Are Smallholder Zambian Farmers Economists? A Dual-Analysis of Farmers’ Expenditure in Conservation and Conventional Agriculture Systems

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 908-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. B. Umar ◽  
J. B. Aune ◽  
F. H. Johnsen ◽  
I. O. Lungu
Keyword(s):  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Dual Analysis ◽  
Agriculture Systems

scholarly journals Investigating the factors that affect the adoption of organic agriculture in Asokwa, Kumasi Metropolis

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Y. Adusei
Keyword(s):  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Organic Vegetable Production ◽  
Organic Produce ◽  
Agriculture Systems ◽  
Depth Interviews

Urban agriculture, particularly organic vegetable production is promoted because of its contribution to food security and enhanced income.  More so, organic agriculture considerably enhances the income of urban farmers who practice it. The objective was to investigate the factors that affect farmers' decision to adopt organic agriculture. Due to the contamination of vegetables with conventional agriculture systems, increasing concerns about the quality of food, the health of consumers and the environmental impacts of farming systems, organic agriculture is being promoted by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture as a means of addressing the problem. Since the introduction of organic agriculture, some farmers have adopted the technology while others have not. Sixteen farmers were selected, ten from those adopting and six from those not adopting. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to extract data from the participants. For those who adopted, the knowledge of their parents and forefathers on agriculture and their personal experiences by comparing their organic produce with conventional ones greatly inspired their decision on adoption. Factors leading to non-adoption are: inadequate awareness about organic farming, difficulty in controlling pests, diseases and improving soil fertility and perceived lack of market for the organic vegetables. As a result, effective extension monitoring and training are recommended to enhance the adoption and sustainability of organic agriculture. 

scholarly journals Mountain Farming Systems’ Exposure and Sensitivity to Climate Change and Variability: Agroforestry and Conventional Agriculture Systems Compared in Ecuador’s Indigenous Territory of Kayambi People

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2623
Author(s):  
Raúl Córdova ◽  
Nicholas J. Hogarth ◽  
Markku Kanninen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Climate Change And Variability ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Agriculture Systems

Smallholder farming is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to the impacts of climate change, variability, and extremes, especially in the developing world. This high vulnerability is due to the socioeconomic limitations and high environmental sensitivity which affect the biophysical and socioeconomic components of their farming systems. Therefore, systems’ functionality and farmers’ livelihoods will also be affected, with significant implications for global food security, land-use/land-cover change processes and agrobiodiversity conservation. Thus, less vulnerable and more resilient smallholder farming systems constitute an important requisite for sustainable land management and to safeguard the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban households. This study compares a comprehensive socioeconomic and environmental dataset collected in 2015–2016 based on household interviews of 30 farmers of highland agroforestry systems and 30 farmers of conventional agriculture systems, to determine which system provides better opportunities to reduce exposure and sensitivity. A modified Climate Change Questionnaire Version 2 of the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) was applied to collect the data. The interview data are based on the perceptions of Kayambi indigenous farmers about the levels of exposure and sensitivity of their farming systems during the last decade. Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze the data from the 60 farms. Results indicate that both agroforesters and conventional farmers clearly perceived increases in temperature and reductions in precipitation for the last decade, and expected this trend to continue in the next decade. Furthermore, conventional farmers perceived greater exposure to droughts (20%), solar radiation (43%), and pests, weeds and disease outbreaks (40%) than agroforesters. Additionally, results emphasize the better ability of agroforestry systems to reduce exposure and sensitivity to climate change and variability. These findings support the well-known assumptions about the key role played by agroforestry systems for climate change adaptation and mitigation, especially in developing countries.

scholarly journals Conservation Agriculture: An Eco-Friendly System of Weed Management in Field Crops

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 91-100
Author(s):  
Tika Bahadur Karki ◽  
Jiban Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Weed Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Weed Species ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Perennial Weeds ◽  
Weed Dynamics ◽  
Agriculture Systems

Since the conservation agriculture (CA) is spreading across the globe, information on weed dynamics and their management under CA is needed. Here, an attempt has been made to summarize the recent research on weed dynamics and their management aspects in the CA systems. Changes in patterns of tillage, planting systems, and other management strategies can alter the soil environment and lead to shifts in weed populations. Weed patterns and populations are not always stable but vary with location, crop, and herbicides use. However, in many long-term conservation management studies, a general increase in perennial weeds and grass species has been observed. No tillage increased the weed population during first season and there after decreased. Residue has significantly reduced the number of weed species and population compared to conventional agriculture systems. The development of low-dose of non-selective pre and selective post emergence herbicides, and transgenic crops has greatly improved the feasibility of CA systems.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i4.11733 International Journal of Environment Volume-3, Issue-4, Sep-Nov 2014Page: 91-100

Barriers to adoption of sustainable agriculture practices: Change agent perspectives

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joysee M. Rodriguez ◽  
Joseph John Molnar ◽  
Robin A. Fazio ◽  
Emily Sydnor ◽  
Mecca J. Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Support Programs ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Barriers To Adoption ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Agriculture Systems

AbstractConventional agriculture systems of production often lead to environmental degradation, economic problems and even social conflict. The efficacy of agriculture systems conducive to the economic, environmental and social sustainability of farming operations has been demonstrated, yet the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is not widespread. This qualitative study is based on a web-based survey instrument designed to elicit the barriers to adoption of sustainable agriculture practices (SAP) perceived by a positional and network sample of 269 change agents working with farmers in the US South. The analysis examines the general proposition that reluctance to change to SAP is an overused rationale of change agents that tends to mask real barriers that we endeavor to elicit in the survey. It was found that despite having support from technical assistance providers, farmers are rarely adopting SAP. Change agents often are not well prepared to attend to farmers' needs regarding SAP, particularly the needs of specific farming situations. Thus, farmers often struggle to obtain accurate information about the benefits of SAP. Government support programs often fail to encourage adoption due to lack of funding, inappropriate design and ineffective targeting of incentives. Reluctance to change is frequently mentioned by change agents, but more as a way of blaming farmers for nonadoption than explaining the often tangible reasons for their behaviors. Social barriers, land tenure, infrastructure and incompatibility are other significant impediments to adoption. Strategies such as improved management of the existing information, careful design of economic support programs and extension efforts addressed to change agents themselves could help overcome some of the barriers identified by change agents.

Soil Spatial Heterogeneity and Systems of Agriculture

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
V. Medvedev
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Regular Grid ◽  
Resource Saving ◽  
The Third ◽  
Soil Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Agriculture Systems ◽  
Zonal Soils

Aim. To consider soil continuality and discreteness as features of heterogeneity manifestation in a soil cover, important for construction of agriculture systems. Methods. Geostatistical research of soil spatial heterogeneity, revealing the contours of a fi eld with various parameters of fertility. Results. The use of principles of precise agriculture and inspection of indicative properties of fi eld soils using a regular grid allowed to divide a fi eld into contours with three levels of fertility: the fi rst one is characterized by optimal or close to optimum properties which allows refusing from (or reducing substantially) tillage, introduction of fertilizers or chemical ameliorates; the second one has average parameters of fertility corresponding to zonal soils and demands the application of zonal technologies; the third one (with the worst parameters of fertility) presupposes regular use of the improved technologies. Conclusions. The introduction of precise agriculture will allow replacing a traditional zonal system with thenew which is soil-protecting and resource-saving one.

scholarly journals Environmental assessment of the Tung cultivation through life cycle analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Bern�l ◽  
Rosana Schneider ◽  
�nio Machado
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Life Cycle Management ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Family Farms ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ecosystem Changes ◽  
Poor Soil

Over the past few decades, conventional agriculture has been facing serious crises caused by numerous factors, including poor soil management and the excessive application of pesticides. Thus, alternative production systems have been developed, including agroforestry systems, especially those that produce both energy and food. The objective of this study was to environmentally evaluate the culture of Aleurites fordii Hemls. (Tung) using the Life Cycle Assessment method with the SimaPro 7.3.2 software. The results revealed that in family farms that use less mechanization to harvest crops, the primary category of environmental impact was land use, which included the removal of animal and vegetable species and ecosystem changes. The full impact of this category was 1741.21 m2yr PDF (potentially disappeared fraction). Subsequently, prognostics were established for the reduction of such impacts, and we conclude that Tung has a high potential for agricultural installation with high responsibility to the environment. Keywords: Environmental factors, Aleurites fordii Hemls, Life Cycle Management, Tung.

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