Structure Changing in Maize-Based Agriculture Production in Vietnam: Case Study in Son La Province

Maize is the primary food resource for livestock, mainly cultivated in the northern mountains, the central provinces, and the central highlands in Vietnam. By studying reliable reports and policies related to maize-based agricultural production in combination with interviews and focus group discussion methods conducted in Son La province, this study specifically analyzes the situation of maize production in Vietnam and impacts of policies for the specific case in Son La province. The research results show that, though the sharp decrease, maize has still been the main crop with an annual cultivation area of over 30% of the country's agricultural land recently. However, maize is only modestly mentioned in some central policies, and no policy at the local level is reserved for maize production. In addition, maize is no longer a crop to attract local farmers’ and authority’ interest, especially since 2015, the transition in maize cultivation area on sloping land to arable land of fruit trees and many other crops has been carried out on a large scale due to some policies by the province, resulting in a sharp decrease in maize cultivated area and production. This might lead to limited results of substantial government policies on maize acreage expansion, maize cultivated area planning, or maize development strategy. Accordingly, some recommendations to improve the situation are provided.

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Indian Companies Engaged in Agricultural “Land Grabbing” in Africa: The Need for Indo-african Solidarity Linkages

Human Geography ◽

10.1177/194277861100400305 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 72-87

Author(s):

Rick Rowden

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Arable Land ◽

Small Farmers ◽

Land Grabbing ◽

Host Countries ◽

Indian Government ◽

Environmental Consequences ◽

High Level ◽

Lease Contracts

Indian agricultural companies have been involved in the recent trend in large-scale overseas acquisitions of farmland, criticized as “land grabbing”. India has joined China, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and South Korea among other nations heavily investing in large-scale agricultural projects in Africa and elsewhere. Several factors are driving India's effort to “outsource its food production,” including the Government's growing strategic concerns about ensuring long-term food security and concerns about falling ground water tables. Eager developing country governments have also courted Indian agricultural investors, offering special incentives, including offers to lease massive tracts of arable land on very generous terms at much cheaper rates than land and water in India. The Indian Government has supported this trend through high-level trade diplomacy, foreign aid, and subsidized credit for its agricultural companies investing overseas. Critics call the trend “land grabbing” and claim there have been negative impacts on local peoples, who are often displaced in the process. The public disclosure of lease contracts between the Ethiopian Government and five Indian investors sheds light on the negative ethical, political, human rights and environmental consequences for local people in host countries. New and ongoing advocacy strategies are discussed, including the idea to establish international advocacy linkages between Indian activists fighting for small farmers rights and addressing “land grabbing” actions within India, and small farmers in Africa and elsewhere facing similar problems. One idea is for such linkages to inform Indian citizens who can take action to address the problem of land-grabbing by Indian companies operating overseas. International land rights advocates see a common struggle in which land deals must involve transparent and participatory relations between governments, companies and local democratic communities.

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Agricultural land losses aper 1990 in the Liberec Region

Geografie ◽

10.37040/geografie2018123020253 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 123 (2) ◽

pp. 253-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zbyněk Janoušek

Keyword(s):

Real Estate ◽

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Arable Land ◽

The State ◽

Identification System ◽

Regional Structure ◽

Political Factors ◽

Real Estate Register

The use of Czechia’s landscape was repeatedly changed, especially by political factors. After 1989, there were large-scale processes of property return, privatization and transformation of the economy and society. In 2003, before entry into EU, approximately 300,000 hectares of agricultural land were not used economically. This was evidently an impact of a tremendous fragmentation of the holdings in the early 1990s as well as large differences between the structure of owners of land and its real users (tenants). A mere 62% of arable land (and 78% of agricultural land in all), registered in the Cadastre of Real Estate (register of owners) is also included in the Land Parcel Identification System (register of users). This disharmony between the cadastral data and the state in the terrain prompted us to focus our attention on this state. We analyze the driving forces which brought it about as well as the size and regional structure of such differences.

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Harmonizing, merging and publishing hydropedological data for the Czech Republic

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17487 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Luděk Strouhal ◽

Petr Kavka ◽

Hana Beitlerová ◽

Daniel Žížala

Keyword(s):

Czech Republic ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Arable Land ◽

Field Measurements ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

Project Duration ◽

Erosion Mitigation ◽

Mitigation Projects

Czech soil data is a mess. Modelling infiltration, or its probably most watched companion - runoff, has been quite a painful process for any researcher or practitioner studying any site larger or more heterogeneous than a few parcels of arable land. There are at least three main national soil databases in the Czech Republic, each of different age, scope, classification system and - most unfortunately - different administrator. So far Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation has taken good care of data for agricultural land, while The Forest Management Institute did his job considering forest soils. A few other research institutes manage their own specific databases. There has been no service available providing consistent data for the whole country, nor methodology giving some guidelines on how to cope with differences in existing datasets, though a few large-scale applications and studies do exist. This contribution presents preliminary results of a running project TJ02000234 - Physical and hydropedological soil properties of the Czech Republic. It aims at harmonizing and combining available datasets and deriving layers of soil texture and hydropedological properties. Next the project aims at gathering available measurements of hydraulic properties of Czech soil types and their partial validation and extending with field measurements in the scope limited by the 2-years of project duration. The derived database and data products will be published in the form of a certified map as well as offered to professionals through an online GIS portal. Design planners in the Land consolidation, flood and soil erosion mitigation projects as well as professionals in public administration and researchers in environmental disciplines will benefit from the publication of this consistent data.

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Remote monitoring of land in western Kazakhstan

Forestry Engineering Journal ◽

10.12737/11261 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 25-34

Author(s):

Есмагулова ◽

Bayan Esmagulova ◽

Кошелева ◽

Olga Kosheleva ◽

Мушаева ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Arable Land ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Ecological Crisis ◽

Current Crisis ◽

Space Images ◽

High Resolution Satellite Images ◽

Sand Control

The article presents the results of the environmental assessment of land in Western Ka-zakhstan, held by decoding high resolution satellite images. The object of investigation is Bokey Orda District of West Kazakhstan region. Decryption is performed by space images QuickBird 2013 1:50 000. Application of space images helped to define the boundaries of the main categories of agricultural land (arable land, grassland, sandy tracts, etc.), set the location of settlements, trans-port infrastructure, as well as to identify the main elements of the hydrographic network (rivers, lakes, estuaries, sors) and mesorelief (sandy hillocks, hill reduction, etc.). It was found that 48.4 % of the Bokey Orda District territory is occupied by agricultural land, 40.7 % - sandy massifs, 10.8 % of the land area are various negative mesorelief – saline depression, estuaries, bitter-salty lakes. The data on land grounds allowed assessing the ecological status of the territory at a rate of anthropo-genic stress that for lands of Bokey Orda District is 3.3 points, which corresponds to the ecological crisis. The current crisis situation is caused by overgrazing and plowing of virgin lands and is cha-racterized by strong decrease in productivity and loss of stability. Selective economic use and plan-ning of deep land improvement is suggeted. An acute need to implement large-scale sand-control works, restoration of degraded pastures and unproductive lands transfer in adaptive forest agricul-tural landscapes is established. The data on volumes of forest reclamation works to secure the shift-ing sands, held in Bokey Orda District in the period from 2011 to 2013, are presented. It is recom-mended to organize of environmental monitoring using remote sensing data, which will allow timely identification of areas, subjected to degradation processes, and to take appropriate measures to eliminate pockets of desertification in the initial stage.

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Research on Forestry Recultivation of Sterile Dumps within the Jilţ Basin

Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca Agriculture ◽

10.15835/buasvmcn-agr:6423 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 68 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Augustina Delia CARABIS ◽

Lavinia PÂRVAN ◽

I. POPESCU

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Land ◽

Local Level ◽

Arable Land ◽

Surface Mining ◽

Present Situation ◽

Forest Species ◽

Mining Operations ◽

Protection Strategy ◽

Sloping Lands ◽

The World

Following the surface mining operations, large areas of agricultural land (arable land, meadows, etc.), forests, etc., are lost from the economic business in the county; all these lands, under adequate provisions of law must be reconstructed for agriculture and forestry. The current concept of sustainable development presumes also an environmental protection strategy, designed today and accepted by the countries all over the world to maintain ecological balance at the global, regional and local level. Research carried out on this theme aims to find the most effective forest species to make these areas as quickly as possible to enter the economic circuit. Orientation regarding the afforestation of these areas depends largely on the ecopedologic zone, the material resulting from the exploitation of lignite and, first of all, available investments. The present situation left by the surface mining operations within the Jilţ Basin shows that there are many areas of unproductive land that can not be included in the category of arable land. For this reason, research started aiming at the afforestation of these lands with different forest species. It was also considered the stabilization of sloping lands of these dumps in order to avoid the surprise of landslides in years with abundant precipitation. Large areas of dumps were planted with Robinia pseudacacia, familia Leguminosae in both the Mining Jilţ Basin and the Mining Rovinari Basin, these land areas being well covered by forestry vegetation. But forestry does not mean only Robinia pseudacacia, familia Leguminosae and, for this reason, the species proposed in this paper include a large diversity and provide outstanding economic results.

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Which quality indicators reflect the most sensitive changes in the soil properties of the surface horizons affected by the erosion processes?

Soil and Water Research ◽

10.17221/71/2019-swr ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 116-124

Author(s):

Petra Bíla ◽

Bořivoj Šarapatka ◽

Ondřej Horňák ◽

Jaroslava Novotná ◽

Martin Brtnický

Keyword(s):

Czech Republic ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Soil Properties ◽

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Arable Land ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

Erosion Processes ◽

Physical Chemical

Soil erosion, especially water erosion, is one of the most widespread types of soil degradation, not only worldwide, but also within the Czech Republic, where it endangers more than a half of the agricultural land. In addition to farming, the landscape structure has a significant impact on soil erosion in the conditions under study, where, especially in the post-war period, the collectivisation of large-scale arable land was accompanied by the abolition of the associated landscape elements. The agricultural production area of South Moravia is one of the most endangered areas in the Czech Republic, therefore, it was selected for our research, whose main objective was to verify the sensitivity of the selected physical, chemical and biochemical characteristics to identify the changes in the soil properties in the erosion processes at the identified erosion areas. The testing was carried out within a period of 5 years in 60 locations with Chernozems with cultivated corn. To assess the quality of the soil properties, indicators of soil quality from the physical, chemical and biological – biochemical groups were selected. The results of the analyses and the subsequent statistical evaluation showed that the chemical characteristics, especially those related to the quantity and quality of the organic matter, were the most sensitive to the changes in the soil properties. From the biochemical indicators, some enzymes, particularly dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase, reacted sensitively. The physical characteristics were not significantly affected by the erosion processes.

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Biomass production and survival rates of selected poplar clones grown under a short-rotation on arable land

Plant Soil and Environment ◽

10.17221/437-pse ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 54 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 78-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

M. Trnka ◽

J. Fialová ◽

V. Koutecký ◽

M. Fajman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Arable Land ◽

Survival Rates ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Scale Production ◽

Annual Increment ◽

Double Row ◽

Short Rotation ◽

Mechanical Methods

Fast-growing woody plants that can be grown under short-rotation systems offer an alternative to food production on arable land, and serve as a potential source of renewable energy. In order to establish the feasibility of future large scale production under the conditions of the Czech-Moravian highland, a high density experimental field plantation including a range of available clones of Populus sp. and Salix sp. with the total area of 1.5 ha was established in early 2001 in Domanínek (Czech Republic, 49°32'N, 16°15'E and altitude 530 m). The clone experiment of Populus sp. covered 0.3 ha in the center of the plantation and included 13 clones in total, with hardwood cuttings of only 6 clones available in numbers allowing 4-replicate experiment. The plantation was established on agricultural land and the trees were planted in a double row design with a density of 10 000 trees/ha. The trial was weeded by mechanical methods, and no irrigation, fertilization, or herbicides were applied. The experiment site was harvested at the end of 2006. It was found that the biomass yields of the tested clones of Populus sp. were in the higher range of results from national and European studies in case of hybrid clones. The satisfactory survival rate in the first year, when mortality tends to be highest, was supported by relatively wet weather conditions after plantation establishment. At the end of the first rotation, the highest yields were obtained from clones J-105 and J-104 (P. nigra × P. maximowiczii) and P-494 (P. maximowiczii × P. berolinensis) with J-105 showing a mean annual increment of dry matter close to 14 t/ha. Additional experiments seem to suggest that well managed poplar plantation might produce even better values if higher survival rates can be achieved.

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Development of Supply Curves for Biodiversity Offsets on Agricultural Land – a Case Study from the Stuttgart Region

German Journal of Agricultural Economics ◽

10.30430/70.2021.2.70-83 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 70 (2) ◽

pp. 70-83

Author(s):

Christian Sponagel ◽

Hans Back ◽

Elisabeth Angenendt ◽

Enno Bahrs

Keyword(s):

Nature Conservation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Arable Land ◽

Decision Makers ◽

West Germany ◽

Theoretical Point ◽

Study Region ◽

Biodiversity Offsets ◽

The City

Impacts on nature and landscape are to be offset in accordance with different nature conservation acts in various European countries. In Germany in particular, biodiversity offsets can also be made in advance, for instance, by booking them into eco-accounts, and then allocating them to an intervention. In Baden-Württemberg, these offset measures are assessed in eco credits in accordance with the Eco Account Regulation (ÖKVO). As a means of income diversification, farmers can voluntarily implement offset measures on their land, and then generate and sell corresponding eco credits. Using a geodata-based model, the potential for implementing biodiversity offsets on arable land – areas with major eco credit potential – is analysed from an economic perspective. The Stuttgart Region is a steadily growing conurbation in south-west Germany. It serves as a study region since the loss of farmland due to large-scale construction measures and the related offsetting are a major issue here. In the analysis, the gross margins of the crops grown, their yield capacity, the associated standard land values and the costs of possible offset measures are used to determine the net present value of the arable land at parcel level. From a theoretical point of view and depending on the market price for eco credits, there is a significant potential for offset measures on arable land. Production-integrated compensation (PIC) – an extensification of arable land use – is less economically viable than the conversion of arable land into grassland or its utilisation for nature conservation. There are major spatial disparities between the city of Stuttgart and the surrounding districts. The implementation of biodiversity offsets is not economically viable at a price of less than € 1.00 per eco credit in the city of Stuttgart. By contrast, in surrounding districts, offset measures may be economically viable and implemented on a large scale for less than € 0.30. This is particularly relevant as the districts concerned are located in the same natural area as the city of Stuttgart and the eco credits can, therefore, be attributed in the event of interventions. Based on derived supply curves, decision-makers can see the scale of additional costs of biodiversity offset measures if they are implemented in a spatially restricted region. The analyses presented here can help decision-makers to more easily weigh up the desired natural characteristics and economic effects in the context of agricultural land.

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The potential of carbon dioxide removal through enhanced weathering of basalt on agricultural land in Austria

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-2277 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Rinder ◽

Christoph von Hagke

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Optimal Transport ◽

Energy Requirement ◽

Local Level ◽

Soil Health ◽

Global Scale ◽

Ghg Mitigation ◽

Actual Field

Enhanced weathering through basalt application on agricultural land represents a proposed strategy for the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Co-benefits related to soil health, resilience and crop yield make basalt excellently suited as a sustainably technology for GHG mitigation in agriculture. It has been shown that enhanced weathering is principally feasible on a global scale, but it remains unclear whether it can be implemented on a local level. With this in mind, we estimate the potential for CO2 removal through a case study for Austria. Scenarios are estimated for three different particle size distributions (< 100 &#181;m, < 10 &#181;m and < 1 &#181;m). We find that transport related emissions may cancel out any drawdown if grain sizes (< 100 &#956;m) are used. However, under optimal transport conditions the large-scale application of particles with a diameter < 10 &#956;m may remove about 2% of Austria's annual Greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time supplying important plant nutrients. We discuss challenges towards this goal, including the enormous amounts of basalt needed and the energy requirement related to grinding, as well as uncertainties related to actual field weathering rates. Those uncertainties hinder the precise quantification of CO2 drawdown as of now. While enhanced weathering remains a promising path for climate change mitigation, further research at laboratory and field scale is required to put this technology to optimal use.&#160;

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Partnerships Generate Co-Benefits in Agricultural Stream Restoration (Canterbury, New Zealand)

Case Studies in the Environment ◽

10.1525/cse.2020.1229632 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Catherine M. Febria ◽

Maggie Bayfield ◽

Kathryn E. Collins ◽

Hayley S. Devlin ◽

Brandon C. Goeller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Large Scale ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Indigenous Rights ◽

Freshwater Ecosystem ◽

Reduced Pressure ◽

Ecosystem Integrity ◽

Riparian Management ◽

Scale Change ◽

Large Scale Change

In Aotearoa New Zealand, agricultural land-use intensification and decline in freshwater ecosystem integrity pose complex challenges for science and society. Despite riparian management programmes across the country, there is frustration over a lack in widespread uptake, upfront financial costs, possible loss in income, obstructive legislation and delays in ecological recovery. Thus, social, economic and institutional barriers exist when implementing and assessing agricultural freshwater restoration. Partnerships are essential to overcome such barriers by identifying and promoting co-benefits that result in amplifying individual efforts among stakeholder groups into coordinated, large-scale change. Here, we describe how initial progress by a sole farming family at the Silverstream in the Canterbury region, South Island, New Zealand, was used as a catalyst for change by the Canterbury Waterway Rehabilitation Experiment, a university-led restoration research project. Partners included farmers, researchers, government, industry, treaty partners (Indigenous rights-holders) and practitioners. Local capacity and capability was strengthened with practitioner groups, schools and the wider community. With partnerships in place, co-benefits included lowered costs involved with large-scale actions (e.g., earth moving), reduced pressure on individual farmers to undertake large-scale change (e.g., increased participation and engagement), while also legitimising the social contracts for farmers, scientists, government and industry to engage in farming and freshwater management. We describe contributions and benefits generated from the project and describe iterative actions that together built trust, leveraged and aligned opportunities. These actions were scaled from a single farm to multiple catchments nationally.

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