DRIVERS FOR EFFICIENT WATER USE IN AGRICULTURE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF FAMILY FARMS IN ALMERÍA, SPAIN

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAURA PIEDRA-MUÑOZ ◽  
LAURA L. VEGA-LÓPEZ ◽  
EMILIO GALDEANO-GÓMEZ ◽  
JOSÉ A. ZEPEDA-ZEPEDA

SUMMARYThis paper aims to determine the influence of family farming features on efficient use of water. The analysis focusses on a random sample of family farms in the province of Almería, southeast Spain. A hierarchical regression model was conducted to determine how the water efficiency is related to environmental awareness and certain characteristics of farmers, decision-makers and the family farm itself. The results show that these family farms strive to be more efficient in their use of water when they are going to be inherited, when there are younger decision-makers who have received a better education, and also when women are involved. Moreover, this efficiency is positively related to more ecological production and to the farmer's habitual behaviour with respect to water economy. The study provides evidence regarding the influences of socio-economic and environmental features of family farming on water use efficiency that may prove useful for other analyses and policy makers on water management in agriculture.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anatoly Kosobryukhov ◽  
Evgeniya Markovskaya ◽  
Liudmila Sergienko

CO2 gas exchange, transpiration, stomatal conductance, water use efficiency and chlorophyll content were investigated at the leaves of three species of the family Plantaginaceae: Plantago maritima L., Plantago subpolaris Andrejev and Plantago schrenkii C.Koch under natural conditions of the habitat on high and low tide areas of the White Sea’ coasts. The high rate of photosynthesis at saturating CO2 (PNmax) at P. maritima (85.0±4.8 μmol m-2 s-1), as compared to P. subpolaris and P. schrenkii (45.2± 7.5 and 36.9±3.2 μmol m-2 s-1) was caused by high activity of ribulose-1,5-bisphoshate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO), the rate of electron transport, the rate of triose phosphate utilization, TPU), as well as high efficiency of carboxylation. The rates of photosynthesis at ambient concentration of CO2 (PN) at P. maritima were 1.4 and 1.7 times higher compared to P. subpolaris and P. schrenkii. Plants of P. schrenkii are characterized by lower values of stomatal conductance and water use efficiency compared to P. maritima and P. subpolaris. In natural habitat, the limiting factor of CO2 assimilation P. subpolaris is the rate of photosynthetic electron transport, the activity of RuBPCO in P. schrenkii.


1995 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colette Dumas ◽  
Jean Pierre Dupuis ◽  
Francine Richer ◽  
Louise St.-Cyr

The survival of family farms is threatened by rapid change, intense international competition, and a resulting reduction of interest in perpetuating the family farm. What influences the next generation to pursue family farming, in spite of the difficulties? Do these factors differ between men and women? An in-depth, descriptive, and exploratory study of thirty next generation family farm members indicates specific factors critical to their decision to pursue the family farm succession. The findings are depicted in a framework that portrays these factors of influence and the effect they have on the succession decision of the next generation. Implications for practice and future research are also presented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-478
Author(s):  
Kittisak Jermsittiparsert ◽  
Komson Sommanawat

Purpose: The prime objective of the current study is investigating the nexus between organizational strategists, supply chain capabilities and organizational performance in Indonesia. In particular, the study is interested in examining the direct relationship between Zakat collection strategy of National Zakat Agency, Supply chain capability of National Zakat Agency Indonesia and the performance of National Zakat Agency Indonesia. Results: In addition to that the current study is also interested in examining the moderating role Supply chain capability of National Zakat Agency Indonesia the relationship between Zakat collection strategy of National Zakat Agency Indonesia and the performance of National Zakat Agency Indonesia. The study is among the pioneering studies on the issue of supply chain in zakat management and on the performance of specialized firms in zakat collection industry. The study has employed hierarchical regression model to achieve the research objective of the current study. Apparently, several non-traditional and different supply chain management strategies have been witnessed since the past few years. These were developed for the effective utilization of resources and to improve cost savings, which would result in the competitive as well efficient flow of goods and services. The current study which in author knowledge is among few pioneering studies on this issue, will be helpful for supply chain experts, operation managers, academicians, researchers and other policy makers in formulating policies.


Soil Research ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 343 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Gunawardena ◽  
D. McGarry ◽  
J. B. Robinson ◽  
D. M. Silburn

Rising groundwater and salinity are potential risks across irrigated agricultural landscapes. Water is scarce in many areas that will benefit from efficient water use. Excessive deep drainage (DD, mm) beneath irrigated crops is undesirable because it may cause salinity and decrease water-use efficiency. Nine irrigated, commercial cotton fields (eight furrow-irrigated and one spray, lateral-move irrigated) were selected in the upper Murray–Darling Basin, on Vertosols with a wide range of clay contents (38–75%). The lysimeters used, described as ‘confined, undisturbed, constant tension, non-weighing’, were installed to capture water passing 1.5 m depth at three in-field positions: (i) near the head ditch, (ii) mid-way between head and tail ditches, and (iii) close to the tail ditch. At two sites, infiltration along the length of the field was monitored in two seasons using furrow advance-SIRMOD methods. Seasonal DD values of up to 235 mm (2.4 ML/ha.season) were measured (range 1–235 mm), equivalent to 27% of the irrigation applied at that location in that season. Individual DD events >90 mm accounted for 15 of 66 measured values from 26 furrow irrigations. DD varied strongly along the length of each field, with DD commonly reducing from the head ditch to the tail ditch. SIRMOD simulation mirrored this trend, with large decreases in infiltration amounts from head to tail. Greater DD at head locations was attributed to long periods of inundation, especially early in the season when siphons (in-flows) were allowed to run for up to 24 h. Most of the DD occurred during pre-irrigation and the first two or three in-crop irrigations. Inter-season variation in DD was large; limited water supply in drought years led to fewer irrigations with smaller volumes, resulting in little or no DD. The DD under lateral-move, spray irrigation was almost zero; only one irrigation event in 4 years resulted in DD. Control of DD under furrow irrigation can be achieved by changing irrigation management to lateral-move, spray irrigation, which minimises DD and greatly increases water-use efficiency with no yield (cotton) penalty. Across all of the lysimetry sites, high salinities of the DD leachate indicated that large amounts of salt were being mobilised. The fate and impacts of this mobilised and leached salt are uncertain.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinsheng Yang ◽  
Qianwei Zhuang ◽  
Guangdong Tian ◽  
Silin Wei

Family farm emerged as a new form of agricultural production organization in China in recent years. For the purpose of sustainable development, decision-makers, such as farm owners and policy makers, require the precise information of a family farm’s state of operation to adopt measures for management improvement and agricultural contamination reduction. Considering this, we established two evaluation systems for the measurement of family farms’ management and environmental performance. As demonstrated in several recent studies, data envelopment analysis (DEA) cross efficiency is a useful approach for evaluating and comparing the performance of decision-making units (DMUs). Regarding family farms’ performance evaluation issues, we modified the traditional average cross-efficiency method to be the ultimate comprehensive cross-efficiency approach with the integration of two statistical quantities based on the full consideration of family farms’ unique features, such as vulnerability and seasonality, resulting from the influence of natural and social factors. Our proposed approach presents more excellent characteristics compared with CCR efficiency and average cross efficiency. Several conclusions regarding the operation of China’s family farms are drawn: (i) there is weak positive correlation between family farms’ management and environmental performance; (ii) there is an increasing trend for both management and environmental efficiency, along with the augmentation of the utilized agricultural area of family farms, and management performance is therefore more significant; (iii) demand for timely technological instruction to improve family farms’ management efficiency is expressed by farm owners who are willing to expand; (iv) to improve family farms’ environmental performance, several measures—such as introducing biotechnology, providing subsidies, and environmental education for farmers—should be adopted.


Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leidy Casimiro Rodríguez ◽  
José Antonio Casimiro González

A number of factors in Cuba today contribute to the urgent need to develop family farming based on agroecological practices across the island. These factors include: soil deterioration, high external dependence for inputs and food, damaging effects of climate change, loss of farmer traditions, and the next generation’s disinterest in a farming lifestyle, coupled with the essential contribution that family farming makes to supplying food for the country, often in small spaces, together offer the real possibility of repairing the damage caused by conventional farming practices. Given this urgent need and possibility, it is important to identify and share successful experiences built on innovative practices. The study presented here aims to do just that by sharing the experiences of a farm representative of the cooperative sector in Cuba. This is a longitudinal study of the agroecological transition that occurred in one farm’s socio-ecological system between 1995 and 2015. In particular, the study evaluates the socio-ecological resilience of the family farm during three periods of transition, which are considerably different from one another given the strategies of the family and the design and management of the socio-ecological system. We define socio-ecological resilience as the capacity of agroecosystems to adaptively change in its socio-ecological structure and interactions in order to withstand and overcome disturbances, stress and change, and to maintain production levels in harmony with the culture, social organization, and satisfaction of the needs and capacity of ecosystems, in an ecologically possible and socially desirable context (Altieri et al., 2012; Casimiro Rodríguez, 2016; Koohafkan et al., 2011). We used the Evaluation Methodology of the Socio-ecological Resilience of family farms (MERS in its Spanish acronym) (Casimiro Rodríguez, 2016), based on the evolution of an array of indicators of efficiency and indexes of food, technological and energy sovereignty, as well as from the transformation process from conventional farming practices to agroecological practices. Based on the results of the study, we show a set of elements that address the need to transform Cuban agriculture by implementing an agroecological base, the importance of family farming, as well as aspects that can come into play in the socio-ecological resilience of other family farms in the country. Please refer to Supplementary Materials, Full text Spanish version of this article, for a full text Spanish version of this article.


Water Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genius Murwirapachena

Abstract Climate change, population growth and industrial activities continue to threaten water security, especially in the semi-arid regions. Demand management policies are essential in minimising the effects of acute water shortages. Such policies require information on household water consumption patterns and their behavioural practices. This study examines household water consumption behaviour and the adoption of water-efficient appliances in Johannesburg, South Africa. The study uses probit regression models to analyse survey data collected from 889 households during the period November 2017 to February 2018. Results show that while most households do not have water-efficient appliances installed in their homes, they do practise water-efficient behaviour. Older respondents as well as males and lower-income respondents are found to be more likely to practise efficient water-use behaviour. However, biographical variables do not generally influence the adoption of water-efficient appliances. These results are essential for policy-makers when formulating targeted water demand management policies. Thus, policy-makers should focus more on younger people, women and higher-income households when developing campaigns on efficient water-use behaviour.


Ekonomika APK ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 311 (9) ◽  
pp. 30-41
Author(s):  
Mykola Malik ◽  
Volodymyr Mamchur

The purpose of the article is to deepen the theoretical and methodological foundations of the creation and functioning of family farms in entrepreneurial activity and reveal their socio-economic orientation. Research methods. It is based on the concept of an active policy for the implementation of entrepreneurial potential in the countryside, the components of which are measures for the development of farms and family farms, including through the transformation mechanism of formalizing personal peasant farms into a market economy environment. In the process of research, the following scientific methods were used: dialectical scientific knowledge of processes and phenomena; monographic (analysis of scientific achievements of Ukrainian and foreign scientists, analysis of the stages of business development); graphic (to obtain a synthesized representation of the object of research, identify its components, establish causal relationships); empirical (based on a comprehensive assessment of the current state of the research object); comparative analysis (identified the problems and directions of the formation and development of farming; taking into account the specific conditions of agricultural activity and comparing the processes of farming development at the national level); prognostic (forming the conceptual framework for regulating and improving the entrepreneurship development strategy); abstract-logical (theoretical generalizations and formulation of conclusions). Research results. On the basis of generalization, measures were introduced, in particular, to compensate part of the single social payment (SSP) to family farms, according to the calculations, they can provide in the near future up to 200 thousand such farms (in the total potential of domestic family farming is about a million farms), which is possible both through a change in organizational and the legal form of already existing small farms, and through formalization of personal peasant farms into the market environment, acquiring the official status of physical person entrepreneur - SPE. Analyzing the role of the potential of family farming, it should be noted that its formation affects the development of Ukraine, since agriculture directly or indirectly ensures the achievement of many sustainable development goals provided for by the Sustainable Development Goals of Ukraine for the period up to 2030. The study made it possible to determine the socio-economic orientation and socio-economic efficiency of the development of family farming both for the Ukrainian economy and communities, taking into account the institutional, legal and financial and economic prerequisites for their functioning. Scientific novelty. The methodological representation and identification of the category of family farming have received further development, which is considered here as an organization of agricultural production, forestry, fisheries, livestock, aquaculture, which is managed by the family and can be organized both in the form of an individual and a legal entity. Practical significance. It was revealed that the peculiarity of the functioning of family farms lies in the fact that they simultaneously represent production and consumer unit, and therefore combine two goals - production (maximizing income) and consumer (increasing the well-being of all members of the household). The following models of development of subjects of the rural family economy have been systematized: a model of labor farming; the farm model based on the use of hired labor; family corporation model. It was found that on the basis of the family organization of labor, a small local economy “family farm” is formed, the features of which include: the duality of development goals, that is, the implementation of the entrepreneurial ability of its members to manage the land and maximize income; the reproductive process depends on the existing system of informal institutions; the defining norms of behavior of its members include: loyalty to traditions and cultural heritage, social orientation, innovation, sustainability, trust and predictability of actions of household members; a combination of multi-vector, contradictory processes; a combination of technological, economic and cultural conditions for the functioning of a family farm, which determine the synergistic effect.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 727-736
Author(s):  
Raquel P. F. Guiné ◽  
Davide Gaião ◽  
Daniela V. T. A. Costa ◽  
Paula M. R. Correia ◽  
Luis T. Guerra ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this work was to identify procedures adopted by family farms in the centre and north of Portugal and Galicia (Spain), and to verify whether they resemble those used in organic farming. A checklist was prepared in Portuguese and Spanish and applied personally to managers of family farms. The participation was voluntary and 125 valid responses were collected.The results show that farmers included in the study owned small family farms where labour is mainly performed by the family, and tended to adopt, in general, good agricultural practices, many of which are common to organic farming, such as crop rotation, avoidance of GMO or avoidance of phytoregulators. However, they failed to adopt some important practices, including the use of seeds inoculated with mycorrhizae, composting, biological and biotechnical control or avoidance of chemical control for plant protection. It was further concluded that gender and age of the farmers did not significantly influence the type of agricultural practices, contrarily to the level of education and region, which were significantly associated with many of the cultural interventions investigated.


2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 451-457
Author(s):  
Vamberto G. de F. Silva ◽  
Albericio P. de Andrade ◽  
Pedro D. Fernandes ◽  
Ivandro de F. da Silva ◽  
Carlos A. V. de Azevedo ◽  
...  

Studies have been carried out on efficient water use in irrigation. The present study evaluates the yield of cotton plants (Gossypium hirsutum L. r. latifolium Hutch), and the use of water for different irrigation strategies. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions, and the cultivar used was CNPA-7H Precocious grown in plastic pots; each pot contained 20 kg of dry soil. The irrigation strategies were selected by taking into account the available water in the soil, the irrigation frequency and the irrigation suppression during flowering and boll development. Water consumption, boll weight, yield, harvest index and water use efficiency were evaluated and the results showed that water consumption resulting from the irrigation strategies used brought expressive variations in the studied parameters. In all strategies, irrigation suppression was the decisive factor in evaluating the water use efficiency.


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