scholarly journals The Avocado (Persea americana Mill.): A Review and Sustainability Perspectives

Author(s):  
Subhash Janardhan Bhore ◽  
Daniela Salgado Ochoa ◽  
Amina Al Houssari ◽  
Angela Lopez Zelaya ◽  
Ru Yang ◽  
...  

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) plant fruits are well-known for their high nutritional value, unique test, and healthy oil. It has a history of about 10,000 years. Avocado fruit offers many health benefits, and its production is rapidly increasing. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s recent data suggest that the Avocados produced in the world in 2019 was twice that of 2010 (3778010 tons). Avocado’s global Gross Production Value was about 5.812 billion USD in 2018, and it is likely to increase rapidly because of the increasing demand for Avocado fruits. Avocado oil is also used in the cosmetic industry because of its therapeutic properties, and it boosts the economic value of the Avocado industry. Avocado fruits have a rough green-gold skin; however, fruits are called ‘the green gold’ because of their massive global demand in the worldwide market and a lucrative business. The cultivation of Avocado has tremendous potential in increasing the rural economy, rural agriculture-based employment and reducing the poverty rate of growers. On the other hand, the Avocado industry is highly criticised because of deforestation, massive water utilisation, polluting water bodies with insecticides and fertilisers, posing a threat to other plant species, and environmental pollution. However, it doesn’t preclude the importance of Avocado. Cameroon’s average temperature is about 23 °C, which is considered optimal for Avocado propagation and commercial cultivation. Cameroon Association of Active Youths (CAMAAY) want to explore the possibilities of engaging Cameroon youths in Avocado cultivation. This review is aimed to provide an overview of Avocado. The review also highlights Avocado cultivation related issues from one health and sustainability perspective in line with the global goals.

Author(s):  
David Pimentel ◽  
Michael Burgess

A rapidly growing world population and an even more rapidly growing consumption of fossil fuels are increasing demand for both food and biofuels, which will exaggerate both the food and fuel shortages around the world. Producing biofuels requires huge amounts of both fossil energy and food resources, which will intensify conflicts over these resources. Using food crops to produce ethanol raises major nutritional and ethical concerns. More than 66% of the world human population is currently malnourished, so the need for grains and other basic foods is critical. Growing crops for fuel squanders land, water, and energy resources vital for the production of food for people. Using food and feed crops for ethanol production has brought increases in the prices of US beef, chicken, pork, eggs, breads, cereals, and milk of 10% to 20%. In addition, Jacques Diouf, Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that using food grains to produce biofuels is already causing food shortages for the poor of the world. Growing crops for biofuel ignores the need to reduce natural resource consumption and exacerbates the problem of malnourishment worldwide by turning food grain into biofuel.


Subject Food shortages and insecurity in the Sahel. Significance The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) warned in May that 1.6 million children are in danger of acute malnutrition and 5.0 million people are in need of food assistance in the Sahel and parts of West Africa. Drought and conflict have left 7.1 million people in the Sahel in need of food aid, the Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA) warned in April. Pastoral societies are severely affected. The range of food shortages and socio-economic crises in the Sahel reflects the region’s vulnerability to annual drought and long-term climate change, as well as challenges posed by insecurity. Impacts France will emphasise counter-terrorism even though the cost of fighting terrorism undermines the Sahel’s capacity to avert food crises. The region will remain vulnerable to annual droughts. Long-term climate change will threaten the sustainability of the rural economy upon which the majority of the population still depend.


2021 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermann Cyr Toni ◽  
Armand Avohou ◽  
Bruno Agossou Djossa

Abstract Background Pollinators play a key role in human food production by improving the yield and quality of crops. Several studies assessed the economic value of pollination services delivered by animals through yield improvement. However, little is known about the contribution of animal pollinators to nutrient production. This study assessed the contribution of animal pollination to nutrient production in Benin. Food and Agriculture Organization data on crop production and United States Department of Agriculture crop composition data of 37 leading crops were used. These crops were categorized into five classes, depending on their degree of dependence on animal pollinators for fruit production. Results The study showed that more than half of the studied crops (56.75%) relies at different levels on animal pollination for fruit production. Minerals, namely fluoride (83.92%) and selenium (52.62%), were the most delivered by animal-pollinated crops. Roughly 50% of lipids outputs and 24% of proteins outputs were obtained from pollinator-dependent crops. Significant outputs of fat-soluble vitamins up to 65% were also attributed to animal pollination. A low contribution of animal pollination (up to 8%) was reported for water-soluble vitamins. Conclusion Animal-pollinated crops significantly contribute to the supply of nutrients and consequently to nutritional and food security in Benin. Conservation of pollinators should be considered as an important component of food security programs in the country.


Author(s):  
Richard A. Wahle ◽  
Adrian J. Linnane ◽  
Amalia M. Harrington

Lobster fisheries represent some of the most iconic and valuable fisheries in the world. This chapter provides an overview of the commercial species of lobster in the families Palinuridae, Nephropidae, and Scyllaridae, commonly known as spiny, clawed, and slipper lobsters, respectively. Together, in 2015 these fisheries comprised about 14% of the economic value of crustacean fisheries globally. While the clawed lobster fisheries rank as the world’s most productive lobster fisheries, the spiny and slipper lobster fisheries are by far the most diverse. Notably, the clawed lobsters of the genera Homarus and Nephrops of the cool, temperate North Atlantic dominate world lobster production, whereas fisheries for the spiny lobster genera Panulirus, Palinurus, and Jasus and two slipper lobster genera, Thenus and Scyllarides, span much of the world’s tropical and warm temperate coastal zones. The review starts with a description of the distinguishing features of the biology and life history of the three families, including a geographic overview of their fisheries and how they are managed. Then discussed are the challenges confronting lobster fishing industries, fishery managers, and scientists in a changing ecosystem and global economy. The chapter closes by identifying directions for future research to address these challenges. Although space precludes an exhaustive review of all 27 commercial lobster fisheries recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), consistent and compelling themes emerge across the well-studied fisheries. Where long-term fisheries and environmental data time series have accumulated, it is evident that the geographic ranges of the productive segments of the fisheries are shifting poleward, forcing fishery scientists to reconsider long-held assumptions of stationarity common in stock assessment. These changes, in concert with the sometimes unpredictable forces of a global economy, have become a driving force for new innovations in the business and management of lobster fisheries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Singh RP ◽  
Agrawal RC

Indian agriculture is dominated by the marginal and small farmers with very small average land holding size which is further fragmented and scattered into tiny pieces. Contemporary challenges being faced by Indian agriculture are increasing population pressure, diminishing natural resources (land, water and agro-biodiversity), increasing demand of diversified diets, increased frequencies of extreme climate change and increasing cost of production are keep on haunting. To increase production and productivity and to mitigate the adverse effect due to climate change, the regular and timely supply of quality seed of all crops and varieties at affordable prices at local level is prerequisite. The formal seed sector, although contributes in significant manner to make available the quality seed but is not in position to cater the demand of farmers at local level and therefore necessitates the quality seed production and distribution locally by involving farmers. In the present commentary issues have been discussed with regard to the adoption and implementation of quality declared seed policy of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in parallel. The QDS policy can easily accommodate and integrate the registered farmers varieties as per PPV&FR Act (2001) into seed chain effectively and efficiently.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4346
Author(s):  
Luca Iseppi ◽  
Marcella Rizzo ◽  
Enrico Gori ◽  
Federico Nassivera ◽  
Ivana Bassi ◽  
...  

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations supports the production of edible insects as a promising and sustainable source of nutrients to meet the increasing demand for animal-derived products by the growing world population. Even if insects are part of the diet of more than two billion people worldwide, the practice of eating insects (entomophagy) raises challenging questions for Western countries where this is not a habit. The research applied the Rasch models and showed that, in the case of hunger or need, 70.8% of the sample declared that they would be willing to eat insects. The willingness to habitually consume and pay for insect food is very low, but the percentages are higher than people who had actually had insect tasting experiences. This demonstrates that a communication process is necessary that aims to overcome psychological/cultural barriers. Only in this way will it be possible to increase the propensity to consume insects.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A Almenara

[THE MANUSCRIPT IS A DRAFT] According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2020), food waste and losses comprises nearly 1.3 billion tonnes every year, which equates to around US$ 990 billion worldwide. Ironically, over 820 million people do not have enough food to eat (FAO, 2020). This gap production-consumption puts in evidence the need to reformulate certain practices such as the controversial monocropping (i.e., growing a single crop on the same land on a yearly basis), as well as to improve others such as revenue management through intelligent systems. In this first part of a series of articles, the focus is on the Peruvian anchoveta fish (Engraulis ringens).


Author(s):  
Gregory A. Barton

This chapter traces the expansion of industrial agricultural methods after the Second World War. Western governments and the Food and Agriculture Organization pushed for increased use of chemical fertilizers to aid development and resist Soviet encroachment. Meanwhile small groups of organic farmers and gardeners adopted Howard’s methods in the Anglo-sphere and elsewhere in the world. European movements paralleled these efforts and absorbed the basic principles of the Indore Method. British parliament debated the merits of organic farming, but Howard failed to persuade the government to adopt his policies. Southern Rhodesia, however, did implement his ideas in law. Desiccation theory aided his attempts in South Africa and elsewhere, and Louise Howard, after Albert’s death, kept alive a wide network of activists with her publications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 5911
Author(s):  
Vanesa Martos ◽  
Ali Ahmad ◽  
Pedro Cartujo ◽  
Javier Ordoñez

Timely and reliable information about crop management, production, and yield is considered of great utility by stakeholders (e.g., national and international authorities, farmers, commercial units, etc.) to ensure food safety and security. By 2050, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates, around 70% more production of agricultural products will be needed to fulfil the demands of the world population. Likewise, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the second goal of “zero hunger”, potential technologies like remote sensing (RS) need to be efficiently integrated into agriculture. The application of RS is indispensable today for a highly productive and sustainable agriculture. Therefore, the present study draws a general overview of RS technology with a special focus on the principal platforms of this technology, i.e., satellites and remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs), and the sensors used, in relation to the 5th industrial revolution. Nevertheless, since 1957, RS technology has found applications, through the use of satellite imagery, in agriculture, which was later enriched by the incorporation of remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs), which is further pushing the boundaries of proficiency through the upgrading of sensors capable of higher spectral, spatial, and temporal resolutions. More prominently, wireless sensor technologies (WST) have streamlined real time information acquisition and programming for respective measures. Improved algorithms and sensors can, not only add significant value to crop data acquisition, but can also devise simulations on yield, harvesting and irrigation periods, metrological data, etc., by making use of cloud computing. The RS technology generates huge sets of data that necessitate the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to extract useful products, thereby augmenting the adeptness and efficiency of agriculture to ensure its sustainability. These technologies have made the orientation of current research towards the estimation of plant physiological traits rather than the structural parameters possible. Futuristic approaches for benefiting from these cutting-edge technologies are discussed in this study. This study can be helpful for researchers, academics, and young students aspiring to play a role in the achievement of sustainable agriculture.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Anderson ◽  
K Schulze ◽  
A Cassini ◽  
D Plauchoras ◽  
E Mossialos

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major challenges of our time. Countries use national action plans as a mechanism to build engagement among stakeholders and coordinate a range of actions across human, animal, and environmental health. However, implementation of recommended policies such as stewardship of antimicrobials, infection prevention and control, and stimulating research and development of novel antimicrobials and alternatives remains inconsistent. Improving the quality of governance within antimicrobial resistance national action plans is an essential step to improving implementation. To date, no systematic approach to governance of national action plans on AMR exists. To address this issue, we aimed to develop the first governance framework to offer guidance for both the development and assessment of national action plans on AMR. We reviewed health system governance framework reviews to inform the basic structure of our framework, international guidance documents from WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the European Commission, and sought the input of 25 experts from international organisations, government ministries, policy institutes, and academic institutions to develop and refine our framework. The framework consists of 18 domains with 52 indicators that are contained within three governance areas: policy design, implementation tools, and monitoring and evaluation. Countries must engage with a cyclical process of continuous design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to achieve these aims.


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