scholarly journals Pathways for the Amplification of Agroecology in African Sustainable Urban Agriculture

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2718
Author(s):  
Cristiana Peano ◽  
Stefano Massaglia ◽  
Chiara Ghisalberti ◽  
Francesco Sottile
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Social Resilience ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Slow Food

A growing awareness that highly intensified agricultural systems have made a substantial worldwide contribution to the worsening of the resilience capacity of natural ecosystems has, over the last twenty years, brought general attention to agroecological management models. This aspect is even more evident in industrial agriculture, which is based on the use of multiple chemical products derived from non-natural synthesis. In more developed countries, a new idea of ecology linked to agricultural production has been increasingly developed and, for this reason, there has been a greater diffusion of differentiated agricultural models taking into consideration the environmental impact of production choices and policies addressed to the conservation of natural resources. In urban agricultural production, it is even more important to adopt resilient production models that, in addition to developing responsible production paths and allowing a positive connection with the needs of consumers, guarantees reasonable and positive behaviors respecting the environment in which most of the urban population lives; in other words, the implementation of goal 12 of the sustainable development goals (SDG #12 Responsible Production and Consumption) of the United Nations. In this work, we report some case studies inspired by the activities carried out by the Slow Food Association in Africa and demonstrate the importance of agroecological models in small-scale agricultural systems, related to the development of school and community gardens in small urban areas of different African countries, as a tool for integrating agricultural activities aimed at social resilience and the conservation of ecosystems.

scholarly journals USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITES: A REVIEW

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 100-109
Author(s):  
Getachew Bekele Fereja
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Agricultural Biotechnology ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Small Scale

A major benefit of agricultural research and technology is that the purchasing power of the poor increases, because both average incomes and access to staple food products are improved. The use of biotechnology will lead to a distinct shift in the economic returns from livestock. Livestock production currently accounts for about 43% of the gross value of agricultural production. In developed countries livestock accounts for more than half of agricultural production, while in developing countries the share is about one-third. This latter share, however, is rising quickly because of rapid increases in livestock production resulting from population growth, urbanization, changes in lifestyles and dietary habits and increasing disposable incomes. Therefore the objective of this review paper was to investigate the use of biotechnology in animal production and productivities. Biotechnology is regarded as a means to the rapid increase in agricultural production through addressing the production constraints of small-scale or resource-poor farmers who contribute more than 70% of the food produced in developing countries. Agricultural biotechnology as the solution to the problem of global food insecurity has also been reviewed by Soetan. Agricultural biotechnology has the potential to address some of the problems of developing countries like food insecurity, unfavorable environmental and climatic conditions etc mentioned above and also improve agricultural productivity.

scholarly journals Agroindustrial complex: problems and instigating trends

2021 ◽  
pp. 22-28
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Anatol'evna Zhuravleva
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Investment Activity ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Agroindustrial Complex

The article analyzes the current problems, functional strategies and instigating trends of the agroindustrial complex. The author describes the possible ways of solving problems and considers the prospects for the development of small-scale enterprises based on the existing government support programs for rural areas. Among the most acute problems for the successful development of farms, the author identifies the following groups of problems: 1. Economic problems: rising prices for fuels and lubricants; the volatility of the ruble exchange rate; the constant increase in tariffs for gas, electricity, fertilizers, machinery for agricultural production; the disproportion of prices of products and resources spent on their production; the lack of long-term supportive programs of preferential lending and leasing services; low level of innovation and investment activity; low level of solvency of the population; unsatisfactory state of telephone and Internet communications, roads and transport links; monopolization of sales markets by large agricultural holdings; insufficient development of marketing and logistics issues; weak image advertising of farm products and the lack of integrated marketing communications, which reduce the profitability and profitability of agricultural production. 2. Technological problems: technical and technological lagging behind the developed countries; low technological efficiency of agricultural production of peasant farms; a high degree of deterioration of the equipment and machinery. 3. Ecological problems: industrial and agricultural enterprises impacting on the environment; the inrease in land fertility; the use of pesticides leading to soil and water pollution; the lack of effective control over the quality and safety of food. 4. Social problems of rural areas: the lack of educational institutions with educational services of high quality and developed infrastructure; the lack of jobs for the adult population and youth's low interest in farming as a way of life; domestic problems. 

Consequences of Agriculture in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and the Levant

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Marston
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Social Complexity ◽  
Near East ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
The Social

The ancient Near East was one of the earliest centers of agriculture in the world, giving rise to domesticated herd animals, cereals, and legumes that today have become primary agricultural staples worldwide. Although much attention has been paid to the origins of agriculture, identifying when, where, and how plants and animals were domesticated, equally important are the social and environmental consequences of agriculture. Shortly after the advent of domestication, agricultural economies quickly replaced hunting and gathering across Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Anatolia. The social and environmental context of this transition has profound implications for understanding the rise of social complexity and incipient urbanism in the Near East. Economic transformation accompanied the expansion of agriculture throughout small-scale societies of the Near East. These farmsteads and villages, as well as mobile pastoral groups, formed the backbone of agricultural production, which enabled tradable surpluses necessary for more expansive, community-scale economic networks. The role of such economies in the development of social complexity remains debated, but they did play an essential role in the rise of urbanism. Cities depended on agricultural specialists, including farmers and herders, to feed urban populations and to enable craft and ritual specializations that became manifest in the first cities of southern Mesopotamia. The environmental implications of these agricultural systems in the Mesopotamian lowlands, especially soil salinization, were equally substantial. The environmental implications of Mesopotamian agriculture are distinct from those accompanying the spread of agriculture to the Levant and Anatolia, where deforestation, erosion, and loss of biodiversity can be identified as the hallmarks of agricultural expansion. Agriculture is intimately connected with the rise of territorial empires across the Near East. Such empires often controlled agricultural production closely, for both economic and strategic ends, but the methods by which they encouraged the production of specific agricultural products and the adoption of particular agricultural strategies, especially irrigation, varied considerably between empires. By combining written records, archaeological data from surveys and excavation, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, together with the study of plant and animal remains from archaeological sites occupied during multiple imperial periods, it is possible to reconstruct the environmental consequences of imperial agricultural systems across the Near East. Divergent environmental histories across space and time allow us to assess the sustainability of the agricultural policies of each empire and to consider how resulting environmental change contributed to the success or failure of those polities.

scholarly journals Under the radar? ‘Soft’ residential densification in England, 2001–2011

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Bibby ◽  
John Henneberry ◽  
Jean-Marie Halleux
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Level Of Detail ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Gradual Change ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Urban Containment

Urban compaction policies have been widely adopted in developed countries in pursuit of more sustainable cities. Compactness is achieved through a process of ‘densification’, of developing and using land and buildings more intensively. However, empirical evidence on the processes and outcomes of urban densification is lacking. The paper addresses this lacuna. It considers densification in England, a country that has long experience of applying policies of urban containment and consolidation; and one where new data sources allow the analysis of recent land use change at a level of detail not hitherto possible. In England between 2001 and 2011, the bulk of additional dwellings were accommodated within urban areas, increasing their density. Yet, there were wide inter- and intra-regional variations in the pattern of densification: for example, in the contributions of large scale, formal development and of small scale, informal, gradual change – of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ densification – to the process. The significant differences in local experiences of densification that result raise major issues for policy.

scholarly journals Small-scale urban agriculture: Drivers of growing produce at home and in community gardens in Detroit

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0256913
Author(s):  
Carola Grebitus
Keyword(s):  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors ◽  
At Home

The desire for fresh, local food has increased interest in alternative food production approaches, such as private small-scale agriculture, wherein households grow their own food. Accordingly, it is worth investigating private agricultural production, especially in urban areas, given that an increasing share of the world’s population is living in cities. This study analyzed the growth of produce at people’s homes and in community gardens, focusing on behavioral and socio-demographic factors. Data were collected through an online survey in Detroit, Michigan; 420 citizens were interviewed. The results revealed that trust, attitude, and knowledge affect the growing of produce at home. Involvement and personality are also drivers of community gardening. Regarding socio-demographics, household size affects the growing of produce at home, while gender, age, and income affect community gardening. The findings have valuable implications for stakeholders who wish to foster private small-scale urban agriculture, for example, through city planning and nutrition education.

scholarly journals Towards sustainable urban food systems: Analyzing contextual and intrapsychic drivers of growing food in small-scale urban agriculture

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243949
Author(s):  
Mohammed Hussen Alemu ◽  
Carola Grebitus
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Factors Affecting

Small-scale urban agriculture is associated with positive health and environmental outcomes. Previous studies examined factors that drive people to grow foods in urban areas mainly drawing on qualitative data. This research investigates quantitatively what determines consumer preferences for growing foods in community gardens, informing efforts to upscale urban agriculture. We conducted choice experiments in North America and performed latent class analysis of contextual and intrapsychic factors affecting consumers’ preferences for growing foods in cities. Results show that providing tools and guidance are the most important contextual factors affecting community garden participation. The preferences of proponents of growing foods are explained by their high subjective knowledge about growing foods and reasons tied to the benefits of participating in community gardening. Opponents of growing foods at community gardens are characterized by low knowledge. The findings can be used to design policies that promote sustainable food systems in urban areas.

GOELRO plan is 100 years old

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 4-9
Author(s):  
Pavel A. BUTYRIN ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Soviet Republic ◽  
Starting Conditions ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
State Plan

The historical context in which the State Plan for Electrification of Russia (GOELRO) was developed, establishment of the GOELRO Commission, the GOELRO Plan content, the specific features of its implementation, and the role of the plan in the soviet period of Russia’s history are considered. Attention is paid to the electrification plants of other countries and territories of all inhabited continents, and to the participation of states in the electrification of countries and regions with small-scale and agricultural production in the 1920 s. The specific features pertinent to the electrification of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic are pointed out, namely, low starting conditions (in 1923, the energy consumption per capita in Russia was 100 times lower than that in Norway), its being state-owned in nature and revolutionary in its purpose: to get done with the main upheavals in the country and to shift the national economy for fore efficient production. The role of V.I. Lenin and G.M. Krzhizhanovsky, who were the initiators of the electrification of Russia, is analyzed in detail. A conclusion is drawn about the need to study both the GOELRO Plan itself and the specific features and circumstances of its implementation within the framework of training modern specialists in electrical engineering.

European and Ukrainian experience in financial support to farming activities through fiscal instruments

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1040-1063
Author(s):  
E.A. Nepochatenko ◽  
E.T. Prokopchuk ◽  
B.S. Guzar
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Financial Regulation ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Statistical Research ◽  
Tax Regimes

Subject. The article considers financial regulation through the use of tax mechanisms. Objectives. The aim of the study is to evaluate European and Ukrainian practices of fiscal incentives for farming through fiscal instruments with VAT playing the key role. Methods. In the study we employed economic and statistical research methods, like monographic, comparison, scientific generalization. Results. Based on the analysis of VAT implementation on farmers in developed countries in Europe we substantiated the conclusion about its focus on simplifying the tax procedures and eliminating the negative impact on operations of economic entities. Special tax treatment (including VAT collection) is mainly used to streamline tax relations, taking into account the specifics of farming, rather than to improve the financial support to farms. We revealed that in the Ukrainian practice its main task is financial support to agricultural production. Conclusions and Relevance. The experience of developed European countries on the use of special tax regimes and taxation procedures should serve as a model for Ukraine. Financial incentives for agricultural production development should be directly supported by the State, and special tax treatment and tax administration should be focused on streamlining tax relations in the region, based on the practice of developed European countries such as UK, Germany, Italy and France.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION OF CA DONG PEOPLE IN RESETTLEMENT AREA OF TRANH RIVER HYDROPOWER NUMBER 2: CURRENT SITUATION AND IMPACT FACTORS

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bùi Thị Bích Lan
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Technical Application ◽  
Production Models ◽  
Role Of The State

In Vietnam, the construction of hydropower projects has contributed significantly in the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country. The place where hydropower projects are built is mostly inhabited by ethnic minorities - communities that rely primarily on land, a very important source of livelihood security. In the context of the lack of common productive land in resettlement areas, the orientation for agricultural production is to promote indigenous knowledge combined with increasing scientific and technical application; shifting from small-scale production practices to large-scale commodity production. However, the research results of this article show that many obstacles in the transition process are being posed such as limitations on natural resources, traditional production thinking or the suitability and effectiveness of scientific - technical application models. When agricultural production does not ensure food security, a number of implications for people’s lives are increasingly evident, such as poverty, preserving cultural identity, social relations and resource protection. Since then, it has set the role of the State in researching and building appropriate agricultural production models to exploit local strengths and ensure sustainability.

Skills and Competencies Required by Academic Librarians in an Internet-Driven Environment

Mousaion ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yakubu A. Liman ◽  
Priti Jain ◽  
Baluwami Grand ◽  
Athulang Mutshewa
Keyword(s):  
Service Provision ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Internet Usage ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Library Services ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
Internet Skills ◽  
Use Of Internet

This paper reviews literature on the skills and competencies required by academic librarians in an Internet-driven environment. Content analysis methodology was used to review literature. Purposive sampling was also used for identifying literature on skills and competencies of librarians in the use of Internet services in academic libraries. A total of 118 publications were selected. Findings from the articles reviewed show that librarians from developed countries required skills and competencies in Internet usage to provide effective library services. However, the findings also show that academic librarians from developing countries, especially in Africa, are still lagging behind regarding Internet skills and competencies to provide effective information services in the library. The paper concludes that despite changes brought by the Internet, there are still gaps in the way library services are provided because of poor Internet knowledge, skills and competencies of academic librarians. The paper recommends that academic librarians in African countries acquire Internet skills and competencies to update their knowledge and technological skills for effective library service provision.

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