scholarly journals THE DOMESTICATED DONKEY: III -ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE, UNCOMMON USAGES, REPRODUCTION TRAITS, GENETICS, NUTRITION AND HEALTH CARE.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Orhan Yılmaz ◽  

Donkeys are odd-toed, short-legged and long ears Equidae. Donkeys are used as traction animals in rural areas for small-scale farmers. They are an important farm animal species which adapted to the different environments, hard conditions and harsh climates

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80
Author(s):  
S. A Dattijo

Due to many ways by which they are exploited, insects and their products could be a very big business. They are sold for agricultural protection, crop pollination, as well as human, livestock and pet nutrition. In addition, their products are sold for pharmaceuticals, health, and the implements for research, art works and a host of other uses. This review focused on commercialization of insects and their products with a view of sharing existing knowledge on global commerce of various insects and their products. Available literature revealed that there was an increase in demand for edible insects in the United States of America and prices were as high as $150 kg-1. Similarly, between 2010 and 2015, animal feed market in the United Kingdom grew at 3.5% annually and is currently worth £5 billion. Because of its scarcity, high demand, and recognition of its healing properties, royal jelly, one of the most sought after from bee products commands astronomical price internationally. In addition, no any other industry could generate high level of employment as sericulture, especially in rural areas where it takes 11 workdays to produce a Kg of raw silk. The contribution insects and their products can give to improve the economy of a developing country such as Nigeria is considerable, but underestimated or neglected. Insects are unlikely to make a major contribution in the near future, but the idea that they are potential source of overcoming the economic problems is not as farfetched as it seemed. Therefore, there is the need to adopt an added value approach to insects and their products and sensitize as well as encourage small-scale farmers, who are disadvantaged in international market participation due to lack of access to information, services, technology or the capacity, to produce larger volumes of quality insect products.


Author(s):  
Suchismita Satapathy

The existing harvesters for farming purposes are not affordable to small-scale farmers because of their financial reasons. Moreover, there is a requirement of a small, economic, more accessible & effective machine cost and also these are not available in most of the rural areas due to transportation or finance which would be easily operatable by the small scale farmers. In view of this, the present study was carried out by a depth review of literature s and expert concern is taken for existing harvesting practices and machines. Further, on the basis of ergonomic assessment followed by ISM analysis was done for considering the existing and the modified machines.


2004 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
R.T. Paterson ◽  
F. Rojas

In the Bolivian Department of Santa Cruz, the Provinces of Sara and Ichilo lie some 100 km North-West of the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where they occupy an area of about 21,000 km2. Most of the region is a flat, alluvial plain, 350-450 m above sea level, with young soils prone to localized, seasonal waterlogging, although the land becomes undulating and rises to 800 m as it approaches the foothills of the Andes to the west. The soils are moderately fertile with pH values often in the range of 4.5 to 5.5.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 50-63
Author(s):  
Confidence Ndlovu ◽  
Mandla Masuku

The paper has aimed to explore the effectiveness of small-scale farmers in improving household income and food security, particularly looking at the barriers to market access in rural areas. This study was undertaken in rural areas of Kanyamazane, Clau-Clau and Nyongane, South Africa, where small-scale producers depend on low-risk and low-return markets to generate household income from production, thus ensuring food security. To achieve the aim of this study, a qualitative approach was used to provide in-depth interpretation of the perspectives, experiences, and behavioural patterns of the small-scale farmers faced with market related issues. Small-scale farmers, agricultural extension officers, and municipal officials were purposefully selected to share their views, perceptions, and experiences on the effectiveness in accessing markets. The findings revealed that there was limited access to formal markets by small-scale farmers because of limited knowledge and capacity to meet market requirements. The study confirmed that a lack of marketing skills, institutional support services, and limited access to arable land, have directly negative effects on achieving livelihood outcomes. This study recommends a sustainable crop production method which reduces the costs of farming resources, such as pesticide and fertilizer, through organic methods to ensure food safety and enhanced nutrient quality. This study further encourages inclusive rural development, where small-scale producers are treated as stakeholders in agricultural policy formulation to enable access to financial resources and increase in production through the formation of cooperatives.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Prasad Dhakal

 The micro-finance institutions are providing service to the people with the noble purpose to improve their socio-economic status which ultimately helps to reduce the poverty Nepal. In the Nepalese context, micro-finance institutions are providing the equal services to all people living in the remote and rural areas. The main objective of this study was to identify the economic importance of micro-finance institutions for poor and non-poor communities of Nepal. The study was conducted in Syangja district among the 385 beneficiaries of micro-finance. This study found that there was no significant association between the poor and non-poor people regarding the success of small scale business with the support of micro-finance, and increasing the amount of saving because p = .524 and .402 respectively which was greater than .05 significant levels. The difference could be observed in the increase in income level of poor and non-poor. Slight better improvement could be seen among the poor people, there was significant association between poor and non-poor because of p = .019.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-31
Author(s):  
D. Kulyakwave Peter ◽  
Shiwei Xu ◽  
Wen Yu ◽  
Sar Sary ◽  
S. Muyobozi

This study provided insights into the availability and use of agricultural information by small scale farmers in the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. The research used structured questionnaires to interview 240 rice farmers in the Mbeya region. The findings revealed that farmers accessed agricultural information from various agents including local government extension staff, neighbors and friends, advertisements, electronic media including the internet, television, radio, and other channels. The identified technological information application methods included by lectures, field demonstrations, exposure visits to various places, and printed production. The majority of farmers perceived to have dissatisfied (43%), strongly dissatisfied (25%), strongly satisfied (20%), satisfied (8%), and no opinions (4%) concerning accessibility to agricultural information and technological services. The majority of farmers claimed that both agricultural information and technological communication are strongly needed for agricultural performance. The study suggests that government and non-government organizations should collaborate to bridge the existing information-sharing gap between farmers and  information providers. Keywords: extension communication, technological information, rural areas, rice farmers, Tanzania.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8556
Author(s):  
Nicole Paganini ◽  
Kustiwa Adinata ◽  
Nomonde Buthelezi ◽  
David Harris ◽  
Stefanie Lemke ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments to make decisions that had adverse effects on local food systems and supply chains. As a result, many small-scale food producers faced difficulties growing, harvesting, and selling their goods. This participatory research examines local small-scale farmers’ challenges as farmers but also as consumers and their coping strategies during the month of April and one week in June 2020. The study was initiated and conceptualized in collaboration with small-scale farmer members of an existing research network in selected urban and rural areas in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia. Participants co-designed the research, collected and uploaded data through digital survey tools, and contributed to data analysis and interpretation. A common observation across regions is that the measures imposed in response to COVID-19 highlighted and partly exacerbated existing socio-economic inequalities among food system actors. Strict lockdowns in Cape Town, South Africa, and Masvingo, Zimbabwe, significantly restricted the production capacity of small-scale farmers in the informal economy and created more food insecurity for them. In Maputo, Mozambique, and Toraja and Java, Indonesia, local food systems continued to operate and were even strengthened by higher social capital and adaptive capacities.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 3511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Oliveira-Jr ◽  
Carlos Resende ◽  
André Pereira ◽  
Pedro Madureira ◽  
João Gonçalves ◽  
...  

Small-scale farming can benefit from the usage of information and communication technology (ICT) to improve crop and soil management and increase yield. However, in order to introduce digital farming in rural areas, related ICT solutions must be viable, seamless and easy to use, since most farmers are not acquainted with technology. With that in mind, this paper proposes an Internet of Things (IoT) sensing platform that provides information on the state of the soil and surrounding environment in terms of pH, moisture, texture, colour, air temperature, and light. This platform is coupled with computer vision to further analyze and understand soil characteristics. Moreover, the platform hardware is housed in a specifically designed robust casing to allow easy assembly, transport, and protection from the deployment environment. To achieve requirements of usability and reproducibility, the architecture of the IoT sensing platform is based on low-cost, off-the-shelf hardware and software modularity, following a do-it-yourself approach and supporting further extension. In-lab validations of the platform were carried out to finetune its components, showing the platform’s potential for application in rural areas by introducing digital farming to small-scale farmers, and help them delivering better produce and increasing income.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 315-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomaso Ferrando

Abstract ‘Global land grabbing’ represents one of the hottest topics of debate within the areas of developmental and agricultural studies. However, this article claims that a narrow focus on the illegality and consequences of the ‘grabbing’, rather than on large scale investments in land (LaSIL) as a form of economic development which is inherently exclusionary, can be detrimental to the future of small-scale farmers. A short-term perspective overlooks the indirect consequences of industrialization, and legitimizes long-term exclusions and marginalization. Through past and present evidence, this paper demonstrates that LaSIL as competing projects will inevitably produce the abandonment of rural areas, the proletarianization of peasants, and the increase in social inequality, against any possibility for coexistence and harmonious cooperation.


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