Socio-cultural processes behind the differential distribution of organic farming in Denmark: a case study

Conversion to organic farming, along with its associated driving forces and barriers, has been explored intensively over the past decade, while studies on the distribution and impacts of local socio-cultural processes in relation to conversion to and diffusion of organic farming have been scarce. The concentration of organic farms in Denmark differs according to county and, moreover, there appears to be large within-county variation in the density of organic farms. The present study explores local aspects of conversion to organic farming and the factors that may help explain variation in density and concentration of organic farms within smaller areas. The study is based on nine qualitative interviews with organic farmers from two neighboring areas, referred to as “mainland” and “island,” respectively. Three farms were situated in the high-density area (mainland) and the remaining six in the low-density area (island). Furthermore, five advisors with connections to the area provided information with regard to their local experience and perceptions. Three main, and to some extent interacting, issues are discussed. The first is the price of land related to local scarcity of land, in the context of structural development and the effects of agricultural policies. The second is distance – both physical and social. Cooperation and exchange of experience among organic farmers was frequent on the mainland side, while isolation and lack of interaction was more common for the island farmers. Third, the role of the agricultural advisory service and the existence of champion farmers are important: pioneer farmers on the mainland have been supported by committed agricultural advisors, while lack of organic champion farmers and low priority granted to organic farming among agricultural advisors were found on the island. Marie-Louise Risgaard has an MSc within the field of organic agriculture. Her research interests are organic farming and rural development with the present occupation as innovative partner at a small-scale organic enterprise. In this capacity she is responsible for creating links between the organic enterprise, the gastronomic sector and organic markets, locally as well as nationally. Pia Frederiksen, PhD, is a geographer and senior scientist with research skills in rural development, sustainability, landscape analysis, and agri-environmental indicators. Pernille Kaltoft, PhD, is an environmental sociologist and senior scientist whose work focuses on organic farming and farmers’ perceptions. Dr. Kaltoft’s general research interests include values, perceptions, and views of nature related to agricultural and environmental issues.     

Economic potential of rice precision farming in malaysia: the case study of Felcra Seberang Perak

Many attempts/efforts have been made to cope with the fluctuated production performance in rice production in Malaysia. There is a crucial need in technological advancement to tackle the issue of environmental variability, decreasing productivity and the rising cost in rice cultivation. The use of variable rate technology has increased rice yield through efficient resource allocation. Notwithstanding, an evaluation of the feasibility of this technology is required in terms of economic and intangible benefits. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the potential benefits that could come out of the use of precision agriculture technologies in rice cultivation. A precision farming technology package was developed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute. It consists of two components, namely a variable rate seed application system and a variable rate fertilizer application system. The study estimated the monetary benefits gained from the use of these two technology components at Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority Seberang Perak. The study also compared the performance of the technology package against the conventional practice. The Cost–Benefit Analysis exercise has been implemented to show the benefits and implications comprised in the study. It was found that there is an additional net income per hectare in between Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 1109 to MYR 1333 due to the reduction in the production cost if the precision farming technology packages were adopted. The advancement in two cultivation stages showed a positive impact monetarily for both small-scale and large-scale farmers in the study. However, many challenges are to be faced for the technologies implementation since the existing rice cultivation recommended practices throughout all stages even yet to be practiced and taken seriously.

     

Transitions to agroecological farming systems in the Mississippi River Basin: toward an integrated socioecological analysis

Industrial agriculture has extensive environmental and social costs, and efforts to create alternative farming systems are widespread if not yet widely successful. This study explored how a set of grain farmers and rotational graziers in Iowa transitioned to agroecological management practices. Our focus on the resources and strategies that farmers mobilized to develop opportunities for, and overcome barriers to, transitioning to alternative practices allows us to go beyond the existing literature focused on why farmers transition. We attend to both the ecological and socioeconomic context of innovation by comparing processes of technical change in two contrasting regions of Iowa. Farmers cultivated farm-level biodiversity and enterprise diversity, developed new cognitive and psychological competencies, and overcame barriers to innovation by developing external network linkages with peers, knowledge organizations, and federal policies. Our research provides insights into how biophysical, cognitive, structural and market considerations can be integrated into research efforts that aim to make sense of innovation toward sustainable agriculture.     

Shade adaptive response and yield analysis of different soybean genotypes in relay intercropping systems

Soybean is one of the major oil seed crops,which is usually intercropped with other crops to increase soybean production area and yield.However,soybean is highly sensitive to shading.It is unclear if soybean morphology responds to shading(i.e.,shade tolerance or avoidance)and which features may be suitable as screening materials in relay strip intercropping.Therefore,in this study,various agronomic characteristics of different soybean genotypes were analyzed under relay intercropping conditions.The soybean materials used in this study exhibited genetic diversity,and the coefficient of variations of the agronomic parameters ranged from 13.84 to 72.08%during the shade period and from 6.44 to 52.49%during the maturity period.The ratios of shading to full irradiance in stem mass fraction(SMF)were almost greater than 1,whereas opposite results were found in the leaves.Compared with full irradiance,the average stem length(SL),leaf area ratio(LAR)and specific leaf area(SLA)for the two years(2013 and 2014)increased by 0.78,0.47 and 0.65 under shady conditions,respectively.However,the stem diameter(SD),total biomass(TB),leaf area(LA),number of nodes(NN)on the main stem,and number of branches(BN)all decreased.During the shady period,the SL and SMF exhibited a significant negative correlation with yield,and the SD exhibited a significant positive correlation with yield.The correlation between the soybean yield and agronomic parameters during the mature period,except for SL,the first pod height(FPH),100-seed weight(100-SW),and reproductive growth period(RGP),were significant(P0.01),especially for seed weight per branch(SWB),pods per plant(PP),BN,and vegetative growth period(VGP).These results provide an insight into screening the shade tolerance of soybean varieties and can be useful in targeted breeding programs of relay intercropped soybeans.     

Channelization: a case study

Channelization of the Blackwater River in Johnson County, Missouri, 60 years ago nearly doubled the gradient, which caused an increase in the rate of erosion for the river and its tributaries. Since the present channel is much wider and deeper than it was when newly dredged, there have been bridge repairs and loss of farmland. Downstream reduction in channel capacity due to termination of dredging has caused channel sedimentation and increased flooding.     

Core knowledge of geometry in an Amazonian indigene group

Does geometry constitute a core set of intuitions present in all humans, regardless of their language or schooling? We used two nonverbal tests to probe the conceptual primitives of geometry in the Mundurukú, an isolated Amazonian indigene group. Mundurukú children and adults spontaneously made use of basic geometric concepts such as points, lines, parallelism, or right angles to detect intruders in simple pictures, and they used distance, angle, and sense relationships in geometrical maps to locate hidden objects. Our results provide evidence for geometrical intuitions in the absence of schooling, experience with graphic symbols or maps, or a rich language of geometrical terms.     

Sex ratio: adaptive response to population fluctuations in pandalid shrimp

Pandalus jordani is a protandrous (sequential) hermaphrodite. Populations show large year-to-year variation in age composition. In response to this variation, individuals alter the age at which they change sex. This response is predicted by a genetic model that assumes that an individual shrimp maximizes its genetic contribution to the next generation.     

Change in argonne national laboratory: a case study

Despite traditional opposition to change within an institution and the known reluctance of an "old guard" to accept new managerial policies and techniques, the reactions suggested in this study go well beyond the level of a basic resistance to change. The response, indeed, drawn from a random sampling of Laboratory scientific and engineering personnel, comes close to what Philip Handler has recently described as a run on the scientific bank in a period of depression (1, p. 146). It appears that Argonne's apprehension stems less from the financial cuts that have reduced staff and diminished programs by an annual 10 percent across the last 3 fiscal years than from the administrative and conceptual changes that have stamped the institution since 1966. Administratively, the advent of the AUA has not forged a sense of collaborative effort implicit in the founding negotiations or contributed noticeably to increasing standards of excellence at Argonne. The AUA has, in fact, yet to exercise the constructive powers vested in them by the contract of reviewing and formulating long-term policy on the research and reactor side. Additionally, the University of Chicago, once the single operator, appears to have forfeited some of the trust and understanding that characterized the Laboratory's attitude to it in former years. In a period of complex and sensitive management the present directorate at Argonne is seriously dissociated from a responsible spectrum of opinion within the Laboratory. The crux of discontent among the creative scientific and engineering community appears to lie in a developed sense of being overadministered. In contrast to earlier periods, Argonne's professional staff feels a critical need for a voice in the formulation of Laboratory programs and policy. The Argonne senate could supply this mechanism. Slow to rally, their present concern springs from a firm conviction that the Laboratory is "withering on the vine." By contrast, the Laboratory director Powers, William B. Cannon, who is vice president of programs and projects of the University of Chicago, and a small selection of staff members believe that the Laboratory is going through a natural and inevitable process of change consonant with altered missions and objectives in an atomic energy laboratory. The general mood, however, demonstrates the Jeffersonian insight, as relevant in science as in politics, that only democratic governance provides salutary checks and balances when things go wrong. The point deserves close scrutiny when Argonne's tripartite contract comes up for renegotiation in October 1971. Fundamentally Argonne's relations with its sponsoring agency remain at the center of its progress and future plans. Despite administrative and management changes, there is little doubt that he who pays the piper calls the tune. In common with other federal contract research and development adjuncts, Argonne has undoubtedly undergone tightening and winnowing away of flexibility in the past 6 years. In the nuclear reactor program the consequences have been strongly felt, and stringent national budgets have widened the tendency in the research domain. The impact of these changes and of AEC's attitude to basic research raise large questions for the future of the national laboratories. Few doubt that these "major national assets," with their outstanding scientific and technical personnel and equipment, fulfill a unique function and are here to stay, though their missions may undergo some change; the question of their most effective direction and handling, however, remains crucial for those concerned with priorities and decision-making for science. A recent review of 40 national federal adjuncts (30,31) has indicated that the primary sponsoring agency obtains better performance from a center that has a relatively high degree of independence than from one that is tightly controlled. The point is confirmed at Argonne where the present tendency (particularly on the nuclear reactor front) to use creative scientists as skilled technicians performing tasks specified in detail from Washington threatens to deprive the nation of the benefit of their scientific creativity and of their objective review and evaluation of AEC's programs. "The case for independence," Alan Pifer, president of Carnegie Corporation, has summed up the matter cogently, "rests on the simple proposition that for government to reap the real benefits that these organizations offer, they must be genuinely independent. If they are anything less than this, their effectiveness will be compromised. Among the benefits, as we have seen, can be a special capacity for experimentation, objectivity, the ability to recruit specially trained or talented personnel, flexibility, economy, and efficiency. Each of these benefits is a direct function of the quality of the management of these organizations, and this in turn is a function of the degree of independence which management is accorded. In short, able men know that freedom of action is essential to their own highest performance, and they will demand it. Having won it, they will resist all attempts at government to erode it" (30).     

Redemptive communities: Indigenous knowledge,colonist farming systems,and conservation of tropical forests

This essay critically examines the emerging view among some ethnologists that replicable models of sustainable management of tropical forests may be found within the knowledge systems of contemporary indigenous peoples. As idealized epistemological types, several characteristics distinguishing “indigenous” from “modern” knowledge systems are described. Two culturally distinctive land use systems in Latin America are compared, one developed by an indigenous group, the Huastec Maya, and the other characteristic of colonist farms in Rondonia, Brazil. While each of these systems reflects a different cultural-historical tradition, I argue that the process of knowledge formation and cultural adaptation is coevolutionary and continuous in both cases. The very concept of “indigenous” as a discrete analytic category is questioned; indigenicity alone cannot explain local adaptation of farming systems. Rather than dichotomize indigenous and colonist knowledge as inherently different categories, differences in land use patterns between such social groups may be more accurately viewed as reflecting different points on a single epistemological continuum.     

Female farmers in the Rwandan farming system: A study of the ruhengeri prefecture

The purpose of this paper has been to focus on two aspects of development—agricultural production in the small central African country of Rwanda, and the role of 1890 Land-Grant institutions in international development. While a discussion of female farmers in the Ruhengeri Prefecture of Rwanda represents the primary focus of this paper, the second focus is the means by which this and other such research is possible. The findings from the Rwandan study are in keeping with those found in other African countries, in that a struggle exists to produce sufficient quantities of food to sustain an ever increasing population. For Rwanda, constraints to production include not only severe over-population, but environmental conditions and gender bias as well. In arriving at potential solutions to these problems, this paper takes the position that one viable means of addressing the problem is to focus development efforts on the female farmer. Traditional thinking and behavior have excluded women from the planning and implementation of development activities, focussing instead on often less productive males. However, a survey of female farmers (N=192) in the Ruhengeri region of Rwanda, provides insight into the plight of agriculture from the female perspective. As a result, recommendations are offered for improving agricultural production that aim at better utilizing existing high levels of labor contributed by the female farmer. Recommendations include 1) encouraging families to limit the size of their family through family planning, 2) implementing soil erosion techniques that consider conditions specific to Rwanda, and feasible for female application, and 3) directing assistance to women away from household related activities to those related to farming.     

中国稻鱼综合种养的发展与展望

中国是最早开展稻田养鱼的国家。随着国家的重视和大力发展推广,稻鱼综合种养产业得到了迅速发展,在中国生态循环农业经济中占有较大比例。本文通过概述稻鱼综合种养的原理及关键技术、主要模式、相关研究现状和存在的问题,从经济、社会、生态效益3方面阐述了稻鱼综合种养的贡献,通过对比分析,提出了深入开展基础理论研究,加强技术研发、创新和普及,推进稻鱼综合种养的产业化和规模化水平,加强稻鱼产品品牌建设,加快培育新型经营主体等未来发展建议,以期为稻鱼综合种养产业的绿色健康高质量发展提供科学参考。     

Socioeconomic impact of widespread adoption of precision farming and controlled traffic systems in Denmark

In this study we assess the economic profitability of implementing various precision farming (PF) technologies and controlled traffic farming (CTF) on 4 main crops in Denmark. The study provides insight into technological requirements, and identifies related costs and benefits to farmers and the Danish society as a whole. At the farm level, the findings from the study indicate that an implementation of CTF systems may have a significant impact on fuel savings due to a reduced overlap with auto guidance systems and easier movement with tractors and tools in the field. The PF site-specific weed management approach may facilitate large savings in the use of herbicides. At the national level, the results clearly show that the benefits to the Danish economy of adopting this new technology is positive with increased income to farmers and a reduction in fuel consumption and pesticides/herbicides use. The obtained results reflect the long term economic effect of implementing new production methods in Denmark where soil fertility increases over time due to reduced traffic increasing yields. Over all, the Danish GDP is estimated to increase by 34?million?? due to the implementation of PF and CTF on larger farms in Denmark. The results also clearly show that adoption of PF and CTF farming systems will benefit the environment. The agricultural sectors input of environmental harmful inputs are reduced in all scenarios presented in this paper. The adoption of PF and CTF systems should thus be of interest to politicians since it clearly facilitates aims of environmental policies currently under implementation by the Danish government.     

中国稻鱼综合种养的发展与展望

中国是最早开展稻田养鱼的国家.随着国家的重视和大力发展推广,稻鱼综合种养产业得到了迅速发展,在中国生态循环农业经济中占有较大比例.本文通过概述稻鱼综合种养的原理及关键技术、主要模式、相关研究现状和存在的问题,从经济、社会、生态效益3方面阐述了稻鱼综合种养的贡献,通过对比分析,提出了深入开展基础理论研究,加强技术研发、创新和普及,推进稻鱼综合种养的产业化和规模化水平,加强稻鱼产品品牌建设,加快培育新型经营主体等未来发展建议,以期为稻鱼综合种养产业的绿色健康高质量发展提供科学参考.     

Mapping the spatial and temporal stability of production in mixed farming systems: an index that integrates crop and pasture productivity to assist in the management of variability

Precision Agriculture - While precision agriculture (PA) technologies are widely used in cropping systems, these technologies have received less attention in mixed farming systems. Little is known...     

河南省麦田新型农作制战略优先序的评价研究

为对河南省麦田农作制的战略优先序进行评价,系统分析了自然资源利用、科技发展、农业集约化水平、粮食安全、政策支持等5个方面对河南省农作物优先序的影响,采用投影寻踪综合评价法进行研究.分析结果显示,由于河南省18个地市的地理生态不同,其作物种植的优先序也各不相同.就河南省总体而言,粮食作物的优先序依次是小麦、玉米、水稻、甘薯、大豆、大麦、谷子、绿豆和高粱,油料经济作物的优先序依次为:蔬菜、花生、棉花、油菜、麻类、烟草和芝麻.该评价结果可为优化可持续发展的河南农作制提供科学依据.     

虚拟水理论在绿洲灌区农作制多目标评价中的应用——以武威市凉州区为例

根据虚拟水理论,采用多目标综合决策的方法,以武威市凉州区的农作制为研究对象,以提高区域农作制的经济效益、生产效益、生态效益为目标,选择用工量、净收益、农产品单位质量虚拟水含量、单位水价值等8个评价指标,对现有不同农作模式进行优先排序.结果表明:凉州区农作模式的优势度依次为葡萄＞制种玉米＞蔬菜＞玉米＞啤酒大麦＞小麦＞薯类...     

有机与常规种植模式下菜地氮、磷的淋溶特征

为了探究有机、常规2种种植模式下菜地土壤养分的淋溶特征,采用渗漏计装置收集地下1 m深的淋溶水,通过2018年、2019年连续2年的田间试验,比较等氮投入条件下有机、常规种植菜地中淋溶水氮和磷质量浓度、淋溶量及化学需氧量(COD).结果表明,在有机种植模式下,2018年、2019年的总氮淋溶量分别比常规种植模式降低了4...     

Potential and observed food flows in a Chinese city: a case study of Tianjin

This study examines the food flow in Tianjin, divided into three areas (urban, suburban, and rural), as a case study to gain a better understanding of local and regional food flows and ecosystem performance. The study has the following objectives: (1) to evaluate the capacity for self-sufficiency within Tianjin’s administrative boundary by estimating a self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) using statistical data at both the city and local scales, (2) to estimate food flow at the city scale from field surveys of the local markets and statistics provided by the local government, and (3) to examine the real flows of the two primary types of arable crops (cereal grains and vegetables) at the local level by conducting semi-structured household interviews. The results of this study show that Tianjin has experienced a rapid increase of self-sufficiency capacity since the 1980s, and it appears to have the capacity to support the citizens within its borders. Rural areas have had a surplus in all of the studied food categories since the 1980s, and suburban areas have a history of high estimated SSR for vegetables, poultry, and fish. However, a low degree of locally sourced product flow was observed in this study. Most of the local cereal crops were consumed in the agricultural production areas, but 70?% of the vegetables produced in the rural areas flowed outside of Tianjin and did not support Tianjin local consumption. To reduce its vulnerability to food security issues and to promote a more environmentally desirable local food system, Tianjin needs to recognize the high productivity of its local ecosystem and reduce its dependence on other remote ecosystems for its food needs. A stronger relationship between urban and rural areas should also be established.