A typology of agricultural production systems: Capability building trajectories of three Asian economies

Analysing the agricultural sectors of Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, this paper examines the capability‐building process that encourages productivity and innovation. It describes and explains the origins and subsequent evolution of three forms of agricultural production system, each generating different farming capabilities and distinct forms of competitive advantages. The paper argues that Taiwan's rice‐oriented agricultural production system stimulates both productivity and innovation, helping Taiwanese farmers raise their income level and living standards. The active deployment of state institutions and a malleable labour force, evidenced in the Malaysian palm oil industry, is effective in raising farming productivity but not the ability to innovate. Singapore's aquaculture‐oriented agricultural production system is somewhat useful in stimulating productivity and innovation. Yet the city‐state's inherent lack of space and open international trade regime have circumscribed the potential of its aquaculture industry. It now relies on the regional ethnic Chinese business networks to expand the aquaculture industry's knowledge base and its industrial commons. The principles discussed in this paper provide policy lessons, or at least some initial guidance, for other developing economies aspiring to modernise their agricultural sector.     

Positionality and protocol in field research: Undertaking community‐based investigations in Samoa

This article considers the experiences of a Samoan female geographer undertaking community‐based field research in her home country, and identifies some lessons for researchers working in similar circumstances. The paper suggests that ethical behaviour in research is ‘place‐specific’, and there is therefore a need to employ culturally sensitive and ‘location‐specific’ methodologies when undertaking community‐based research fieldwork. For the lead researcher, growing up in Samoa played a significant role in gaining an understanding of a set of robust and effective procedures to evaluate citizens' resilience to climatic and other environmental challenges. Fluency in everyday and more formal local languages, and awareness of local differences, each with multi‐layered connections to local communities, understanding cultural nuances and practising respect for va tapuia [sacred space or relationships] protocols, together facilitated the process of knowledge acquisition and helped to confirm the validity of the conclusions derived from the study.     

Revision of the list of aphelinids (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) in South Korea and analysis of their relevance as biological control agents for the EPPO region

An updated list of all 27 species of aphelinids (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) in nine genera that have been identified or reported from South Korea, along with a dichotomous taxonomic key to separate them, is provided. Ten of the species are included in the EPPO ‘Positive list of biological control agents widely used in the EPPO region’ (which corresponds to Appendix 1 – Commercially used biological control agents – and to Appendix 2 – Successfully introduced classical biological control agents – of EPPO Standard PM 6/3, 2016 version). Five of these species are successfully used in classical biological control. Other species could be used in the EPPO region, or elsewhere in the world, in the future.     

Considering the preferences for nitrogen forms by invasive plants: a case study from a hydroponic culture experiment

Although preference for NH₄⁺, NO₃^? or a combination of the two often differs among species, we know little about the responses of invasive plants to different inorganic N forms. Furthermore, many studies have suggested that an increase in N availability may facilitate further invasions. However, most of these studies predicted the positive feedback without considering the preference for N forms of invasive plants. Therefore, we cultivated four common invasive species (Mikania micrantha, Ipomoea cairica, Wedelia trilobata and Bidens pilosa) in South China with hydroponic media containing different forms of N (i.e. NO₃^?, NH₄NO₃ and NH₄⁺) at equimolar concentrations. Our results showed that the N forms significantly affected the growth, biomass allocation and physiological traits of the plants. All four invasive plants supplied with NO₃^? alone had better performance and greater allocation to root biomass than did plants that were supplied with NH₄⁺ alone. Moreover, the photosynthetic rate, pigment content and photosystem II activity of plants supplied with NO₃^? or NH₄NO₃ were significantly higher than those of plants supplied with NH₄⁺alone. The results suggested that all four invasive plants preferred NO₃^? rather than NH₄⁺, and changes in NO₃^? played an important role in furthering the invasions of these plants than did changes in NH₄⁺. Our results implied that decreasing NO₃^? may be a useful tool for controlling and managing invasive plants preferring NO₃^?. In addition, this study highlighted the importance of considering plant N form preference to better understand plant invasions.     

The impacts of aquaculture development on food security: lessons from Bangladesh

Fish contribute a significant amount of animal protein to the diets of people in Bangladesh, about 63% of which comes from aquatic animals. In Bangladesh, fish is mainly derived from two sources: capture and culture. Aquaculture has shown tremendous growth in the last two decades, exhibiting by about 10% average annual growth in production. Capture fisheries, although still the major source of supply of fish, have become static or are in decline due to over‐fishing and environmental degradation, and it is now believed that aquaculture has the greatest potential to meet the growing demand for fish from the increasing population. At present, aquaculture production accounts for about one‐third of the total fish production in Bangladesh. This paper examines the impact of an aquaculture development project in Bangladesh on food security, with particular emphasis on the poor. The analysis shows a positive impact of aquaculture development on employment, income and consumption. A number of implications for policy in areas that might strengthen these outcomes are discussed and recommendations are presented.     

Using genetic methods for analysis of fish meals and feeds employed in Greek mariculture

Large quantities of high protein fish meals are needed to sustain cultured species and thus the impact to marine ecosystem has been highly discussed. The aim of this study was to apply a PCR‐cloning methodology for a robust insight into the composition of commercial fish meals and feeds for farmed species of the Greek mariculture, assessing the risk posed by aquaculture to marine ecosystems but also the risk posed by commercial fish feeds to the increase in trophic level of species farmed in Greece. 89% of the sequences were identified to species level and only 11% to genus/family level. Overall, a total of 49 taxa were identified (44 fish species/taxon, five non‐fish species/taxon). Even though small pelagic fish like Engraulis sp. were the main portion, a wide range of species constituted the fish meals and feeds. Plant and animal species were also detected as an alternative protein source. Feed products employed in Greek mariculture still contain large portions of fish meals which increase the mean trophic level of farmed species causing a farming up trend. The results emphasize that such molecular methodologies are needed to certify aquafeeds allowing fish feed producers to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable aquaculture.