机械化对规模经营农户收入的影响有重要现实意义。基于江苏省433个种植类家庭农场的抽样调查数据,用OLS模型和分位数回归模型在微观层面实证分析二者的关系和作用机制。研究结果表明：农业机械化显著促进了家庭农场增收,且对不同收入群体的增收效果存在差异,农业机械化对中、低收入家庭农场的增收作用更大,从而有利于缩小收入差距;农业机械化主要通过提高家庭农场的农业收入而提高其总收入,从而有利于家庭农场的专业化经营;对于种植作物类型不同的家庭农场,农业机械化对其收入的影响存在异质性,农业机械化显著促进种植纯粮食作物的家庭农场增收,而对种植纯经济作物的家庭农场增收效果不显著;农业机械化通过提高家庭农场的经营规模,进而提高其农业收入和总收入。为促进农民增收、实现共同富裕,建议对农户的农机购置给予更多样化的政策支持,发展农机社会化服务,推动土地经营权有序流转,并进一步为家庭农场的适度规模经营提供制度保障。     

Multiple use of water and water productivity of communal small dams in the Limpopo Basin, Zimbabwe

The history of dam construction in Zimbabwe dates back to the 1920s and since then over 7,000 small dams have been constructed countrywide. Small dams are multipurpose structures used for improving rural livelihoods. The multipurpose nature of these dams has largely gone unquantified in terms of importance of the uses to the community and influence of management practises. The current study made use of a questionnaire among small dam users, key informant interviews, secondary data and observation on four communal dams in the Limpopo basin to establish the uses, volume of water abstracted and water productivity for some uses and the interrelationship between various organisations and the community in the management of small dams. Uses on all dams in order of importance were livestock watering, domestic use, irrigation, fishing, brick making, and collection of reeds used for roofing. Livestock consume on average over 70% of water for consumptive uses. Water productivity in terms of yield per volume unit of water used ranged from 0.025 kg m^?3 for vegetables to 7,575 kg m^?3 for bricks, and monetary values per volume unit of water used were Z$ 389,434 m^?3 for brick making and Z$ 1,874 m^?3 for irrigation. Traditional leadership and the community are pivotal in the management of the small dams, with some organisations giving technical, financial and input assistance. The management and conservation of small dams needs to be well coordinated between the communities, NGOs and government if the full benefits of these national resources are to be realised in the long term.     

Co-evolutionary scenarios of intensification and privatization of resource use in rural communities of south-western Niger

Agricultural production in the semi-arid agro-ecosystems of the Sahel centres on cereal staple crops and pastoralism with increasing crop–livestock integration. Animals mobilize soil fertility through manure production, graze crop by-products, and transfer nutrients from distant pastures to cropped areas. Yet in these systems various interacting factors, i.e. climate variability, poor soil fertility, poverty, and institutional constraints limit the capacity of agriculture to keep pace with the growing needs of an increasing human population.The major trends associated with population growth are (1) increasing area cropped at the expense of rangelands; (2) reduced availability of and access to good quality grazing resources, and (3) seasonal migration of labourers and transhumance of herds. These trends lead to co-evolution of farming systems towards increased privatisation of resource use.This study examines the implications of the development processes where farming systems co-evolve with their surroundings. It explores the impact of integrated management of livestock and crops in rural communities on both the livelihoods of differently endowed farms, and on the agro-ecosystem. Different scenarios explored the co-evolution of three sites situated in Western Niger with their environment. The sites differ in relative area cropped. The scenarios simulate the different future outcomes for varying socio-economic and biophysical criteria with either current or more intensive management.Explorative bio-economic models are used to compare a range of farm, livelihood and ecological indicators, and to reveal social and ecological trade-offs.If current agro-ecosystems and their environments co-evolve towards increased privatisation of grazing resources, then soil fertility is likely to deteriorate on the lands managed by the agro-pastoral groups. Soil fertility may improve on lands managed by the livestock-scarce farmers settled in villages, at the cost of declining farm incomes. The agro-pastoral groups are likely to resort to more distant pastures for feed. The village-based, livestock-endowed farms will resort to feeding on on-farm crop residues. Intensification, though associated with relative decreases in real incomes, will enhance food security in these new systems, except for the poorer settled farmers.     

Conversion to organic arable farming in The Netherlands: A dynamic linear programming analysis

Several studies show that organic farming is more profitable than conventional farming. However, in reality not many farmers convert to organic farming. Policy makers and farmers do not have clear insight into factors which hamper or stimulate the conversion to organic farming. The objective of this paper is to develop a dynamic linear programming model to analyse the effects of different limiting factors on the conversion process of farms over time. The model is developed for a typical arable farm in The Netherlands central clay region, and is based on two static liner programming models (conventional and organic). The objective of the model is to maximise the net present value over a 10-year planning horizon. The results of the analysis of a basic scenario show that conversion to organic farming is more profitable than staying conventional. In order to arrive at the actual profitable phase of organic farming, the farmer has to pass through the economically difficult 2-year conversion period. Sensitivity analysis shows that if depreciation is 25% higher than conventional fixed costs due to machinery made superfluous by conversion, conversion is less profitable than staying conventional. Also the availability of hired labour, which can be constrained in peak periods, has a strong effect on the cropping plan and the amount of area converted. Further analysis shows that a slight drop (2%) in organic prices lowers the labour income of the farmer and makes conversion less profitable than conventional farming. For farmers, a minimum labour income can be required to ‘survive’. The analysis shows that constraint on minimum labour income makes stepwise conversion the best way for farmers to overcome economic difficulties during conversion.     

Fisheries and water productivity in tropical river basins: Enhancing food security and livelihoods by managing water for fish

Faced with growing pressure upon freshwater resources, increased water productivity in agriculture is essential. Efforts to do so however need to consider the wider role of water in sustaining food production. This paper considers the importance of water management in sustaining fish production in tropical river basins, and the potential for enhancing food production and income to farmers by integrating fish production into some farming systems. Specific examples from selected river systems and irrigated farming systems in Africa and Asia are provided. These highlight the benefits of integrating the water requirements for fish into water allocation decisions. In some cases, these benefits can be realised without any reduction in the water available for other purposes, while in others, a trade-off needs to be considered. The nature of these trade-offs needs to be better understood for better decision making in water management.     

Assessing the impact of small dams on vector borne disease

The creation of vector habitats and the increased incidence of malaria, schistosomiasis and other diseases following the construction of surface water reservoirs in hot climates are well known. Little attempt has been made however to quantify the health impact of such water resource development projects. It has been suggested recently (Jewsbury & Imevbore 1988) that small dams may pose a greater disease risk than large structures. In view of the fact that small projects are attractive for a number of important reasons (Carter 1989), this conclusion gives rise to some concern.The paper reviews the ecology of the mosquito vectors and the snail intermediate hosts of the major water related diseases, malaria and schistosomiasis. As a result of this review the reservoir surface area from the shore to a depth of 2 m is proposed as a measure of Vector Habitat Potential (VHP). It is then shown how a simple spreadsheet model can be used to quantify the VHP for a proposed reservoir site at any chosen water-level or as a time-series. This reservoir model is demonstrated using data for a proposed dam in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Finally it is shown how the reservoir model must be combined with studies of vector biology and human behaviour in order to quantify the disease risk of any proposed dam site. The full model will enable various sites (large and small) to be compared, or, for a single site, the effects of different water management strategies to be evaluated.     

Profitability analysis of a farming system in Africa

This analysis questions the assumptions that in a traditional farming system food production is primarily for home consumption and is not competitive with export crop (cocoa) production. Government planners and policy makers must look at the total operation of a farmer to understand the role of food crop production. In the case of Ghana in 1981 they needed to seek ways to make cocoa production relatively more profitable if the goal of increased cocoa production from small farms were to succeed.The analysis indicates why farmers were devoting scarce resources, particularly labor, to producing food crops in Ghana in 1981. Food crops were the most profitable both (1) in 1981 and (2) when the flow of income from the life of the trees was considered. Clearly, the farmers were demonstrating that they were rational economic men.In order to get an idea of what price cocoa must bring for it to be as profitable as the food crop systems, the price of cocoa was varied with all other prices held constant. The price of cocoa would have had to be approximately ¢400 per load of 30 kilograms in 1981. The government purchase price was ¢120 per load. Nor surprisingly, cocoa production in Ghana was declining steadily.     

乌鲁木齐市土地认养研究 ——以耕读园为例

认养农业是共享经济的具体体现之一,依托于互联网、政府以及自身服务三者的有机结合。新疆乌鲁木齐市认养农业起步较晚,目前认养农业范围已扩展至果蔬、禽畜、植被等多种农业生产领域。耕读园自2020年运用于经营体制中,在自然环境、消费群体、消费观念等区位优势的加持下,相较于以往认养模式,其新颖生产方式和多样化娱乐项目备受消费者青睐。在消费者与经营者的共同经营下,实现耕读园员工增收、农业可持续发展。在发展过程中,易受消费者的认知、多样化需求、操作程序等因素影响,致使其存在宣传力度不足、科技生产力低下、网络融合度差等问题,进而就如何增强区域影响力、积极完善基础设施建设、与科技生产融合、培养高素质农业人才等方面为耕读园经营提出改善措施。     

Intensification of New Zealand beef farming systems

This study used whole-farm management, nutrient budgeting/greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and feed formulation computer tools to determine the production, environmental and financial implications of intensifying the beef production of typical New Zealand (NZ) sheep and beef farming systems. Two methods of intensification, feeding maize silage (MS) or applying nitrogen (N) fertiliser, were implemented on two farm types differing in the proportions of cultivatable land to hill land (25% vs. 75% hill). In addition, the consequences of intensification by incorporating a beef feedlot (FL) into each of the farm types were also examined.Feeding MS or applying N fertiliser substantially increased the amount of beef produced per ha. Intensifying production was also associated with increased total N leaching and GHG emissions although there were differences between the methods of intensification. Feeding MS resulted in lower environmental impacts than applying N even after taking into account the land to grow the maize for silage. Based on 2007/08 prices, typical NZ sheep and beef farms were making a financial loss and neither method of intensification increased profitability with the exception of small annual applications of N, especially to the 75% hill farm. These small annual additions of N fertiliser (<50 kg N/ha/yr applied in autumn and late winter) resulted in only small increases in annual N leaching (from 11 to 14 kg N/ha) and GHG emissions (from 3280 to 4000 kg CO₂ equivalents/ha). Limited N applications were particularly beneficial to 75% hill farms because small increases in winter carrying capacity resulted in relatively large increases in the utilisation of pasture growth during spring and summer than the 25% hill farms. Intensification by incorporating a beef feedlot reduced environmental emissions per kg of beef produced but considerably decreased profitability due to higher capital, depreciation and labour costs. The lower land-use capability farm type (75% hill) was able to intensify beef production to a proportionally greater extent than the higher land-use capability farm (25% hill) because of greater potential to increase pasture utilisation associated with a lower initial farming intensity and inherent constraints in the pattern of pasture supply.