scholarly journals Circular Approaches in Small-Scale Food Production

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Schneider ◽  
Vincent Rochell ◽  
Kay Plat ◽  
Alexander Jaworski
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Traditional Farming ◽  
Large Potential ◽  
Integrated Agriculture ◽  
The Future

Abstract Globally, food production is one of the main water and energy consumers. Having in view the growing population on global scale, a higher efficiency of food production is needed. Circular approaches offer a large potential to enhance the efficiency of food production and have a long tradition in the food production process of mankind. However, industrial farming has interdicted traditional cycle-closed farming approaches leading to a variety of environmental challenges. The contribution illustrates the basics of traditional gardening and farming approaches and describes how their characteristics are adapted in innovative modern farming systems like aquaponic, permaculture, urban farming, as well as recovered traditional farming systems. The approach to combine traditional farming methods with modern ones will provide multiple benefits in the future to ensure food security. There is to be underlined that such a strategy holds a substantial potential of circular flux management in small scale food production. This potential could be transposed to a larger scale also, particularly in terms of agroforestry and integrated plant and animal husbandry or integrated agriculture and aquaculture. In this way, small-scale food production holds a large potential for the future implementation of the water-energy-food security nexus.

The tension between global GHG emissions of animal source foods, sustainability, and food security in Latin America and the Caribbean.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (057) ◽  
Author(s):  
Constanza Gutiérrez-Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Livestock Sector ◽  
The Caribbean

Abstract The livestock sector faces an important challenge in the medium and long term since it must satisfy an increasing demand for animal products as a result of the increase in population and the world economy but safeguarding natural resources and at the same time minimizing the environmental contamination, especially the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributed to livestock husbandry. For Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), this becomes more relevant given the importance of the sector for the food security of rural communities, particularly for small-scale producers. In this manuscript, we address the main challenges of LAC in this context, from a global perspective that includes the demographic, economic, cultural, and environmental effects. The biggest global challenge for the LAC livestock sector for the coming decades is how to satisfy the growing human demand for animal protein in a sustainable way maintaining the food security of their communities. The efforts to achieve these goals require focusing on improving the efficiency of both animal husbandry and production systems. Therefore, it is necessary to implement technologies of sustainable intensification and it is urgent that those who make political decisions become aware of these issues.

scholarly journals Detection of Disease in Maize Plant Using Deep Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-88
Author(s):  
Dr.B. Rama Subba Reddy ◽  
Dr.G. Bindu Madhavi ◽  
C.H. Sri Lakshmi ◽  
Dr.K. Venkata Nagendra ◽  
Dr.R. Sridevi
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Automated Detection ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Maize Plant ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Traditional Farming ◽  
Cercospora Leaf Spot ◽  
Detection Model ◽  
Learning Techniques

Agriculture is vital to the Indian economy as over 17 percent of total GDP and employs more than 60 percent of the population relies on agriculture. This research focuses on plant diseases as they create a major threat to food production as well as for small-scale farmer’s livelihood. Expert workers are employed in traditional farming to visually evaluate row by row to identify plant diseases, which is a time-consuming, labor-intensive activity that is potentially error-prone because it is done by humans. The aim of this research is to develop an automated detection model that uses a combination of image processing and deep learning techniques (Faster R-CNN+ResNet50) to analyze real-time images and detect and classify the three common maize plant diseases: Common Rust, Cercospora Leaf Spot, and Northern Leaf Blight. The proposed system achieved 91% accuracy and successfully detects three maize diseases.

scholarly journals ‘We Are Poor, So We Keep Quiet’

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-57
Author(s):  
Anna Berglund
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Traditional Farming ◽  
Subsistence Farmers ◽  
Agricultural Modernization ◽  
The Future ◽  
State Projects ◽  
Modern Farming

Since 2006, the Rwandan government has been implementing policies to modernise the agricultural sector in a top-down manner. Small-scale subsistence farmers, making up the vast majority of Rwandans, are compelled to leave their traditional farming behind, form co-operatives and take up ‘modern’ farming techniques based on irrigation and state-approved crops. For my interlocutors in a Rwandan village, this policy resulted in reduced crop yields, difficulties in putting food on the table and a visible degradation of their lives. Yet people complied. They did not rise up in protest. They sought to meet the authorities’ demands. Although ‘government authoritarianism’ explains much of the lack of open resistance, Rwandans had their own ideas, values and practices which at times overlapped with oppressive state projects and ended up supporting the state’s agricultural modernization scheme. Here, compliance is part of how villagers wanted to project themselves to others and to themselves and how they pursued their aspirations for the future.

Enhancing crop-livestock systems for agricultural productivity, food security and reduced poverty in developing countries

2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 ◽  
pp. 258-258
Author(s):  
J. M. Lenne
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cash Income ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Livestock Sector ◽  
High Quality Protein ◽  
Livestock Products ◽  
Livestock Systems

Mixed farming systems, in which crops and livestock are integrated on the same farm, are the backbone of small-scale agriculture in most developing countries (Lenné and Thomas, 2006). Crops and livestock contribute in a diversity of ways to enhancing the livelihoods of the poor through provision of food, income, draught power and employment. Livestock are a major source of high-quality protein, minerals, vitamins and micro-nutrients for developing country populations and livestock-derived food items contribute significantly to agricultural GDP. Animals also play a major role in improving food security in such countries, because cash income obtained from the sale of animals is regularly used to buy non-livestock food items and inputs to farming. It is predicted that the demand for livestock products in developing countries will increase substantially over the next 25 years (Delgado et al., 1999). Failure to meet the challenge of further growth in the livestock sector in these regions is likely to result in the growing urban demand for livestock products being met by subsidized imports. This will be to the detriment of small-scale producers and national and regional economic growth.

The Challenges of Climate Change and Food Security in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): From Deep Understanding to Quick Actions

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 422-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahaf M. Ajaj ◽  
Suzan M. Shahin ◽  
Mohammed A. Salem
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
World Population ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future

Climate change and global warming became a real concern for global food security. The world population explosion is a critical factor that results in enormous emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), required to cover the growing demands of fresh water, food, and shelter. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a significant oil-producing country, which is included in the list of 55 countries that produce at least 55% of the world’s GHGs and thus involved in the top 30 countries over the world with emission deficits. At the same time, the UAE is located in an arid region of the world, with harsh environmental conditions. The sharp population increases and the massive growth in the urbanization are primary sources, lead to further stresses on the agricultural sector. Thus, the future of the food production industry in the country is a challenging situation. Consequently, the primary objective of this work is to shed light on the current concerns related to climate change and food security, through describing the implications of climate change on the food production sector of the UAE. Tailored solutions that can rescue the future of food security in the country are also highlighted.

A diary from the future

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stine Eikrem ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental And Health Effects ◽  
Change Resistance ◽  
Creative Potential ◽  
The Future ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Social Environmental

‘A diary from the future’ thinks through the positive social, environmental and health effects of a large-scale transition to plant-based diets. These include positive changes for food production, consumption and food security, and with that, also social justice, equity, education, poverty and the co-existence with other species. Even just the way the story thinks through and recognises these complex relationships and effects is an achievement and a novelty for physiotherapists in itself. Reaching well beyond this, however, this is also a story about how fear and darkness can turn into hope, optimism and curiosity for the future as a result of learning and thinking about these complex relationships. Finally, ‘A diary from the future’ is also a reflection on the possibilities of broadening our understanding of physiotherapy, of the need for change, resistance to it, and the creative potential that is released when these resistances are overcome.

Appropriate technologies for the future

1980 ◽  
Vol 209 (1174) ◽  
pp. 183-186 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cost Of Energy ◽  
Prophylactic Measures ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Third World

Crystal ball gazing is a hazardous occupation: the sharper the picture, the greater the possibility of error. In the future, appropriate technologies that will raise standards of health and diminish the prevalence of disease in the Third World must take cognizance of such factors as burgeoning population growth, impossibly high cost of energy sources, a widening gap between food requirements and food production, increasing urbanization, and inherent difficulties of control of disease vectors and water-borne diseases. The technologies that must be made available will be both large-scale and small-scale, low-cost and simple, improving life for the individual and the community, mediated by appropriately trained and adequately supervised polycompetent auxiliaries. The present reappraisal of health needs in the context of food (seeds, soils, irrigation, protection against loss of the harvested products) and of prevention of disease by appropriate prophylactic measures and its treatment, will necessitate hard thinking and greater cooperation between all concerned.

scholarly journals Modalities for Scaling up Implementation of Innovations and Best Practices for Resilient Agricultural Systems in Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evans Kituyi
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Implementation Of Innovations

Climate change is already impacting negatively on Africa’s agriculture and threatens to significantly reverse the gains realized in food security as the 1.5 degC warming threshold set by the Paris Agreement fast approaches. This is happening at a time when a wide range of tested and viable technologies, innovations and best practices exist with the potential to scale up climate resilient food production across the region’s diverse agricultural systems. A framework and modalities are proposed to support stakeholders in identifying and scaling up appropriate technologies, innovations and best practices for climate-resilient food production in different farming systems. These provide a much needed solution for Africa’s policymakers who are currently grappling with options to meet their citizens’ food security today even as they ponder over how they will feed their rapidly growing populations, expected to reach 2 billion by 2030 under worsened climate conditions.

scholarly journals The future of farming: Who will produce our food?

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken E. Giller ◽  
Thomas Delaune ◽  
João Vasco Silva ◽  
Katrien Descheemaeker ◽  
Gerrie van de Ven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food System ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
External Input ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Smallholder Farms ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future

AbstractAchieving SDG2 (zero hunger) in a situation of rapid global population growth requires a continued focus on food production. Farming not merely needs to sustainably produce nutritious diets, but should also provide livelihoods for farmers, while retaining natural ecosystems and services. Rather than focusing on production principles, this article explores the interrelations between farms and farming systems in the global food system. Evaluating farming systems around the world, we reveal a bewildering diversity. While family farms predominate, these range in size from less than 0.1 ha to more than 10,000 ha, and from hand hoe use to machine-based cultivation, enabling one person to plant more than 500 ha in a day. Yet, farming in different parts of the world is highly interdependent, not least because prices paid for farm produce are largely determined by global markets. Furthermore, the economic viability of farming is a problem, globally. We highlight trends in major regions of the world and explore possible trajectories for the future and ask: Who are the farmers of the future? Changing patterns of land ownership, rental and exchange mean that the concept of ‘what is a farm’ becomes increasingly fluid. Next to declining employment and rural depopulation, we also foresee more environmentally-friendly, less external input dependent, regionalised production systems. This may require the reversal of a global trend towards increasing specialisation to a recoupling of arable and livestock farming, not least for the resilience it provides. It might also require a slow-down or reversal of the widespread trend of scale enlargement in agriculture. Next to this trend of scale enlargement, small farms persist in Asia: consolidation of farms proceeds at a snail’s pace in South-east Asia and 70% of farms in India are ‘ultra-small’ – less than 0.05 ha. Also in Africa, where we find smallholder farms are much smaller than often assumed (< 1 ha), farming households are often food insecure. A raft of pro-poor policies and investments are needed to stimulate small-scale agriculture as part of a broader focus on rural development to address persistent poverty and hunger. Smallholder farms will remain an important source of food and income, and a social safety net in absence of alternative livelihood security. But with limited possibilities for smallholders to ‘step-up’, the agricultural engine of growth appears to be broken. Smallholder agriculture cannot deliver the rate of economic growth currently assumed by many policy initiatives in Africa.

Vegetable Production in Traditional Farming Systems in Nigeria

1992 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. O. Olasantan
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Present System ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Traditional Farming ◽  
Field Crops ◽  
Adequate Information ◽  
Improved Cultivars ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Most increases in vegetable production come from areas under traditional agriculture, and small-scale farmers seldom adopt any intercropping technology that excludes vegetables in Nigeria, yet less attention has been paid to these crops in mixed cropping studies, compared with field crops. Vegetables are of good nutritional value, and have considerable potential as income-generating crops and as a supplement to diets consisting mainly of carbohydrates. To realize this potential, however, adequate information about the present system of production is essential, as well as improved cultivars and better crop management.

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