Involving farmers in agricultural research: A farmer's perspective

1990 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 174-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Thornley
Keyword(s):  
Applied Research ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Academic Emphasis ◽  
Personal Interest ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Basic And Applied Research ◽  
On Farm

AbstractFarmer involvement in agricultural research is limited by inadequate funding, institutional policies and hierarchies, disciplinary specialization, and incompatible personalities. Additional barriers include academic emphasis on carefully controlled experiments, research priorities driven by personal interest, and farmers' reluctance to disclose trade secrets. Priorities for research conducted with public funds should be identified through a democratic process involving representatives from all sectors of agriculture. A broad, multidisciplinary, systems approach to agricultural research is needed; and farmers and researchers should consider long-term implications of projects. Better balance needs to be achieved between basic and applied research, and both should encourage innovation within the context of democratically determined research priorities. Opportunities abound for involving farmers in research as providers and recipients of information, as participants in determining priorities and ensuring practicality of methods, as collaborators and/or subjects for on-farm investigations, and as project evaluators. Farmers also need to take more initiative in getting involved in the political processes that set the stage for agricultural research.

The structure and function of agricultural research

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Ann Clark ◽  
B. R. Christie ◽  
S. F. Weise
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Second World War ◽  
High Yield ◽  
World War ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
And Function ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Second World

Contemporary agricultural research is founded upon short-term controlled studies to examine, screen, and rank performance of genetic improvements or managerial processes. This approach has performed admirably in support of the resource-intensive, high-yield paradigm which has guided agricultural development since the second World War. Changes to this paradigm, which may occur in response to economic, societal, or environmental issues, may require increased emphasis on farm-based, system-oriented research to complement the experiment-station-based research which has proven so successful to date. Corresponding changes to the form, structure, intent, and ultimately, the beneficiaries of agricultural research are discussed. Key words: Long-term research, perennial forages, high-yield agriculture, on-farm research, fanning systems research, profitability, genotype × environment interactions, stability, adaptability

An Exploration into the Nature of the Making of Human and Artifcial Intelligence and the Qur’anic Persepctive

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-481
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Dhaouadi
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Applied Research ◽  
Human Intelligence ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Information Process ◽  
Cultural Symbols ◽  
Ongoing Controversy ◽  
Basic And Applied Research

The ongoing controversy over artificial and human intelligence ischaracterized by open disagreement. Some researchers believe that artificialintelligence has the potential to become equal to or even superior tohuman intelligence, while others say that such a development is impossible.The thesis of this paper is that the gap between human and artificialintelligence is bound to remain considerable, both in the short term andin the long term. The concepts of human cultural symbols and theQur’anic vision of human intelligence are intduced in support of thisthesis. Humanity’s ability to manipulate cultural symbols, upon which thephenomenon of human intelligence depends, is a uniquely human characteristic.And this uniqueness, according to the Qur’an, is the direct resultof a divine decision, not of evolution. As such an ability and many of themysteries of that power, are hardly accessible to humans, how wouldhuman researchers be able to include them in the design of artificial intelligencemachines?In the last two decades, research in the field of artificial intelligence(hereinafter referred to as AI) has made considerable headway on both thetheoretical and the applied levels. The input into the field has not beenrestricted only to cybernetics and information process experts; neurophysiologists,cognitive psychologists, philosophers, and sociologists’ havealso been interested in human intelligence (hereinafter referred to as HI)and AI. As AI infrastructures and authority continue to expand in modemand postmodem societies, specialists in other areas will have to becomeinvolved.For scientists, basic and applied research into A1 constitute an exciting ...

ANTICIPATORY LONG-TERM RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTIVITY

2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. JONES
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
International Workshop ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Donor Agencies ◽  
New Research ◽  
Sustainable Productivity

Drawing on ideas advanced during the course of an international workshop, this paper reviews agricultural research priorities in the dry areas of the developing world, where economic and demographic pressures are driving a rapid intensification of production, even on very fragile lands. Current priorities for research and research funding reflect a strongly felt need, among governments and donor agencies, for rapid problem-solving to relieve poverty. In this context, traditional long-term agronomic research trials, with essentially strategic and basic objectives, are often seen as irrelevant. Yet the need to anticipate problems impending in environments where intensification is consuming the natural resource base and degrading the production potential is an urgent one. To accommodate this need to the perceptions of the different stakeholders, a new research paradigm, ‘Anticipatory Long-Term Research for Sustainable Productivity’, is proposed. It invokes a holistic approach, building a longer view and greater dynamism into traditional agronomy, enhancing ties to socio-economic and resource management disciplines, and reconciling the immediate demand for high-yielding technology with the strategic issues of sustainable production.

scholarly journals Ertragskunde – Waldbau auf wissenschaftlicher Grundlage: Plädoyer für einen akademisch abgestützten Waldbau | Profitability – Scientifically based silviculture. Plea for academically supported silviculture

2005 ◽  
Vol 156 (12) ◽  
pp. 510-515
Author(s):  
Andreas Zingg
Keyword(s):  
Applied Research ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Applied Science ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Basic And Applied Research ◽  
The University

Silviculture is under pressure, as are other areas of applied science. Central specialist forest sciences, such as silviculture,growth and yield or forestry establishments etc., are losing ground due to the division made between basic and applied research and quickly losing their importance in the university landscape. It is only in the German-speaking countries that silviculture and growth and yield are two separate specialist areas and thus not taught in combination with one another. Growth and yield is a scientific basis of silviculture. In its widest sense, siliviculture is a system and can be viewed as a standard circle of diverse activities, each of which has its own scientific problems. Silviculture is an important area of research that is struggling to maintain its hold in today's rapidly changing research landscape–above all because this discipline calls for long-term research. Only long-term silvicultural research will furnish a quantifiable and objective foundation for a modern,ecologically oriented management of the forest.

ON-FARM FORESTRY DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS FOR NORTHLAND

1986 ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
J.S. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Joint Ventures ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
Financial Returns ◽  
Farm Forestry ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Financial Position ◽  
On Farm

Agroforests and woodlots offer Northland hill country farmers investment and diversification opportunities. Agroforests have less effect on the "whole farm" financial position than woodlots, especially where a progressive planting regime is adopted and where no further borrowing is required. Establishment and tending costs for agro-forests are lower, and returns come much sooner. The proven opportunity for continued grazing under trees established in this manner, apart from a short post-planting period, further enhances the agroforesty option. Even where there is reluctance on a farmer's part to plant trees on high fertility land, the expected financial returns from agroforests on low and medium fertility land will increase the overall long-term profitability and flexibility of the whole farming operation. Woodlots may be more appropriate on low fertility areas where weed reversion is likely. Joint ventures may be worth considering where farm finances are a limited factor. Keywords: On-farm forestry development, Northland hill country, agroforestry, woodlots, diversification, joint ventures, progressive planting regimes, grazing availability.

The Birth, Growth and Future of Systems Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 113-114
Author(s):  
Nelson Laville ◽  
Kenrick Witty ◽  
Ulises Garcia
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Department Of Agriculture ◽  
States Department ◽  
Global Team ◽  
Video Link ◽  
Agricultural Research Service ◽  
Research Service

The Beyond Compliance Global team held an interview by video link with Dr Eric Jang, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS), now retired. His lab was based in Hawaii, where he continues to reside. Eric was an early advocate and one of the originators of the concepts for Systems Approach.

Major Approaches to Assessing the Fiscal Sustainability of the Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 577-583
Author(s):  
L. A. Tuaeva ◽  
I. Z. Toguzova ◽  
S. K. Tokaeva
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Fiscal Sustainability ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Universal System ◽  
Russian Scientific ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
State And Local

The presented study develops theoretical and methodological foundations for assessing the fiscal sustainability of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in perspective.Aim. The study aims to develop a systems approach to assessing the fiscal sustainability of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the medium and long term.Tasks. The authors analyze the major approaches to assessing the fiscal sustainability of federal subjects and determine the significance of quantitative and qualitative assessment methods in the development of a methodology for assessing the fiscal sustainability of federal subjects in the medium and long term.Methods. This study uses scientific methods of cognition, analysis and synthesis, comparison and analogy, systems and institutional approaches to assess the fiscal sustainability of federal subjects.Results. The authors examine the major approaches to assessing the fiscal sustainability of federal subjects developed by Russian scientific schools and disciplines; approaches used by state and local authorities; approaches to assessing the fiscal sustainability of federal subjects used by international and national rating agencies; foreign experience. In general, this implies the development of a universal system of indicators for assessing the fiscal sustainability of federal subjects.Conclusions. It is substantiated that under the current conditions of new challenges, particularly in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it is necessary to assess the long-term balance and sustainability of the budgets of federal subjects using a systems approach based on quantitative and qualitative methods, making allowance for the medium- and long-term prospects to make efficient management decisions at different levels of the economic system.

Research for a sustainable European sugar sector

2010 ◽  
pp. 487-495
Author(s):  
Martin Bruhns ◽  
Peter Glaviè ◽  
Arne Sloth Jensen ◽  
Michael Narodoslawsky ◽  
Giorgio Pezzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Industry ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Sustainable Chemistry ◽  
Technology Platforms ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Manufacturing Applications ◽  
European Technology

The paper is based on the results of international project entitled “Towards Sustainable Sugar Industry in Europe (TOSSIE)”. 33 research topics of major importance to the sugar sector are listed and briefly described, and compared with research priorities of the European Technology Platforms: “Food for Life”, “Sustainable Chemistry”, “Biofuels”, and “Plant for the Future”. Most topics are compatible with the research themes included in the COOPERATION part of the 7th Framework Program of the EU (2007-2013). However, some topics may require long-term R&D with the time horizon of up to 15 years. The list of topics is divided into four parts: Sugar manufacturing, Applications of biotechnology and biorefinery processing, Sugarbeet breeding and growing, Horizontal issues. Apart from possible use of the list by policy- and decision makers with an interest in sugarbeet sector, the description of each research topic can be used as a starting point in setting up a research project or other R&D activities.

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